Tomorrow I am flying home to say goodbye to my father, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly this morning. He was 47 years old.

Things That Make Me Happy: Hearing "Don't Pass Me By" in Random Coffeehouse

I found a lovely quote in a novel this morning:

"[...] he pitched the prince headlong into the mysteries of men and gods, thrusting his mind into darkness in order that he find his own way back to light."

More spiritual posts to come; I am thinking and feeling a lot these days.

How sad to learn that you have made your sister angry by discovering that you are no longer on her Top Friends list on MySpace.

Green tea experiment not going so well. Yesterday I had hot chocolate and today I'm having English breakfast tea. I think that I am trying to cut back on too many things at once. I like green tea for filler when I don't feel like water, but not for my main morning beverage. Every time I tried to make myself drink it, I was like, "What am I, a monk?" So it didn't really work.

I am still monitoring sugar intake and not going over my limit so who cares if I have a cup of (real) tea? I am sticking with what works for a while.

A nutritionist once told me that you can have more than your daily allotment of dairy if you are consuming low-calorie and fat-free dairy products, which I mainly do.

Aside: I miss college - the days when you could see a nutritionist on campus for free, take aerobics and yoga classes for free, and your parents still paid for your health insurance.

Losing weight is not always a good thing. It's a good thing when you go down to a new size. It's a bad thing when you lose just enough weight for your pants to fall off in an obscene manner but you still cannot fit into a size smaller. Welcome to my life.

I am constantly finding things on the Web that piss me off. This is another one of them:

Salon.com: A new form of BYOB

Fast-forward to 2008, and check out this latest online game soaring in popularity with British and French preteens: Miss Bimbo. Trust me when I say it's no Oregon Trail.

Instead, girls adopt their own "bimbos" (which look sort of like anime characters) and compete to become the "hottest, coolest, most famous bimbo ever!" And how does one do such things? Well, first you have to find a cool place to live and a "fun job to pay for your needs and all the clothes a bimbo could possibly want." Then you should probably "become a socialite and skyrocket to the top of fame and popularity" and date a "famous hottie." But everyone knows that hotties don't like fat girls, so make sure to keep your weight down, and even consider "resort[ing] to meds or plastic surgery" as you "stop at nothing to become the reigning bimbo!"

[...] a group of parents and healthcare experts are condemning the game, which pushes girls to provide their characters with diet pills and get boob jobs [...].

I can't believe that people actually create this stuff and market it to children. It is really sick.

To which the game's founders, Nicholas Jacquart and Chris Evans, basically say, "Lighten up!" "It is not a bad influence for children," Jacquart is quoted as saying. "They learn to take care of their bimbos. The missions and goals for the bimbos are morally sound and teach children about the real world." Wait, wait, it gets better: "If they eat too much chocolate in the game, it is bad for their bimbos' bodies and their happiness levels compared to if they eat fruit and vegetables, which reinforces positive healthy messages."

Note that the game's founders are both men. Also, if the game is meant to promote good health:

a) Why is it pro-plastic surgery?
b) Why does it say that "hotties don't like fat girls"?

Level 7: "After you broke up with your boyfriend you went on an eating binge! Now it's time to diet ... your target weight is less than 132 lbs."

Level 9: "Have a nip and tuck operation for a brand new face. You've found work as a plus-size model. To gain those vivacious curves, you need to weigh more than 154 lbs."

Level 11: "Bigger is better! Have a breast operation."

Things That Make Me Happy: Bob Dylan

I noticed that I am consuming more dairy than I should. You are supposed to have 2-3 servings a day but if I have milk in my cereal, half and half in my tea and cheese in my eggs, I'm done by breakfast time. As a serious cheese lover, this is tough. Boyfriend pointed out to me that my hot beverages (tea or the occasional coffee) hit me in both of my weak areas - dairy and sugar. He is totally right, so this week I am experimenting - trying to have only (black) green tea all week. I drink green tea, but always as a seconds or thirds to my English breakfast tea. Let's just see if this works.

I am going to be so healthy by the end of this, man.

I am also trying to go veg again, but it's going slowly. We have succeeded in getting rid of meat in the house, hence in our lunches and dinners, but we barbecued with friends on Saturday and shared a steak. I am hoping to work my way back to the light (since Bro says I returned to the meat-eating dark side).

Boss just asked me what Jesus did on Easter Monday. "I dunno," I shrugged. "What? You're like the resident Christian here," he answered. This was news to me since I am: a) not technically a Christian and b) we have a minister on staff. "Uh, I'm, uh, not.." I answered. "You're not?" he asked, pondering this. Then, remembering my answer to his initial question, said, "Apparently not."

It might be due to something I published in the local paper that was circulated around the office, but that was a while ago and I guess it was misconstrued.

Yesterday Boyfriend and I got rear-ended in a parking lot. We pulled in and I was going to take a spot right in front of us but noticed it was for 30-minute customers only. I decided to back up a bit so I could clear it, but upon looking in my rearview mirror I saw that a parked car on the other side was backing out, so I waited without moving. I soon realized that he was going way too fast and getting way too close, but by the time I could beep him, he hit us. There wasn't any kind of terrible damage, just cosmetic, but Boyfriend and I had sore necks all day. We let him go since it wasn't bad, though I have his phone number in case a terrible injury erupts. He was like, "Oh sorry! I thought you had driven past already." That's why you look behind you when you back up, asshole. If a small child had walked out behind the car he could have killed it.

Guaca-what?

I made vegetarian beef quesadillas, and they actually came out really good! That's not a Flickr photo I stole; those are mine! I also made the guacamole from scratch.

Half of that plate - which is all you can really fit into your stomach at one time - is under 400 calories.

I am feeling quite proud of myself right now.

Bigfoot

I calculated my ecological footprint via MyFootprint.org, and though I use up 8 acres less than the average American, if everyone lived like me, "we would need 3.7 planets."

Yikes.

*This is including the fact that I have made my way back to semi-vegetarianism in the last week.

They are doing maintenance in my office building that required them to pretty much tear out my cube and desk and all the ceiling above it. They were supposed to be finished by afternoon so I worked from home and went in at about 1:00, but it was a disaster when I got there, so I had tea with Friend From Work and then they sent me home.

Everyone should be able to work from home nowadays. Think of the reduction in overhead costs! Think of all the pajama combinations I can wear! Think of how much I'll save on gas!

I lost my knitting knack for a while there, having forgotten how after Artsy Friend's lesson ended :P I got it back the other day and now I am unstoppable. Crappy birthday presents for friends and family, here I come.

I went clothes shopping last night and didn't cry. I would say that indicates serious growth on my part. I picked up some really cute stuff too! Look out, world.

So Boyfriend packs my lunches, right? You all already know that I am a third grader, yes? Okay, today he gives me banana slices with peanut butter and Nutella.

...Do you see why I love the man so much?