The Friday Fifteen

1. I am still lonely after living in Orlando for about 11 months now. I tried to have a dinner with some ladies I've met here and felt lonely afterwards. The 2 that were able to make it have been friends with each other since college, and while I've been friends with one of them since law school, I felt like a 3rd wheel a bit as they talked about people I don't know and plans that they were making with each other (but not inviting me to join them for). I broke down and called a good friend from Atlanta on the way home from dinner because the entire time I was feeling like a third wheel, I thought, if these 2 particular girl friends had been there, I would have had the time of my life... like I always do with them.

2. I'm still trying to find ways to make new friends. I'll keep up the attempts for Ladies' Dinner Club, and join Junior League starting in August. It just seems so long from now.

3. I need to find something to do with my life that I really enjoy. Said dinner companions seem to have done so. One is starting a law firm with another college friend of hers and the other is trying to figure out when the owner of her vet practice is going to sell to her, as promised. To have the desire to put oneself into something so fully with your career is not where I am with mine. In some ways I opted out by staying in an in house position that doesn't have much (if any) room for upward mobility (unless my boss who is in her early 40s decides to quit or retire). The best I can come up with an idea is to have a coffee-wine-book-kitsch shop (all rolled into one). But I've worked retail before and it's a lot of long hours and dealing with some of the nastier people in the general public from time to time. Besides, I have no clue how to make a latte and only know the types of wines I like... same for the books and the kitsch.

4. I do like planning things - parties, events, and trips. But I have a feeling that I wouldn't be nearly as happy doing that for others because I won't get to attend the party, event, or go on the trip. That's the really fun part of the planning...

5. I had an idea once that I could be like Samantha Brown and have a travel show. I'd call it Travels with Twins, and I'd show how to travel with kids to all sorts of random places around the globe and still have a good time. Problem is, Mr. Darcy doesn't even like the idea of trying to go to a foreign country with the little ladies. Parental refusal won't work for such a show.

6. Mr. Darcy insists that I should write a book and be an author. I always say "about what?" Yes, I can guess the endings of books and movies but that's because I am good with human nature and have read more fictional novels than most people even consider reading in their life time. I'm addicted to reading, actually. Even if these days I only get in a few pages a day. If I ever figure out what to write about, I think I will write. Not sure it will be "the great American novel," but then there are claims that it's already been written a 1,000 times.

7. Maybe I should get into the infomercial business. HA! Talk about having to deal with my body image to make a career of getting in front of the camera. I have to get myself to look in the mirror longer than a few seconds a day to make sure my outfit looks OK on my body, first. Baby steps, baby steps.

8. Luckily, I do triathlons and training for them has made me feel better about my body. Even if the number on the scale doesn't seem to change AT ALL. When I had decompression at the chiropractor, the technician made me get on the scale again. I asked "Can't we just use my weight from last time?" She told me that I looked like I lost weight from last time. I loved that... even if I ended up weighing the exact same as the last time.

9. I can't wait for Sunday's triathlon. I just want to get a new PR. The old one, just under 4 hours, is not what I want to stick with me and I feel like I'm in a lot better shape than back in May. I think I can do better and I really want to!

10. Speaking of which, I need to get my bike to the shop today for my new saddle to be installed as soon as it arrives. Dear Lord, please let that saddle arrive before race day. 25 miles yesterday went well on the bike, but I was sore afterwards.

11. In other topics, Facebook quizzes amuse me. Today I took "what is your Native American Name?" and "What is the one word to describe you?" My Native American Name would be Thunder Horse, and the one word to describe me is Optimistic. No surprise on the Optimistic one... I do tend to see the glass half-full 99% of the time. Too bad you all are often stuck with my moody writings and don't get to see that.

12. On NPR the other day there was an interview with two comedy writers for a show on Comedy Central (evidently they are a pretty big deal, but I hadn't heard of them... but I had heard of a show of theirs from the 90s). In it the one guy said that he prefers kind of rude people because people who were pretty much always happy and friendly when you talk to them make him nervous. I started laughing and thought, he would absolutely hate me.

13. I like being a happy, friendly person. And while someone told me once that people don't really trust happy lawyers, I am wholly unapologetic about being a happy, friendly person. I have my moments, of course, because I've not had a lobotomy and do not suffer from a psychological disorder making me impervious to things.

14. I miss my friend Angela. She used to tell me I was Miss Sunshine and she was Miss Doom and Gloom, and together we were just about right. In thinking about my lack of friends in the area as of late, it makes me sad to think about the fact I will not see her in this life again. There are things I see on a regular basis that make me think of her. I almost sent her a link to a blog I thought she would like the other day. I refuse to take her blog off my "follow" list or to delete her email address. I just can't bring myself to do it.

15. Life is good and we should not waste it. As Angela taught me, each day is a blessing. Even if it doesn't seem that way at the time. It's another day we are on the planet and able to be with those we love, to learn more about people and things, and to meet people. We should find what makes us happy and pursue it, instead of wasting time at things we don't really enjoy. The problem is figuring that all out. I guess that is why life is a journey, and not just a straight line. So enjoy your life this lovely Friday... and all the rest of the days too! I plan to!

If you'd like to do your own Friday Fifteen, please do! It's fun and you can always include a link or reference back to my blog or to others who participate in doing a Friday Fifteen list. The trick, in my case, is limiting myself to fifteen. Reminds me of that part of the Jane Austen novel Emma when they're at the picnic and Emma makes the mean comment to someone (name is escaping me and kills me I can't remember) that she will have a difficult time limiting herself to only 3 boring things to say. Not nice, not nice at all, as Mr. Knightley chides her afterwards. But, as to myself, I hope my 15 have been entertaining and not droll. Only you can truly decide!

Until the race report for both Mr. Darcy (since he is not a blogger) and I - most likely on Monday!