Massive update again
Oh boy. I've been gone from LJ for a while. Sorry I've been neglecting all my LJ acquaintances. Summary of my thoughts below.
1) Yes, I voted. *crosses fingers that no matter what happens, Ms. Palin never assumes the Presidency*
2) Travis' new album Ode to J. Smith arrived in the mail yesterday. It's different and invigorating to hear the band take a new direction. I'd love to see them play these songs live alongside their previous material. I also got another signed album cover since I ordered from Newbury Comics. Alas, no awesome doodles this time, just their signatures in gold (Neil, Dougie, Fran) and silver (Andy) Sharpie on the cover
3) The freelance proofreading has been taking up a significant chunk of my non-work time. All my clients are in various stages of dissertation. It's a small pool but I prefer it because there is no way I can take on more clients and not go crazy. I'm glad to get a bit of extra income. The cost of living here is lower than the national average and I have a lot to be thankful for, yet the situation with the economy and rising healthcare costs makes me worry that I won't have enough to retire comfortably on or to do the things I want to do while I'm young.
4) Lately I've been making more of an effort to socialize. There are some nice, fun people at the office and they've invited me out a few times. I'm aware that it's not possible to get along with everyone -- nevertheless I still fret when I think that someone doesn't like me or finds me annoying. I should let it go, or more importantly I should develop a social life beyond my coworkers. I wonder if it's a situation in which I'm coming on too strong for some people in my efforts at social exchanges. I can be intense at times when it comes to certain topics...and too honest about how I'm feeling...and maybe clingy when I'm around unfamiliar people...uh, I'll stop now.
5) I'm considering dance lessons even though I resisted so much all those years ago when my parents tried to make me do it just because some overachiever kids were doing it. :-P I could certainly use the exercise and improvement in coordination. I seem to have problems with accurately determining where my body is in relation to the environment...darned bruises up and down my knees and calves. Really though, it's one way of getting out and meeting people.
6) After the election, I'm cutting the lame limited basic cable. There's simply not much on TV I can feel TV-love for right now except for Pushing Daisies which I can view online and Cold Case. Heroes, CSI:NY, and Without a Trace have not been very must-see for the past year to be honest. Thank goodness for TV on DVD so I can catch up on those shows if I want to someday.
7) My dad bought me and my sisters a guitar for each of us a while back. Guilt! I should learn to play.
8) Will I ever get the house clean again? I'd like to invite people over someday. :-P
9) I've been thinking about entering the dating scene, but how can I call myself a complete, whole person when I don't even have any close friends? I could become one of those smothering, overbearing, clingy types of women. Bah, so what if I end up like the 40-year-old virgin? I don't know if I'm capable of trusting someone enough to allow myself to "fall in love."
10) Related to #9: Am I too shallow? Someone suggested I date a guy who works for my firm and listed all these great characteristics about him. He seems like a super guy I'd be friends with, but I sense zero chemistry. He's just a little too big for me to feel attracted to him. I like guys who are solid, and not in a rock-hard muscular way -- I call it chunky-cute. (I'm not blind though, I can appreciate a guy who looks like Gerard Butler.) It's OK in my book to have a bit of tummy and a few extra pounds. Anyhow, that conversation was so awkward because I didn't handle it very well. Plus it reminded me of a friend I had in high school who apparently had a massive unrequited crush on me...he even had a similar build to this guy. Unfortunately his crush made things so uncomfortable I just couldn't hang around him anymore even in college. That said, I still feel like an egomaniacal jerk for dismissing a potential date based on his looks. :-( I don't like it when it happens to me, yet here I am doing the same thing as the dogs who only want to go after hotties.