Owowowowow

I have been trying to get back into some semblance of decent physical shape after nearly a year of convalescence. Let's be clear here - I wasn't a prime physical specimen to begin with, so my expectations were, shall we say, modest and realistic.

Oh gods, I never knew it would hurt so much.

On the plus side, I was also curious to see if I felt any different now that I'm Cured from the Condition. Not surprisingly, I do - my sense of balance has returned to the level that I had when I was a child and can walk with confidence along a balance beam. Not half bad for someone my age. I also appear to have gained a significantly improved muscle sense - very handy in my Pilates classes when I need to target specific muscle groups.

I will confess that as great all of that is, I'm slightly disappointed I didn't gain superpowers like Flight or X-ray Vision or Invisibility. Oh well, I'm sure those will develop naturally someday, which reminds me, it's time for me to stand in front of the microwave again.

Art?

I've been doing some volunteer work as a guest teacher in the local schools for some time now and am having a blast with it. It's fun for the kids as I tend to include at least some form of cataclysmic "we're-all-going-to-die" element at the very start of the class to pique their interest, then quietly and systemically disprove it over the course of the hour.

Except for the Alien Invasion in 2012, of course. We've spent millennia planning for that and nothing you Earthlings can do will stop us. Bwahahahahahahahahahaha!

*ahem*

So, anyway, I've been keeping busy outside of work lately and am having fun with my suddenly expanding circle of friends and acquaintances with whom I share an interest, D&D being a prime example thereof. Don't worry, I'm still the plain and boring gal you know and love - this just means that I've found other plain and boring types to hang out with.

One thing that I've always wanted to do since I was a wee child was ballet. Lo and behold, there's a dance academy here in town offering classes for adults! So when enrolment opens later this month, I'm signing up! Reading between the lines, I think it's hilarious that the adult classes start at "Level 0". I've never known non-computer scientists to zero-index prior to this but reading between the lines suggested why they're doing so - there are adults who may not be able to dance at the requisite level for ballet. This...makes me nervous as I may fall into that category. Still, I'm going to give it a shot and see what happens. For those of you with overactive imaginations, no, they don't outfit us adults with tutus - just plain leotards, I'm afraid.

Which brought up an interesting remark lately: "Gee, I guess you're into performance art now, huh?"

You know, a few years ago, I would have reacted poorly to that comment. Me? A Handmaiden of Science involving myself in....Art? Goodness gracious, let me introduce you to my legal team who handles slander!

Trying ballet out doesn't constitute being interested in performance art. But combined with the sheer joy I feel when teaching kids, presenting and training at work along with other similar interests...maybe.

I guess in that respect I have definitely changed in that my self-confidence has increased significantly in the past couple of years or so (ignore the corresponding increase in neurotic behaviour, it isn't relevant here).

Wow. Me, into Art. Who would have thunk it?

Alignment Change

I have been officially informed that my alignment change from Lawful Neutral to Lawful Good is confirmed. You may recall that my descent to Goody-Two-Shoeness began over a year ago here.

This does not change the fact that I'm still Evil-Curious.

Great...now what am I supposed to do with all the souls I've collected?

[Disclaimer: Kate does not actually collect souls, or at least not that we know of. Alignment change endorsed by the Coalition to Make Kate Less Weird. Void where prohibited. No purchase necessary. Actual value 1/100 of 1 cent. Not valid in Quebec. Skill testing question must be answered correctly to claim soul.]