More photos from zoo night, just because.

Messaged my psychiatrist through the patient portal this (Sunday) morning to get my Zoloft refilled. Assumed he’d get to it on Monday, but messaged this morning so I wouldn’t forget. I got a text from the pharmacy an hour later saying my prescription was ready. Seriously struck gold with him.

Zoo night! A small sampling of the many photos taken:

Today’s #ootd comes with good health news. Last year, pre-zepbound, I was pre-diabetic and dangerously close to an A1C range indicative of full-blown type 2 diabetes. Got updated bloodwork on Tuesday; I don’t have diabetes, and I’m no longer pre-diabetic. Thank you #zepbound! GLP-1s work.

Combining a before and after picture with today’s #ootd. Shirt from Chico’s, shorts from Old Navy, shoes from Stitch Fix (MIA), bracelet from WHBM. 70 lbs down. #zepbound

Office selfie on my break. I’m ridiculously tired today for some reason. I wish the manager office was big enough for a couch.

Student loan payments for my PhD program have started recently, and what a shock to the system; I haven’t had to watch my expenses this closely in a long time. But, nobody could have told me to borrow less; I simply wouldn’t have listened.

Happy #LetterboxdFriday. My movie viewing has been slow this year, but I managed to fit more viewing time in this week—and it turned out to be a phenomenal week of cinema. Upon further reflection, I’d probably give Is God Is 4.5 stars and Obsession 4 stars. #Lastfourwatched

Due to crappy physical inventory scores this year, my store gets to enjoy an impromptu asset protection visit from my District Manager tomorrow. Happily accepting supplications if you’re the praying type 🤣. It’s relatively common to be placed on an AP program, but the first visit is the worst.

Just saw The Devil Wears Prada for the first time. Loved it. Super excited to hit the theaters soon and see the second one.

In some but not all areas of my life I demonstrate great persistence. My insistence that I will some day make wide leg jeans work for me is one of those areas. Ehhh, getting there. I don’t love it, but it could be worse. (Jeans are Torrid, shirt is WHBM). My second #ootd.

This is my “I haven’t done laundry in a month and these might be my last clean, matching pieces of clothing” #ootd.

Part of my current to-read list, a mixture of my own purchases and gifts.

My ardent desire to write about films—and especially films whose worldviews promote discussion and have strong social implications—is returning. I don’t like the word “political” to describe cinema because I think people use it to cheapen the profound viewpoints and insights of contemporary film.

I tend to take long showers because I think a lot in the shower, but that tendency was amplified today as I reflected on the film “Is God Is,” which I saw last night. There’s so much to say about that film. It was challenging and brilliant. I already have a blog post percolating. #movies

Seeing Is God Is in an otherwise empty theater on a rainy Tuesday night. I’m really intrigued by this one. #Nowwatching

For the first time since Christmas, I wrote a blog post: A Substantial Transmutation: The Substance, Body Horror, and Female Identity justdreadfull.wordpress.com/2026/05/19/a...

Dinner is served.

I’ve always bought books far faster than I can read them, but I do believe I’ve gone overboard lately. My dad, always a reader, started buying books & reading more obsessively in his 40s. I’m like him in many ways. This must be one. Today’s purchases from my fave local bookstore.

Same thing happened to me yesterday but glazed.

Got a notification from a medieval copyright lawyer

Yesterday’s super casual, super comfy #ootd.

Me at my highest weight ever (during the pandemic in 2020, but I got almost as heavy last May) vs me after a year on #zepbound. 70 lb difference.

I left my store alone at 12:30 am on Tuesday night because I was pulling together a floorset. There are 2 locks on our front middle gate. I forgot to lock the 2nd lock and my ASM reported me to asset protection without telling me when she noticed. We are very different people.

Haven’t taken my vraylar in 2-3 days and the emotions running through me are intense, varied, and sometimes vaguely contradictory. The medication works wonders for schizoaffective disorder; most days, schizoaffective disorder impacts my life far less than my ocd or adhd. But it does numb a bit.

RFK jr won’t get my Zoloft unless he pries it out of my cold, dead hands. Or my Wellbutrin, or my vraylar. It takes a potent combination of anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, and stimulants to make me a fully functional adult. RFK jr might understand this if he were a fully functional adult.

Kevin Gonzales’s story is heartbreaking more than heartwarming. A dying 18-year-old recorded a goodbye message to his parents in case he never saw them again. The uncertainty, the loneliness, the fear…I can’t fathom it. Trump and ICE are the worst, but US views on immigration have always sucked.

These side by sides always fascinate me. Obesity is a chronic disease. Medication helps. For me, the decision is really that simple. #zepbound

Reading my first Brene Brown book and she’s talking about embracing paradox. I’m starting to see the relevance of her observations in various aspects of my thinking. Perspective is a funny thing. Strong Ground is a great read so far, and it references myriad other intriguing books. #amreading

Ufff. I never thought I was one to struggle with the realities of aging—but I am. I look back at old pictures and have trouble accepting that no matter how much weight I lose, I’m older now. My teeth aren’t great. I have wrinkles. I’ll never look the way I did at 28. I need to accept this.

It’s amazing we can see some of the most troubling parts of ourselves at strange, unexpected moments (such as, say, 12:34 on a sleepless Monday night). I call God my Higher Power because I don’t ascribe to a particular religion. Tonight my higher power showed me where I still need to grow.

An old photo of myself I still love…or three photos…pulled right out of my Facebook archive: 2010 with other teacher friends at a bar, 2013 with my sister at my cousin’s wedding, 2014 in my then-best friend’s apartment, a year before she passed away unexpectedly.

One of my sister’s goats just delivered her first of two babies! This guy is Han Solo and he’s the cutest thing I have ever seen. Lookit those ears!

Reflecting on how awesome my mom is. We only had a brief exchange this Mother’s Day (we’ll talk later in the week), but I always feel like she’s my biggest cheerleader.

This is all very true. My time these days is fairly evenly divided between reading, going to work, and doing Sudoku puzzles, and I’m content—even joyful—most of the time. At some point in my sobriety, everything just started to seem really fun, even ordinary things. It’s a delicious feeling.

The April chicken was just added to the wall and hath been named Patricia. Photo forthcoming. Unsurprisingly, she’s a stunning specimen.

Life is so weird. I think for much of my earlier existence I had lofty aspirations to do grand things. I suspect this may be true of other millennials. Now I’m in debt from a doctorate I don’t need and I manage a bra store and I’m kinda like “this is cool; I’ll just vibe here.”

My sleep apnea diagnosis has drastically altered my relationship with sleep. There was a time when sleep felt luxurious and enjoyable. Now most nights I strap on my cpap mask and feel uncomfortable, and annoyed that we humans are advised to sleep a third of our lives away.

As the photo on the left indicates, I was still pretty confident when I weighed 245 lbs—or at least I thought I was. But I never imagined feeling this good on #zepbound. At 178, I’m still higher than my doctor (or I) want me to be, but I’m loving every minute of where I am.

Seeing “The Outsiders” with Sara!

On my way to work for a few hours before I drive to Cleveland to see “The Outsiders” on Cleveland Broadway with my cousin. Here’s my #OOTD.

I love Pressed, a locally owned bookstore in Erie, PA. The selections there seem so diverse and carefully curated. I went today and bought the two books on the right. I purchased the five books on the left a week ago. Not sure what I’ll read next, but excited to start!

Lately, every book I read is better than the one before. This one blew me away. I have to get up for work in 4 hours, but I couldn’t sleep before I finished it. #amreading

#Ootd. It’s not a very springy look & I haven’t been buying a lot of new clothes lately, but I’ll always be the most comfortable in black, anyway.

Tonight I saw the movie “Hokum” with my good friend @mycomicrelief.bsky.social and our hipper Gen Z accomplices, Ki and Bella. We all liked the film. I thought it was truly scary in the best of ways. #horror

My boss recently had a talk with me about working fewer hours and work-life balance. I’m salaried at 40 hours but usually work 50-57. I told him I’d work less, but instead I’m going in five hours early because I woke up early & have a lot on my work to-do list. Perhaps someday I’ll learn.

Today I get to meet with my District Manager and the other Store Managers in my district for the district talent meeting in Rochester, NY. I’ve set an ambitious goal for my store this year, and I’m pretty fired up.

Meet the office chickens—Henrietta, Claudette, and Ron—lovingly named by the other members of my store leadership team.

I have been known, as of late, to fall asleep on my sudoku book, pen in hand. While, yes, sharing this detail could make me come across as old and boring, I maintain there are worse fates in life.