charmo

Grandma's 90th birthday was last month and oooooooh look, pictures.  I love how i'm about a foot shorter than my  brother, and at least 5 inches shorter than my sister, both my younger siblings.  Sigh. 

In fact, relating back to my stature, I recently learned that I've been lying about my height.  For years, I had told people that I was 5'4", nearing 5'5" .. Brian's mom caught me on it and insisted I was shorter.  When she measured me, I was barely 5'2".  Have I shrunk? Were my parents using a magic measuring tape (a la Mary Poppins) all those years? I'll never know ...

I am home sick with the flu.  March 1st, my medical insurance kicked in. 

Now, a timeline.

March 4 - ran L.A. marathon, resulting in nothing more than sore quads and general fatigue.

March 7 - lost 10 pounds and could not fit into clothes or shoes.

March 10 - conjunctivitis / bacterial infection in right eye

March 17 - severe back pain in lower torso/tailbone. Unable to sit, stand or lie down without pain, saw chiropractor to no avail.  Met with urgent care doctor who prescribed two forms of acetaphetamine, including Vicodin. 

March 19 - after taking Vicodin for the first time, had bad reaction resulting in paramedics and emergency room visit.

March 21 - developed bacterial infection in lower half.

March 25 - developed bladder infection.

March 28 - developed yeast infection.

April 2 - contracted the flu.

I seriously want to die.

**

however, I have been listening to the Pinkberry theme song for the past half hour and its making me feel better already.  Please click here > http://www.pinkberry.com/ < and listen!!! I want pinkberry! I'm glad I live in koreatown, those klever koreans opened 3 PINKBERRY STORES within a mile-radius of our apartment.  Love it.

Photos of our apartment :) Finally!  I'm not a good photographer .. but I think some justice is paid.  The deep coral table in our living room was procured from a flash garage sale visit - we drove by and in an instant, i caught sight of it.  $35! The couch beside it was a craigslist steal for $30 and the piano was a gift from Brian's grandmother.  The framed photos are the work of Brian's dad from the early 80s, here in Los Angeles.  The guitar is Brian's, and the pillows in the window sill are a nice place to relax on a sunny, lazy day.

I love our bathroom with our polka-dotted green curtains and my makeup bureau (which i completed with red doorknobs from India and an antique dining chair for $10 off of craigslist).  We have chocolate brown towels, and curry-yellow doorknobs on our medicine and towel cabinet, the "pool" sign was a cute and colorful touch, on sale at CostPlus.

our bedroom is another design motley - bedset was brand new off of craigslist for less than $300, duvet and sham on sale at Ikea and decorative pillow cases from India. I made the curtains from linens on sale at Ikea, and the foliage prints on the wall are from my days at American Apparel.

there's not much of the kitchen but we have coral-orange transparent panels on the windows, antique tea cups lining the ledge, and more indian doorknobs on our cabinets.  The stove came with the place, which we love.  Our kitchen table is a hand-down from Brian's mom; we also have a butcher's block for miscellaneous tasks.

Not pictured is our patio; we've got a cute set - lightweight wrought-iron table with antiqued green chairs. 

So in the past .. I don't know, month?  I've been to the hospital at least 5 times, with one emergency room visit.  Things are getting better, hopefully today was my last urgent care visit, blah blah blah Charmaine is having issues.

In other news, I have been watching A LOT of TLC's "What Not To Wear" - if you're not in the know, or keen enough to discern the premise from the title .. it's a couple of fashion 'experts' telling people .... what not to wear.  But, in doing so, they throw out all your clothes and give you $5000 to buy a new wardrobe. WOW x 10000000!!!!

So that's what I've been doing, but with my own money.  Fashionable alter-ego tells me that I'm in dire need of black slacks, a tailored suit, and blouses.  Charmaine goes to Ann Taylor and drops a paycheck.  With their guidance, I have become an Ann Taylor fiend.  I walk into the store in sweats and a tee, walk out an hour later in a new ensemble, shoes and accessories included.  I started getting my clothes tailored .. because, I've gone insane.  But damn do my clothes look nice.. and fit well. 

Anyway, so .. my current pet peeve is nurse scrubs.  Why do nurses or nurse assistants, or whoever those women are at the hospital choose to wear teddy bears, candy canes and horsey scrubs.  It's horrifying.  That stuff belongs in the pediatric ward.  And even then, it's clear that they were made from the bed linen scraps.  I realize that there's little to choose from when you're wearing a uniform .. but god.  Please.

Furthermore, Ummm ..

What is, or used to be, your SSB (secret single behavior)?
Submitted by Dee.

Dancing like a madwoman in front of my mirror to anything that came up on itunes.  Dancing as in swinging my arms around and pumping my hips.  I began to miss that a lot when Brian and i moved in together, but now we're both dancing freaks and acting like goofs around the apartment .. so I'm glad I got the dancing back (although .. i do miss my full-size mirror).

oh my god so funny

My butt and lower back feel like they've been beaten with bricks.  I can barely walk, it hurts to sit, even lying down comfortably is an endeavor.  A chiropractor i visited on Friday mentioned it could be my sciatic nerve, i.e. sciatica .. i don't know what it is but i don't get why I am having back troubles NOW.  Fuck this hurts.

What were you doing one year ago today?
Submitted by CassandraMorgan.

Oooh you know, i don't know if its exact, but its within the same frame of time.  The marathon was on the 17th last year so I was a few days into recovery.  Brian and I were still getting to know one another - it was raining in L.A. and we met up in Pasadena for a movie.  We saw La Moustache, really edgy-existential-Twilight Zone flick that we loved (it was that or another movie with the same lead actress).  Then I took him on a wild goose chase down to west L.A.; it was Canters' 75th anniversary, an old deli/instittution, and their pasrami sandwiches were $0.75.  We drove up and the line was around the block .... I think we went elsewhere, but I can't remember..

and from there, I blank.  What did we do?  Did we eat? Hmmmmmmmmmm.

Runners have better sex:

The study concludes that marathon running can be good for your sex life, with 30 percent of those questioned saying the sport had improved their performance in bed, organizers said. The survey, commissioned by the race sponsors, explores the loves, hates and habits of long-distance runners and was based on the finishing times of 2,000 entrants in last year's event, of both sexes.

>See ESPN article here<

Brian and I just ran our first marathon together last weekend.  It was difficult but we made it through - I was able to cycle the next day, then to and from work for a few days this past week.  We set our sights pretty high for this weekend and attempted a 50-mi ride but had to cut short once I realized my hips were still too stiff from 26 miles of pounding.  Oh well.  We signed up to run another marathon in June, 3 months away, in San Diego.  It'll be fun to travel out of town to race. 

What is your current obsession(s)?
Submitted by eijsr.

Worldy things, like cupcakes and frozen yogurt, empanadas de leche (mashed plantains filled with cream), chocolate chip cookies, and strawberry bagels.

I am also obsessed with ironman triathlon and completing one by the time I turn 25 (next year).  Swimming 2.4 miles in the ocean, cycling 112 miles, then running 26.2 miles.  I don't know how I am going to do this, but I will.  Next year.  July, talk to me. 

On a smaller scale, I am still obsessed with riding 30-50 miles in the middle of the night, Wolfpack Hustle.

I also very badly want to do a sun salutation/surya namaskar like this guy.  CHECK OUT THAT JUMP TO A PUSHUP.  Mine is not nearly as graceful, I need upper body strength like that!