it was a very good year

I cant believe another year has come and gone. It’s incredible to look back and think of all the things that have happened. And the things that have not. Being the procrastinator that I am I just kinda keep this To Do list constantly stocked up – I mean, what’s the point of having a To Do list with one thing on it?

But seriously, in thinking about all the things I want to do in the coming year, well, heck, the coming weeks, I get a little glassy eyed with how that breaks down into tasks. Whoa.

The good news is that I’m task oriented and I love being busy. Sometimes I think the real curse is biting off LESS than you can chew. That leaves a lot of room in your mouth for nonsense to spew out. haha.

So here’s my first installment of “3 Things x 12 months = 36 things” (I can’t think of a better title for it)

1. New place in Williamsburg = 415 Grill Karaoke

So Joanie and i hit up a “hot” spot for the college crowd – 415 Grill which is normally a respectable restaurant in the Williamsburg Hospitality House. The WHH is a well situated hotel, right smack dab in the middle of campus and what some may refer to as the “downtown” area. Which mostly, in Williamsburg, means where they have more than 5 buildings next to each other.

We arrived quite early to scope out the scene and decided to go sit and gab and see what happened. At about 10pm, the 415 Grill turns into the version of a college town club, complete with boys in track suits and girls in as little as possible and totally IMpossible spiked heels. I tried with all my might to remember the last time I was in a place such as this with people such as these, and it didn’t turn out well. A few memories flooded back that will remain memories, which are usually best left unspoken. And unblogged.

Then the real weirdness happened. The karaoke. We had heard there was karaoke and I have to admit I have never seen it done quite like this before. Pretty much it was a dance floor with music you dance to, intertwined with people grabbing the mic and singing along with the lyrics on a small tv monitor. The place packed up with co-eds (does anyone call college students co-eds anymore?) and the atmosphere was best described as noneducational. Let’s just say that ”Who let the dogs out” would go better there than “Wind beneath my wings.”

So the quest for a good karaoke joint continues.

2. “Old” Friend =Viatris

Ok so she’s not old and she’s not old in the sense of being far removed. But i hadn’t seen her since before last Christmas which is going to count for my purposes. I miss her and her daily talks at work, when we worked together at Salvation Army. She was still cheery though maybe a little less hectic than she is at the office. haha. We ran into each other for about 15 minutes outside the wine tasting – which I was an hour late for and she was TWO hours late for. I’m just glad we saw each other at all.

Vi, you’re beautiful and I love ya. Prayers for you go up daily!! Let’s hang out again soon! Before next year’s Christmas, at least ok?!

3. Writings = So I wrote a song. It’s not the best and I’m thinking about completely changing the melody cuz I got another idea really really really late the other night, as I often do, and didnt get a chance to record it. I need one of those little minicassette recorders… note to self… buy mini cassette recorder. Anyway, it’s called “Full Circle” and it is tentatively somber…

i said
for the last time i said
bring it down and burn it
on the bonfire
i’m tired of seeing it
tired of being the same
again and again

i watched it burn before
saw the writing on the wall
turned my head to face
the other way
but my feet turned
full circle

for the last time i cry
will it always be this way
or will i fly
someday on mended broken wings
with pure light on my face
where i started once upon a time

And finally, thanks to my family who are awesome, and to my friends who dropped by – a pleasant surprise!! Liz K, John and Jen D, Amy, Bryon, Laura and Dan, Nathan and Jeni, and Jean-Marc and Jenny. And especially Jenny who secretly invited people You’re so great girl! I’m so glad to have you around! Much love to you all!

36

my 36th birthday is getting ever closer and while I’m going to celebrate it in a pretty great way, I’ve been thinking about coming up with a list of things I’d like to do this year. This is inspired in part by my friend Joanie who turned 30 and made a 30 list, but I got to thinking that it’s not a bad idea to write out these kinds of goals every year. Though by the time I’m 50 I may cease to think this is a great idea. So instead of doing 36 things, I decided to focus on 3 things to do every month and write about them here.

1. Try to visit a new place once a month… in Williamsburg. So that’s 12 new places - a museum, a restaurant, a venue, a park, whatever. I’m not sure there are 12 of them left, but I’ll try… I’m just kidding. There are lots of places I haven’t been yet… I think…

2. See an old friend. Life is so short and it’s easy to lose touch with people who you love. So I’m going to make the effort to reconnect IN PERSON with at least one “old” friend once a month, wherever that may be. I have the next few months planned out already, so I don’t see any problem carrying this one off. But if anyone reading this wants to come visit me in Colonial Williamsburg or really any where, lemme know

3. Write a new story, poem, or song. It doesn’t have to be good necessarily, so that takes the pressure off. haha! But I am committing myself to get back into the habit. I used to write all the time but have failed to do so in just over 2 yrs… not coincidentally around the time I moved to VA. Anyway they do say that you have to force yourself to write every day to keep the pump primed and whatnot.

Ok so that’s it – my new year’s resolutions so to speak. It’s a new year for me!

get a job

first of all, i would like to say that I always knew geese were terrorists. plus, I had this sense that my BFF was not on that plane and I was right. I kinda feel like I would know – kinda like the force is with us – like I’m Yoda and she’s Obi wan. Or maybe she’s Darth Vader and I’m the Emperor. not sure.

anyway, moving on…

I’d like to take a quick look at unemployment for a moment. Not the stats mind you, just the realities.  I find myself getting panicky as the days tick by, wondering if something will break, and getting the sheer pleasure of recounting all the mistakes I’ve made in my career thus far.  I wish I was in a different place right now, financially and experientially, able to do some of the things I want to do instead of what I have to do to make ends meet.

The harsh reality of getting a job is that you have to have money to make money. There are costs involved in the job search, such as transportation to and from the interview, phone service, email/internet searches, paper for the resume, not to mention time and effort. I know people who have been put into such desperate times that they have ended up sleeping their cars at night or getting into bad relationships just to have a place to stay and food to eat.  I’m lucky in that I have a roof over my head and the gracious hospitality of my parents who did make good decisions to live a comfortable retirement (my dad was a school teacher for the same district for 40+ years). I have no doubt that people who stick with one thing their entire career are much better off than those who have flailed about seeking some kind of personal satisfaction from work. I’m beginning to think there is no such thing.

So I keep looking and hoping that someone out there will want me. I’m a little tired of rejection, mutual as it may be in most cases. (Even Target won’t call me back!!) I hope for the perfect fit, but I am trying not to be idiotic. The question for me now is how naive do I have to continue to be to stay where I am? It’s a scary question. And where else would I go????

Help me Obi wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.