matt

Yesterday I was making dinner for myself after a trip to the gym and I had some bagels but I felt I wanted something else so I quickly made a 90 second brown rice packet and threw in a few ounces of salsa and what I got was amazing! It was the perfect mix and it tasted so good that I really contemplated making more of it on the spot. Plus, salsa is good for you and brown rice isn't bad either. Whatever I end up having at dinner tonight will definitely have brown rice + salsa with it.

It's time for the weekend and this weekend, Marissa and I will be staying at Disney's Boardwalk resort. We're just staying there tonight but it will be nice to "get away" for one night and have some fun. We haven't settled on any firm plans beyond dinner. We're eating at Portobello Yacht Club restaurant because we received gift certificates from some friends before the holidays. I haven't heard great things about it but since we aren't really paying for it, we really have nothing to lose. At any rate, it should be a nice weekend together.

Yesterday we went to the gym and I had a good workout. When I was doing weights, I felt good and afterwards I felt like my upper body was....swelled up, which is a good thing. Then I did the elliptical and I felt great. On Tuesday I was struggling through my workout but I finished with extra energy and felt great. I only wish I didn't have the typical post-workout-hunger binge where I had a few servings of the wonderful banana bread my wife makes. It's funny because I really don't like bananas but I could eat banana bread all day long. Marissa made it for me as a surprise and I was thrilled to have some of it.

So the big news of the day is the plane crash yesterday. What happened is pretty much the sum of all my fears when it comes to flying and it reminds me, yet again, how much I really hate flying. The worst part is it isn't the fault of some faulty sensor or screw that can be repaired in all planes. Rather, it's friggin birds! What are they going to do...kill all birds? Now in addition to worrying about the plane exploding/crashing/falling apart, I have to worry about mammals in the air too!

I'm having a weird problem when it comes to sleeping these days. With my new job, I have to wake up at 8am every morning and assuming I go to sleep before midnight, I'm usually bright eyed and bushy tailed in the morning. What's weird is every morning I wake up on my own around 7am or so and toss and turn for the last hour of sleep. I'm not sure why, but I suspect it's related to the light coming into the room. Regardless, it feels good being at work and not falling asleep.

I got to work today and they asked me about Jewish holidays and giving them the holidays I celebrate so I can get the time off for it. Now, it hasn't been handed down to me yet, but it almost seemed like I was going to get Jewish holidays off but not non-Jewish holidays (i.e. Christmas). I'm not sure that's the direction they're going but if it is, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense having me at work on December 25th while everyone and their mother is home. I was tempted to add in the holidays that I don't celebrate but I'd feel too guilty taking the time off for it. Back when I worked at UNH, they gave off for the smallest of Jewish holidays and I never took them off because I felt like a jerk for taking the time off. Alas, I'll wait and see but I do appreciate the notion that they care enough about it considering my last job couldn't care less about the Jewish holidays.

Last night we went to Don Pablos for dinner. I was having a great day and felt like going out with Marissa somewhere. I realize Don Pablos is a chain and fake Mexican food but the truth is that it's the best Mexican food in the area and that's what I care about in the end. The prices are good and Marissa likes it so it works for us. Sometimes it's nice to just go out for no reason and enjoy life a little.

Today marks one week until I go on my 7 night cruise into the Caribbean and I think this will be an amazing trip. We're both really excited about it and I can't wait to go spend that time with Marissa on the ship. It's going to be a great time and it's so weird that it's almost here!

Unlike yesterday, I was quite busy today and hardly in the apartment. Between all of the little errands and things I had to do, I didn't get back into the apartment to actually relax until about 4pm so now I'm taking it easy for the rest of the evening. One of the errands I had to do was pick up a jar full of green chili from Garcias. A friend from New Mexico is in town and graciously brought it to me so I can't wait to have that for dinner tonight (and tomorrow unless I can't help myself from eating it all tonight).

Last night we went out to dinner with Josh, Sarah and Erin and I think it was fun. The food was good and not terribly expensive and it was nice being out with everyone again. What tends to happen is time goes by between seeing our friends and I forgot how much fun it is to get out and do something. After dinner Glenn joined us and he, I and Josh and Sarah wanted to go to a bar so we tried out the bar at the Sheraton Safari hotel. It wasn't a bad place and the bartender was a nice guy. There was this one guy there that was completely belligerently drunk although he kept his distance from us so it was amusing. We had a few beers and had a good time talking about lots of different things.

Well, my green chili is calling to me like Aztec gold to pirates so I must be going to stuff my face with awesome chili.

Song of the Day: Frank Sinatra - Strangers in the night