Wow I'm way too obsessed with my hair...but everyone needs a hobby right? Anyway, I gave myself a mini-haircut while I was procrastinating [physiology midterm--yikes!] yesterday because my stick straight hair doesn't look so good when it's long! I don't have enough volume as it is

But unfortunately this means I can no longer tie my hair into a nice, poofy messy bun like I used to Damn opportunity costs! But oh well because at least I can start wearing my hair down more often--although now I'm kinda itching to chop the rest of it off since I've already got the ball rolling! I tell you, I get scissors happy and once I start I can't stop! But I'll try because I don't want to look like an idiot

Basically I started out with something like this [images from roiworld]:

Imagine it a little longer and just a teensy bit layered

And ended up with something like this:

Imagine it with collarbone-length and much straighter

Once I cut the rest off, I hope to end up with something like this:

But with shorter, side-swept bangs and length of hair only a little above the shoulders

Speaking of what I want, I would totally love to have hair like this:

Yay!

Stick straight hair is no fun! I hate having to break out the curling iron every time I want exciting hair because it takes too damn long and I'm lazy And it's also not too great for my hair!

Well anyway it's been fun blogging about this but I'm out of things to say! Other than the fact that I can't wait for Monday to be over because that's when my grad school interview is happening ARGH!

Aaah I'm getting too attached to my long hair It's so much easier to style and takes much less maintenance because you can tie it up in a messy bun [which I can finally do without having to put in a million bobby pins!] or just wake up and go...but when I had short hair, it was like--cowlicks everywhere!

I don't know...maybe I'll just wait a little longer to chop my hair--I've never had long hair before--I usually chop it off again by the end of second semester. And since my hair's so straight it doesn't look so good if it's too long. -sigh- Decisions decisions!

Another reason I don't want to cut my hair yet is because my weight loss isn't going very smoothly Pulling all-nightersfor my thesis and seminar presentations and my lack of energy in general really takes a toll on my self-restraint

But um yeah as of this week I've stopped buying rice cakes and other "trigger foods". All I have in the house this week are vegetables, fruits, oatmeal, legumes, and whole wheat pastas & noodles. I'm hoping with this, even if I binge, it'll be on food that's full of fiber. Yar...I mean that's how I lost the weight in 2nd year so that should work for this year as well...and hopefully I'll just get back into the habit of eating healthily again 'cause I need to watch my health in order to get through this year! Aaagh.

Anyway, I'm planning to do some work later today...if I can find the will to do it

Went blood doning today--could have gone better, but next time I guess I'll have to drink even more H2O 'cause my blood was still too viscous--grrr!

I was also volunteering at the blood doning clinic on top of that and having to run back and forth between my lab [thank god the buildings are right across from each other!] and there again. But it's all good 'cause I need the exercise! I haven't gone to the gym in such a long time 'cause I'm so sleep deprived and unable to recover from my jet lag thanks to my lab!

Anyway, moving on to funner/shallower topics--what I wore today:



Yay! I love this banana republic polo--even though in hindsight I could have bought one at American Eagle or Gap for much cheaper--oh well! BR has better quality, right?

I also decided to tie my hair back because I hate how straight it looks. I thought about curling it but didn't want to bother plus I don't want to curl unless I have to. Well, I did end up curling some strands just to make the ponytail nicer, but I didn't curl the entire head--which would have taken too much time and I needed to go!

But yeah--I'm kinda tempted to trim my bangs again just so it won't fall in front of my eyes so much when I don't wear glasses...but I don't want to get to scissors-happy like every other time and end up regretting it--so I didn't! It's probably for the best Plus I might get tired of bangs again soon and don't want to have to wait forever for my hair to grow! Waiting for hair to grow is like watching water boil--except 1000x longer!

Speaking of hair cutting--I need one soon...even though I'm kinda partial to keeping my long hair a little more 'cause I like having the option of tying it back--whereas with short hair you can't do anything else with it. Plus I haven't lost enough weight [assuming I'm loosing about 1 pound per week] to notice a difference yet so I don't want to jump the gun or anything...

Anyway I'll worry about stuff like this later--gotta go work on my grad application some more until my next participant arrives at the lab! [Ugh it's 5: 16 p.m. and I'm still here... ]

I'm still trying to decide whether to go clubbing with my housemate and her friends this Saturday. Am hesitant because:

• Never met these people. I'm kinda hit or miss in group situations--it's all-or-none--I'm either too quiet or I carry on conversations effortlessly.
• It's going to be late--11: 00 p.m. or something til 1 a.m.?
• My experience with clubbing and dances have all been nothing but boring
• Costs $5

But I feel like I should go because:

• Meet new people!
• Excuse to dress up--something I do less than once a year
• Always fun to wander around with people at night

Yyyeah...still kinda on the fence. But just for fun I've thought about what I might want to wear that night [poupee snapshots!]:

OR

Hair:down and wavy--my look of choice, also 'cause tying it up is too risky--usually hit or miss, whereas down and wavy always looks good
Makeup: I don't wear makeup, but if I can find some I might slap on a bit of purple eyeshadow. Probably not lip gloss though--dries my lips too much. Chapstick for me!
Top: green jacket w/ some t-shirt or one of my black hoodies with green & white polo? The black hoodies are a bit more form-fitting and might look nicer. I have no party clothes here at all! I have some nice sweaters, but I need to loose a few pounds before I'm even going to go near them--something to aim for 'cause they look nice on me!
Bottom: jeans--too cold plus I don't have anything else
Shoes: my tan colored shoes--sounds gross but looks nice
Accessories: scarf! Either the gray one or the multicolored one that I'm still knitting [am half way done now--maybe I'll try and get it done for the weekend?]

Rawr. Maybe I'll just go. I mean, I'm so jet lag [hence why I'm still awake at 2: 13 a.m.] that I might end up actually being able to get through all 3 hours without feeling tired.

Speaking of tired, I'm starting to get sleepy, I wonder whether I should sleep or not, since I feel like if I don't go to sleep this would be a good opportunity to reset my body clock. But on the flip side, if I don't go to sleep I won't make it through my 11: 30 seminar, and plus I tend to eat a lot more than intended when I don't get enough sleep...

I guess I'll sleep for 3 hour ish, then I'll get up at around 5 a.m., hopefully, and get ready to go to the gym at 6 a.m.

Weight Loss

I stepped on the scale today and it seems that I may have lost 2lbs over the past 2 weeks --which is amazing considering I always overeat on vacation...but I've been learning to control my impulsive snacking by eating 3 square meals instead of grazing. I know people always say you should eat small meals throughout the day, but stopping myself once I've started is more difficult than the period which I resist the start of an eating episode--so this works for me! ...Although resisting is also difficult!--it yields more progress than when I had just depended on calorie counting though

My goals as listed on livestrong: [anyone want to be friends on there???]

Daily calorie intake: 1273 kcal
Weekly: loose 1.5 lbs per week
Pounds to loose: 10lbs, 15lbs if I want more of a buffer for the occasional indulgence

Unfortunately, I was blowing it the past 2 or 3 days due to emotional eating

Yoga & Exercise
I never really had a problem with not exercising [not counting the last 2-3 years of high school] because I'm an active person! I just need a little motivation to work harder and more often! I remember in second year I ran for 40 mins 3-4 times per week, went grocery shopping once per week [40 min walk total], and occasionally did some yoga and went on walks--and I a fair bit of weight, so I've been sticking to the 3-4 times-a-week schedule for 2 years now...but since I'm much more fit now, I need some variety and more intensity!

Unfortunately, I can no longer use the elliptical 'cause I don't even work up a sweat on those machines at the new gym!

Workout plans

Exercise: 5-6 days a week
Gym: 3-4 times a week: spin class [45 or 75 mins] or stairs [15-20 mins]+bike+elliptical or running [if weather permits!]
Grocery walking trips: 1-2 times a week
Yoga: 1-2 times a week, I guess power yoga can replace gym sessions on my busier weeks!

Speaking of yoga, I want to eventually be able to do this:

Bakasana!

I've been working on my arm strength, and I'm slowly showing progress! My biceps are starting to become more prominent, and I can bend my arms more in chaturanga now! But doesn't bakasana look so much fun?! I can't wait til I'm strong enough to do handstands too--I guess I really like being upside down

Now that I'm all pumped for yoga--I'm off to do some right now!