Coworker #1: Talking with you is so enlightening, Rachel!
Me: HA! If we're talking about nerdy things, then possibly.
Coworker #2: You think you're a nerd?
Me: Wait, are you serious? My dad has done everything in his power to make me his little nerd child. In a lot of ways, he was rather successful.
Coworker #2: But you don't look like a nerd!
Me: . . . I'm wearing a BLOG-RELATED T-SHIRT.
Coworker #2: Yeah, that's kinda nerdy, I guess. But I didn't know it was a blogging thing until you told me. I just thought it was hilarious.
Me: Tomorrow, I'll wear my shirt that says, "I'm blogging this."
Coworker #2: Okay, that would be nerdier. Still, you don't look the part. You know what a nerd looks like.
Me: I'm friends with a guy who carries a towel in his pocket because of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Does that count? NO WAIT. I have a pirate/ninja launcher. IN MY PURSE.
Coworker #2: You win.

We spent the rest of the day launching wee little pirates and wee little ninjas at various unsuspecting coworkers, and it was one of my favorite memories of 2008 thus far.

Things That Made Me Almost Giddy Today:

• I am downloading The Phantom Tollbooth, a movie I watched once or twice in my childhood before my father suddenly condemned it as the work of Satan himself. Obviously, I have been dying to see it ever since. Thanks, internet, for helping me out there.
• My food intake thus far today has included bread, cheese, a granola bar, pizza, chocolate milk, and apple juice. When I go back to college, I can save money by stealing lunch from kindergarten students.
• I have discovered that I really don't feel guilty a lot anymore, and that has significantly decreased the amount of stress in my life. I eat a lot of chocolate, I don't really care about politics, and I sometimes don't want to talk to people. All of this is 100% A-OK in my book.
• Since forwarding my design site email address to a different Gmail account, I have gone from 600 spam emails a day to 60. HURRAY.
• I realized that, should I give up on my dream of owning a Nikon D80 for a while, I could actually solve all the rest of my problems in one fell swoop, simply by purchasing an automobile instead. (Honestly, without my own car, I would just be taking the same boring shots of myself at higher resolutions anyway. I don't get too many bursts of creativity sitting on my bum at home or at church.)
• The newsletter that I created from scratch over the past few weeks for el job-o at el church-o finally came to completion today, and it was so insanely beautiful that my boss couldn't stay mad at me about that other thing I didn't have time to do. I almost wept with joy when I printed the final copy.
• My office roomie had one of the counseling interns bring in drinks from Caribou Coffee today. I have never been so appreciative of a Turtle Mocha in my entire life. Perfect timing.
• The gel candle with all the candy canes in it has yet to explode. I heard somewhere that gel candles have a tendency to do that, so I'm always excited when they don't.

I'm not going to lie to you, internet. I haven't done a very good job on my "exercise daily" resolution. I'm still kicking butt at the "blog daily" part, but that's because you hold me accountable.

Therefore, I am making a promise to you that admittedly scares the living daylights out of me. I know you'll hold me to this.

I am going to exercise this pathetic excuse for a 22-year-old body so that I am fit to WEAR and ROCK a bikini. I have never even tried one on, making this a rather monumental moment in my life. I will even give you a picture of this, my lovelies, to reward you for being such great motivators. (Although, it could be more of a punishment for you if I don't keep up my end of the bargain. Unless you find flabby rolls attractive, in which case, call me.)

Oh right, the deadline. Pictures are coming by the time the next BlogHer Conference rolls around, which is in July 2008. In the off-chance that I'm wealthy enough to attend again this year, some of you will even get a first-hand glance at the results.

That said, let this be known as the year that I offer you make-out sessions and scantily clad pictures (of myself AND of my Sims 2 character). I don't ever want to hear that I don't love you.