I've had a really weird couple of weeks, to say the least.

We spent most of last week in Indiana for Amy's grandmother's funeral.  It was, indeed, one of the saddest things ever, as I've mentioned.  It was good to see family and such, albeit in horrible circumstances.

After the funeral and a couple of days to help Amy's dad recover, we made sure to stop in Muncie for a brief overnight stay right-quick.  We figured it'd be silly to be in the neighborhood and not see my parents at least for a little bit.  My parents were happy to see us.  They responded, very puzzlingly, by taking us on a shopping spree of sorts.  See, somewhere along the line, my mom had heard that my wardrobe was getting pretty crappy.  The reason that she heard this is because, well, it was getting awful.  I had a total of about three different non-tshirts that I could teach in on a regular basis.  I basically had no pants of any type besides jeans.

After a little looking in some stores, we happened into a massive sale at JC Penney's in Muncie, in which the entire Big and Tall was marked off 75% or more.  This sale, combined with the fact that my mom had just gotten paid and was anticipating a tax return in a matter of days, meant that a trip to get a couple shirts and a pair of pants quickly evolved into something almost unspeakable.  Yep, the four of us were grabbing clothing left and right, and the next thing I knew I was in a dressing room trying on more clothes than I could fathom.  I figured my objective, being the body, was to simply sort the clothes into "fits" and "don't fit" piles.

(See, the thing about being exhorbitantly large is that most times, there is no luxury of choice when it comes to clothing or shoes or even hats.  Typically, if a store has one pair of 14 4E shoes, I'm lucky, and they're the ones I purchase.  Same with clothes: 4XL and 3XLT are at a premium, which means normally I get a shirt because it's the only one that fits, not because it looks particularly good or anything.  This is my sad reality, and it's the reality of all non-"normal" people.)

Turns out, my mom, in a particularly manic moment, had the little sales weinies bagging up the entire "fits" pile before I had any idea what was happening.  Three hundred dollars worth of clothing made it into the bag, but since everything was on sale, the receipt said that we saved something like $650.... so almost an even grand worth of clothing at regular price.  Yes, it was a sale, but this kind of a purchase for me by someone else, even my parents, was a little embarrassing.

Of course, the next day, we went out again and hit up another JC Penney for some more pants, and then hit a Casual Male and walked out with a suit and a spare sports jacket.  Overall, due to the generosity of my parents, I ended up with eight nice shirt (most of them Izods), five sweaters, five pairs of slacks, a pair of jeans, 12 pairs of dress socks, a canvas belt, a suit and a sports jacket.  I figured up that if I worked my clothes right, did a minor rewear here and there, I could have enough clothes to teach for about six weeks (two meetings a week) without washing or repeating an outfit.  Plus, I now have interview clothes, which was something that was making me terrifically nervous, even though it's not happening for at least a year.

I feel more confident with decent clothes.  Combining these with the haircut I got for the funeral, and I sometimes approach a respectable appearance now.  It's weird.  I practically made a few people poop their pants when, on Tuesday, I showed up to work in a sports jacket.  I'm not sure that I like it yet, because I feel like such a fucking sellout.  The good news in all of this was that as I tried things on, I found out that my size is now a 3X instead of a 4X, so that working out is doing something even if it's not immediately reflected on the scale (though I'm down 11 pounds).

Oh, me with the new haircut (and one of my new sweaters):

This week has been a really weird week, as well.  Things just haven't fallen into place right for me to get much work accomplished at all.  It's frustrating.  I had finally gotten into a swing before we went to Indiana.  Now, I'm back into recovery mode again.  I also fell behind with my class this week, having to scramble to get lectures and such put together far more than I wanted to.  I don't like having to scramble for that.  I think my content suffers when that happens.  I'm hoping to do some things this weekend to get back ahead.

We've only managed to get to the gym once since returning from Indiana.  That's not good.  Usually we go Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.  We went Tuesday and figured out that neither of us was as completely recovered from our colds as we thought.  When we woke up Thursday and were snotty, that ruled out Thursday.  Friday, it turns out, we were lazy and worthless and just didn't go.  We'll get this restarted again.  I hope.  I really enjoy it now.  So weird. 

Some good news.... we're taking Maya, a foster dog, to her new home in Pennsylvania, just over the border from Youngstown.  Since we're going over there, we're taking advantage of this as an opportunity to get away for a brief overnight.  We're going to a Steelhounds (minor league hockey) game, we're going to get a hotel room at a place with an indoor pool, we're going to visit the Flaming Icecube, which is apparently the premiere (and only) veggie/vegan restaurant in the Youngstown area, and we will probably visit the Museum of Industry and Labor to unleash our inner nerds.  I'm thinking that no one has ever looked forward to visiting Youngstown, Ohio as much as I am right now.  We need a little time away.   I know it's silly, and that it's Youngstown of all of the places in the world, but it's enough to give us something different to break the rut. 

I really need to reboot my brain.  I'm desperate enough to break the rut that I'm in that I might have a couple of beers at the hockey game.  I'm not really a drinker anymore, but having a couple wouldn't be a crime, and sometimes a simple push or an odd bit of difference is enough to restart a decent flow.   

I've also decided to endorse Barack Obama as my candidate for president.  Yes, I understand that he's not 100% eye-to-eye with my political beliefs because he's not far enough to the left.   I know, I should be working to get rid of the system instead of working within it and being the system's bitch.  Obama is, though, the best of what's left, bar none.  Maybe that's selling out my more radical beliefs, but sometimes I feel like I have to recognize that I am one person, and one person has much better luck working in the system than trying to abolish it. 

Obama's the first candidate, or at least the first candidate with any shot whatsoever, that I've actually actively supported.  The other presidential elections I've voted in have been "well, who do I want to vote against?" type situations.  This one isn't that way just yet.  True, Obama has not locked up the nomination and he may not. But for some reason, I actually trust the man.  I know, he may be a complete jerkoff when he gets into office (and that much power could corrupt anyone), but Obama is the best candidate (like I said, with any chance of getting elected) this country has had in a long time.

When I say that I endorse Obama, I actually mean something different than in years past as well.  In 2000, I voted Nader, mostly because I knew my vote would mean nothing in Indiana with its massive Republican majority, and I thought maybe Nader could get the 5% of the popular vote necessary to get federal funding.  My support of Nader was limited to a t-shirt, a bumper sticker and a write-in vote.  In 2004, I didn't really like John Kerry at all, but he wasn't Bush, which was important.  My support of Kerry was limited to a bumper-sticker and a hole-punch vote, but at least I did that much.

Like I said, this time means something different.  Since Amy's on board with this endorsement, I've ordered us Obama t-shirts.  I've sent out for buttons, a bumper sticker, and a yard sign.  I've signed up on Obama's official website as an Ohio volunteer.  I even made a profile on Obama's Facebook ripoff, and typed in a little blog entry explaining why I've joined up, hoping to attract some like-minded people who might want to be in contact for volunteering or something.  I might even hit up a "Ba-Rock (I know, boo, right?) the Youth Vote" volunteer organizational meeting that's coming this Monday... though, I don't know if I'm that socially bold just yet). 

When I say I'm behind this guy, I mean it.  I'm sick and tired of this country electing complete fucking idiots, and I'm willing to put my actions behind my words to facilitate a change.  I've been trying to back up my lofty ideas and such with more action these days.  This explains how I've gotten more involved in the animal rescuing, and how I've gotten more involved in the departmental stuff.  I can talk about how the world could be better until I'm blue in the face.  I'm nothing but an asshole until I work to make that change come true.

I only hope it works, and only time will tell.  Remember, if you're in Ohio, to go vote on March 4.