Stress for Breakfast

I once had a boss who liked to say he ate stress for breakfast, like it was some ridiculous badge of honor. Well, I ate stress for breakfast, lunch, and a mid-afternoon snack today, and you know what? It tasted terrible.

I had two major "filings" due today for work, and I've once again proven the theory that, no matter how much time you have to complete a project, you will always work until the very last minute. We almost made these filings a month ago and gave a big sigh of relief when we realized we had a whole extra month. "Woo hoo!" we exclaimed. "Now we don't have to rush!"

Yeah. I wish I had a time machine to go tell my 7-8-08 self, "Get it together. Let's nail this thing down so we're not racing the clock trying to get it done at the eleventh hour. Maybe this time, you'd prefer to finish something without that awful tension building up in your back so severely that you can barely move at the end of the day. Maybe you'd like not to snap at your husband when he calls in the middle of your giant C.F. to ask you a question about your bank account."

But no. Apparently, my 7-8-08 self was destined to eat stress for breakfast today.

I Want to Be Kung Fu Fighting....

Lord knows that I don't do well in front of crowds - public speaking is really not my forte. That's probably why I never ventured into anything involving the public, growing up...stage fright...still got it too. It's rather silly when I think about it - I'm an adult and I should be able to speak clearly and eloquently in front of an audience or crowd without my insides feeling like jell-o.

And even though you'll never catch me on Broadway (maybe as a back-up dancer in the way, way back), I wouldn't mind having a part in a movie. I think the idea of having a bit part in a movie that doesn't make it to the cutting room floor, would be pretty sweet. And when I say bit part, I mean smaller than the lead, bigger than an extra.

But I don't want to be in any old movie - I want to be in an action movie where I can use my martial arts skills to kick some ass. I trained in kick boxing (and I'm not talking aerobic or tae-bo here) for a few years, with a real black-belted sensei. I even trained with Joe Lewis, the world heavyweight kickboxing champ, a couple of times. I loved it. I knew my body was built for kickboxing....I had really strong kicks and my punches weren't too bad either. I have pretty long legs so it made round-houses that much more interesting. I would say I was probably one of the stronger female fighters amongst my class. And what made me better was I always trained with someone experienced.

I look at all the movies that I could've been in - 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' 'Charlie's Angels' or anything with some martial arts involved - and I think about how cool it would be. Of course, it's something I would like to do before I die - and preferably before my body can't handle the grueling workouts and practices to prep for a fight scene...I would say around 40.

Of course I wouldn't want to do it full time...once is all I need (and can probably handle)...and it cant' be in a Steven Seagal movie - I do have some standards, afterall!

Since When Did I Become Older Than a Friend?!

I'm pretty fortunate to have been blessed with 'young-looking' Asian skin. There are many instances where I still get carded and have been asked if I'm still in college. Sure, when you're in your thirties, those times don't happen too often and sometimes you're a little happy when they do. But there are other times when you're just like, 'C'mon - are you kidding me?'


Well - I discovered a sure fire way of really feeling old - watch a rerun of 'Friends.' That's what I did last night and it happened to be the episode where Rachel was turning 30.
I thought to myself, 'Really? 30? That's it?'
And then I wondered, 'Did I know they were supposed to be in their late 20s, early 30s when filming the show?'
I had to do some research on Wikipedia and it turns out the show aired from 1994 - 2004. I was only 18 when it started, so no wonder they seemed so much older...and all of the cast did start the show in their late 20s to early 30s.

But now, 14 years after it first aired, I'm finding that I feel a bit old. I mean I talk about 'Different Strokes' and 'Facts of Life' because those were classics (loved the episode with El Debarge on 'FoL') - great shows from my formative years. And it's looking like 'Friends' is turning into quite the classic as well.

I think it's because 'Friends' is still pretty 'new' and it's only been off the air for four years - but the jokes and the situations are still pretty timeless. I still try to catch a reruns and I still laugh out loud at their antics.
*Sigh* I started watching the show as a young'n compared to the characters - now, I'm on the other side of the age hump, viewing it from a whole new perspective.