Monday, June 17, 2002. Entry #164

I'm starting to feel like I'm giving some false impressions about myself.

Looking back over the things I've written about myself in the last year, it feels like I've come off sounding, well, kind of pathetic, physically speaking.

You don't agree? Besides the talk about being overweight and badly out of shape, I've talked about my asthma, chronic throat clearing, acid reflux, insomnia, skin tags, bad teeth, bad eyes, blackheads, and badly bitten fingernails.

I'm glad I never mentioned my stinky feet and unnatural earwax buildup.

I seem to dwell on all my weird little ailments a lot here, without ever making mention of the bits of me that are working right. I do have some. Really.

Despite being so blind that I can't read anything a foot past my nose, my eyes are quite handsome, being a deep brown and framed by long eyelashes. And usually my eyes are not too bloodshot from lack of sleep or my contacts. Hairdressers rave about my naturally curly locks, even while they are struggling to force it to behave in a civilized manner. I have a nice, deep voice, when coughing or the vestiges of laryngitis do not mask it. I have broad shoulders (mostly acne free), I'm fairly tall (when I don't slouch), and most girls find my Hobbit feet kind of cute.

Okay, now I'm just depressing myself. I'm going to have to get Lisa to write something on this subject for me.

I don't have a hairy back. There's that at least.

Friday's staff picnic went a lot better than I expected.

I may not be in the league of the rest of these guys when it comes to long-distance running, biking, or golf, but I throw a mean Frisbee. It allowed me some small pride when I was a better thrower than some of our more competitive individuals.

It was a lot of fun. Tons of food, a beautiful summer afternoon, and a lot of laughter and healthy exercise. I made a distinct point of joining in when new activities would start, and only took a couple minutes to collapse in the shade on my blanket.

I met the lady who will become out new Senior Writer, and she's really nice. Of course, she'd already agreed to fill in for a lady on maternity leave in another department before they offered her this position, so she's not going to join us until next May.

We were at the park about four hours, and it was a good break for the whole department. It left me definitely wanting more outside time, that's for sure. My circle of friends does not spend enough time outside in the warm weather, and I've decided I want more sunny afternoons out in the park.

I even have my own Frisbee.

One Year Ago Today: I was still on hiatus, but in 1944, the Republic of Iceland was proclaimed at Thingvallir, Iceland.

Mom Rating: 4.5 out of 5. Mom still thinks it's good I'm getting out in the sun, and I played nice with the other kids. She thinks I should like myself more though.

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Take me home, big fella