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On how my tempestuous nature got me through the clouds

Friday was clearly, as I've addressed, a dark day for me. But by late Friday evening, after an evening out on the quad at Hubby's school enjoying Rudy's BBQ at a Welcome Back faculty dinner, things began to lighten and brighten a bit.

Thank goodness for this, for with the lightness and brightness came the ability to breathe deeply once more and move forward.

By Saturday morning, my energy had risen, and I'd decided the only course of action was action itself. Which I followed, and which resulted in a long, hard run with lots of hill work. In the heat.

After lunch and a long shower, I opted to head out to take care of a few errands, to cross some things off my list, and then to return home to nap and nest. I felt the cumulative emotional fatigue coupling with the post-run exhaustion, and knew my nap would be lovely. In a cool house, with the kitty curled up next to me.

If I'd stuck to my grass roots plan, the day would have been perfect, really, but I veered and decided on my way home to enjoy a pedicure. To give myself a gift of pretty toes, the accompanying foot and calf massage, and just pamper myself a little bit.

The wait was long. I was not the only person with a pressing need for a pedi, it turned out. But I didn't mind. I was mellow, and the lovely front desk attendant brought me a chilled bottle of water, which I sipped and enjoyed immensely during my wait.

But then things got a little odd. There was a bit of a language issue between the woman working on my toes and me, and she seemed harried and mostly impatient with the likes of me. It wasn't personal, I get that, but it felt that way to me. Even when I'd agreed to an upgraded pedicure that now included a leg exfoliation and mask, and which I'd had before but couldn't remember if I'd liked it that much. Turns out I could have skipped that, but no biggie.

The part that bugged was when the lady asked me what color I'd like, and I requested a French, which is my preference for pedis. She looked at my toes (remember, they're square and have smallish toenails, which actually plays in here), and scolded me for trimming my nails earlier in the week. 'You don't want to cut your nails if you want a French. It looks bad,' she said. So basically by grooming in that way I'd already set myself up for failure? I explained that I'm a runner, and that I keep my toes well groomed for practical as well as aesthetic reasons.

She didn't really care about that.

And so the pedi from Purgatory continued...

She did her thing, taming cuticles and removing any and all extra rough skin. She did well at that. But once she started the French part of the pedi I could tell even with positive feedback on my part, 'Please make that white line really thin..I like it really thin...', things were going to be dicey.

And they were.

In the end? I technically had a pedi. But I ended up with a French that made me look like I had clown toes. Not a good look with my feet, right? Seriously.

I paid, I left, and I decided I would probably have to either figure out how to do my own French style pedicures or give up on the whole idea for awhile.

Saturday night was uneventful, we watched Greenburg, a complete waste of time in my opinion, by the same guy who did The Squid and the Whale. He employed the same shock devices he'd used in that movie, the kind where you're suddenly faced with a terribly uncomfortable scene that's somehow supposed to enlighten you, but really doesn't because it's just harsh and feels abrasive to the senses. And the end doesn't really provide concrete resolution, it just makes you go 'Huh?' and not in the 'Oh, that's deep and I truly appreciate being taken to this place' huh? More an, 'Oh, the movie's over and I'm just kinda hanging here....'

It was still a lovely evening, and Sunday was also good. With another run, some nesting, and my removing, probably with a little more force than necessary, my ugly clown toe French pedicure by the unhappy nail lady. With the removal of said clownish French treatment, I felt much better, swiped a coat of clear polish on my toesies and went on my way.

And I finished the True Blood disks that I had. Cannot wait for the next ones to show up! So many surprises, so much fun stuff being revealed now. Thanks JL...this is just the ticket for the Mama on the mend!

There are moments when having emotions all over the map can work to your benefit. If this post doesn't demonstrate that, I don't know what will.

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