I don't mind the rat race but I could do with a little more cheese.

The surgeon woke me on Friday, calling to see how I was doing. He was a little concerned that I was still asleep at 10:30am, but I assured him it was only because of my night owl tendencies when I don't have work the next morning. Afterwards, I set out on my own for a small shopping trip and a long drive in the country side. It felt SO GOOD to be behind the wheel with the windows down, sunroof open, and stereo blaring. Aaaaaah, bliss. Hubbyfink and I took a 1-1/2 mile walk around the neighborhood and caught up on movies on the DVR that night.

I was completely wiped out on Saturday. sutragirl came by for a visit and I was too fatigued to do much beyond stand to give her a hug. I think Friday's walk and lack of calorie intake did me in. Because I couldn't do much more besides lie on the couch, I finally ripped open "Bioshock Infinite" and played that for several hours until the motion sickness started to come on.

Sunday was much better. I had occasional bursts of energy and was able to change out the winter comforter for the summer quilts as well as take care of some tidying before pirategirleee came over to watch "Tucker and Dale vs Evil". She loved it! We followed up with the documentary "Grey Gardens" because we both loved the HBO dramatization staring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange. After movies, we went for a walk around the neighborhood, but not nearly so far as Hubbyfink and I gone on Friday. When we got back I was shakey and fatigued and PG made her exit. I also started solidish foods on Sunday. Unsweetened applesauce with cinnamon never tasted so good. And mashed potatoes? Mana from heaven! I need to get some yogurt tonight so I can get more protein (which will probably help increase my stamina) and I'm thinking Fage Greek yogurt is the way to go. I'll get the plain version and mix in vanilla or peppermint or cinnamon or whatever other flavors I can think of. I'll also use it with a little powder ranch dressing as a binder for tuna salad when I add tuna to my diet next week. Mmmm... tuna.

Today, I am back at work. Well, working from home, anyway. I'd really like to go into the office tomorrow to see Bossman and GrandBoss who are in town for a Juniper conference at the campus. This morning's routine tired me terribly, though, and I'm concerned about making that long walk from the parking garage to my cube. We'll see. I know I shouldn't push too hard, but when I feel good, I feel REALLY REALLY good. I'll see how my stamina is after tomorrow's morning routine.

Also, I hopped on the scale this morning (with my wet hair still wrapped in a towel) and I am down 20 pounds from exactly two weeks ago. I don't know where it's coming from because my jeans fit exactly the same. My belly is bloated, and according to a gastric bypass forum I read, that's normal. I'm not sure how long it's supposed to be normal, but I'm not fretting. Yet.

I am so excited, I could burst. The cube move date is set for 10 June and I will get a cube that faces a window which overlooks trees and lake-with-fountain and geese. So excited.

KitCat is at the vet having her x-rays and EKG and other tests done. This is the follow-up visit to see how bad her heart murmur has gotten. She's in decent-enough health and is still eating and drinking and occasionally runs around the house (especially when being chased by Oreo) so I'm not afraid that we're going to get bad news or anything.

I'm not sure what this weekend's plans will include. Hubbyfink was supposed to have an HMA thingie tomorrow but that's been canceled. I was going to curl up with some of my foreign language horror films, but that may get pushed off until Hubbyfink's HMA trip in July. A lot of thin white linen should get dumped at my front door this afternoon. I may work on turning that into camicie. Or I may break down and get "Alan Wake" and enjoy some Twin Peaks-esque survival horror.

I've been in something of a rockabilly mood lately. Love those guitar riffs.

Oh my gosh: today's Google doodle! Oddly, I don't feel weird about Pac-Man being thirty years old. I remember my first Pac-Man cabinet. It was a table cabinet in the back room of the St Francis Restaurant in Hughes. Mimi and I went through so many quarters back there; I'm sure that Mom, Daddy, and the restaurant's staff were happy we weren't spinning round and round on the counter stools.

Bioshock 2, that's what. I bought it when it was released in February and it has been patiently waiting for the winter semester to end so that I could play it. I finally unwrapped the package and popped the disc in the Xbox Sunday night. I am half way through my bye week and half way through the game. The story is kind of "meh" and I find myself fighting the controller, but the game play itself is pretty fun.

I'm pretty amused by an epic battle that occurred last night. I'd hacked a security camera and a couple of security bots and used their help in defending a Little Sister while she gathered ADAM. When she finished, I dropped her off at the Vent in the same area. Then I heard a Big Sister screech. Gracious, does that sound chill my blood. A Big Daddy and Little Sister pair wandered into the hacked camera's area as the Big Sister arrived. I used the Big Daddy as a shield, the Big Sister hit him, and he retaliated against her, thus "helping" me defeat the Big Sister (with the assistance of my hacked bots and the other bots the camera called in). Quickest Big Sister take-down ever.

I've discovered a downside to the intense gaming I'm doing this week (aside from the cramped hands from clutching the controller so tightly, natch): in my dreams, objects glow and/or flash like interactive game elements do. It's a little disconcerting. Also, I find myself really wanting to play a Zelda game.

I couldn't stand the craving anymore and baked chocolate chip cookies this afternoon. A soft warm cookie and mug of hot cocoa are the perfect post shoveling workout repast. Okay, maybe not perfect but it sure is tasty! Hubbyfink felt like he was losing man points by "letting" me bundle up and shovel the knee-high drifts from the steps and front walk until I reminded him that this is my replacement for gym time. I haven't been in the gym (or office) since last Thursday and if I didn't get out and shovel or romp around the neighborhood daily, I'd start climbing the walls. Or putting that axe I asked about earlier to nefarious use.

The Borg campus closed at 1pm today and all non-essential personnel were sent home. I asked Bossman if that meant I could log off and enjoy a snow day. He said that if I had dug out the Prius he would have considered it, but no. Rats.

The neighbors behind us have dug out their back yard and cleared a yard-wide path to their soccer goal which they (annoyingly) store in the middle of the common area between the rows of townhouses. I'm not sure of the point for all that work, but whatever.

In gaming news, Hubbyfink bought "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" Friday and finished it last night. He LOVED it and it made a nice change of pace from "Mass Effect" which he's slogging through so he can play "Mass Effect 2". Well, he was slogging; I think he's enjoying the game more now that he's gotten some more missions under his belt. He hasn't slept with any aliens yet (that I know of, anyway). "Bioshock 2" was released yesterday and I am SO looking forward to playing that. Hubbyfink asked if I wanted for him to call Best Buy and see if they had it in stock. No, I have to wait until the semester is over. No (new) gaming while schooling. And that goes triple for when "Fallout: New Vegas" is released in the fall. (*groan*) HOW had I not heard about this?? Hubbyfink was perusing video game trailers on some website and we came across the trailer. Happy, happy shivers down my spine. I guess I know what will be consuming my life during Christmas break. Muahahah!

I feel all virtuous and stuff for weeding through my closet today. If I didn't love it or it didn't fit, it went into a bag for Goodwill. Three bags later and my shirts and sweaters are now separated into "dressy" and "casual", I've eliminated two pants hangers, and my t-shirts are no longer spilling out of their drawers. I was going to weed through my sock collection, but I apparently did that earlier this year.

Yeah, woo, excitement. Well, it's exciting to me.

I've almost finished "Bioshock". Ryan is dead and I've explored the apartment complex en route to the big boss. I stopped playing when I started feeling motion sick. By the way, 'Hypnotize Big Daddy' has become my second favorite plasmid. I couldn't have made it through Hephasteus as quickly as I did without that Elite Bouncer watching my back. Hubbyfink's been impressed with my strategies and is curious to see how I'd fare in "Halo".

Got a lovely surprise from the mortgage company this weekend: a refund check for overpayment to escrow. Whoo hoo! That's a sweet windfall which will go towards paying off the new windows (with which I am still in looooooove).

Hubbyfink's gifts are wrapped and have been placed under the tabletop tree with care. I've ordered our Honeybaked Ham and will pick it up Wednesday (mmmm... ham). I'm going to pick up ingredients for Christmas dinner side dishes tonight.

In other news, I fired up "Bioshock" last night and played for an hour or so. I want to LOVE this game, but I don't yet. I'm getting killed too much. Maybe I shouldn't have set the difficulty at "medium". It's a pretty game, though, no argument there.

Yesterday was yucky and drizzly, and Hubbyfink and I decided to take off for some out-of-beach-house couple time. We drove up to Timbuck II to have an old timey photo of us taken at Miss Kitty's Olde Time Photography. It's adorable! I'll scan it and share when we get home. We continued up the coast until we got to the four-wheel-drive area and turned around. Hubbyfink was grateful for not taking the Prius off-roading. We drove around the Currituck Lighthouse which isn't on the rocky outcropping as I'd assumed most lighthouses would dwell upon. It's in the middle of a small pine forest. Huh. We then drove back down to Duck and took a look at SoundFeet where Hubbyfink tried to buy another pair of Frog Feet Five Fingers. Unfortunatley, his size in the style he wants is back-ordered until November.

We broke out carthew's "Wii Resort" and had an absolute blast virtually pummelling the stuffing out of one another with the Swordfight game. I schooled Sir Tash who then schooled me in return. MissyAnne also schooled me pretty soundly. Hubbyfink was delighted that HMA trounced rapier when he repeated beat ballistabob. I stomped Hubbyfink seven times and let him win the last two times. Gentle egos and all that. :)

pirategirleee made Chicken-n-Dumplins and Banana Pudding for dinner. It was DELICIOUS and the perfect antidote to yesterday's dreary weather. After dinner, a small group headed down to the theatre room for "Doctor Horrible" while another small group of us set up "Star Wars Trivial Pursuit" in the dining room. We chose poorly. After four rounds of questions, the girls revolted and said we wanted to play "Cranium" instead. The guys wisely acquiesed and then beat us despite duchesssimone's creative and sometimes embarrassing puppetteering.

We capped off the evening with the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" in the theatre room. There were bubbles, glow sticks, feather boas, and a lot of alcohol. A grand time was had by all.

Oh hey, there's some bright orb in the sky which is causing objects on the ground to cast shadows. I must investigate.

Last night Hubbyfink asked if I was feeling okay. No, I replied after a pause to consider the question, and it wasn't just because of the stomach-churning headache I'd developed from staring at a computer screen all day. No, I was terribly discontent with our house. Hubbyfink frowned and asked what was wrong with the house. I began a list: the ants, the windows, the nasty carpets, the unpainted walls, the concrete slab in the back yard, and the general level of filth. I really, really want to rip up the carpets, I told the 'fink. He looked a little horrified. Not tonight, I promised. Or even tomorrow... He asked if he should clear his schedule on Wednesday for carpet removal. Alas, no. We really should replace the windows first.

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I'm alarmed by how out of shape I am. My heat and physical work tolerances were pretty low the past couple of weeks and that frightened me. I'm also not thrilled with my appearance in photographs, truth be told. And so it's far past time to get back on that physical improvement horse. Done.

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Our mortgage company has apparently ceased most operations. I discovered this last night when I tried to pay our mortgage online. All payments must be mailed in to a new address until further notice. Oddly, there's nothing on the home page about the company dying nor have I received communication in writing about this. Warm fuzzies are not bountiful.

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Work has been blessedly low-key. I had 550 messages to slog through yesterday; not bad for being out for two weeks. Bossmand was surprised that I hadn't logged in at all. I assured him that when I'm on vacation, I'm on VACATION (aside from side trips to the office in another state, that is, but I won't be making that a habit).

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I downloaded Mothership Zeta for Fallout 3 last night, but I haven't started playing the DLC yet. I haven't finished Point Lookout and would rather not start a new campaign until its ends are tidied up.

The uprights for my clothes rack are sanded and all holes are drilled. I can't think of a better way to have spent a couple of coolish evening hours in the backyard after a hard and angry-making day of work. I need to get some more stain, slap it on those puppies, and call the project done.

I'm thinking about taking a personal day on Friday and I'll probably start the tent painting. Can't wait!

Now to download "Point Lookout". Mmmm... bloodthirsty rednecks.

Hubbyfink had the audacity to call me an addict for firing up "Fallout 3" after last night's conference call. I raised my eyebrow at him. He, who played his video game throughout my conference call and my post-work cooling-off period in the craft room in addition to several nights this week, had the nerve to call me an addict.

But anyway, I finished the Broken Steel DLC last night and then brought down the fifth and final Super Mutant Behemoth in the base game. For grins, I checked out all my achievements and noticed some new ones which included "Into the bog". Huh... not many bogs in the base game; is there a new DLC? I did a little exploring on Xbox Live and discovered a trailer for Point Lookout. Whoo hoo, rednecks! Maybe even redneck zombies? I couldn't quite tell. The DLC comes out June 23.