They're wafer thin!

I bought Girl Scout cookies from a coworker whose daughter is in the Scouts, and they arrived today. Three boxes of Samoas, one of Tagalongs - which went right into the freezer - and one of Thin Mints. I remember when Samoas were changed over to Caramel Delites and how disappointed I was - but oddly, both cookies actually still exist. I thought it was some sort of PC thing, but apparently it's just two different bakeries. Why they need two different ones, I'm not sure. Anyway, Samoas are the superior cookie. They're darker in color, so you get a bit of a richer flavor off the caramel, and also the supporting cookie is white rather than yellow and a bit hardier against the teeth. Yes, I just wrote about Girl Scout cookies like they were wine.

I'm going to try and eat them over as long a period as possible, because Girl Scout cookies are just hideously bad for you. I had a theory that they only sold them once a year because if they were available year-round, people would start thinking about just how ridiculously awful they were from a health standpoint. I mean, you get 15 Samoas per box - more than a quarter per cookie these days, not that it's not worth it - which is five per section inside the box. If you eat one section, that's your saturated fat for the day. You're done. I mean, that's coconut for you, but ye gods. Tagalongs aren't a whole lot better. Is it fair that things which taste so good should be so bad for you? I know that's how it usually works, but I say no.

One thing that I will definitely need to do if I'm going to eat a lot of cookies is get back to the gym. It's been a while (and I've been paying the fat tax in the meantime, figuring I would get back soon), mostly because I've had various acid reflux issues, a problem which I seem to recall noticing at the gym in the first place. I was hoping to see if I could get the problem fixed before I went back, but I just don't think I can hold out much longer; also, losing weight is supposed to help relieve heartburn by taking pressure off that whole area, so it could be a case of killing two birds with one stone if I can really get serious about it. Alma has switched onto a schedule for spring quarter where she really won't be down in Chicago at all during the week, so that may enable me to put Monday and Wednesday towards the gym, though of course that gives me no nights to relax during the week. But then, that's why there are weekends, right? Besides, I've spent most of the past eight years relaxing every night during the week, and look where it got me. (I should clarify the above - I'm not trying to imply that Alma was in any way a cause of me not going to the gym, merely that she was often down here on Monday nights and so I was seeing her on those nights rather than doing anything else, not that I would have preferred to do anything else.)

Anyway. I'm going in to bed "early" here, since I have my first exam tomorrow. It's a lot of stuff to remember, so wish me luck.

A decade under the influence (of pleats)

Sometime last week, around the same time as I was signing up for a gym membership in the hope of finally getting into shape, I realized that there were other things about my life that could use some alteration. In particular, I've been doing the whole t-shirt/khakis combination for about ten solid years now; I've always worn little more than t-shirts and my jeans period only lasted between the middle of seventh grade - when I finally gave up sweatpants after Melvin Baker threatened me with a pantsing - and the middle of ninth grade, after which point I was a khaki man. In other words, I hadn't put on a pair of jeans in ten years.

Until now. When I thought about upgrading my wardrobe (at least a little bit), I offered Alma the chance to help, partly because she's always held certain opinions about my clothing choices (#1: Pleats = evil) and partly because I have minimal fashion sense myself. We went to the Gap and she assisted in picking out the following:

1) A pair of jeans
2) A light sweater
3) A black hooded sweatshirt
4) A gray t-shirt

Yes, #4 is a t-shirt, but it's one more designed to be worn with other stuff; it's just a solid color, as opposed to most of mine which have graphics on them. Anyway, it was a start. Of course, these four items cost $150. If you're wondering why I didn't buy anything but t-shirts before now, it's because wearable sweaters cost fifty bucks.

At any rate, today I wore the sweater (over a black t-shirt I already had) and jeans to work. The outfit was kind of a hit. First of all, everyone who was told about me suddenly owning a pair of jeans went crazy; my dad called Alma his hero for getting me into a pair. My boss noted the jeans ("You don't wear jeans, do you?") and said that the outfit was a good look; I ran into Karen on the bus, who later commented favorably to Drew.

Of course, tomorrow it's back to t-shirts, more or less; I don't have a ton of new clothes yet, partially because it's expensive, and partially because I don't want to shell out when there's the chance that I could lose a significant amount of weight in the next six months or so. I may give the jeans a continued shot, though. I'm probably going to have to pair them with a belt - they're "loose relaxed fit" so they kind of hang off my butt a lot, which isn't that big a deal but can be a little annoying. Also, khakis have bigger pockets. But jeans would definitely be warmer in the winter (though of course that's conveniently ending). I'll give them a fair shot, anyway.

Also, can we get a few opinions in here on pleated pants? Alma and Karen swear they're the work of the devil; Drew and I don't get the big deal. My mom must not either since she bought them for me consistently; perhaps she can shed some light on the benefits of pleated pants. For the record, the jeans do seem to make me look slightly thinner in that area, but it's pretty marginal at the moment.