I assure you, this is not the case. I would never encourage such a thing, but if you felt a very strong need to make a donation to someone who has become a part of your daily routine over all these years (since 1998!), I would not object.

Why make this announcement tonight? I have to sign my purchase & sale agreement on the house, and with that, I have to hand over a check for almost my entire life savings as a down payment. It's a lot of money.

You needed something to waste your hard-earned cash on, didn't you?

No? Cheap ingrates.

Last night, I brought home the dictaphone so I could transcribe a conference call that I thought I'd transcribed about a month ago. I forgot about it entirely until I opened my gym bag this morning and saw the machine sitting on top of my gym shorts.

Since it's a running day, I decided I'd do the transcription before work and run during my lunch break. I finished the job with plenty of time to spare (it was the single least interesting discussion I've ever transcribed), and got to work early.

Around 1pm, I went downstairs to the company gym to run, but all three treadmills were taken. Even though it was a nice day outside, I decided to stay indoors and used the elliptical machine for a cardio workout. I always feel like I'm cheating when I do something other than running, but I did work up a good sweat.

While I was walking back to the locker room, one of the consultants asked me if I was participating in the Biggest Loser" competition that started this past month in the office. I told him I already lost all the weight I wanted to.

"That's too bad," she said, "Though you are really skinny."

When I got home from work, Stephanie was using Mom's computer. I made some dinner for myself while she finished up the paper she was working on. On the way out, she said, "You should eat something, Uncle Pat! You look like Uncle Sean during his college years!"

I suppose I should take it as a compliment, but damn, it's disheartening to think that all my weight-loss efforts have resulted in me being thought of as too skinny.

It does give me a licence to have a brownie every now and then, though.

If you'd rather send brownies for the cause, I'll see if I can set up a donation button for that.

I go to see my PCP tomorrow about this cold that still hasn't gone away. The humidifier is doing a great job at keeping me less stuffed up overnight, but I still have to blow my nose every other second, and I've had a blocked-up ear (that rings!) for well over a week now.

I had an idea in my head that somehow I was overtraining, and my body was telling me to take a break. However, last week I didn't train much at all, and I ate like a pig (I gained 4 pounds, all you "too skinny" shouters!), and the cold is still there.

He mentioned it might be allergies, since it wasn't anything in my chest or anything that showed up in my bloodwork. I may get a prescription for Flonase (or something like it) tomorrow. Either that, or he'll tell me I'm perfectly healthy and I'll just have to deal with a constantly running nose.

Jan mentioned that I didn't sound any better today after the weekly department meeting. I think she worries, which would be a great state of affairs if I had any inclination to call in sick on a regular basis. As it stands, I have more than enough work to keep me occupied, and I really like coming into the office every day. Maybe I really am sick...I never thought I'd say that.

Speaking of health issues, Rob just got smacked down with a diagnosis that is going to require a lot of money going towards medical expenses. So if you are feeling generous, I guess you could send a few bucks his way, since health is so much more important than me getting wicked cool furniture for my new living room.

Really. I don't mind.

Send Diet Code Red Mountain Dew instead.