And If It Tastes Crisp

16 hours over 2 days to get my hair braided. That's what happens when you get small braids done on very thick hair like mine...my head is sore from the pulling, but I'm very pleased with the results. Over the course of those two days, my stylist and I watched:

+ O Brother, Where Art Thou?
+ Brother Bear
+ The Butterfly Effect
+ Blazing Saddles
+ A little bit of Boiler Room

I also listened to all the gospel music I could stand, all the slow jamz R+B I could stand, and went through the first half of Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis. The allegory is very plain to spot right off, but Lewis (as usual) pulls off the spirituality so...sensibly, lovingly and well put-together that it's not heavy-handed at all. Plus, the planet seems to be populated with 7-foot weasely people. It's really funny, because every time there's a travel scene or I look at the cover, I can't help but think of the song by Iron Maiden. When I put down I want to make the sign of metal and headbang. :)

I had a fairly involved conversation with Lazarus yesterday, and it made me think about a lot of the bad habits I still have. Even though I talk less of a game, I still talk a lot of game but don't show it. One of the reasons I don't talk about the improvements I'm trying to make is that I feel it's fairly useless if you don't actually make them. I'm well-aware of my flaws, so I work on making them better. I'm going to try not to pull attention to it because then people expect me to get better, and I'd rather not make them disappointed. If I don't talk about progress and then fail at making much after a certain period of time, the only one I'm disappointing is myself.

The problem with this is it might make some people think that you're not really bothering to make progress at all, which isn't the case. It just means I'm free to progress at my own pace, and perhaps focus on things I never meant to in the first place. But anyway, I am working on a lot of things that I know I should be better about, and this weekend put into perspective how very far I still have to go. Oh yes, I've come a long way still. I've improved drastically over the me I was when I first popped up in Arkansas, say. And I'm rather proud of that. There's always room for improvement though.

Speaking of, at last weigh in I came out to 175 pounds. While there's a fair bit of muscle there (I *do* have defined biceps, thank you very much), I do realize there's a fair bit of flab there, too, mostly centered around my stomach. I'd like to get down to about 160 eventually; that'll make me fairly lean and runner's build, with the gut hopefully traded for 6 cobblestones below my chest. Oh yeah. :)

I ran today, mainly because Laz would have totally killed me if I didn't and I'd rather Tube think I'm sexy. :) Thankfully he doesn't have to see me gasping for air and writhing on the couch like a waterless fish or something. I do have a sense of propriety about these things.

Shower, then work, then "Saved!" tonight. I'll also try to knock e-mail out of the way.