How Much?!

Went out to dinner last night with my sister and some of her friends. The total came to about $52 a person! I've got to get used to the expense of living in a big city. Now granted it wasn't some place you're going to go eat at everyday, but there was another restaurant in the same area that we ate at a few weeks ago, and the price was about the same.

Both restaurants had excellent food. And if my friends come to visit, I'd love to take them there, only I will really need a job before that. If Maura ever comes to visit, we are so going to this one place [it's name is pronounced you n me, but it's spelled differently, and I can't remember how to spell it.] It is just very interesting design wise. Well, the food and drinks are good as well. And it's in Georgetown which is just a cool area.

I'm Popular...Who Knew

So after my move I joined My Space. My cousins are on it, and I thought it would be a good way to stay in touch...and I wanted to see pics and read about my cuz's trip to Mississippi, and you have to be a member to see the site. I signed up and figured I'd end up with 2 "friends" (my cousins).

To date I have 6. Which still doesn't seem like much as my cousins both have over 100 "friends", but way more than I thought I'd have. Of course my oldest friend on there is still about 9 years younger than me. 3 of my friends are actually family, but the other 3 aren't. One is my brother's roommate who I spent many an hour with, so that wasn't too much of a surprise. Another is one of my cousin's best friends. I see her about as often as I see my cousins. But then today I got another friend request from one of my other cousin's friends. That one was a shocker.

It just put a smile on my face today.

Work out

The past couple days I have had good intentions for working out. Yesterday I started working out with my Tai Chi dvd. It was going okay until my tv/dvd decided to stop working. First it got all fuzzy, then I was picking up some other tv station, so I was hearing Katie Couric and Matt Lauer. It was a little difficult to learn the Tai Chi moves.

So yesterday when I was out and about, I decided to purchase some hand weights so I could try out this workout that was in one of my magazines. So my thought was to do that today.

I started off doing my "chores" for the day. First, clean out the armoire in the basement (my sister's new 'tenent' is moving in next week, so we have to get his room ready). Not too bad. Trying to move all the books and magazines from the top shelf almost didn't work out real well, but I did it without injury.

The second activity was to start moving the books from the upstairs office (on the second floor) down to the shelves in the basement. Before I did that, I decided to move the furniture around. That required some major muscle. Then came the lugging 3 boxes of books downstairs.

Then I moved the dresser from the office to the basement. This was probably the most difficult. The stairs in the house are pretty narrow. Add to that my complete lack of coordination, and the fact that the cats had a tendancy to be underfoot, I was quite impressed with my acheivement. I also rearranged some of the furniture in the office. I decided that this would count as my workout for the day.

The basement is pretty close to being ready for the roommate to move in. Now we just have to make room in the bathroom. Then clean out the office so it will be ready for the other roommate when she comes.

And you think it only happens on TV

I got a call from a friend of mine a week or so ago. Hadn't talked to her in a while, so it was good to catch up with her. She had called to share the exciting news in her life.

She has a brother. She is around my age (a year or two shy of the big 3-0)so new of a brother came as a bit of a shock. Especially since this brother is about 6 years older than her.

Apparently about 35 years ago her mother had a child and gave him up for adoption. He tracked her down and on his 35th birthday made contact with his birth mother. The mother has only told one friend and one daughter (of two) so far.

It's juust kind of...interesting. THe kind of thing that you don't think ever really happens, but, I guess it does.

Small town girl

I don't know that I have what it takes to make it in the big city. I seem to have lost the part of me that could handle it, somewhere along life's journey.

The smell of exhaust that permeates the air. I never realized how clean the air smelled in Illinois. I miss riding around with the windows down. I still do that out here, but then feel like I can't breathe because the air is so thick.

Laziness

Went out to dinner the other night with one of my sister's coworkers and his brother, who might be (will be) moving in and renting a room in my sister's house.

This guy has like 3 or 20 jobs lined up. I don't even have one. And I don't plan on having much more than one. I've tried having multiple jobs before. It's really not good for my health, or for those around me. It stresses me out, and I do not handle stress well.

After listening to everything that this kid had lined up, I just felt like a big lazy bum. Still do. Then I just get more depressed about my life.

Although, I did get up and go for a walk yesterday. I think it was about 4 miles. It was a long walk. But I got to see some of the area where I now live.

Well, I must go do something with my day.

Incubation

So I've had this theory that some of my problems with people comes from my incubation phase early in life. Today I read in article in a magazine at my sister's (The Week, March 17, 2006).

Preemies for life
...A new study suggests that premature birth can, in fact, present lifelong emotional problems...They found that the premature babies--expecially girls--were more likely to be introverted, neurotic, and depressed later in life...It's also possible, he says, that "being in an incubator makes it difficult to bond with parents, and for them to bond with you."

I always enjoy it when someone backs up my theories. :)

REALity? TV

I've gotten sucked into The Real Housewives of Orange County. I just end up watcing this show in amazement. I can't believe the amount of money these people spend on things. It just seems so...so far removed from what I consider to be "the real world". But then for these people, that is their real life. Don't know that I could do it. I don't know if Jo and Slade are going to make it. So sad.


I really need to get a life.

Job Searching

I hate job searching.

First step - sell yourself. Difficult for most people. For people totally lacking anything resembling confidence and self esteem, this is especially hard.

Step 2 - get a response. Not only do you have to find a job that you think you'd want to do and then send in a resume and cover letter, telling them why you'd be perfect for a job that probably sounds much more glamorous than it really is. Then you have to wait for a response.

Step 3 - getting a response. So you've reached the point where someone responds. This can mean one of two things (at least for me, thus far)

1. The response is regarding something you sent out...now you have to remember if you applied to this job. If you did, try and figure out what job it is.

2. The response is regarding your resume posted on an online job searching site. Now you have to decide if you want to pursue this job.

Step 4 - getting an interview. I have not actually reached this point in my job searching yet. Interviews have never been something I've enjoyed. I don't make a very good first impression. And I really don't know what I want to do.

Then it's on to being offered a position, accepting or declining the position.

Oh the joy and fun.

What do you have under there

Do you think what type of underwear someone owns says something about them?

I pondered this question in my unpacking and laundry activities over the past few days. I kind of worry what my underwear would say.

I've been watching a show on style called something like "What to Wear" or something like that. They have their "victim" and 3 people who know the participant. The three friends each pick out 3 outfits. The participant has to pick one line of clothes, not knowing who is responsible for each line. I wish I could get on that show. I could use a new look.

Things I've Learned

1. Sometimes the long scenic route is just long.

2. If you know that the dryer squeaks loudly, DO NOT start it until you are ready to leave the room.

3. I don't make a good first impression, but the second one is usually okay.

4. If you want to loose weight, sitting around all day doing nothing but eating isn't really the way to do it.

5. Some people have way too much money (MTV's Sweet 16)

Moving On

So, I made it safe and sound to the DC Metro area. It wasprobably the hardest move I've made...and I've made a few. Going off to college was hard. I had never been away from home that long, and usually I was with other family. But at the same time it was kind of exciting. Going off to college had been the main point of the previous 4 years. I went home a lot during those 4 years, but less frequently every year.

After college was the move to Texas. A little scary, but again slightly exciting. I was going out to join the 'real world'. The raison d'etre of those previous 4 years. I lived with my sister and her husband. I was down there a week or two before their wedding, for which much of my family came to Texas for. Then I found a job shortly after that.

Living in Texas was....an experience. But one I didn't wish to continue. So I headed home. Moving home, while a slight detour from where I thought my life was headed, was not difficult, emotionally. Those other difficulties are a story for another time.

Decided to go to graduate school. Which meant heading back to the town of my undergraduate years. This move was sort of difficult as I was going to be living on my own for the first time. But I moved in down the street from my best friend's mom, and my best friend was there for the first month or so. Ended up with a job at the place I worked for over 2 years of undergrad. So it was kind of familiar territory.

Grad School ended. Unfortunately I had no job offers...well, no job offers outside of selling financial services (a career that is so wrong for me on so many different levels.) So I took a temp job, and ended up with a full time position. Which then contributed to my worst depression ever (which for me, is saying quite a bit).

So this move, while hopefully will be beneficial, has been the hardest. No real excitement on my end at the moment. Sure there is a lot to see and do in the area. It is a fabulous place to visit, but I thought that about Texas. More job opportunities...but will I find one that doesn't lead me to suicidal thoughts? And I have no friends in the area. I'll miss my mom most of all.

Oh well. I am trying to make the best of it, but for anyone who knows me, it is very difficult for me to leave those I love. And to be somewhere where the only person I know is my sister, who will be leaving soon.

Some moments I really questions whether I've done the right thing. I guess only time will tell.

hmm...

So, it's kind of amazing how we can do things because that's what we always do.

Sunday night as a wave of storms rolled through the area, we lost power in my neighborhood. (luckily we only lost power. Not too much other damage in my neck of the woods.) I knew the power was off. I was watching the news when it happened. You tend to notice when the tv screen and the light in the room go off. So mom and I got out the flashlights. After the major storm had passed through and were were no longer under a tornado warning (apparently about 17 were sighted in the surrounding areas), I was doing some stuff around the house. I'd walk into a room, carrying my flashlight so I could see, and I'd flip the light switch. It was an automatic response. No thought put into it. As soon as I'd flip the switch I'd be like "duh! the power is off!" But it's just so ingrained in me to turn on the light when I enter a room, that it was the first thing I did. Even knowing full well that it wouldn't work.