Guess what time it is!

It’s Labor Day weekend!
It’s my last Friday as a 37-year-old!
It’s time for me to start thinking about redesigning the blog!
It’s Friday Five time! This week’s theme is Ink.

1. What are the coolest and ugliest tattoos you’ve ever seen?

Much like my weird desire to get a navel ring before I turned 35, I want a tattoo before I turn 40. At this rate I’ll have a blue mowhawk at 50. But the tattoos I like are dainty and colorful, much like Joss Stone’s foot tattoo.

As for ugly…I don’t think peoples’ faces don’t translate well to tattooing. So the worst tattoo I saw was someone who had their child’s face on them and it was drawn poorly across the widest part of his arm and…wow.

Okay fine…I need to see this again.

2. Have you ever had a meal in which squid ink was an ingredient? How was it?

I had squid ink pasta once but I don’t remember it tasting differently than regular pasta. It was just purply black, which was a turn off in itself.

3. Are you one of those people who has a favorite pen, or one of those people who just uses whatever’s at hand? What’re your favorite pens like?

I’ve commandeered one of WM’s good pens and I use it at work for my tasklist and timesheet. Other than that, no…I use whatever’s around. I prefer pencils anyway.

4. There’s a box of colored markers on the table, and someone tells everyone assembled to grab one. If you have first pick, what do you take?

The Sharpie brand because they smell sooooo good. Oh, colorwise? Royal purple.

5. Have you ever written on a wall in a public place?

No. I’m too chicken to vandalize things. I have stuck angry post-it notes in places. I know…a post-it note. I’m such a revolutionary.

I planned for a small bun with just the flower clip as decoration:

I'm an artist!!!!

Two rubber bands, forty-seven hairpins and $85 later, I wound up with a gorgeous array of loops and swirls!

It looked like a million bucks! Thanks to the talented staff at Esthetica for making this bridescrone look like a model!

As for everyday hair, I’m seriously intrigued by this cut, as seen on Sasha Alexander from Rizzoli and Isles. The TV show is horrible (I literally wince through the 8 minutes I have to sit through in order to see next week’s The Closer preview) but the hair? I like!

I think this might work on me.

Unlike my Samantha Who? hair fascination, I think this is a style that is suited for my hair, which is thick thick thick and a bit wavy. What do you think?

>> I’ve started exercising. Just 20 minutes at a time. I have a few DVDs to choose from. I am sore.

>> I haven’t called an endocrinologist yet. Because I’m a scared little dork. I’ll get over it.

>> I’m enjoying Mountain Dew Throwback — in moderation. It really does taste better with sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. Real sugar brings out the true flavor of the brominated vegetable oil and makes the Yellow No 5 sparkle!

>> Our surviving cat, Charlie, has seemed to absorb parts of Misty’s personality, notably the silent meow. It’s unnerving and comforting at the same time.

The note says: Leave @ 12:30 or get OT. My workload is ever-increasing.

1. What did the last hat you wore look like?

Mah summer hat! It’s white with a slightly asymmetrical brim and an orange plastic buckle on one side. I wore that sucker all summer because I didn’t want to be at John’s wedding all shades of white and tan. Since it’s easier to stay relatively un-tanned in summer, I went that route.

2. What’s your strategy for unscrewing those stubborn jar-lids?

“Honey? Can you open this?

3. How good are you at keeping a lid on it?

Very good, which is much better than I used to be. Case in point: The thing I have going on now that I can’t mention here on the blog! (I’m not pregnant.) NB: Next time I start a blog, I’m not telling anyone I know that I have one.

4. Here in Hawaii, people are often very self-conscious about their eyelids. How do you feel about yours?

I have squinty eyes, so you never see much of my eyelid. It’s nothing I’ve ever been really bugged about, but it would be nice to have wider eyes. Eh.

5. Are you acquainted with anyone named Lydia?

My father’s grandmother (passed away when I was young) was named Lydia. I LOVE that name. Unfortunately, I don’t think I could give a child of mine the first name of Lydia because… well …

The thyroid gland is butterfly-shaped. Photo by Vicki's Nature on Flickr.

My latest thyroid followup exam was last night. The blood test showed that my TSH was at 2.7 (which falls into normal by his standards where over 4.5 is high, but falls into the very high end of normal by the 2003 AACE standards where over 3.0 is considered high. (More TSH wankery here) and my T4 was 13.1, which is high. So he’s dialing me back down to 25 mcg a day from 50 mcg a day.

He asked how I was feeling, and I replied that I was still tired and still cold and a bit blue because I spent the whole summer (my favorite season) wearing a gray sweater. Much to my surprise, he replied that my symptoms are not thyroid related and, hey, here’s a pamphlet on Lexapro and have I considered general anxiety disorder?

(record scratch)

I didn’t start this process because I had symptoms of anything. I wanted a routine physical exam because I hadn’t had one in years. Doc found the thyroid problem in the routine blood test and told me I had hypothyroidism. I checked out the symptoms and realized…wow…I *have* been cold lately and I *have* been really tired and look my skin *is* dry. So I believed him and took the pills and read up on the problem.

I don’t want to become *that* patient, but I’d rather the doc say…

=> “Hm…still feeling poorly? Maybe we should take a closer look at your iron levels/circulation/diet/glucose levels…”
=> “Well, sometimes what’s normal on paper isn’t normal for everyone. Maybe we should run the full thyroid panel…”
=> “Let me refer you to a colleague of mine who’s an endocrinologist.”

I’m resentful that 7.5 minutes into a 15 minute appointment I was written off as having GAD because my symptoms didn’t magically go away when the thyroid levels hit a certain number.

So now what? I put on a second pair of socks and go look for an endocrinologist.

(Hi! I am RL girl!)

Calm down, it’s wrapped.

Anyway, my purse is about 13″ square and 3″ thick (507 cubic inches). A wrapped tampon is 6″ long and 1 1/2″ wide and 3/8″ thick (3.37 cubic inches). If my elementary school math skills hold up, it’d be about .66% of the total volume of my purse, which is filled with a multitude of other items like: phone, wallet, , pack of tissues, flash drive, chapstick, eyeglass case, gum, notebook, pen, 5-10 receipts, an earring or two and a roll of dog poop bags.

So how is it possible that the one tampon makes its way to the top of my purse and tumbles out at every possible opportunity — even if it’s in the zippy pouch?

Grrrr!!!

I have a lot to catch up on but in the meantime here’s a Friday 5 to hold the blog over. This week’s theme is Mint!

1. How picky are you about toothpaste?

VERY. Firstly, I only accept white or whitish toothpaste and definitely NOT colored gel. Why do I want to brush my teeth with red, blue or green colored goo? I’m going for white here, and I need all the help I can get. Secondly, I don’t want crap in my paste. No wee breath strips or whitening gel pellets. Just paste. Finally, it has to be minty, not cinnamony.

2. What’s the best cooked dish you’ve had that included mint?

Um. I can’t remember one dish I’ve eaten that had a minty taste. Can we go with baked? How about those Keebler Grasshopper cookies, but back when they had green cream in them.

3. How far would you have to go from where you are right now to get a breath mint?

Down the elevator and out to the corner store at the center terrace of the apartment complex.

4. Got any gum?

Yes! Here in my purse. Orbit sweet mint. I have two packs, actually. I’m supposed to leave one at work.

What’s something you keep in mint condition?

Oh, nothing. I crack everything open immediately and use the heck out of them until they wear out or Max chews them into oblivion.

***
That’s all for now. The last 8 days have sapped me dry. At least I have a bunch of stuff to write about once I wake up.

***
Hello,

Thank you and I apologize,
Rachel Perdue Finance/Marketing Intern

Dear Rachel, your paper ate my face. Plus, if you’re across the street from campus, why are you relying on a car anyway?

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I was wondering, whenever you get a chance, if you could e-mail me the rules and regulations as well as playoff setup that we received a few weeks ago for the Thursday Night Fun Bunch? We can’t find the copy you gave us anywhere.
Thanks,
Cruz Locke

Dear Cruz, your attached schedule ate my face. Plus, is the Fun Bunch related to the Funky Bunch? (that’s a video link, auto-play…be warned)

***
You’re invited to another LIVE performance featuring: “KEVAN WILKINS”,”LENIE”,”THE TRUTH”,and “TREKAS SIMS” This Friday, August 13th from 9pm to 1am.

For your convenience, I am attaching driving directions.

Dear unnamed person, your attached driving directions ate my face. Plus, LENIE is a talentless Lady Gaga ripoff and Kevan Wilkins gave me the clap*!

***
I’d share some of my spam blog comments, but they’re all so nice and flattering that I print them out and keep them under my pillow. Russians love me.

*Does the clap still exist?