A Day in the Life

I thought today was a fairly typical day, so why not share the mind-numbing details. I woke up at 7 a.m. but was really already awake, because my roommate was getting ready and I could hear her. I took a shower - even washed my hair. I decided to wear my glasses today because I knew I was going to be spending a lot of time staring at the computer monitor at work. Lots of writing and editing to do on a report I'm working on. I wore a cream-colored turtleneck sweater that I bought a couple years ago from Macy's. It's INC brand. With that, I wore a pair of brown slacks that is part of an Anne Klein suit I got on clearance at Ross last year, and a pair of gold flats from Target. Mossimo brand. I packed a lunch - frozen entree, naturally - and headed to the light rail. Got to work around 8:30 and briefly considered going to get a coffee and something fattening to go with it for breakfast, but my co-worker convinced me to eat oatmeal instead. I worked a decent amount today, in between checking my personal e-mail and facebook accounts. I forgot that I had signed up to attend a luncheon seminar that included a free lunch. I went to that with two co-workers and listened to an economist talk about the recession. Nothing new. Had some decent salads, some delicious bread and a cookie. Afterward, I walked a few blocks to the central library because I needed something for my class, but when I got there and tried to open the front door, I realized what I already knew: the library is closed on Mondays. Durr. When I was leaving, I ran into a friend who was on her way to the courthouse. She thinks she'll get selected to serve on a jury. Kind of cool to see her. Went back to work and decided I needed a treat to help get through the afternoon. I went to Chicory, a close-by coffee place I like, and got a non-fat caramel latte. I found some cookies in the fridge at work and ate one of those. Mmm. I got down to business and before I knew it, it was 4:30 pm. I figured, I'd done enough work for one day and spent the rest of the "work day" doing personal business, like planning social engagements for the next two weeks. I felt pretty accomplished by the time I left at about 5:10 pm. Took the light rail, got home and fed the cat. Changed into workout clothes and went to the Y. Stopped at Safeway afterward and bought food for dinner and then some. Came home, turned on the oven, popped in some fish (coconut-crusted tilapia, yummy) and took a quick shower. I changed into some comfy sweats and prepared dinner. I made a spinach salad with carrots to accompany the fish. I watched the second half of a Two and Half Men re-run and then settled in to watch The Bachelor, one of my favorite Guilty Pleasures. My roommate watched too. Nice way to learn about American culture, huh? She's from Japan. During commercials I did stuff around the house, like wash dishes and change my sheets. I'm very productive in 4-minute spurts. On occasional commercial breaks, I maintained my position on the couch and read sections of the Sunday paper that I didn't get to yesterday, such as Parade and the Forum, Business and Travel sections. I also played with the cat, who was seeking attention. The Bachelor ended at 10 and I figured I'd go to bed, but wanted to check my e-mail (yes, I am obsessed). I logged on to the computer, synced my Ipod and then started typing in the blog. Then the phone rang (??) and it was my friend C. calling from her hotel room in SF. I chatted with her for 42 minutes. Now it is 11:36 p.m., about an hour past my usual bedtime. I'm tired...will head upstairs and take out my contacts, brush my teeth and probably forgo my usual few minutes of reading before bed. Good night!

Writing Class

I signed up for a journalism class at the local community college and tonight was the first class. I'm thinking that this may be the best $66 I'll ever spend. First and foremost, the instructor is kind of cute. AND he's not wearing a wedding ring. Hmmm. There do not appear to be any attractive male students, however. The people in the class are really interesting and come from an amazing variety of backgrounds. They are people who I would ordinarily not encounter, and we're all going to get to know each other really well because we are going to be reading each other's article drafts every week. Students range in age from 19 to 60+ and are a mix of ethnicities, including Asian, Latino, white, black and mixed races. Apparently, Sacramento City College is one of the most diverse colleges in the country. Most of the people in the class already have some experience with writing or journalism. It's a class specifically geared toward writing for publication. We're going to learn how to write articles for magazines and get paid for it. Or, at least, that's the goal. I have some ideas already but I'm hoping to get inspired and the class will help us to learn about developing unique story ideas. Tonight we had to interview one of our classmates and give a short introduction about that person. We came up with our own sets of questions. One of the more creative questions was "what's your favorite curse word?" Rather clever. For homework, we have to bring in a magazine that we'd like to write for, and find out what their writing guidelines are. I have homework! For the first time in...I guess 4 years or so, since the last time I took a formal class. That would have been a German class, in Germany.

The Pros of Being Single

Becoming single again after having been in a relationship, I've come to recognize a number of positives:

1) no sharing a bed with a guy who snores = being able to get a full night's sleep every weekend
2) no waking up way early on the weekends because he wakes up early
3) not having to be so concerned about "maintenance", i.e. grooming (very time consuming)
4) definitely no need to worry about the possibility of getting pregnant!
5) no more stressing about whether he's into me or not (clearly, that question has been answered)
6) no worries about vacuuming and lint rolling up all the cat hair before he comes over (allergic)
7) saving gas by not driving to his place in the 'burbs
8) not feeling guilty about fantasies involving a hot 24 year old former co-worker
9) having more free time to spend with people I truly care about
10) I'm sure there's a 10th reason...it'll come to me!

Breaking Up Sucks

One of the worst things about a break up is having to tell all your friends and family members about it. You're essentially forced to repeat a depressing tale over and over again.