This One’s Going Out to Lee in Virginia

Song Lyric of the Day:

Know you stay true when my world is false / And everything around is breaking down to chaos / I always seek you when my sight is lost / And everything around is breaking down to chaos

Mute Math / “Chaos”

10:32PM.
Tonight’s the first night in about three weeks that I’ve been able to just sit down and do nothing. Life has been kicking my ass lately. Up and down and all around. Don’t get me wrong, though–I’m very happy in both my personal and professional life, but, wow, things have been going a million miles a minute lately. When I’m not working my tuckus off at the office, I’m plugging away on home improvement projects. And I’m not even mentioning all the other activities keeping me busy. Isn’t this supposed to be summer vacation?

By the end of last week, I was really starting to feel stressed. I had my MRI for my hip pain on Friday afternoon. Talk about a miserable experience. I was in a metal tube, hot as hell, with my feet taped together to keep my hips aligned. I became severely claustrophobic, to the point that I was almost hyperventilating. I couldn’t even listen to the radio–the headphones really intensified my claustrophobia, so I opted for earplugs instead. Bottom line is that it was 45 minutes of pure hell. If I ever need another MRI (and I really, really hope I don’t), I fully plan on having myself sedated. I refuse to be awake for another one.

I had a 3PM appointment for a fitness assessment at Fort Sanders Health & Fitness Center, so since I had time to kill after the MRI I ran a couple of errands. During this time a torrential downpour started, upping my stress level since I’m a nervous bad weather driver. By the time I walked into the Fit Test Office at the fitness center, I was pretty cranky. My fit test went as expected. I scored Well Above Average on crunches and ranked Weak as a Kitten on the upper body strength test (a whopping four pushups, and that last one almost killed me). My blood pressure was a new low record for me at 108/58. My weight is excellent, although if I lose any weight I’ll end up in the danger zone for my height. So no real surprises. Once my fit test was over, my test administrator went to get a trainer to help me set up a workout routine. She walked back into the room followed by a tall Wentworth Miller clone. Upon seeing Went Jr., all I could think was, Thank you, Jesus! Just the pick-up I needed.

I paid attention throughout the workout routine, although it got a little awkward when I noticed Rich working out at the same time as I was being trained by Went Jr. After my workout, I ran into Rich as he checked out at the front counter.

“Hello there.”

“Hi.”

“You looked like you were enjoying yourself.”

“Yeah, it went better than I expected.”

“Mmm hmm.”

“Did you see my trainer?”

“Yes. You were practically skipping.”

“I’m sorry, honey, but he was just what I needed. He looks like Wentworth Miller!”

“Yeah, I don’t see it.”

“Well, the green eyes, the mouth, the nose–“

“Okay, okay, I get it.”

***

Saturday afternoon Rich and I drove up to Bryson City, NC, to spend the night at a cabin our friends Sharon and Russ had rented. This was the first time we’d seen them since their wedding last year, and it was just like old times. We had fun catching up, with Sharon telling us about her first year as a teacher, and playing a game that was a combination of poker and hearts, with me even winning a couple of rounds. Due to the thunderstorm that followed us to the far side of the Great Smoky Mountains, we stayed put in the cabin Saturday. Sunday morning, we ventured into the city to hit antique and thrift stores only to find that in this particular tourist town, most of the proprietors take Sundays off. Rich and I then headed back to Knoxville, driving in yet another thunderstorm for almost the whole 3 1/2-hour trip.

***

I spoke with another Virginia-based friend, Lee, Monday night, and despite it being a short phone call, it was also just like old times (made me miss Bob and Sam, too). Lee called to ask a favor of me, and, I have to say, I’m really honored he thought of me for something so important (best of luck to you and Jo!). I was also very flattered when he told me he’s my #1 blog fan. He admitted he’s bummed on days I don’t post, which is why I dedicated this post title to him.

***

Tuesday night I accompanied Tamara, the birthday girl, to dinner at Big Ed’s Pizza in Oak Ridge. Neither one of us had been in a while, and her birthday was as good an excuse as any to go. Rich and I gave her a gift card to one of her favorite clothing stores, presented in a custom-made card designed by the hubby. From Big Ed’s, we drove to Best Buy, where Tamara bought me my birthday present a month early: season one of Prison Break. Come on, now–you didn’t think I’d be able to pass up her offer of getting my early gift on the day it was released, did you?

***

Things are still busy, and about to get busier. Demolition starts tomorrow on our Florida room, and Rich and I hope to wrap up our bedroom painting project this weekend. Since we’ll be homebound due to the remodeling work being done, we’re pretty confident we’ll be able to finish. Which is good, because that’ll be one less source of anxiety for Caleb. We think the monumental state of disarray our bedroom is in is reminding him of when we were getting ready to move back to Tennessee. Of course, that source of anxiety will soon be replaced by the group of men ripping apart the Florida room. Time to break out the Children’s Benadryl again.