BAD: I didn�t sleep well last night, staying up well into the morning hours. I didn�t hear the alarm go off, unintentionally ignoring it for over 45 minutes of beeping.

GOOD: I was only five minutes late to the running seminar at the gym. On top of that, I got a look at the workouts, and I�m well beyond even the Advanced workout. I know I could say, �Oh, golly, gee. Looks like I won�t get any help here...� But whatever. I�m relishing in the fact that I�m beyond Advanced and letting it go at that. I know how to train myself just fine, and I�ll wear a sticker that says BEYOND ADVANCED when I run.

BAD: I watched someone at the gym struggle with deciding whether to do the 3-mile health walk or the 5-mile beginner�s run, hemming and hawing over whether or not she�ll be able to do it.

GOOD: I was able to give her some pointers after the running instructor left to go teach a boot camp class. After talking her through the programs and giving a non-professional opinion on what she could physically do, I told her about my experiences with running and how amazed I was at what I was able to do in such a short amount of time. (I couldn�t run 26 minutes without stopping last April, and I ran more than 26 miles by October!) When we wrapped things up (with her choosing a run/walk training program to work up to running the 5-mile race!!), she thanked me. It felt really good, and it makes me want to go back to check up on her progress each Monday morning at way-too-early an hour.

BAD: I�ve got that bum knee. You already know this.

GOOD: I did two easy miles outside today. For non-runners, running outside is a lot different than running on a treadmill. Having knee issues, do note that it�s more jarring. All is fine, and I look forward to adding a little here and there on the pavement to get myself back up to running outside regularly.

BAD: I made a physical therapy appointment for said knee, only to find that my we�ll-cover-you-if-you-get-hit-by-a-taxi-but-not-if-you-have-a-cold insurance company doesn�t cover any physical therapy.

GOOD: The peeps there felt sorry for me and gave me a �free consultation� where pin-pointed the problem and how to work from there. She poked my hip and said, �That�s your problem,� only to have me remember that I was in a car wreck back in 2001 where I hurt myself in that exact spot. As the song says, �Your hip bone is connected to your leg bone / Your leg bone�s connected to your knee bone,� and so forth. I hurt in the hip at one point, and now I compensate for it. So now it�s a matter of strengthening my hip muscles (not the bones, silly) to keep everything aligned.

BAD: Benito and I aren�t together. Blah blah blah.

GOOD: I don�t have to hear an �I told you so� from him about my hip/knee issue. (Yes, I�m stretching this as a good thing. Baby steps, people. Teeny, tiny, baby steps...)

BAD: In celebration of the not-a-knee prognosis, I got a bubble tea from the tea place by my work. It was really, really bad.

GOOD: It was $5, and I�d rather spend that on Jamba, sparkly earrings, or more lip gloss.

BAD: I have a lot of work to do. A lot.

GOOD: I�m making time and a half to do it while at home. Law and Order can wait if I�m making several Benjamins by simply editing documents from the comfort of my couch.

BAD: I also have a lot of house-related work to do tonight that won�t be much fun. I am spending the night hauling stuff into the basement storage, installing light bulbs in my track lighting, fixing the fire alarm that I busted the other night when it went off while I was cooking, painting a mirror for my bedroom, and some crazy it-feels-like-I-haven�t-been-home-for-more-than-45-minutes-at-a-time-since-Thanksgiving cleaning to do.

GOOD: TranceJen found Gold Digger on her download site and emailed it to me. I�ll be shaking my fine booty to some Kanye while ship-shaping up the house.

Get lipo with his money, and rock your badass selves.

It�s de-lurking week. Please sign the guestbook to let me know who�s out there. If you have nothing to say, tell me if I should keep my hair short or let it be long again. Go on. Be the boss of me.