... Especially when it smacks you in the face. Not a nice "oh, you're so cute" smack, but a full-on SLAP.
As you read on my blog from last week, I took time off work for a vacation. It was NICE - I got to sleep in, lounge around, get a massage, get a pedicure, hang out with Mar and Addie a bunch, get a Slurpee or two, and eat out. A LOT. I didn't have to, I just did. It was just easy to stop somewhere and pick something up. And I had a couple of follow-up appointments with doctors - more blood work, ick. Anyway, I LOVED my week off! But when my vacation was over...
Reality slap #1: Yesterday, the doctor's office called me and told me that my cholesterol was really high. I was surprised - I usually have no problems. Turns out the doc says that my cholesterol is high enough that the wants to put me on medication. Meds??!?! NO WAY!! I don't want to! I told the girl that I was on vacation last week, and ate like crap - that I ate out a bunch, and could that contribute?? "Maybe," she says, "but one week isn't usually enough to drive up your cholesterol like that." CRAP. "Well," I said, "Can't I just change my diet? I eat oatmeal almost every morning for breakfast! Shouldn't that help?" "Sure," she says. "Well, let me talk to the doctor and see what he says, and I'll call you back." So I fretted for a good five hours until they called back. "Okay, the doctor says we can go ahead and see if a change in your diet will help. He wants you to try it for a month, then at the end of July, we want to see you back for more tests. If you haven't improved as much as the doctor would like, he'll put you on medication." "Okay," I say. "Sounds good."
Then I got thinking: I haven't been feeling well the past couple of months. My knees are starting to hurt, I haven't exercised in almost 6 weeks, I haven't been watching my diet as closely as I should, and I learned that my weight is at an all-time high - I'm carrying more weight than my body-frame should carry. Age doesn't do much for me, either - I'm in my thirties now. What's next? High blood-pressure? Diabetes? Back pain? I'm headed down the WRONG road. Just when I thought I was doing okay... reality slaps me a good one. Time to make some drastic changes, and give up the sugar, the fatty foods that I love, and sleeping late. Time to get up early to exercise for at least 30-45 minutes, and eat more carrots, broccoli, oranges, and apples.
It's not just discipline pushing me to get healthy, now. I always cheated before. Now, it's my health, my well-being, my whole physical LIFE. (Sounds a bit dramatic, I know. But if it works, it works!)
Reality slap #2: I came back to work. I was nervous about what the Mail room guys and the IT guy might do to my stuff while I was gone, since (as you know) they love to pull pranks on me. But thankfully, NOTHING happened. My workload was average, and while I stayed busy all day long, it was a pretty okay first-day back. PHEW. I'm clear.
Or not.
I came to work today to find that my mouse for my computer didn't work. What the...? Immediately I became suspicious, and messed around with the cable to make sure it was plugged it. Yep, plugged in! Must be a fluke. So I called the Help Desk, and when I got voicemail, I started leaving a message, while I'm examining the mouse, to see if I can see something that might be wrong. "Hi, this is Melanie. Um, my mouse is not working..." Then I saw it. So obvious. There was a piece of tape over the sensor on the bottom of the mouse. My voice turned angry and bitter. "... and I THINK I just figured out why, because MATT..." Angry breathing over the phone. "Okay, NEVER MIND." Click. I didn't know which Matt to blame it on, Mail Room Matt or IT Matt, but I was pretty sure they were both in on it. Yes, they've done worse things to me, but what was the most embarrassing about THIS prank was that IT Matt turned my voicemail into a sound clip and e-mailed it to a few people in the office!!!
*SIGH* I'm officially back.
That was actually taken AFTER she ate. It's all good, Addie! I get sleepy after I eat, too!
Who could have road-rage when the sky looks like this?? It's physically impossible for me to be angry when I'm filled with wonder, hehe. :)
The home is in a gated community full of homes on several acres. When we got through the gate, we started up the road (it's a gorgeous drive) and I saw something I've never seen before. I laughed so hard when I saw it, I had to take a picture, thinking for sure someone had messed with it. 
