"I wanna live with my flip flops in Dixie, and my head in the clear blue North..."

Some really great things have happened in the past week. Colts 2008 schedule is out and preseason is mere weeks away. Memorial Day weekend came and went without sweltering heat and with no red tomato incidents (actually, I ended up a nice golden bronze). In a manic moment, I dropped some cash on a new Lacoste short sleeve zipfront hoodie (thank you Andrea, for assuring me it will be *the* staple piece in my summer wardrobe). The kittens are eating dry food (this might actually be a bad thing, as I think I need to strike a deal with Purina to deliver by the pallet...). All of these, lovely, wonderful happenings!

And all overshadowed by the insane beast known as my boss. Long story short, my job is at a standstill, to say the least, and I am literally rotting away. The only upside to this is that I have narrowed my job down to a routine-like science, able to accomplish hours of work in a v. short time. This was a feat often rewarded by coming in late or leaving early (after all, what about all those 80 hour weeks at Christmastime...?) I'm usually able to compensate for the commute and the BS by reminding myself that I can get home and run, or surf, or KNIT, and that, for the most part, I call the shots at my store. This week, a lot of that was questioned and, basically outlawed. No more home early for nice sunset runs. No more leisurly lie-ins and strolling in at 10am, venti caramel mach in hand. No more perusing ravelry.com on work time. In a nutshell, GAH!!

Also brought up this week, the subject of promotion...! In this case, requiring relocation. To, I'm promised, an east coast location with the word "Beach" in it (an integral part of my mailing address and general state of mind). A move that would be "a choice that would further your career toward multi-store management". A move that would require buying a new home (easy right now, considering the market), and selling our current home (impossible right now, considering the market), not to mention moving 2 70 pound dogs and 14 small, wiggly cats. I could write on this subject for quite some time, but the general mood is that I don't know that this is it for me -- retail? For LIFE?? But what about my degree...?

My degree, that, by the rest of my 2003 class, will be celebrated for its 5 years of glory this weekend at Denison. At this point, travel is so expensive it might as well be in France. My alma matter is miles away, my 2 best friends who are the only ones I care to see are miles away, even the sports teams I support are miles away...!

Why can't I just pick up some sand, some ocean, some lovely palm trees, and slap them down within 100 miles of everything else I love? All I want is Lucas Oil, a fabulous country concert every other weekend, a 5k with a great sponsor every other month or so, a yarn store within 10 mintues, a happy hour that features $9.99 Coors Light cooler bags, and consistent 3-4 foot swell with nice form. Is that so much to ask...?

This general frustration has weighed on me the majority of the past week (don't get me wrong, I did enjoy a blissful 2 days in the surf and sun). To make matters worse, the weather is not cooperating. Some sort of low pressure system has left me with a severe sinus issue, making normal breathing excrutiatingly difficult. I have run TWICE in NINE DAYS, and both times I was convinced I would die of heat exhaustion. I managed to finish my 40 minute circuit and 1.5 mile runs as instructed this week, but there is not enough DriFit in the WORLD to soak up the puddle that is my body. I wait until at least 7:00 pm to start running, but it is still so humid and still outside that the heat is like a heavy blanket around me. I have been working on hydrating throughout the day (thanks for the PZero tip, Em -- obsessed with all flavors), but it's still not enough. Running is at a serious standstill, but I will admit that my arms are nice and tan.

I struggle daily to get the motivation to hit the pavement. I always read about people who work out their aggression, frustration, sadness, happiness, et al. via exercise, but I am simply not that girl. Diet Cherry Cokes (fountain only) and hot fudge cake sundaes remain my ultimate saviors in time of need.

Am focusing all internal struggle on an ultimate knitting project, and am working on some intarsia sample pieces to pick up the proper form for stranding. I want to create a Colts afghan complete with horseshoes, player numbers, and last names. It's going to be a doozy to tackle (ha, tackle!).

Less babble, more knitting next post. Promise.