Lend Me Some Suga', I AM Your Neighbor

www.youtube.com/watch?v=
KGnYw-OuCnI

I urge you to check out the video. It's rather silly.

It's time for the Month in Review, plus I want to talk about my job search. And many other things. But first the numbaz.

Measurements

Bicep: 13.2" ORIGINAL #: 19" (down 5.75")
Bust: 36.25" new personal best! ORIGINAL #: 55" (down 18.75")
Band: 33.25" 1/4" more than personal best ORIGINAL #: 47.5" (down 14.25")
Waist: 33.5 1/2" more than personal best ORIGINAL #: 49" (down 15.5")
Belly: 37.5" ORIGINAL #: 59.5" (down 22")
Keister: 43" ORIGINAL #: 64" (down 21")
Hip: 40.75" 1/4" more than personal best ORIGINAL #: 54.5" (down 13.75")
Thigh: 20.25" ORIGINAL #: 32.5" (down 12.25")

Adding all 6 measurements together, I've lost, Good God, 123.25". To give you some perspective, I'm 5'6", AKA 66" tall. Yes, folks, I've lost almost twice my height in terms of inches. The averages are pretty spectacular as well. The average loss for all 8 measurements is 15.4". When you remove bicep and thigh (outlyers), the average is an even more staggering 17.5". As in, not much less than the current size of my left thigh.

Alli and food news

Because I'm out of work as of the 11th, I'm doing even more cooking. This coming week will be different because of the holiday, but for the most part I have been mixing things up. It's been enjoyable to get morning fat in the form of something like walnuts or peanut butter instead of tasteless fish oil capsules. I've been eating a lot more sandwiches; the portable soups are being saved for when I get a new job, although if they get close to expiring I will of course eat them. That won't happen for a while.

As for alli, the big news is that on Saturday the 21st, I took my last one.

Yes, folks, I am done with alli. I had been taking it almost nonstop for almost 2 years, which is the absolute limit off effectiveness, plus it's just not an expense I can condone right now, particularly as my weight loss has slowed down (this was a good week but those don't happen every single week, like they used to long ago). Plus I was just ... shh no one's supposed to know about this ... tired of them.

They fulfilled their purpose, BIG time. Now that chapter is closed.

Fitness

Oh boy. Ever since I was laid off, I've been really throwing myself into it. I need it in order to not feel antsy. Plus it's sociable and good for me and gets me AFK (away from the keyboard), so that when I return, my commitment to looking for work is strengthened. Otherwise hour upon hour online is, well, it's somewhat counterproductive after a while. I figure an hour a day looking is plenty, plus I add in little tidbits like updating social networking sites (including SP) with job search news. They say you should shout your need for a job from the rooftops, and so I am. But in the meantime I am hitting max Spark pernts for fitness, day in, day out.

I finally took a rest day yesterday, and was antsy and nuts. I know I still needed it, and I took it. Ai yi yi there are going to be rest days this week as it's a lot tougher to get fitness in when we're at the inlaws or my folks (both of whom will be visited) but I'll do what I can so that I'm not bouncing off the walls. Or failing to counteract what are probably going to be a lot of hidden calories.

Mood

Pretty good, all things considered. I was truly manic last week, and now I've come down off that and am getting more settled and centered. I am not devastated by any means and am still pretty glad to be away from a dull job, but am also pulling together the needs that I'm going to have for the next few weeks or months as I look, as in making sure I have business cards, that I get my resume out there, make sure my interviewing clothes are clean, etc. All of that activity helps me stay even-keeled and I am very focused right now. This also, undoubtedly, dovetails with all of those fitness minutes.

Okay, now that that's over with, what about the job search?

Welllll, it's pretty interesting. I had my resumes back out within 24 hours of being laid off and hit the ground running. I got a serious inquiry from, I kid you not, the parent corporation of a nationwide pastry company. That was, eek, that was skeery. It turned out to not be the kind of $$ that I'd like so I let it pass. It would have been hard to do, as of course the products are everywhere. I also received an inquiry from a company looking for temp work, and another too far away for me to commute to. So things are out there and people are interested in me, but so far it's not a fit yet.

But while that happens, I have employment counseling. The company that laid me off rather graciously has paid for 12 weeks of it and I am using it to the max. I've already met with my counselor twice (I'll get a total of seven sessions with him) and have been to a Networking workshop. There are three other workshops I'll be going to. Plus he's given me some homework, and plenty to think about.

New direction for me?

You betcha.

It's amorphous for now so I don't want to commit it to pixels just yet.

Stay tuned.