It's Official!

Every house on my block but mine now has a new roof. I'll have to call one of the roofing companies and ask for an estimate/damage assessment. I didn't think there had been much roof damage in the area after the February tornado, but apparently there has been. If the roofing guys can verify there is significant damage that needs to be repaired, I'll see what the insurance guys have to say. I don't want to replace a roof that is ok, but I also don't want to keep a roof that needs to be replaced.

Maximizing Motivation
I'm back on the heavy duty working out wagon. The past couple days of yard work have shown me that I'm in better shape than I used to be, but that I also could improve my fitness level. Until today, I had planned to work in the yard every evening until dark and then workout. Unfortunately this doesn't actually work. By the time it is dark, it's nearly 9pm and I'm tired. My new plan is to workout first and then go play outside. I can usually get my workout finished by 6:15, which leaves plenty of time to even mow the lawn afterward. Obviously it would be much simpler if I'd just get up early in the morning to workout, but I haven't managed to do that more than a dozen times in the past ten years.

Next on the motivation list is to keep making sensible food choices. I've been slowly improving my decision making in that regard. I'm still vegetarian, avoid fried/greasy food and eat out just 1-2 times a week. I feel much less sluggish and have more energy. My last batch of bloodwork was really good and I'd like to keep it that way. There's not much point in working out if I'm going to undermine it by eating poorly. With the farmer's market and my garden, I ought to have plenty of delicious fresh produce this summer. Until last week, I was even remembering to pack a lunch the night before. I need to get back into that habit. That is my food goal for this week. Tonight I made some teriyaki stir-fry veggies and packed it into two lunch-sized containers. One container, plus some fruit or a whole tomato will be lunch for tomorrow. I also have some cooked pasta and marinara sauce ready to go.

Creepiness and Unsettledness
A week or two ago, the movie Signs was on TV. This movie always unsettles me and causes the hair on the back of my neck to stand up. It's the half-seen glimpses of the creatures. The lurking of something bad just outside your field of vision. I haven't been able to watch the whole movie since I saw it in the theater. The only reason I saw it all the way through then was that I didn't go to the movie alone. I did, however, sleep with the light on for several nights.

Despite this movie having such an unsettling effect on me, I like to watch it or at least chunks of it. It's not just the humorous bits, like the foil hats, that appeals to me. It's the actual unsettling that I like--the feeling off balance and on edge. I feel more aware and alert. I guess it's the mental version of an adrenaline rush. It's the same reason I keep reading Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Edgar Allen Poe and H.P. Lovecraft. I get the creepies, leave the light on and make sure my feet aren't sticking out from under the blankets, but it feels good somehow. Oddly enough, I never get nightmares after a creepy movie or creepy reading night.

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