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Those of you who have known me for a long time, know that I used to be a lot heavier than I am now. Those of you who know me well, know I did this in part through diet pills containing good ol’ ephedra. Those of you who know me intimately, know that I’ve continued to take ephedra products regularly for the last several years.

Well, I don’t know if I’m happy to say it or not, but I would like to announce that, for the last several weeks, I have been completely ephedra-free.

No, I haven’t stopped taking pills. Old habits die hard, yadda-yadda, and I’m more than a little scared to stop taking dietary supplements entirely. But I have switched to ephedra-free versions, which rely more on caffeine and gingko biloba (NOT, I’ve just been informed, Balboa, which is a ficticious boxer) and all that other stuff in place of the stuff that actually works well. *g* I did this in part because I’d been planning to make the switch for a while now, and now was as good a time as any. I also did it in part because I know that ephedra products scare those of you who don’t take them, and I’d feel bad if my grandma suffered a heart attack over the products *I* were taking. And, probably the biggest factor of all, I think our local Target store has completely stopped selling stuff that contains ephedra. Silly store.

But the good news is, I’ve been off the e-stuff for several weeks in a row now, and my weight has stayed below 185. I consider 185 my personal cutoff. If my weight heads above this self-proclaimed imaginary line, I start watching what I eat, cutting out anything that tastes good, and working out harder. I feel much better when I’m closer to the 180 mark. Really, I’d prefer to stay entirely below 180, but that doesn’t seem to happen. Yes, I’m sure that this all sounds fairly anal, but I think I have more than my fair share of my moms obsessive-compulsive genetics, and I’m not fond of cleaning, so this is what I’m left with.

Speaking of not being fond of cleaning, I think that this robovac is going to be one of my next major purchases. I love gadgets and loathe cleaning, so I can’t think of many things I’d more like to own. *g*

I saw a really dumb-slash-simultaneously-interesting show on HGTV yesterday called Operation: Organization (I watched it while I was working out, so it’s not like I was totally engrossed or anything). They take homes of people who organize like I do, and bring forth order from the chaos. I was impressed. Did you know you’re supposed to throw away junk mail? Yah! I tried throwing away junk mail once. Didn’t work. The trash was full. So I gave up. *g*

I’ve decided, somewhat all of a sudden, that I like background music. I’ve never been one for listening to music. I mean, I ~love~ music, but I never think to listen to it. I’m just as content listening to my thoughts as I am listening to anything else, so sometimes I don’t notice when I’m sitting in silence. Like when I drive in the car. I once spent an entire year of driving almost every day, without ever once turning on the radio. Someone riding with me, I think it was my sister, happened to ask me about it, and I realized I didn’t even know if the thing worked. *g*

Anyway, back to the music. I’ve decided I like background music. Unfortunately, my MP3 collection, which used to be in the tens of gigabytes, no longer exists. I think I have maybe half a dozen now. And I’ve never had a CD collection. But anyway. A friend of mine (Lorenzo) showed me RadioStorm.com, and I’ve been hooked since. Streaming commercial-free internet radio. I turn it on at home, where my cable modem’s connected to the computer, the computer’s connected to the receiver, the receiver’s connected to the surround sound speaker system, and that’s the way of the Lawd! And finally, I have a use for an always-on internet connection. Always-on music! :)

I finished Xenocide, so I’m taking another crack at T.C. Boyle’s East is East. I got about a third of the way through it last time before being distracted by something shiny (or something… I don’t remember why I stopped reading it). It’s been long enough that I’m starting over from the beginning, though my place was still marked. I almost panicked this morning when I realized that I had to leave for the bus stop RIGHT NOW and I didn’t have a book to read along the way. I used to think carrying a book around everywhere and reading in-between places and things was a little weird. Now I can’t imagine it any other way. I just need to get myself a notebook to carry around with me wherever I go and maybe I’ll have a shot at being a writer.

Speaking of writerly things, I think I need a dream-journal. Yano, a notebook to keep by the bed so I can write down my dreams. I dreamt a hella-good idea for a book that woke me out of a sound sleep at three in the morning today, but by the time my alarm went off at six, I’d already forgotten it. Silly dream.

Speaking of three in the morning, that’s what time Megan found me Saturday. I’d fallen asleep on the couch. She convinced me to go to bed, but I guess she couldn’t convince me to get undressed, because I woke up later that morning with my clothes and glasses still on. My glasses had pressed neat little angry-eyebrow lines into my forehead. I guess Friday night was a good time. Saturday evening was equally enjoyable, but Megan was there to steer me to the correct resting place.

And now that I’ve probably said too much, I guess I’ve said enough. :)