~ ANNE! ~

I managed to scam ANOTHER free 5-day trial gym membership! This gym is very small and crappy (and also women-only), but free is free so I am pleased.

So I stopped at the grocery store today to get a snack for after the gym. I work such weird hours that I don't usually have lunch per se, but I eat probably the equivalent amount of food over the five hours of work. Anyway, I grabbed what I thought was a yogurt called "Mullerice", which is billed as "the refuelling snack", figuring, great, refuelling is exactly what I need. I thought it was "Muller-Ice", ie, cold yogurt. Turns out it's actually "Mulle- Rice", ie a weird mixture of cold rice and yogurty stuff. And I'm not kidding. Kind of gross, actually, but I ate it anyway (having bought it). If I'd read the small print, it does say right on the label "creamy dairy rice with apple pieces in syrup". Don't think I'll be buying that again. What a weird concept.

This reminds me of the first time I came across squash, when I was staying at a hostel in London. To me, squash has always been a vegetable (preferably butternut squash, which is yummy and orange). I'd never heard of a drink called squash, but I found a bottle of really cheap juice and brought it back to the hostel. It was DISGUSTING - super sweet and so strong it hurt your mouth. I poured it down the sink still not having read the label, and it wasn't until two months later that I learned you're supposed to dilute it. One part squash to three parts water. Oops.

I'm very bad at reading labels sometimes.

In awesome food-related news, though, Shannon and Jen are home and they've brought me Kraft Dinner! Yes, I realize Kraft Dinner is disgusting. I miss it anyway. It's perfect comfort food. Now I have four boxes - I will have to hoard them.

SO happy Jen and Shannon are back. We have big plans: Pia is dragging us to karaoke at the Walkabout tonight, we're going out to Dropkick Murphy's again on Saturday and we are going SpeedDating on Tuesday. This is the most ridiculous concept I have ever heard: you speak to each person for three minutes each, and you are GIVEN A SCORECARD to rate whether you ever want to see them again. The whole concept completely amuses me, and I'm sure it will be entertaining at the very least. If it turns out to be an evening of forced conversation with creepy men, it will at least make a good story to tell.

Sample tip from the SpeedDating website: Everyone has a market value, based on a combination of things like their looks, emotional literacy, income and sense of humour. You need to get really honest with yourself about your score out of 100. If you�re shooting for someone who�s more than 20 points out of your league you better upgrade yourself or prepare for misery.

So there you go: don't try to date out of your league, buster, or you're setting yourself up for heartbreak. Good lord. Because I go around appraising everyone's market value and then deciding if they're worthy of me (or I'm worthy of them). What happened to dating people just because you happen to like them?

Of course, I spend most of my time avoiding serious relationships, so perhaps that is why I find advice like "If you�re serious about finding your perfect partner then it has to become a mission. It�s important to get at least as serious as you would about looking for a great house to buy or a new career" pretty ridiculous. The assumption that you shop for a spouse just like you select a car bothers me a bit. I suppose it's a good thing I'm not spouse-shopping!