Back down 1½ pounds which usually happens after a couple of days of having just 1000 calories and burning 200 of them working out.

I sure have a lousy bone structure when it comes to the face. The area where the cheek and jaw meet is so wide that my face looks huge and round no matter what I weigh.

Jesse came down in his truck to get something from his shit pile. I wish all his 10,000 vehicles were that quiet. I never would’ve known he came down if Tom hadn’t seen him.

It’s strange having a husband who’s 150 pounds heavier than me. I hope he can find the willpower, for once and for all, to lose some weight for the sake of his health before it causes him any problems, even though I still think the connection between obesity and health problems is hyped up. Being underweight causes more problems. I know. I’ve been there.

Got a really nice letter from Rosa. I’m not only impressed with how much English she’s learned, but how well she spells and writes it. For some reason, most people’s English in the US is terrible. They can’t spell and their grammar sucks. But she does really well for someone whose native language isn’t English.

She said that’s neat that I’ve kept a journal for so long (I might send her excerpts from County) and that I can always go back and see what has changed. Well, like most people, I’m not the same person I was 10 years ago. My attitude, beliefs, tastes and goals have changed in many ways, and I’m sure they will be different from what they are today in another 10 years, but that’s not my main reason for keeping a journal. I find it a fun way to record the good times and a good way to vent the bad times, not that I can’t vent to Tom and my friends, but writing and talking are just different. I also find it handy to refer back to certain details I may’ve forgotten, like what town in Maine Camp Naomi was in.

Then again, there is another cool thing about journaling and that’s not only to laugh at the funny times but to be glad that the bad times are just a memory. Like the noise and lack of privacy we had at the duplex, being sandwiched in like we were there by the duplex to one side, and the nut attached to us on the other. Paula laughed, not that she didn’t also sympathize with me when I said that I wished I could open the bathroom window there to let the steam out since there was no fan to suck it out, but that they were always hanging out back there and I could practically pop the screen out and shake hands with them! Well, they ended up hearing from me in return when I finally decided to stop being considerate of those who weren’t considerate of us and started blasting my music. And running around and stomping and banging on moving day was loads of fun, too!

She said I can write her in Portuguese when I finish learning it. Well, I’m not finished yet, but I can throw in a few phrases in my next letter.

Rosa’s not with her husband anymore. He’s remarried with kids. I also misunderstood when she said she gets visits from her son and mom. She actually hasn’t seen her son in 7 years or her mom in 10, though she does call them in Mexico periodically. Her only visits are a couple from a church that sees her a few times a year. Yeah, the church can be as caring and compassionate as they are hateful and bigoted. I’m sorry I can’t visit her, though I’m also not at all sorry to be out of that damn state, even if I miss a few aspects of it.

She said she can’t believe I’m down to 122 pounds and I should probably stop right there or else I’ll blow away. laughs I don’t think she remembers how short I am. I’d actually look ok as low as 100 (Tom disagrees) but will settle for 115. So, 7 more pounds to go!

She also made me a card that she wrote in Spanish which is cool so I get to read at least some Spanish. Other than that, she says not much happens there. They’re just a bunch of women in orange doing time. Hey, orange sure beats those hideous black and white stripes at Estrella!

It was a good day for samples. Dove shampoo and conditioner, shampoo and conditioner from some other company, blueberry cornflakes cereal – can’t complain there! Probably won’t be back to the mail place till check day next Thursday.

Tom said he read this article listing the worst singers around. He was shocked to find that Madonna was one of the ones listed. We agree she’s not great, but she’s adequate enough. Then Miley shows up, and again, quite like myself, she’s not great, but she’s certainly good. Between a 7-8. The biggest shocker of all was Celine Dion. She may be a little bit ugly, at least in my opinion, but I would think most people would agree she’s a fantastic singer. Her accent just sounds goofy at times. Guess it’s just a matter of opinion, though I think Paris Hilton should definitely have made that list along with Kelly Osbourne. They’re almost as bad as I used to be!

He also read that while Spanish is easier than Italian, and French is the hardest romance language, which I already knew, German is said to be the easiest language to learn if your native language is English. I guess it has some similarities to English. Maybe someday I’ll check it out and find out if it’s true.