Umm... Okay, it's been a week again. Sorry. Time has been short this week, it seems, with some extra meetings at work, a stepped-up workout schedule, and various obligations here and there. I'm barely keeping up with the other journals I read, much less my own. But, I have a couple of minutes to spare, so I'll update.

I got my copy of The Age of Reason yesterday! It's utterly beautiful, and so of course I went around and showed it off to everyone I could think of. Then I went home and made up some flyers for it that I intend to post at the gym and at work so that people can rush right out and buy a copy. ;-) Then this afternoon, since the weather has started to be Nice again and it wasn't blazingly hot, I sat outside in the shade in a lounge chair, with my dog at my feet and the book in my hand and I read all the stories written by people I know. Seriously cool to share a TOC with these people.

The arrival of the book salvaged what was otherwise a somewhat bummer of a day. Late last week I'd made arrangements to go on a ride-along with a Gulfport PD K9 cop. He'd made the offer a while back, and so we set up a time and date and I gave him all my Pertinent Information so that the proper paperwork could be done. So I drove to Gulfport last night, got to the station and told them who I was, why I was there, and who I was waiting for. And waited. About 20 minutes later an officer made some phone calls, and then had to come out and tell me that I wouldn't be able to do the ride-along with a K9 unit since I didn't have my commission yet. So, I drove back to Slidell, seriously disappointed. Oh well. Hopefully, one of these days the Sheriff's dept. will finally hold the Reserve Academy, and I'll get to ride as much as my little heart desires.

Things are going well on the workout-front. I'm used to the diet now, and while I really haven't lost more than a pound or two, I can tell that I've really lost some fat. The measuring tape agrees with me, which is nice. I'm pushing a lot of weight around in the gym, and have decided that I just don't care if I look like a lesbian or not. I like being really strong, and I love being able to do the same weight as some of the guys. Weight-lifting is a very self-competitive thing. Every time you reach a goal, there's another to be had right behind it. Earlier this year my goal was to bench 95 pounds--that's the Olympic bar with the quarter(25lb) plates on either side. Now my goal is to bench 135--that's the bar plus the Big Plates (45lbs). (When I say "bench" I mean that I want to be able to press that weight for at least four reps.) So now I'm doing 95 easily, and can do 4-6 reps (with a spotter) of 105, and 4-ish slightly assisted reps of 115. My time limit is to get to 135 by the end of the year; at this rate I think I'll manage that.

I'm also biking to the gym a whole lot more, which is a good thing since it's been Too Damn Hot to run for the past month and a half. Biking is a lot more bearable in the heat, since as long as you're moving there's wind in your face. However, the last couple of days have definitely shown signs that the heat might be starting to diminish, so I'll probably try and get back into the running routine sometime in the next couple of weeks.

And finally, since I've been so lousy about keeping up with the journal, I'll go ahead and do Tamela's questionaire thingummy. (I don't think it's gay, though it does border on the slightly dorky, but since it's Tamela, it's cool.)

Here goes:

NAME: Stacie Diana Rowland

SEX: F

HOME: Slidell, LA (I was born here!)

HEIGHT: 5'6"

EYES: grey

HAIR COLOR: Well, my natural color is rat's-ass-brown, streaked with much grey, but I've been a redhead for about 12 years now.

FAVORITE TV SHOW: Discovery Channel's "The New Detectives: Case Studies in Forensic Science"

WHAT"S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? A t-rex dinosaur trampling through prehistoric jungle.

FAVORITE BOARD GAME: Scrabble or Monopoly

FAVORITE MAGAZINE: Discovery

FAVORITE SMELL: Fresh-brewed coffee

WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD: Finding out that someone doesn't like you, for no reason you can fathom.

BIGGEST FEAR: Not being able to look back on my life with pride.

BEST FEELING IN THE WORLD: Being appreciated.

FAVORITE THINGS TO DO ON THE WEEKEND: Well, I don't have a normal weekend, but on my days off I like to catch up on sleep and spend time with my dog.

FAVORITE SOUNDTRACK: The Ally McBeal soundtrack, and blame Tamela, but the Mortal Kombat sountrack too.

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE IN THE MORNING?: Well, it's usually evening when I wake up, but the first thing is that I need to let the dog out to go pee.

DO YOU GET MOTION SICKNESS: As if!

ROLLER COASTERS--DEADLY OR EXCITING?: Love 'em!!

PEN OR PENCIL: Totally depends. If I'm doing Writing, or jotting down notes, it has to be pen. If I'm doing rating cards at work, it has to be pencil.

HOW MANY RINGS BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE PHONE: Enough for me to know it's ringing.

FUTURE SON'S NAME: Ain't gonna happen.

FUTURE DAUGHTER'S NAME: Ditto.

FAVORITE FOODS: Bagels with lox and cream cheese and capers, M&Ms, watermelon. (Not all at the same time.)

DO YOU GET ALONG WITH YOUR PARENTS?: Totally

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN CONVITED OF A CRIME: Nope, and have had enough background checks in the past year to prove it. ;-)

CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA: Generally will tend toward chocolate, but I do very much like vanilla too.

FAVORITE ICE CREAM: German chocolate cake ice cream, or just plain old french vanilla.

CROUTONS OR BACON BITS: Croutons

DO YOU LIKE TO DRIVE: It has its moments, but I really dislike long roadtrips now.

THUNDERSTORMS--COOL OR SCARY: Cool until the power goes out, then Damned Annoying, especially if I'm trying to get ready for work.

WHAT KIND OF CAR WAS YOUR FIRST CAR: Ford Maverick, with a "three on the tree" stick shift.

IF YOU COULD MEET ONE PERSON, DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD IT BE? Heh... can it be someone I'd like to do great violence to?

FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK: Well, I don't drink much, especially lately since alcohol tends to trigger flare-ups of my Rosacea, but I used to be totally cheapo and drink a glass of good old Manischewitz wine in the evenings. If I'm out at a bar/restaurant/party, then it's either a Malibu rum with pineapple juice, or a glass of wine.

WHAT IS YOUR ZODIAC SIGN: Libra

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE POET/AUTHOR: Poet is T.S. Eliot. Author is Madeline L'Engle.

DO YOU EAT THE STEMS OF BROCCOLI: Not unless I have to.

IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB YOU WANTED, WHAT WOULD IT BE: SWAT Team member.

IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR YOU WANTED, WHAT WOULD IT BE: Red it is, and red it shall stay (with perhaps slight variations in shade) as long as I can pay my colorist.

IF YOU COULD HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT AND WHERE WOULD IT BE: In the small of my back, something Celtic/tribal/brambly-looking.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN LOVE: Oh yeah.

WHAT IS ON THE WALLS IN YOUR ROOM: Sheetrock.

IS THE GLASS HALF-EMPTY OR HALF-FULL: It has water in it.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SNAPPLE: Can't really say it's my favorite, since it's merely the only one I like, but Pink Lemonade.

FAVORITE MOVIES: I see so few movies anymore, but Aliens, yeah, Princess Bride, A Fish Called Wanda, Zulu, Fried Green Tomatoes, Heavy Metal, Pulp Fiction, and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

ARE YOU A RIGHTY, LEFTY, OR AMBIDEXTROUS: Fairly definitively right-handed.

DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE RIGHT KEYS: Hardly.

IF YOU COULD BE ONE GARDENING TOOL, WHAT WOULD IT BE: I want to be the big-ass lawn tractor that mows, mulches, trims and bags all in one swipe. The one with the drink holder.

WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED: A ziploc bag full of dimes, a ziploc bag full of nickels, a storage container full of sweaters, a Glock 9mm pistol, and lots of dog hair.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER: This is a dorky question, but I'll say 20.

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM CAR: A Hummer.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH: I can tolerate watching diving or gymnastics, or maybe something really esoteric like the Extreme Games, but most sports bore me to tears.

SAY ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON THAT SENT THIS TO YOU: Hard to keep it to one thing, since I got to know Tamela pretty darn well during Clarion, but I will say that as well as being drop-dead gorgeous, she also has a gift of language in her writing that stuns me every time I read any of her work.

THE PERSON YOU SENT THIS TO, WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND: Didn't send it to anyone. Hey, I'm really behind on email, okay?