It's Hell getting old

For the past two weeks, I've been working second shift (4pm to midnight). This is mostly because of my upcoming school schedule; most of my classes and my practicum (internship) hours are during the day. School starts next week and during the day of the past two weeks I've had really nothing to do. So, I got really used to sleeping in, waking up around 10 every morning, working out, going to the jacuzzi and the pool, then having lunch with Ray and finally heading to work around 3pm. I'm more of a night person anyways, so this schedule suits me just fine. Plus, we've been painfully slow at work so I have not had to stay later than midnight and often get to leave early.

The working out thing is new too. I have not worked out for about two years so have put on some weight living the good life: lots of food, lots of booze. So, I cut out the booze (mostly), started eating better and have been working out for the last several weeks. Last Wednesday I hurt myself while working out to Billy Blank's Advanced Taebo DVD. I pulled a muscle or something in my back. It's hell getting old....

I go to a chiropractor on a regular basis since I have a bad back anyway and had my regular standing appointment Saturday at 11:30am. Brainchild that I am, I also made an appointment to have my hair cut and colored - at 8:30am - the same morning. The problem? Ray and I stayed up until 2:30am Friday night. So, I only got about 4 hours of sleep before the alarm went off and I had to get up for all this shit. When I was younger, this would not have been a problem. But now I find it hard to function with this little sleep. It's hell getting old.....

Needless to say, my fuse was pretty short due to sleep deprivation.

So I drag myself up (back still aching), take the dog out, jump in the shower and head out the door....at 7:30am....uggggg. The salon I go to is in Newport Beach, which is about 20 miles away. On a good day it takes 30 minutes to get there, on a bad day an hour. With this being a holiday weekend I decided to play it safe and left an hour early. I did not want to get there late. My hairdresser is sooo awesome at what she does and I did not want to piss her off by causing her to be behind schedule. I usually take Pacific Coast Highway to get there, and it can get pretty jammed up around downtown Laguna Beach (tourists.....ick).

On my way there, I decided to see what was on the radio. One of my biggest complaints about living here is that all the radio stations Suck! I'm more of a hip hop or hard rock kinda girl and they have stations that play that stuff, sure, but it's like this: play one good song, then two crappy songs, then fifteen commercials, then talk about stupid shit, then maybe play another good song. It's frustrating! Well, the usual happened, and I got one good song then had to search for something else. God! Nothing else was on, so I played my Jimmy Buffet's greatest hits tape (yes, tape). This calms me down.

Then comes the Prias parade. Have you guys seen these cars? They are EVERYWHERE here in Cali. Not only are they ugly, but the drivers suck. They may be worse than minivan drivers. And, you can't hear them. You literally could be standing somewhere, and one of these things pulls up beside you and you wouldn't know it! I get behind one of these things, and it's going like 30 in a 40 zone and there is a stupid bus in the other lane. I exhale loudly, roll my eyes and drive probably too close to his bumper. Eventually I get around him. But there are others - all I swear just trying to piss me off!

I finally get through Laguna into a more highway type area and THEN come the bicyclers! God! Now these people are everywhere, too, in Cali. They have bike lanes - even in areas that are 55 mph! And these people usually ride in packs. And, they all have their gay-ass spandex uniforms and pointy helmets on. They show complete disregard for staying in the bike lane, and I am actually very surprised that I don't hear more on the news about bicyclers getting killed by cars. So, I have to swerve (a few times) just to get around these stupid bicyclers.

I get to the salon thirty minutes early and take a 15 minute speed nap in my car. Lindsay, my stylist, does her thing and I'm out of there in about two hours, feeling more refreshed (after several cups of coffee, a shampoo, cut and color). Then I head back the way I came. Traffic was much better this time and there were no annoying bikers. In fact, I had extra time to stop at CVS and pick up some school supplies before heading to my chiropractor appointment.

I get there and the first half hour is electrodes and ultrasound. Then comes the good part - a 30-minute massage! This is really why I continue to go so often. I mean, I do have a bad back, but with a $45 co-pay every time I go, plus a tip for the masseuse, it can get pricey if I go a few times a month. But, I chalk it up to something I do for myself, and only go once a month now. After the appointment, my back feels worse. So I limp out of the office, crawl into my car and head home. In the meantime, I notice that I have a voice message on my phone. It's my sis calling from the OSU stadium where she is watching the Buckeyes kill the fierce Youngstown State Penguins. I had forgotten about the game - oops - and by the time I got home from my morning extravaganza, the game was over. The Bucks won 43-0. Oh well. I'll catch the next one.
So I get home feeling worse and try to take a quick nap (2nd one of the day). This lasts about 30 minutes before Ray gets home and wants to go out for lunch. Great. We head over to this micro brew place called Stadium Brewery and split a pitcher of blueberry beer and get some food. After this, we run some errands and head back home. It's like 4:30 now, and I'm hurting from the lack of sleep and the intense back pain. So, I take another, yes another, nap. The third one of the day. This one, however, lasts 3 hours and I finally wake up at 7:30pm refreshed and ready to start my day...

Damn it's hell getting old.