Introduction to new friends (and maybe to some older ones too)
I don't think I ever really wrote an introductory post, so here's some info about me :) I'll put it behind a cut because it will probably get a little long. Also I apologize if you commented on my post in the initial friending frenzy, but when I attempted to respond it wanted me to prove that I was human, but the captcha thing wouldn't come up. I don't know why.
General info about me
I'm 42, live in the suburbs of Chicago, and I generally love me and my life. I'm not perfect and neither is my life, and it took me a long time to get to this point, but I am happy and appreciative of where I am right this minute. I don't believe in the whole concept of "I'll be happy/things will be better when I...". I'm enjoying my life as much as I can *now*. I love myself regardless of my dress size or how much gray is in my hair. I love who I am even if people think I'm being silly or am not "acting my age". I love my life where it is right now. It doesn't mean it isn't going to change, it doesn't mean I'm not working on things to change it, it doesn't even mean that I don't *want* things to change - but overall, I love it and accept it as it is *right now*. I still get sad and frustrated and angry and all of that, but none of us know how long we'll have in life and I'd rather be living it and enjoying it instead of thinking about how I can be happy in 5 years when I do x or y. I should add I'm also not a fan of "live every day like it's your last" because let's be real - if it's your last day, you're not going to spend it going to work, putting away money for retirement, flossing, getting your car's oil changed, etc. All those things you need to do if it's *not* actually your last day.
I'm a nerdy gal, I used to play a lot of video games but haven't in quite some time (my most recent systems are a Wii and a PS2 if that tells you how long it's been) and over the years have enjoyed many tv shows (even though I went without cable for 14 years! I just got it again 2 years ago!). Current/ongoing shows that I watch are Doctor Who, Archer (I use Archer episodes as a reward after a particularly challenging day), Wayward Pines, Stranger Things, The Walking Dead (I run an interdepartmental Walking Dead group at work where we meet up and discuss what happened and what we're expecting to happen), the Leftovers, and the Returned (the US version). Others I have loved in the past (and will happily rewatch) are ST:TNG, Torchwood, Six Feet Under, Futurama, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica (the reboot), Dead Like Me, a whole collection of 80s cartoons, and a ton of others I'm probably forgetting. :) I go to DragonCon in Atlanta and have for the past several years (maybe 7?). My first time there, I was overwhelmed by the feeling "THESE ARE MY PEOPLE!" :) I developed an interest in math and science a few years ago and have started to get interested in programming too. I wish I'd been interested when I was in school the first time around because maybe I would have gotten a degree that would have been more useful than a B.A. in English (though I have a decent career now).
I work as a "project coordinator" for a smallish, medically-related non-profit. Being a smallish organization means wearing a lot of hats, which means I manage projects, collect requirements, do and manage user acceptance testing, work with vendors, coordinate training etc. I'm also a notary, manage a segment of our contracts, and even sometimes help out at the front desk. Long-term I would like to move to a role that is more business analyst or data analyst (which would mean I would have to leave the place I currently work). I am taking classes toward a Masters Certificate in Business Analytics (which I can apply toward a full Masters degree if I decide to).
I was raised Catholic and went to Catholic school for 12 years. From the time I was young, I felt like I had to "compartmentalize" - ok, this is the stuff I believe and this is the stuff I'm *supposed* to believe but don't. By the time I got to college, my "don't believe" pile was way bigger than my "believe" pile. I gave up Catholicism and kind of did my own thing for a while. Then I found my way into eclectic Paganism, and for a while that worked for me, but over time I became disillusioned. Then I had a close friend who was a Reiki Master and did lots of energy work, and his live-in girlfriend was also a healer and they moved in the circles with a lot of "medical intuitives" and healers. He died at 38 from a heart attack stemming from massive blockages in his arteries. At his memorial service, I heard his gf say to someone else "oh, I sense that you're having some issues with your kidneys." At that moment, whatever shreds of belief I still had were snuffed out. And to be honest, it was incredibly freeing. It was the lifting of a huge weight, and I'm much happier now, though of course there are times when it would be comforting to have a religious belief/practice. I'm a very live-and-let-live person when it comes to the beliefs of others, but I struggle with where to draw the line on when those beliefs lead to harming others in some way.
People in my life
I live relatively close to a large percentage of my family and friends. My folks are still married and live about 15 minutes from me. My dad has Lewy Body Disease, basically a combination of Parkinsons and Alzheimers. He is fully bed bound now. My mom is his primary caregiver but is (finally) planning on getting some help. I'm the oldest of 4 kids and we all live nearby, which is actually really nice. I have a 4 year old niece and 8 month old nephew, and though I definitely don't want kids of my own, I very much enjoy taking them places (especially my niece, who is wildly jealous of her little brother) and playing with them...and then giving them back at the end of the day :). My BFF (who I've been friends with since 3rd grade) and her wife live about half an hour from me and we get to see each other at least once a month, when we get together for board game night along with some other friends. I'm lucky enough to have a great group of long-time friends. I'm even still friends with my last 3 bosses and a number of my former coworkers.
I live with my sweetheart, who I call Zen because his first name is so uncommon that I was able to track him down by first name alone when we first started talking online (and because he follows a lot of the principles of Buddhism). We met on the dating website gk2gk. Zen is 45 and recently finished all his paperwork and testing and whatnot to be certified as a drug and alcohol abuse counselor. He's hoping to be officially working in the field before his next birthday (end of Nov). He has two adult children who live out of state. We've been together for about 3 years and living together for almost 2 years and are still very happy. I had a couple of boyfriends in college and then spent most of the next 20 years single until I met Zen. I had lived alone in my house for 14 years before he moved in, and I was really worried about him moving in. Fortunately (at least partially because we're both pretty easy-going people and are both introverts), it went incredibly smoothly. He enjoys doing a lot of the stuff I don't (like cooking, cleaning, yardwork, etc) and has done a ton of work on the house and yard, especially over the last year. Zen's dad passed away last week, more quickly than expected. He was Zen's hero, but he's holding up OK.
Things I do/things I post about
I don't have anything I consider really a hobby per se - I've loved to read since I was a small child and I think the library is the awesomest place ever. I briefly considered getting a degree in library science until I decided it was toooo much interaction with the public. I love playing board games/party games - even card games. I've always enjoyed puzzles. I am a very casual Ingress player. When it comes to LJ, I primarily post daily life stuff - silly stories, frustrations, thoughts about what to do about sticky situations, general updates. I want to do more photography, and fall is my favorite time of year (Halloween is hands down my favorite holiday). I absolutely love to learn. I am skeptical and prefer to see things from multiple sources and read some counterarguments when I can. One of the things I really enjoy about lj is reading about other people's lives.
General info about me
I'm 42, live in the suburbs of Chicago, and I generally love me and my life. I'm not perfect and neither is my life, and it took me a long time to get to this point, but I am happy and appreciative of where I am right this minute. I don't believe in the whole concept of "I'll be happy/things will be better when I...". I'm enjoying my life as much as I can *now*. I love myself regardless of my dress size or how much gray is in my hair. I love who I am even if people think I'm being silly or am not "acting my age". I love my life where it is right now. It doesn't mean it isn't going to change, it doesn't mean I'm not working on things to change it, it doesn't even mean that I don't *want* things to change - but overall, I love it and accept it as it is *right now*. I still get sad and frustrated and angry and all of that, but none of us know how long we'll have in life and I'd rather be living it and enjoying it instead of thinking about how I can be happy in 5 years when I do x or y. I should add I'm also not a fan of "live every day like it's your last" because let's be real - if it's your last day, you're not going to spend it going to work, putting away money for retirement, flossing, getting your car's oil changed, etc. All those things you need to do if it's *not* actually your last day.
I'm a nerdy gal, I used to play a lot of video games but haven't in quite some time (my most recent systems are a Wii and a PS2 if that tells you how long it's been) and over the years have enjoyed many tv shows (even though I went without cable for 14 years! I just got it again 2 years ago!). Current/ongoing shows that I watch are Doctor Who, Archer (I use Archer episodes as a reward after a particularly challenging day), Wayward Pines, Stranger Things, The Walking Dead (I run an interdepartmental Walking Dead group at work where we meet up and discuss what happened and what we're expecting to happen), the Leftovers, and the Returned (the US version). Others I have loved in the past (and will happily rewatch) are ST:TNG, Torchwood, Six Feet Under, Futurama, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica (the reboot), Dead Like Me, a whole collection of 80s cartoons, and a ton of others I'm probably forgetting. :) I go to DragonCon in Atlanta and have for the past several years (maybe 7?). My first time there, I was overwhelmed by the feeling "THESE ARE MY PEOPLE!" :) I developed an interest in math and science a few years ago and have started to get interested in programming too. I wish I'd been interested when I was in school the first time around because maybe I would have gotten a degree that would have been more useful than a B.A. in English (though I have a decent career now).
I work as a "project coordinator" for a smallish, medically-related non-profit. Being a smallish organization means wearing a lot of hats, which means I manage projects, collect requirements, do and manage user acceptance testing, work with vendors, coordinate training etc. I'm also a notary, manage a segment of our contracts, and even sometimes help out at the front desk. Long-term I would like to move to a role that is more business analyst or data analyst (which would mean I would have to leave the place I currently work). I am taking classes toward a Masters Certificate in Business Analytics (which I can apply toward a full Masters degree if I decide to).
I was raised Catholic and went to Catholic school for 12 years. From the time I was young, I felt like I had to "compartmentalize" - ok, this is the stuff I believe and this is the stuff I'm *supposed* to believe but don't. By the time I got to college, my "don't believe" pile was way bigger than my "believe" pile. I gave up Catholicism and kind of did my own thing for a while. Then I found my way into eclectic Paganism, and for a while that worked for me, but over time I became disillusioned. Then I had a close friend who was a Reiki Master and did lots of energy work, and his live-in girlfriend was also a healer and they moved in the circles with a lot of "medical intuitives" and healers. He died at 38 from a heart attack stemming from massive blockages in his arteries. At his memorial service, I heard his gf say to someone else "oh, I sense that you're having some issues with your kidneys." At that moment, whatever shreds of belief I still had were snuffed out. And to be honest, it was incredibly freeing. It was the lifting of a huge weight, and I'm much happier now, though of course there are times when it would be comforting to have a religious belief/practice. I'm a very live-and-let-live person when it comes to the beliefs of others, but I struggle with where to draw the line on when those beliefs lead to harming others in some way.
People in my life
I live relatively close to a large percentage of my family and friends. My folks are still married and live about 15 minutes from me. My dad has Lewy Body Disease, basically a combination of Parkinsons and Alzheimers. He is fully bed bound now. My mom is his primary caregiver but is (finally) planning on getting some help. I'm the oldest of 4 kids and we all live nearby, which is actually really nice. I have a 4 year old niece and 8 month old nephew, and though I definitely don't want kids of my own, I very much enjoy taking them places (especially my niece, who is wildly jealous of her little brother) and playing with them...and then giving them back at the end of the day :). My BFF (who I've been friends with since 3rd grade) and her wife live about half an hour from me and we get to see each other at least once a month, when we get together for board game night along with some other friends. I'm lucky enough to have a great group of long-time friends. I'm even still friends with my last 3 bosses and a number of my former coworkers.
I live with my sweetheart, who I call Zen because his first name is so uncommon that I was able to track him down by first name alone when we first started talking online (and because he follows a lot of the principles of Buddhism). We met on the dating website gk2gk. Zen is 45 and recently finished all his paperwork and testing and whatnot to be certified as a drug and alcohol abuse counselor. He's hoping to be officially working in the field before his next birthday (end of Nov). He has two adult children who live out of state. We've been together for about 3 years and living together for almost 2 years and are still very happy. I had a couple of boyfriends in college and then spent most of the next 20 years single until I met Zen. I had lived alone in my house for 14 years before he moved in, and I was really worried about him moving in. Fortunately (at least partially because we're both pretty easy-going people and are both introverts), it went incredibly smoothly. He enjoys doing a lot of the stuff I don't (like cooking, cleaning, yardwork, etc) and has done a ton of work on the house and yard, especially over the last year. Zen's dad passed away last week, more quickly than expected. He was Zen's hero, but he's holding up OK.
Things I do/things I post about
I don't have anything I consider really a hobby per se - I've loved to read since I was a small child and I think the library is the awesomest place ever. I briefly considered getting a degree in library science until I decided it was toooo much interaction with the public. I love playing board games/party games - even card games. I've always enjoyed puzzles. I am a very casual Ingress player. When it comes to LJ, I primarily post daily life stuff - silly stories, frustrations, thoughts about what to do about sticky situations, general updates. I want to do more photography, and fall is my favorite time of year (Halloween is hands down my favorite holiday). I absolutely love to learn. I am skeptical and prefer to see things from multiple sources and read some counterarguments when I can. One of the things I really enjoy about lj is reading about other people's lives.