A glimpse into the Guarded Area.

No. I don't mean THAT Guarded Area. Gross.

I had a rough day today.  I'm not even sure why.  The tragedy in Boston. The letdown of the skydiving experience being over. Not looking cool in front of the hip skydivers while I yarfed. Weird rehearsal and late nights. Basically, all this piled up and I acted like a jerk to a lot of people while crying on and off for the entire day.  I had no control over my emotions or over my anger.

So, I made a promise to myself to take care of me tonight.  I ran the errands I needed to run right after work so I wouldn't need to leave the house again.  I bribed the dog with a walk and new toys. I made a light dinner as I'm still feeling off and queasy.  I watched comedies. I drank lemonade, then water and avoided the bottle of Malbec that was staring me in the face.  I walked the dog one final time and was about to head to bed at 10 so that my 6:00 am alarm didn't cause this non-morning person too much distress.

Then things went to hell.  I started talking to my roommate as I ate a few spoonfuls of lemon sorbet.  The next time I looked at the clock, it was 10:40 and I excused myself, called Kevin and went into my room to prep for slumber.

"Take your melatonin.  It'll help you sleep and calm your legs," I said to myself, and headed towards the bathroom.  As I approached the vanity, I noticed a build up of toothpaste in the bottom of the sink. "THIS WILL NOT DO!" I thought, reaching under the sink for my Green Works wipes. Cleaning the counter means moving beauty product, as I'm an addict.  Moving beauty product means more cleaning. My toothbrush cup was dirty. The cotton ball holder was empty and dirty...and needed Q-tips! The Q-tips were in a drawer that wouldn't open all the way as it was blocked by the linen closet door, so shift everything in the closet til it opens. The mirror was smeared. I had to go back out to the kitchen for product. I came back in and scrubbed. These beauty products should go under the sink as I use them infrequently. Oooo. An anti stress face mask! I need that.

It's like a weird Andy Warhol of selfies.

I go to the kitchen to put the product back AND CLEAN ALL THE COUNTERS IN THE DARK. I fluff pillows in the living room. Move some stuff around so the place looks organized. Drape blankets dramatically.

Then I go back in my room and say, "I should blog about this."

THEN, and only then do I take the melatonin, brush my teeth, wash the blue gunk off my face, pop out my eyeballs, pet Kevin, clean off my dresser, write a blog and NOW I will go to bed. Maybe.  I'll probably watch my skydiving video again.

I jumped out of a plane and then...I barfed.

A couple of months ago, my friend Diane sent out a call on Facebook for someone to join her in a Groupon Skydive.  Of course I was game. We scheduled it for a Sunday in April, and basically didn't talk about it again until 3 days before. There were a lot of "I'm going to poop my pants" comments back and forth, and the anticipation built.  Finally, the day came. I had breakfast with a friend in Boca and time got away from me.  Flying down the turnpike, I got to Diane's house with 20 minutes to spare. We got to the field, and parked across from the hangar where the Miami Skydiving Center was located.

It was a mess.  A bunch of dudes, a bunch of couches, and a bunch of parachutes being repacked while we waited.  The young man behind the counter came out after our check in to put us in our harnesses.  Diane and I are both improvisers/stand ups, so the jokes were flying as our nerves were fraying.  After a short wait, we both met our tandem skydive instructors, and hopped in the plane.

Diane went first. The small Cessna only held our two groups, and our instructors kept asking us the same old questions.  Pooping pants was mentioned again...several times. Finally, the door opened and Diane was gone. My instructor slid us back to the door, I flung my legs out and away we went.  Arms crossed, back arched and legs up, we free fell for a bit before he told me I could put my arms out at a 90 degree angle.

X-Men shirt, mother fronters!

It was amazing.  Exhilarating. Wonderful. We dropped through thick cloud cover that blinded us to the ground and closed in around us as I laughed. The chill was refreshing as we made our way down, down and down. My instructor took my goggles off so I could see everything around me.  I screamed, " Alonzi!" At some point I said, "I'm going to throw up." But I smiled the whole time.  My instructor yelled in my ear that we were about to prep for landing. He told me to keep my legs up and slightly bent, that he would do the work and that he wouldn't do anything to damage my beautiful butt. We skid across the grass and spun around as I laid there, trying to recover.  I felt like I was going to throw up and said so. Diane came over to me and started unbuckling my harness. I staggered over to the car, and the boys allowed me to sit up front on the 5 mile ride back to base.  I kept my eyes closed and listened to Diane charm the boys in the backseat.  Freefall titties were mentioned. I did breathing exercises as we flew through Miami traffic.

We arrived at the airport, and in front of us was a car parked in the middle of the street as the idiot driver tried to take a photo of something in the sky. This is the moment I almost lost my breakfast. I thought I could keep it in, but as we pulled up to the gate, I knew I was done.  I told the driver I was getting out.  As I turned from the car, I threw up. I managed to get my hand over my mouth, caught it, pushed it back in and had it come flowing out of my nostrils as I ran across the street to a set of log parking dividers. I draped myself dramatically over the log and tossed my cookies.  3 times. Ended up all over my face and hands as I finished up and headed over to the bathroom where one of the guys from the car had GONE IN TO USE THE BATHROOM LIKE A DOUCHE.

I cleaned up as Diane hitched a ride to a convenience store to grab me a water. SHE IS THE BEST.  We got our t-shirts, our DVD's and left after posing in front of the Miami Skydiving Center sign (me throwing up, her laying on the ground as if she were dead.) I dropped her at home and ran to Walgreens to grab some Pepto, Saltines, and a Coke. With all my goodies, I got on the road...and promptly had to pull into a parking lot and lay down for 20 minutes before I attempted the 2 hour drive home to Kevin, who vomited shortly after we went for our after dinner walk. His was a little bit more unsightly than mine. And I didn't have to clean mine up.

Now I want to eat the world.

Video of me being an idiot.

4/15/13 Edit: I took a Dramamine and all that. Still barfed.  Maybe cause Diane gave me a drowsy version when I had a less drowsy.

I hate clowns.

I had a date tonight. I felt kind of crappy all day, and was trying to decide whether or not to cancel as I honestly thought I would throw up all over the place, thus humiliating myself (and acquiring an awesome date story!) But I decided to take a nap and see how I felt afterwards.

It didn't help. I still felt like crap, but I heard my mom's voice in my head. "You have to TRY at life, Lauren." So, I tried. I tried to keep down a waffle. I tried to shower and I tried to decide what outfit to wear, while trying to be on time.  I met him at Starbucks, and we grabbed coffee while I tried to decide whether or not he was going to kill me on the ride to the comedy club where his friend was performing.  I tried being sweet, tried being funny. We had a good time over lattes.  I decided that he was harmless, so we got in his car and drove to Boca.

We got to the club, and it was a country club disguised as a comedy club.  The small stage looked like it had been decorated by the people who set dressed The Golden Girls condo.   We got our required beverages, and the opening act came up on the stage.  His set was ok.  Then they started the introduction of the headliner. The voiceover track announced that this gentlemen had performed with various circuses.  I laughed to myself. What the hell is happening?

Then it happened.  A huge, smirking clown came striding towards the stage.

This guy. I'm smiling but crying inside.

I looked at my date and whispered, "I hate clowns. They're terrifying."  My grandmother had a clown doll that sat in her basement. You pulled a cord, and the thing laughed. AND LAUGHED AND LAUGHED.  Sometimes you wouldn't have to pull the string.  It just WENT OFF. It was terrifying, and after reading Stephen King's IT at the age of 10, I have been scarred for life.  But back to the present. My date laughed, and the show started.  The guy was creepy and funny, but I kept having moments where I was reminded that there was a fucking CLOWN staring at me with his creepy, bulging eyeballs and leering grin.  I sipped my $10 beverage nervously, then switched to water.  I didn't want to have any sort of anything hindering me from beating the crap out of that clown if he came anywhere near me.

I went to the bathroom after avoiding the guy in the lobby, and as I washed my hands I resigned myself.  My date was outside with his friend, so I went back to the area where the comedian, The Disgruntled Clown, was hawking merch. I walked straight up to him, said, "I'm scared of clowns, but that was a good set. Thank you." He put a sticker on my jacket that said, "I've been clowned" then asked if I wanted to buy a shot glass.    I said no but asked for the above picture.

I conquered my fear of clowns. At least that one clown. And I tried at life.  And stopped myself from throwing up on my date on the way home.  WIN,

Social Anxiety and Online Dating

My mother signed me up for an online dating site. She filled in the profile, uploaded a picture (that unfortunately looks nothing like me at this current weight) and started messaging people she thought would make good dates/boyfriends/husbands/fathers of my children. She also asked me to promise to start working on my life, to get outside of work and losing myself in pet projects to try.  Not to try anything specific, just to try.  And it's hard. It's hard to put a facsimile of  yourself together to project to a world of men who have access to any kind of woman they want on the internet. It's hard to not slip into comfy sweats after walking the dog and do anything but lay on the couch catching up on my favorite television shows while Kevin lays on my lap. I've gone through a lot in the past three years.  I've overcome anorexia.  I've fluctuated between scary skinny and (according to Nutrisystem) obese. I've built things up and torn things down. And I'm scared that who I am won't appeal to who they are. I'm scared that the comedian will come out and I'll put up the number of walls that are standard when I'm getting to know someone new.  I'm scared, period.


I have rescheduled a date with a handsome sommelier 2 times, making up some excuse about needing to prepare for my improv show, or telling him that something came up at work. HE'S CUTE AND KNOWS ALL ABOUT WINE.  NO BRAINER.  But I'm afraid to sit across from someone and feel the judgment that I'm not skinny enough, or that I'm not as pretty as my photo. I'd hate for them to think to themselves, "Man, she was so witty on her online profile. What happened?" Because when I get nervous, I joke and I laugh.  And act weird. I wear my strangest accomplishments on my sleeve so that this person knows who I am and they can deal with it or not.  Most of the time, they can't or won't.  They don't.  Ironically, I just got a message from someone that read, "HEY, is your improv troupe The Rejects? My friends and I just came to your show." See, Mom? Maybe being a psycho workaholic can be trying to have a life. Boom.  Though my brain immediately said, "He's seen you in person and knows this photo is a lie."

That little voice in my brain is now telling me to type out another excuse to the poor sommelier who just wants to have a glass of wine in a hotel bar. It's cajoling me to slip into those sweatpants and just go to sleep instead of trying. That little voice is getting louder as other voices are chiming in with "What are you going to wear so he can't see your gut?" "How are you going to do your hair so he doesn't see that scar on your neck?"  "How much makeup can you slather on so he can't see the pimples on your face from stress?" "How are you ever, ever going to find love when you don't even love yourself?"

That last one is the worst and the most important question I've asked myself in a while.  Why can't I love myself, skinny or chubby? Why do I focus on the negatives when it comes to self worth and not the positives?  Why can't my life be like a romantic comedy, where the perfect guy falls into my lap, we date, we break up because of some major difference, then get back together cause really, was that difference so bad?  Because with my luck, the perfect guy will but he'll type "your pretty" instead of "you're pretty" and it'll be over before it's begun.

There's an irony here as my co-worker's radio was playing "What's Love Got to Do With It?" and transitioned into "Love is a Battlefield."Stupid radio.

I'm sniffing an apple.

I don't really know if I want to eat it. Sure, it looks nice.  It's a Braeburn, which is my favorite kind of apple.  I bought it with the INTENT of eating it, as I'm trying to turn some sort of corner in the health arena and kick this weight gain in the buttocks . But I'm just not sure.  A co-worker just walked in on me sniffing it and asked what I was doing.  But it's kind of hard to explain that while the apple looks and smells delicious, I'm just not sure I want to put in the effort to eat it.  As soon as I take that first bite, I am committed. There's no turning back unless I want to stare into the mottled, browning flesh as I try to eat it later.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.  I can hear my mom screaming, "Why would you want to keep the doctor away?  DATE HIM!"

Eating an apple is a little bit like life. That first bite is telling the world, "I am ready to invest in the mastication of this food stuff.  I'm willing to sink my teeth in time and time again in order to fulfill my needs."  Just like taking the first step in any direction is saying the same thing to the Universe.  I did it wholeheartedly when I started doing iPlay in college. When I accepted a position at Shadowbox and worked there for 3 years. When I moved to Florida and joined Gated Community, later known as The Jove.  The same with starting and running The Rejects.  It's exhausting, and fulfilling at the same time.  But it's easy to bite off a chunk of the professional "apple" and focus 100% on that to avoid upset stomach from trying to ingest other life foodstuffs, like relationships, friendships, and personal health.

I know I'm in a weird mental place when I can get all this from bringing an apple to work for a mid-day snack.  This weekend was weird. I got super depressed, as I felt that my friends/coworkers/past loves were functioning superbly without my presence in their lives. That even when I was reaching out to someone in an attempt to be a good friend, they were more than willing to not respond. I got so low on Saturday that I was checking and re-checking every social media outlet for any sort of effort, mention, like, or post so that I could have SOME connection with SOMEONE. I even accepted an invite from a young couple that joined the club several years ago and have been asking me and asking me to hang out with them. I worry that because I have focused for so long on the professional aspect of my life that I have in some way compromised my ability to be happy when I am not working.

So I'm going to bite that apple. I'm going to put the work apple aside and chomp down on a big ole friendship/relationship apple.  I'm going to make new friends. I'm going to meet new men. I'm going to be persistent in making sure my current friends know that I am here and that we should be seeing each other more often.  And I'm going to stop feeding my life with work.

And I'm gonna eat this fucking Braeburn apple. Eventually.

Child-like joy

Growing up, my mom never let me play with my food. Ever. She's a jerk.

I'm kidding.  She's not a jerk. Even though she really never let me play with my food.

My sister and I would cross our fingers that the parents had to run errands while we cleaned up dinner.  As the garage door closed behind them, we would look at each other over our half eaten plates of spaghetti and yell, "Hands Free Dinner!" We'd then put our arms behind us and plant our faces in the loops of noodles and tomato sauce.  If we ever, EVER had mashed potatoes, I was in heaven.  I'd take any leftovers and plop them on my plate, using my fork to create wonderful mountains and valleys awash with gravy rivers. I would beg to be able to do the dishes. I'd grab the remaining potatoes that I knew my mom was going to wash down the drain, and I would make little balls, dig my hands in and enjoy the squishy sensation.  She eventually caught on to my ploy and would immediately rinse that bowl so I would be unable to fulfill my goal of playing with my food.

I'm now almost 32 years old, and I live on my own.  I have a dog, a savings account, and a car loan. I decided last night to make my own dinner.  I bought a stuffed flank steak and popped it in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes after doctoring it up with spices.  I contemplated side dishes, and pulled out instant mashed potatoes.  I made my portion, plated both items, and poured myself a glass of wine. I had no thoughts of shenanigans, just planned on eating in front of the television as my roommate was out and I could watch all the shows I'd missed last week.

I took a bite of steak.  Delicious. I segment my food eating, so finished that before moving on to the potatoes.  I stuck the first creamy bite into my craw, and a flashbulb went off in my head.

There was no one there to tell me no.  No one who would judge me. No one to rinse out the bowl before I could play.

I'm an adult. But this totally happened last night, and it's sure to happen again and again.

Look, Ma! No hands!

Tune in next week when I eat an entire plate of spaghetti and meat sauce...WITH NO HANDS!!

Decisions.

I sometimes make decisions that I am going to call period decisions. I'm sorry if you started reading this blog thinking it was going to be some sort of in depth delving into my life and the decisions I've made recently and now are thinking, "Ewww. She's going to write about periods?"  To which I say, "Have you seen my web comic?"  (If not, PMS Adventures )

I have a medical condition known as PMDD. In laymen terms, it means I get bat shit crazy the week before my lady time. I know this, and have weened myself from the chemistry altering drugs that I was prescribed a couple years ago for this stupid yet overwhelming disorder. I've been pretty good, but every once in a blue moon I do something insane the week before my cycle that I now call a period decision.

Examples:

2007: I decide to move home to Florida from Kentucky. My dad has a minor skin cancer scare at the same time as my PMDD, I freak out and pack up my car.  I was also completely broke, in debt, and sick all the time.  But I blame the PMDD.

2008-2010 are pretty quiet. But that's probably because I wasn't dating anyone/doing anything weird.

2010: I decide to quit my improv troupe as we had a rehearsal and I felt I was not being respected as a performer.  A tear filled, explosive phone call occurred and my three year career there was over.  Two days later, period time.

2012: I was dating a guy for a couple of months, and we grabbed breakfast one Sunday and went to see the Dark Knight Rises. We go back to his house, and this panic rises up in my chest and I break up with him.  3 days later, PERIOD!

2013: I get offered a position with a non-profit company that helps abused children.  5 days in, I am completely overwhelmed and decide it's not the right fit for me.  I quit and return to my old job where I feel loved and supported.  2 days later...PERIOD.

I'm pretty sure I should start tracking my lady time a little more closely so I don't make important decisions when I am less than stable hormonally.