the dreams in which i'm dying are the best i've ever had

First and foremost, happy birthday to Uncle Mark! I suppose it's no longer his birthday in Iowa, but I still have an hour and a half to say it in California, and I'm considering that good.

As for the rest of the day, I have nothing to report. I'll still keep going with this drivel, but you've been warned. I woke up and dragged myself to the gym, where Alyssa laughed at my pain -- but she did switch my workouts so that I did more cardio and stretching today, saving squats and lunges for tomorrow. I'm still walking rather ridiculously, so I don't think tomorrow will go well, but at least I survived today's workout. After the workout, I showered, came home, ate a leisurely lunch, messed around the house, and then went back to the gym to get a massage (my life is so hard). The massage was great, but it barely scratched the surface of all the tension that built up over my three-week roadtrip, and I'm basically sore all over, which made productivity over the course of the rest of the day quite challenging.

But, I did make a valiant effort; after the massage, I came home, grabbed my notebook, and went to Cafe Borrone, where I wrote for a couple of hours while eating my favorite sandwich and enjoying the people-watching afforded by the ridiculous suburban parents who frequent the establishment. I think I'm getting closer to understanding Nick's character, which is what's currently blocking me, so hopefully I can start writing scenes this weekend.

I eventually threw in the towel and came home, sent an email to someone that involved a lot of looking up of facts and figures on some of the writers I follow on facebook and twitter, and decided to watch some television. I picked the season finale of "NCIS: Los Angeles", which I tivo'd earlier in the week and hadn't watched -- and omg, it was amazing. I'm definitely hooked on this show, and now I need to go back and watch all the episodes I've missed (basically, any episode not shown during my forays in Iowa and my parents' CBS-only household). It was a great break from my writing, although now my mind is spinning with the desire to write thrillers (which, sadly, I don't think my authorial voice is cut out for).

And now, even though it's only 10:30, I'm going to go to bed -- I may not fall asleep immediately, but my back is too sore to slouch on the couch any longer. Yes, poor me. Goodnight!