24-Hour Rule

Cece has this thing called the 24-Hour Rule. I don’t know how the hell she came up with it, or how she manages to stick to it. The basic premise is this: do not allow yourself to experience any intense emotion for longer than 24 hours. If something exciting happens, you can only be joyous for 24 hours. If you feel like dog poo, you can only cry and sulk for 24 hours.

Thursday was hard. Emotionally, it was the most difficult day I’ve had in a very, very long time. It was hard to concentrate. I found myself blankly staring at my computer screen, going through the motions, just trying to make it shedding as few tears as possible. I took many bathroom breaks. My face was pale. My nose was red. I can only hope my occasional sniffles didn’t bother the cube mate who sits across the aisle from me. Maybe he just thinks I have allergies or something. Who cares.

By the afternoon, I was over my meager attempts at work, and found myself surfing YouTube for ANYTHING that might make the afternoon more bearable. Voila. I found the last five episodes of “The Game” that I had never gotten around to watching. The CW gave them a terrible time slot and wonders why the show doesn’t perform?! When the show is inevitably cancelled, it will be missed. The mixture of drama, comedy and real-life reactions are all too powerful and hit extremely close to home these days. [SPOILER ALERT] In the final episodes, the sexiest character (named Jason) ends up in jail for fighting Kelly’s “beau”. In a touching visitation session, Jason and Kelly have a heart-to-heart and really begin re-connect. All drama aside, it’s clear that these two still care about one another. Kelly pre-maturely develops this idea that she and her ex-husband will reunite and all will be well in the world. She looks at his jail time and trial as a sign that God is ‘bringing them back together’. As soon as he gets off, however, he embraces Kelly and thanks her, then proceeds to run to the arms of his new girlfriend. How fitting.

Brittany Daniel isn’t necessarily the best actress, but I swear she captured real emotion in those last scenes. And, I did appreciate that Derwin and Mel wound up together after all the drama. I mean – that really is what it’s all about. How do you know that you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, for better or worse, until you endure all the triumphs and failures of a relationship? Well, you have to make it through a variety of trying situations and hold steadfast to the person beside you – for better or worse. I know it’s just a show, but watching young black couples make it on television is rare – especially in a manner that I can relate to. It restored in me a tiny bit of faith in relationships. A tiny piece.

Today is a new day. After work (yay for Summer Fridays!) I’m heading home with Anisa to see my parents, attend a funeral, and hopefully get some much needed rest. Rest from work, my personal life, and anything else that’s plaguing me right now. I’m looking forward to mom hugging me. I’m looking forward to dad’s cooking. I’m looking forward to some fresh air.

Since I’m just now subscribing to the “24 Hour Rule,” I might make a slight amendment for the first go-round and grant myself 48. Deep breaths. Everything is going to be okay…

Beginning to Win

I’m quitting this diet one day early. I’ve already reached my target weight, my skin is clearer, and I’m cranky this morning – so there you go.

I cheated twice in Phase #2 and I have two pimples to show for it. Nice. The first cheat was with Ruby. I had taken her to an NBA game, and dinner afterwards. She ordered this Burbon Shrimp appetizer that was drenched in cream sauce, and served with warm, lightly buttered bread. It was torture. I simply tasted three of those little shrimp and went on to order the veggie platter for my entrée: sautéed spinach, broiled button mushrooms and steamed broccoli. Sounds appetizing, right? I didn’t try any of the light, warm, fluffy bread, nor did I indulge in the “delicious” (as Ruby described it) sauce. I just tasted the shrimp. Well, the next morning I woke up with two bright red dots on my face – one for each cheek. Because of the CREAM SAUCE. What had I been thinking? Clearly, I hadn’t… at all.

I cheated again last night for my little brother’s b-day. He was in town with his girlfriend (they made up!) for wine tasting, shopping, fine dining, and hookah. I met them after work at Ibiza, a little spot he and I had been to just last year for my own birthday festivities. I ordered the Vegetable Paella, skipped over all alcoholic beverages, and bypassed offerings of the unlimited tapas his friends had ordered. I was pretty strong, all things considered. But the Paella did have rice in it and, technically, rice is not a raw or steamed vegetable.

I don’t have any new pimples this morning, however, so I guess my body forgave me the rice ((and the hookah) Whoops!). And, my jeans are loving me for shedding a few pounds… you know they’re not supposed to crease right under your booty, right? And, when you take them off at night, your gut shouldn’t be embedded with the stitch work of those Citizens… I’m just saying.

I've heard "quitters never win, and winners never quit," but I think I'm winning on this one.

I started back at the gym Monday with a "5K Prep" mindframe: yoga class, extensive reps on the quad and calf machines, and an hour on the treadmill – jogging to the incredulous new episode of Gossip Girl. This show is like, one of the best things that ever happened to television. I didn’t think the writers had it in them to maintain such high-octane, complicated, interweaving storylines for an extensive period of time, but I was wrong. A family of best friends… and couples… inherits (and loses) a child/sibling in one episode… or do they?; A reckless billionaire boy inherits, and then loses, his father’s gargantuan company; Break-ups and make-ups get juicier as the season progresses… and the venomous mean girls relentlessly seek to torture any and everybody. It’s like chocolate; Devilishly delish!!

Next week will be the tough one. Though I will have integrated most of my regular eating habits back into my diet… I have to take into consideration that I’ll be in DC for the inauguration, and amongst college friends who are more amped than I’ve ever seen them. With that in mind, I researched the types of alcohol that I could consume that have the fewest calories. (I prefer not to think of myself as O.C.D., but as very thorough… and a little feisty). That said, I’ll be sipping White Zin and Skyy or Grey Goose Vodka Tonics with extra lemon. 80 and 60 calorie drinks respectively. Nice.

I will also have to integrate exercise into the weekend somehow. That will also be tough in the midst of all the Inaugural parties and socializing that must take place in such a condensed period of time. But man, I can’t WAIT to see my college buddies. It’s like a Homecoming Remix or something. We get to travel back to our alma mater, party all weekend, and celebrate the Inauguration of the first authentically "African-American" president?! How lucky are we. Yet another reason my University kicks ass. And regardless of my eating or drinking habits, the entire weekend is going to kick ass, and I'm fortunate to even be a part of it.

I'm winning here, too.

Speaking of kicking ass, I’ve been doing so at my job lately. Now that I’m finally catching up and creating a groove, I’m knocking projects down left and right… and at 10 am, no less. You could call me a Powerpuff Girl if you wanted to. Let’s go with “Buttercup”.

... it feels nice.