Pleasure Seeker, Party of One...

Okay, so I have been out of grad school for all of 3 1/2 months. I'm bored. I don't care what you believe about humanity, God, the afterlife, etc.- we are Hedonists. Human nature is to seek the "next big thing". I always want to be doing something, accomplishing something, having something on my calendar. Yes, I complain about all the work it takes, the time, blah blah blah. That's all a cover for "Listen to me talk about what I'm doing with my life". I want to feel good about my life, about the things I am doing. Right now, I don't really feel too enthused about what's going on. I think it's because there's a lull in activity.

I am not quite sure where to go from here professionally. I have a M. Ed. degree that I'm not using. I am doing the same job this year that I have for the previous 4 years. The way the economy is, there are not opportunities to do the jobs I'd like to do- they are not the bare bones teacher/principal jobs that are available. I want to be a master teacher, an instructional coach, professional development presenter, a curriculum writer and implementation coach. Are any of those jobs even on the radar? Nope. They were the first to go. So then I thought, "Maybe I'll teach adjunct at a community college for preservice teachers." Uh-oh. No jobs open. Hmmmm. Stand still.

Joined Match.com. Shoot me in the face. all my matches are horrible. I must have the interests that attract shy, spineless, balding men in their late 30's. The ones that are halfway decent don't even email me back. No pleasure there. (Anyone surprised? Anyone?)

I have wanted to have my own home for a couple of years now. I almost bought a house, but I got too nervous and bailed. Shoot, I almost barfed when I got a new car. I can't imagine that nauseous feeling of being responsible for an entire household. Still, it becomes more and more appealing to me as the months pass by. I have been blessed with awesome roommates (shout out Lis! Shout out Cher!) but there's still something about being independent like that. I could maybe be brave enough to have small dinner parties, and host movie nights and things. For some reason, when I share a space with someone else, I don't want to do those things because I don't want to encroach on their personal space. And also, the mood doesn't hit me all that often to have people over. I think if I had my own place, maybe that would change.

I am going to train for a full marathon. I am going to run the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati on May 1. I have run 2 half marathons so far (one for training and one for real). I signed up to run another half in March. I like running. I can't believe that I'm actually doing it. It's kind of awesome. Amanda got me started on it, by telling me how much she liked it, and inviting me to go see her run in Austin. Lissa also decided to run, and we have both been at it since Jan 2009. It's fun to develop a new hobby, make new friends, and have something different to talk about other than teaching, lack of dates, and knitting.

Speaking of knitting...get your hot tea and sweatpants ready. In Feb, I am going on a knitting retreat! I am pumped. A weekend of sitting around in my pajamas, knitting and talking and drinking. Wine. And maybe liquor.

These are the things wafting through my mind. Next Post: Erwin Family Christmas. Get Ready.

J'Layne