The sniper hits closer to home. Killing a woman at the Home Depot at Seven Corners in Falls Church. I swear… Siobhan lives right there. I just want to rip that guy’s throat out.

Last weekend, my baby and I went to Dumbarton Oaks in Georgetown (the previous weekend, we visited Medowlark Park in Vienna). It’s a beautiful estate/park in the middle of a bustling city—one of her favorite places to go in the D.C. area. We thought—as we did of Melowlark—it would make a fabulous spot for a certain type of gathering. We ate lunch in an adjacent park and talked about the future.

This past week has been off and on. The weather got colder and wetter, which I normally don’t mind. But my body had something to say about it. I was floored on Tuesday with aching bones, extreme headaches and fatigue. I went home and immediately to bed. I missed my guitar class (which I think I just wanted a reason to miss anyway).

When I go to Guitar class, I feel like I’m back in school. I never have time to practice during the week (read: homework), and I come to class unprepared and end up B.S.ing my way through every time. I don’t like that feeling. So, I’m dropping out of the class. I have the book for the class, and all we do in class is go through the exercises. I can do that on my own. I’ve learned all the basics, terms and everything, so now it’s just a matter of printing out tab for some of my favorite songs and learning to play with the chords printed in the book. Easy enough. Now, my Tuesdays are free. (Cheap Tuesdays, anyone?)

Dance class was cancelled on Wednesday, so we went back to my baby’s and caught up on some Alias and CSI. I’m not liking some of my other shows as much as I thought I would this season, so I’ve dropped several of them from my schedule: Birds of Prey, Transformers, He-Man, CSI: Miami, Haunted, Angel. Now my TV schedule is simple: Alias, Buffy, 24, Enterprise, CSI. Simple enough and not too overwhelming. None of them overlap, so I can tape them all myself.

I got my HP Jornada 568 handheld Pocket PC this week. I think it’s much better (read: more ergonomic and convenient for my purposes, not more powerful) than my old Compaq iPaq. I don’t need wireless Internet access on it—I just need an organizer that will synch my data on my PC at home with my PC at work, and travel with me wherever I go. That’s all. I find I’m becoming overwhelmed with social obligations, trips, etc. and am all-too-often forgetting about upcoming events. I also bought Microsoft’s Streets & Trips, which allows me to download detailed, customized maps to my Jornada. So the next time my baby and I go on a day trip to wherever, we’ll have detailed, up-close road maps of the places we’re going. (Note: That includes Paris.) I love playing with this new software on my PC. Because it’s Microsoft, I was able to integrate my Outlook contact database into it, so it has markers for all of the people I know, showing exactly where they are on the map. I wish I could just print the whole Northern Virginia area and put it on my wall. It’s fascinating to see how close various friends live to one another. It gives you a real sense of geographical perspective.

Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you feel like a health nut. I went to GNC and bought some Fish Oil capsules, Ginseng and Gingko. Even with my member discount, it was trés expensive. Now, I’m taking five different pills in the morning (and some again in the evening): Allegra, Fish Oil, Ginseng, Gingko, Mega Men. I’m a pill-poppin’ fiend. I’ve been introduced to an amazing store—Fresh Fields. My baby shops there all the time, and I finally came along. I was excited to find an old childhood delight—meringues (in assorted flavors—vanilla, lemon, cappuccino, chocolate and triple chocolate). Personally, I like the triple chocolate and vanilla. My dad used to take us kids to a pastry shop in Cherrydale for vanilla meringues. They bring back old memories. I also stocked up on “healthier” oatmeal raisin cookies, dried mangos and dry-roasted sunflower seeds. Yum.

My cholesterol scare has caused me to rethink my diet and lifestyle. I’m not just living for myself now. There’s somebody else that will be effected by my well-being. That’s a comforting thought, but also a call to action. Before leaving work on Friday, I placed an order for another Orbitrek. I ran my last one into the ground at my old condo in South Riding. Now, I’m ready to get back onto a regular exercise schedule. I can’t wait to spend 30-45 minutes every evening on that thing. I’m on the bottom floor of my apartment building, so I don’t have to worry about making noise above someone in the wee hours of the evening. I can’t wait.

Friday was “date night” again. Last week, we went to Sterling to eat at a Vietnamese restaurant and watch “Sweet Home Alabama.” The food was great. The movie was forgettable. This week, we ate at the Olive Garden and relaxed at my apartment—rose petals, candles and all. Sometime in the next couple of weeks, we’re going to have “craft night” at her townhouse, where we’ll carve a couple of pumpkins and make our ghetto Halloween “costumes” (read: paper plates or bags with marker-drawn faces). I can’t wait to answer the door dressed in those things. We should hand out random things from the pantry, like canned food or something. That would be so boss. (Did I just say that?)

I’m through spending money. I’ve made all the major purchases I planned on making this year (bike, guitar, Orbitrek, varsity jacket, Jordana), so now it’s time to enjoy the things I have and start saving money. After all, I may have some pretty big expenses this coming May.

On Saturday, my baby and I went to a flower nursery, where we picked out four different kinds of pansies for her garden. We took them back to her townhouse, dug up her dead ones from last season and planted these new ones. It was a dirty task, but someone had to do it—namely her. I decided to put together the new electric lawn mower we bought at Sears. Can’t wait to test that thing out.

Today is Sunday—one of my personal days. I am going to watch the Redskins game, do some reading and relaxing, then go to church. To church? Yes, I’m going to church.

I went to the doctor’s office yesterday morning to see the results of my blood tests and to receive a physical. Good news on all counts (gotta love testing negative, baby). Except for my triglycerides (aka cholesterol). My level is 875, while a healthy count is 150. An inaccurate reading? A result of Atkins? A result of not being on Atkins for the past two months? A hereditary gift from my father? Nobody really knows right now. I’m going to take another blood test in 3 months and see if there’s a change. In the meantime, I’m going to go back on—what I like to call—a “Super Atkins” diet, which means I’ll not only cut out carbs, but I’ll go low fat, as well. I need to go to GNC and pick up some fish oil pills. They’re a natural way of lowering my triglyceride count. Twice a day, baby. Fishy goodness.

Today at work, my hands and bones feel very weak. It’s as if they need a good stretching, but when I try to bend and stretch them, they just crack and feel even worse.

Some people inherit their daddy’s eyes. I inherited my daddy’s high cholesterol and arthritis.

I saw the damnest thing this morning, as I left my apartment. Children going off to work with mommy and daddy. Oh, how nice, I thought. Either it was “Take Your Kid to Work Day,” or parents were keeping their kids out of school in fear of them getting shot by some stupid jackass stalking the D.C. area with a sniper rifle and a God complex.

It’s nice to see parents and kids bonding.

After a long slumber, I wipe the stardust from my eyes. My too-big heart has shrunk neatly into my chest. My poor back is sore from swooning. My fingertips are scratched from rose thorns. My throat is dry from poetry. My feet ache from dancing on air.