that's what counts

goals for 2009:
1. go to the gym before work/don't sleep in until noon (i am fully aware this will not happen, however)
2. take the GRE
3. get into grad school OR find another job by september.
4. put at least 15% of paycheck into savings
5a. stop being passive-aggressive
5b. stop being a pushover
6. go on a plane for first time (easiest goal EVER)
7. don't drink friday nights/work saturdays hungover
8. have plan to get out of the valley by september. act on said plan by december.
9. read more. anything. my mind has atrophied since i left school
10. write in notebook, especially story ideas

with that being said, i allow this blog to collect dust.

crazy. i hate blogs

i can't sleep.

these past seven days have done more to shape my future than the past four years have.

wage freezes. contractual obligations. union meetings. grievances. buyouts. economy in the shitter.

my profession hinges on my creativity. my drive. my curiosity. and while no one becomes a writer, a journalist, to become rich, i refuse to be paid less for my intellectual property than i deserve.

in six months, i don't know where i'll be. but it seems like it won't be here.

i'm not scared. i think this is what i needed.

wasn't me

seriously, shaggy, you are a lyrical master. I'm so glad that song came on while we were at the woodlands for nikki's 23rd birthday extravaganza. yes, that's right, I went to the woodlands. and I danced. and sang. and I still have friends, so thank you for that, guys.
it was such a fun time. reminded me of going out during college... cheap drinks, annoying guys, bad music (save for mr. boombastic of course) and best friends.
I like the fact that I can be my spastic, "terrible" dancing self (I still think my rendition of the charleston kicks ace), and my friends embrace it, instead of laughing... oh wait. well, I guess you can embrace and laugh at the same time.
hell, we even laughed as nikki took a dive off the dancing stage at the club... twas with love.
going to beer boys after reminded me a lot of last year, too. I saw a lot of... good friends? bitchy friends? soap-on-a-rope friends?
eh.
it was enough nostalgia to give me a good feeling inside, without the bitter aftertaste.

GO PHILLIES! one win away from the WORLD SERIES CHAMPS!
I threw around the idea tonight that I would get out of work around 8 tomorrow and drive down and party in the citizens bank park lot. I won't do this by myself though, so if I can't muster up a crew, or even just one interested person, I won't do it. so if you're up for a free trip to philly for a few hours, hit me up. it will be fun and we will come back the same night.

i'll catch you

back from a wonderful weekend in NYC. I was hating on fall a bit, due to my distaste for cold weather, but walking around in central park, wearing a cardigan and watching the leaves fall reignited my love for autumn.
I'm watching rays vs. sox now. I don't know who I'd rather the phils play in the series. I was thinking the rays, but then they started getting hot, but THEN the sox did one of their classic comebacks... and now I just don't know. whoever it is... they better suck it.
I do not want to go to work tomorrow. I hate mondays and I already have two assignments, as well as a long-term project that has to be completed by the weekend. bah.
well I have no more to say. GO PHILLIES.

I kissed the bottle... I should have been kissing you

working 4 to midnight again today. I can't believe I actually liked that shift when I first started. I feel like a waste sitting around my apartment until 4, and then I'm at work forever, and once I get out I'm wired, but it's midnight! what am i going to do at midnight?
except for get a delicious sheetz dinner (would have been better if there were nearby wawas) and read some books. very interesting. ughhh not to mention when I work this late, I'm designing pages and whatnot, so I don't get anything done on my stories, and then I get harassed by my editors. well if you're going to have me do two jobs, you should expect this once in a while.
maybe it sounds like I am complaining too much. I do love my job. if I didn't, I'd get a much better paying one, of that you can be sure. it's just frustrating sometimes.
I should go to the gym. that probably won't happen... I finally bought a real bed (no more air mattress!) and it is so soft and bouncy and wonderful that I never want to get out of it and maybe I will take it with me to work.
yes.
if I could sit on this bed while working, it would all be worth it.

we sat and smoked against the wall, drank a beer, felt the chill of fall

I'm hitting my guitar stride. I am impressing myself. I just learned some cranberries songs because the only person who can sing better than that chick is nikki. and what band is nikki in? oh, yes, that's right. edipis wrecks... your eardrums. in a good way. that's not supposed to be perjorative. we're really good, I promise.
seriously, my left hand hurts from playing. I have callouses. I love it. I feel accomplished.
I had work today. overtime, baby... that's where the money's at. work has been going really well. I came across two stories; one's running tomorrow and the other is kind of long plan but as long as I can execute them well, they will be two clips that I am going to be damn proud of.
so, oh, hello, october. where did you come from? i'm in disbelief.
seems like just yesterday it was summer and 80 degrees out. when nikki and I went to the bar friday night, I wore my winter coat. crazy. I miss summer. I used to love autumn, but I'm not feeling it this time around. I think it's because I am in the office all the time and not really enjoying the outdoors... today, on my way to work, I bought a caramel apple spiced cider, just to feel the fall.
I want cider now, dammit. I only have acai and pomegranate tea. it's not the same.

I can't tell the buildings from the people, the strangers from the steeples

I am digging orange juice lately. healthy, yet delicious. probably cause it has a lot of sugar in it. bastards. oh, tropicana. you fickle beverage. but seriously, I bought these little cartons of OJ and they are adorable.

today was a bad day at work but it gave me a new sense of my purpose there... if I'm going to get better at writing, I can't half-ass it. not that I am, in fact, I do three different jobs within any given week. however, the area I can improve most is my writing, so I'm going to stay a little longer at work to get better reads on copy, etc. I want to work more on the Web aspect of news. tomorrow, I'm going to shoot video of Biden's speech for the Web site, because I really suck at video and need practice.

all I know is I've been given a great opportunity. I'm doing what I set out to do when I started college. I'm proud of that. and maybe I shouldn't say I've been "given" that opportunity. I worked damn hard to get where I am. but there are a lot of other qualified graduates that could have taken my place. this gives me all the reason to work harder.

I still think blogs are pretty stupid but I hope this serves as a reminder about where I'm going and what I need to do to get there. peace.
"luck is where preparation meets opportunity"