Hello? Are there any aminals in here?

Well, I'm not entirely sure why I titled my post after a line from Lilo and Stitch -- perhaps I felt so inclined to because I watched the movie less than a week ago, loopy on Vicodin and Benadryl, on the denouement of one of my Shingles nerve pain attacks -- but I did, so just accept the quoted title.

More likely than not, we can assume that my quoted question (In case you don't know the movie or can't recall the scene, the quotation is Lilo's, when she goes into the humane society looking to adopt a dog; however, they're all hiding on the ceiling -- you have to love the lack of gravity and logic in Disney cartoon movies -- because they're afraid of the freak blue creature that we come to love as Stitch) is an out-reach to anyone who usually reads my blog since, let's face it, I've been totally MIA (Not to be confused with MIA) for the entirety of the new year and I'm sure you've all been terribly worried about me (Or at least my imaginative thoughts assume you've been).

Rest easy; I've been doing well. The Shingles (If that's not the name of a solid, one-hit-wonder emo band, I don't know what is)pain is nearly gone, thank goodness. Although I had a major pain attack on Tuesday morning while at Pottery Barn (Yes, there's nothing less humiliating than crying...no, bawling...in complete agony in front of all of your coworkers and being so writhed in pain that you can't even undress yourself to put on comfortable pajamas), I've been able to manage the pain, through a combination of vicodin, tyenol, ibuprofen and a decent amount of sleep, and begin to join the ranks of everyday society, yet again.

In fact, I was even able to actually, finally start my new job full time on Thursday. The job -- I'm a receptionist at a small naturopathic and acupuncture clinic in Southwest Portland -- is wonderful. It's relaxing, sitting on a comfortable office chair, greeting patients while zenning out (yes, I added a gerund to zen; what now?) to the hums of the noise maker and soft music. After a half day of organizing stock rooms and unwrapping pre-wrapped gifts at Pottery Barn, it's nice to just chill (especially while getting paid for it). While I've only completed two 10 hour days (Many, many more to follow), I think that I'm going to be able to handle it just fine. Of course, last night I was so exhausted that I spent the night watching Friends while my friends whipped themselves into a baking frenzy, producing lemon bars (complete with a pinch of orange zest) and chocolate chip cookies, so we'll see how long it takes for my energy levels to plateau.

Just as long as I don't come down with the damn Shingles again, I think I'll be able to manage anything that's tossed my way.

Man, I hope I didn't just jinx myself.

Anyway...thanks for bearing with the "I'm Back" update. Expect more blogs to come more frequently.