1.12.10

Day twelve. Wow. This year is already flying by. I don't like how with every passing day, time seems to speed up and I feel like the amount of time to decide on things seems to be NOW! Luckily, I'm in the process of devising a 2010 plan. I need to. A plan to lower my debt, save some money, and figure out what I'm going to do with the last few years of my twenties.

A friend of mine put me in touch with a friend of theirs that is currently in DPT school, which was awesome because it allowed me to ask some questions I had, and help give me a better timeline on when I could actually get accepted. It looks like 2012, unfortunately, as there is a lot I'd need to do beforehand. That puts me at potentially graduating around 2015, or 31 years old. However, if I busted my balls the rest of this year, I could, MAYBE, get in for 2011. Highly unlikely, and probably not the best of plans, but it is a possibility. I'm thankful for the help, advice, and added knowledge I have now, so I can really think about what I want to do with my life. I'll probably be researching some other types of jobs in the next few days, too.

Other than thinking about this some more, today was relatively anticlimactic. Typical Tuesday. Volleyball, Islands, shower, and finally some American Idol, which is a nice way to cap off the night. Ohhhh wait. That's right. There's the fact that I cut my hair WAY TOO SHORT! Seriously, it's the shortest ever. 1/8th of an inch. I tried to save my mistake of putting the wrong clip on the clippers, but I am no hair stylist. So I just shaved the rest away. At least this will give me an excuse to actually wear my cowboy hat dancing this weekend!? So bald. Oof! No likey!

Oh that reminds me of something I was talking about last Wednesday with some friends. We were discussing the pros and cons of my always feeling like I am a jack of all trades, master at none, and how I just wish I were great at something. It'd make this whole decision making process a WHOLE LOT easier! Maybe I just need to find something I can do well, that I enjoy doing every day. How in the world do I know that, though, unless I'm able to at least try all the things I think I'd enjoy? Oh well. At least I know the things I'm not, unlike some of those Idol hopefuls slash crazies! Until tomorrow, there's day 12 of 365.

1.6.10

Today was the first day in a long time that I woke up happy and excited. What a great way to begin. I could only hope that by the end of the day, I'd feel the same way.

There wasn't much thought or action for the first part of the day, as it was just work and I was fairly busy. I spent my lunch eating in my car while sitting the car wash, which is always exciting, then cleaned out my car. Having a new car makes me want to keep it clean, unlike old Geraldine that I only washed once every six months. It also makes it more comfortable to be in. After that, I went back to work and, that's right, worked! Little did I know, I was going to become even more happy.

Being a new year, we finally got to the first payroll. After going through to check every one's vacation time to determine if anyone was getting an increase, we discovered that I was due for an increase in vacation time as of 1/1/09, which was never given to me. That means that I now have about a full week of vacation time in my back pocket. This made me ecstatic. I may be able to actually use that free round trip flight anywhere JetBlue flies that I received from Amex!

Feeling even happier than when I woke up, I hopped on the freeway for a LONG drive up to Studio City for dinner and great wine as well as the always great company. The wine, as always, was GREAT. It was a blend that the host made himself and it was so smooth! I could have spent the rest of the night drinking it, but other plans were on the mind of some of my company. I said goodbye, and drove down to my favorite place right now, Cowboy Country.

It was still early, about 9:00, when we got there and most of "the regulars" were there. I spent the next two hours or so two-stepping, cha-cha-ing, and line dancing. Another great end to a great day. Doing something I love to do to end the day may just have to be a new nightly occurrence.

I didn't spend too much time thinking about what I'll be doing come the end of my job here, but it was discussed briefly during dinner. I seem to be leaning heavily towards trying to get into grad school. I probably need to get into working on that process fairly soon. But for now, I'm exhausted from dancing, driving and dining so it's time to sleep. Until tomorrow, there's day 6 of 365.

1.5.10

Goooooooooood evening. Today was a good day. And after typing that, all I think about is the Black Eyed Peas song, which is both irritatingly catchy and a song that actually makes me want to dance! In fact I think I'll play it in the background while I write. Random, yes. Relevant, not really. MAZEL TOV! (L'CHAIM)

Being that Tuesdays are my Mondays, the day was off to a bad start whether I thought it was going to be bad or not. Although I'm grateful for having a job, it's definitely got no future. Going to work makes me think about what I'm going to do this year when the job is no longer there. Long story short, the company will most likely be going out of business...again. This semi-certain future has got me stressing, worrying, and hopeful.

Recently, I've felt lost on where I am in my life and where I'm going. Knowing my job will be gone has given me a little hope in finding a real "career" and getting my "life" started. Like I said on day one, nothing really prepares you for that mid-to-late twenties period where the real rest of your life begins. Life was so much easier when it was scheduled for me.

I thought a little bit more about my options today, which include, but are not limited to, going to graduate school to get my Doctorate in Physical Therapy, getting a big corporate job, getting a job at a real estate brokerage to learn it a little better so I can help my brokerage run better, or just packing up and moving to a different state and see what I can do there. No matter what, 2010 spells change for me, and it's not just some resolution that I'll forget about in three weeks. Unfortunately, I didn't get too much time to think about this today, as I was more occupied with stressing about money, because I spent too much over the holidays and on stupid, unimportant things and fast food.

JUMP: However, after reading an email just now, I'll probably be alright.

After work, as with every Tuesday, I headed straight to volleyball. Something I've done for over fifteen years. After volleyball we all headed to Island's. Something we've done for the last year or so, maybe longer. We usually get a beer and eat, but today I got their passion fruit iced tea...times 6. I'm addicted to iced tea as evidenced by my only Christmas request: an iced tea brewer.

Those that know me may say I'm equally addicted to booze, and turning down a nice cold Stone IPA for iced tea wouldn't be in the realm of my capabilities, and to those people I say, "You're right." HOWEVER, I decided I'm going to cut WAY back on alcohol consumption. Beyond the typical health and financial reasons, one of the other reasons for this is to allow me to be mentally present in my free time to help me research and figure out what I'm going to do with my life this year. Instead of grabbing a beer or four and passing out on the couch, my hope is to have a little more energy and focus so that I can think about what I really want in life and for myself. From school to work to relationships. Time to grow up. So on that note, time to go pass out on the couch! ;) Don't judge! I'm still tired from the New Year's celebrations, ok? That whole "more energy and focus" part hasn't shown up yet. Until tomorrow, there's day 5 of 365 (and it was actually written on day five - shocking).