Old Me, New Me

After dragging myself home on Friday night, it was too late to do anything.  Actually, I DECIDED that it was too late to do anything at 7:00 PM.  Sad, but true.

The apartment was quiet, but then around 8:00 PM my hardwood floors started to vibrate.  Music from downstairs...

Dammit --- those kids!!!

Yes, I sighed to myself, I have turned into one of THOSE people.  Once upon a time, I would have joined them in a prelude to what would be known as an All Night Rage.  Now, only rare appearances of my dare-I-say Happy Go Lucky Self emerge from the oppression of Grown Up Life.

Come back, Fun Marj!!!

The last time she blessed us with her presence was September 2011 for my cousin K's 27th birthday.  I was only going out for "one drink."  Famous last words that I know I should never utter.  It must have been the magic phrase because I not only stayed out longer, but I drank more than any of my twenty-something year old cousins.  They were amazed that I had the stamina.  (Uh, me too!)  I told them that they would have liked to hang out with me in my twenties.  Instead of being the Elder Cousin and the Voice of Reason, I would cause as much trouble as they do.

But here I am.  Older...  Wiser...  Except for the occasional Wild Hair.  Thank goodness for that.

This past Friday night when I jumped into my pajamas, I was satisfied that I wasn't missing anything at the bars and settled in to watch a couple of documentaries about Food, Beer, and the Environment on Netflix.  This helped begin the untangling of my brain from work.

* * * * * * *

Saturday morning arrived and I was snug as a bug buried under the warmth and tenderness of my down comforter.

Go back to sleep, Marj...  You deserve it...

When I was a teenager, I used to be able to sleep all day.  Nowadays, it is a miracle if I "sleep in" until 7:00 AM, so last Saturday when I stayed in my pajamas until almost 1:00PM, I jumped for joy.  For a crazy, perfectionistic workaholic, this was definitely an accomplishment!

Later I finally found the motivation to shower and primp, then ventured out into the unusually sunny and warm January day to run errands.  This turned into a night at the movies with girlfriends.  Perfectly low key and stress free.

* * * * * * *

Sunday was much of the same except for attending Mass at the beautiful historic church across the street from my apartment.  More errands, then the Blackhawks game.

It's funny how much stress is caused by a sporting event.  I don't remember let the unfolding of a game get under my skin this much before.  The Blackhawks were playing one of our biggest rivals --- the Detroit Red Wings.  Booooooooo!!!  Seriously, I don't think people born and raised outside of Chicago and Detroit understand this rivalry.  As fans, we really don't like each other much.  Like REALLY.  But then again, as my friend S said, "we heckle in good fun."  Only in the Midwest!!!

What was a started as a good game, ended in a heartbreaking loss when the Red Wings scored a tie-breaking goal in overtime.  Was this a sign of the week to come?

* * * * * * *

Monday morning.  Not too cold, but I still woke up at the butt crack of dawn.  I didn't feel like taking the L, even though it is only a four stop ride which dumps me off right in front of the hospital.  My primary motivator for driving my Prius ~ Cherry Red ~ was the morning news report of a recent mugging at the nearby Red Line stop.  Ahhhhh...  Life in the big bad city.  All for the sake of an iPhone.

!@#$ing crazy people.  Forget this.  I have a car and it wants to be driven.

Aside from the usual work stuff, my friend S and I checked in with one of our co-workers who is coordinating our department's version of The Biggest Loser.  Stepping on the scale was a painful reminder of how little progress I made over the last year of getting into shape.  Well, at least the number didn't budge.  Still...  Ouch.

* * * * * * *

We are into the second week of the New Year and I have to yet shake off the residue of 2011.  But change is inevitable and, with a little elbow grease, I may just get myself going in the right direction.