Hihi!
Yes, I know I need to stop falling off the face of the earth without so much as a warning, but i'm genetically vagrant (Bedouin roots, you know... camels, shifting sands and crap) and I took an impromptu backpacking trip to Shenandoah and I SAW BLACK BEARS!!!! A mom and two babies.
It was lots of fun, except I didn't get the true (wo)Man vs. Wild experience because they had posted warnings about eating the fish so I had to pack provisions which weighed me down and cut a couple miles off of my hike but it was fun despite the fact it rained every single day but one. Thank god DH traded cars with me when I left NC because I never would have gotten out of that treacherous mud with anything less than the jeep. Sheesh.
Brook -- You can do it!
TOM sucks, but staying active and not pigging out during that time makes you feel so much better. Once you get into the habit it's easier to keep up, and eating balanced/exercising during that time results in less icky symptoms like exhaustion, and cramps.
Tara -- Whoo! Good job on the exercise! Maybe we can balance each other out. My mom didn't cook with anything but trace amounts of sea salt or anchovy paste, and I do NOT like the way iodized salt tastes. Anything packaged is salty to me and can't bring myself to even taste it unless i'm on TOM and thus craving it.
Zeph -- Wow. You have got to figure out a way to separate your work from the rest of your life or you're going to give yourself ulcers. I don't advocate quitting in this economy, but maybe you should start searching for a job elsewhere? A paycheck, now matter what the amount, is not worth your health and sanity.
Taylor -- WAY TO GO ON THREE MONTHS!!!!!!!!! I'm not an active smoker, but on occassion at the end of a long night of drinking i'll take a drag on somebody elses and gag and sputter and wonder why I ever enjoyed smoking. Just the smell makes me queasy now. This shall be you too someday.
And with all the extra money you can do stuff you like!
Rosie -- Welcome to 3FC! You will quickly become addicted to this forum, lots of good information and a bunch of awesome people here.
Brie -- Don't make me use my drill sgt voice. Move it! I count calories too, but I tend to get overly obsessed with it and the number slowly decreases. My brain is still all jacked up from those many years of ballet and the oh-so-healthy body image they instill in girls. I'm still in the habit of making sure I end up in the negative, so i've had to ease up for my sanity and health. It's not even something I do consciously, and with all the time I have to exercise and nitpick what I eat... well.
Ashlan -- After running outdoors, you'll find running on the treadmill gets harder and harder... It's so tedious. And in this VA humidity and heat that's coming up, you can lose like two pounds running 3 miles. It's like a sauna. LoL.
sxulc -- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! My friend was allergic to all the deoderants they had available while we were overseas, so she just quit using it. The guys on our team used to get so mad at her because she would sit there with her arms above her head to let them 'air out' in the TV room so she could hog it and we could watch what we wanted.
Gym today. Be there. 
He annoys me so much with some of that crap. Like the episode where he's in the desert and decides to save himself 'about 12 hours or so' and climbs over a freakin' MOUNTAIN instead of finding a pass trail or going around. I was thinking to myself, "dude, who else but some special forces freak of nature is going to go through the arduous task of free-climbing a mountain to save half a day?" My fat arse certainly wouldn't have done it. As for bears, eh. They're little guys (for bears) and they won't bother you if you don't bother them or have cookies in your pack. It's the mountain lions that will cause you problems, but I never saw so much as a footprint from one of those.
