Wow, so, yeah.

It's been a while.

But hey, I'm engaged to the Dompa!

Part of my getting my stuff together is posting on this more. So, I will try. Get ready for posts about wedding planning.

And no, I'm not going to be a bridezilla and mom is very reasonable. You can't be the Dizzle and not have organized a giant event at some point.

I'm tempted to just let her do the entire thing.

The day the Dompa and I left Chicago, we decided to do a little shopping on the Miracle Mile. We went into Ralph Lauren, just because.

It was amazing. It looked as if I was transported by floo powder to England into someone's study. Probably in a castle. Everything was dark wood. It was gorgeous store, but somewhere, there's a forest missing its trees.

I sat in a leather arm chair near a giant set of wooden stairs with one heck of a banister. I wanted to slide down it, but being on crutches, that didn't seem like the effort to try and get up the stairs.

A woman approached me as I was sitting there.
"Do you know where the women's section is?"
"No, I'm sorry, I have no idea." (I moved my crutches out of the way so I could better talk to her.)
"Well, I figured you would since you're just sitting there. You should probably find out."

Whaaa....? Let me describe my clothing. A green Ani DiFranco "Vote Dammit" shirt from her 2004 tour. Shorts, where my thigh to ankle knee brace can easily be seen and, oh yeah, CRUTCHES.

I can see how she confused me with someone who worked there, since they were a.) all male and b.) all wearing three-piece suits.

To the employee's credit, he heard it, and went to find her. Oh, and he was British and looked like an old professor. This was clearly where he was supposed to work. I so wish I could have heard the subtle insults in his wonderful accent.

The Dompa and I went to Chicago to watch a taping of Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! The host, Peter Sagal, alluded to his "famous temper" at the end of the show.

I believe it. He's a great host, but something about him...yeah, he's a perfectionist. Sometimes, it seemed the smile didn't reach his eyes.

The "Not My Job" guest was Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) and they edited that interview WAAAAAY down. Rep. Schock is the youngest congressman serving - he's 28. He was born in the 1980s. Yeah, wrap your brain around that fun fact. Also, he was on his cell phone - and driving. Yikes. Oh, and he was asked about the picture below.



Also edited out of the show was a crack he made about Congressman Byrd of West Virginia. It was something along the lines of his staff is around to wipe the drool of his chin.

Uncool, Congressman.

Wow.

I thought when people grew up, they would act like grown ups.

Learn something new every day.

Yeah, I'm whining....

I know that I'm making a big deal over a broken knee. But here's the thing, I can't play team sports anymore, and that makes me old.

The old part, that doesn't bother me so much. It's the not playing sports anymore - team sports - that has me bummed out.

I have been on a team of some sort since I was six. It's how I learned to work with people, how I gained self-esteem and how I met people when I was in a new place. It's how I've met friends, how I've managed stress.

The suggestions of running or aerobics feel hallow - they're missing the point. Team sports was a social activity for me. I hate working out, and playing soccer, ultimate frisbee, softball - that was how I exercised, but it was mainly how I had fun.

Now, I admit, I'm a competitive person. (I hear some of you snorting out there.) I like winning, I like the "struggle." It my fun.

It was also a big part of my identity. I know this is minor in comparison to things many people ar dealing with, but how do you let go of something that was so ingrained in you, you didn't think twice about it? It was just there.

And how do you go forward without it?

Murphy's Law

You know that saying, if anything can go wrong, it will? That was my vacation. Actually, that's been my life since I turned 36 two weeks ago.

I got nailed in the arm with a softball - the bruise, where you could see the stitches, just faded about four days ago. Then I was nailed in the mouth, so I had a bruise on my chin and a fat lip. Damn sexy.

The next night, I was injured in a freak collision in Ultimate Frisbee. Thankfully, it was near the end of the season.

On vacation, I learned that the injury was a broken knee, I got the flu, then a variation of food poisoning - which probably wasn't food poisoning, just the flu not reacting well to food for the first time in days.

The poor Dompa had to fend for himself with my family. Yeah, a week on beautiful Cayuga Lake, that I missed, and Dompa had to forage through dealing with the craziness that is a family gathering.

I'm surprised he still wants to be with me. Especially since he's got to take care of me with this bum knee. He's such a sweetie.

I'm hoping my luck will turn around.

Yeah, I've been gone for a while. Lots of changes at work. And before I go any further, yes, my brother rode an ESCALATOR by himself.

The man is bad ass.

The summer is going well. Our garden is taking off, we've already eaten our lettuce and our tomato plant is mutant. It's huge.

Yeah, we're living in domestic bliss. I make myself a little sick sometimes. But in a good way.