She came across it earlier this week when she was doing a major cleaning overhaul. The whole thing is a little strange and shocking because I have no idea what this veil could look like. It�s The Mystery Veil.

In any event, since I haven�t received one single inquiry about the dress, there�s still time to add the veil to my description and sell the dress & veil together as a package deal.

The sad thing is I don�t think there�s a huge demand for pre-owned (even though unworn) wedding dresses. How long have I had that damn ad up? A week? I�m beginning to think I�ll be stuck with it forever unless I donate it to charity or something. But let�s get real; I want some of my money back! What a waste.

I�m going to Play It Again Sports tonight after work to pick up some new dumbbells. I started the new weight workout on Monday. I�ve worked out twice already (tonight I�ll go at it again) and am sooooo sore. I think I need to reduce my weights. I currently own 2, 5, and 10 lb. dumbbells, but think I also need to get 3 lb. and 8 lb. Good news: for the first time in several years, the abdominal workout I�m currently doing has caused sore abdominals! My upper abs hurt like something fierce. At least it�s a sign that I�m doing something right.

I looked at my "before" picture again last night. The sad and pathetic thing is that I had no idea I looked so bad. It makes me think my full-length bedroom mirror is warped. It must be a circus Fun House mirror.

My mid-section is much worse than I thought. Good thing my clothing hides it. The problem is the bathing suit issue. It�s rare that I wear a bathing suit and even rarer that I look at myself while wearing a bathing suit; I just put it on and go. But you know what? It�s a relief I took that picture because it�s proof I have a lot of work to do. There�s no way in hell I want this body forever captured on film while wearing a bathing suit on New Zealandian and Australian beaches. This is one reason why I�m taking extreme measures to knock the chunk off now.

On another topic, I had no idea that not everyone "sees" words when they�re conversing until I read an article not too long ago in Time magazine (or was it Newsweek?) about a woman with a minor case of Autism. She has excelled as a designer of cattle funneling devices (can�t remember the exact terminology) because she actually puts herself in the cow�s position. Are they afraid? Are they uncomfortable? She designs the equipment based upon what she imagines are their feelings. She also described in this article about how she could never write and how she did poorly in school. She couldn�t get the writing and critical thinking thing down because she saw words as ideas, colors, and shapes.

I don�t really know what this really means because I don�t know if all non-Autistic people�s minds work the way mine do. I actually see words scrolling in my head as someone talks and when I respond, it�s like I�m actually reading from a script in my head. Does everyone do this or am I a freak?

The mind is a funny thing. I once read a book when I was in high school about how we remember things. We create subconscious pictures in our heads to help us out. They cited the example of the monthly calendar. The author said what�s typical is to see the calendar as a circle or an egg shape and that you�re standing somewhere inside the circle or egg, looking around at all the months of the year.

It�s true, for me at least. I, for example, use the egg method. The winter months are at the narrow end of the egg and the summer months are at the wider end of the egg. Spring and fall months stretch along the sides. I "stand" somewhere near the narrow end of the egg and see the months three-dimensionally, like the egg is a room and I�m looking at the actual months (with squares depicting the dates like an average, run-of-the-mill wall calendar).

Does everyone do this? Please tell me.

Well, I think that�s all I have to chatter about today. Tune in next time for more crazy ramblings.