On Turning 40

Okay, so this year I turn 40. So do three in my circle of friends. The first of these 40's is happening this month. I thought for sure that at the very least, this person would do what s/he does every year, which is have a happy hour somewhere on that weekend. So I decided to grab the bull by the horns, and thought that this year should be something great. However, my friend, in a complete reversal of habit, is saying that s/he would just as soon sleep through the changing of year. S/he doesn't want to do anything, and certainly does not want to be the center of attention. I thought maybe have a small dinner in the area, with a few select people, NO cake, NO singing, no presents, just dinner. My friend doesn't even want that. S/he seems to be unusually down about this birthday.

I myself, so far, am planning on hiding under my bed, drinking wine straight from the bottle. My friend has it a LOT more together than I do (in my opinion)- good job, professional, intelligent, in shape, etc. I have a laundry list of things that I want to get done by the time my birthday rolls around, and a list of things that I THINK that I SHOULD have accomplished by now- buying a house, getting married, starting a family, earning my graduate degree, getting CPA certification, establish good habits of housekeeping and exercising, to name a few.

So if my friend, who again, has it a lot more together than I do, doesn't want to celebrate, what in the world makes me think that I should?

Well, I've got until August to decide. A lot can happen in that time.

Should probably say something

About my rants about Valentine's Day. I probably came across as a bit jaded at best, and incredibly cynical at worst.

For the record: I LOVE MEN. Honestly, truthfully, love men. I don't understand them, but I love them anyway.

Back in my younger years, upon being dumped I would embark on one of those "all men are lying, cheating, filthy scoundrel pigs who should be strung up by their toenails and flogged." That doesn't get a girl anywhere, does it? Now I'm a little kinder and gentler. Instead of "all men" I usually just think that the particular gentleman who has dumped me is a lying, cheating, filthy, scoundrel pig who should be strung up by his toenails and flogged. This hasn't happened to me recently, in case anyone is wondering!

And I DO believe in love and romance and falling in love and all that stuff. I DO. Really. I'm just more these days for showing the object of my affection (and maybe a trusted confidante) that affection than showing everyone within a 50-mile radius.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think there's chocolate on sale somewhere.

I'm Gonna Marry This Guy

"-Valentine’s Day is nothing more than an over-commercialized sham of a holiday exploited by restaurants, jewelers, and greeting card companies that just want to make an extra buck. Couples don’t deserve their own day, and those not in relationships certainly don’t deserve to be subjected to an endless barrage of hand-holding and heart-shaped confectionary. Those who ignore Valentine’s Day and flout its conventions are the ones who should be celebrated. Some call us heartless. I call us single."

I daresay I cried when I read this.

The gentleman's name is Aaron Karo.

There HAS to be a happy medium for Valentine's Day.

Typically, I try not to write anything unless I think it is interesting. So I try not to talk too much about my pets, or what happens when I go shopping, or about my electric bill, or anything. I'll just preface what I have to say with that.

Anyway, Valentine's Day. It HAS to go. Or people need to find a happy medium.

On the one hand, you have "I'm declaring my love for whomever and I am gonna do it in the most nauseating way I possibly can to everyone who cares to listen or turn on their computer today." Or "my whomever sent me flowers at work and I love him/her/it so much." (Doesn't that sound like nyah nyah, no one sent YOU flowers?) You get the picture.

On the other hand you have "I dumped someone, so even though it's completely my fault that I DON'T have a Valentine I will blame it all on someone else and have an Anti-Valentine Day and wear all black and listen to Morrissey and invite people out for beers to talk about just how awful relationships are."

When I was in college and I didn't know any better, I took out an ad in the college newspaper telling my paramour that next to diamonds, he was a girl's best friend. You'd think no one had ever heard that line before, because the people at the North Texas Daily ate that up. If there were a Pulitzer Prize for Vday classifieds, that trophy or medal or whatever would have been MINE. Even if he hadn't turned out to be an ingrate, if I knew then what I know now, I probably would not have done that. Wanna know why? Because I look at that and I get dry heaves.

The following Vday, I was BITTER. I wanted to wear all black, and listen to Morrissey, and listen to the Cure, and hang razor blades from the ceiling, and write poetry about how love makes the heart black. This was back in the days of, well, Morrissey and the Cure, so it wasn't Emo, I think it was Goth. Or just plain weird. One of those.

Anyway, I need to wrap this up so I can copy/paste it into my blog. But Vday shouldn't be completely nauseating. It also should not be a funeral. If you have someone, that's great, tell that person what you think, not the whole cyberuniverse. If you dumped someone, and you're still alone, go ahead and have fun with your razor blades, but don't rain on my parade. I went to BJ's with a couple of girlfriends and resisted the urge to tell the canoodling couple at the table next to us to get a room. If I did have a boyfriend-unit type person, I would probably spend a lot of time hating Vday and how much pressure it puts on couples to do something spectacular and fabulous and romantic and memorable.

Either way, it's a shame to see what happened to the feast day of a guy who was martyred for performing Christian weddings. It's also a great opportunity to buy chocolate on sale.

So Happy Valentine's Day, folks. Some of you need to get a room, the others need to lay off listening to Morrissey for a while.

YAWN

And I'm spent. I just connected to something called Springpad. I got sucked in by one of those flippin' Facebook ads. But it lets me put just about anything and everything that I could possibly want to remember on one convenient location. Okay, my main dig was it would let me save wines that I like (and I like a lot of different wines). Criminy, does this mean I have to take my laptop with me everywhere I go to have wine? Perhaps I should get a smartphone.

Oh boy, that's gonna come back to bite me in the butt, isn't it?

I have REALLY neglected this.

I really shouldn't. I have friends that I follow here on Blogspot, and I really need to contribute something back. I follow blogs here that have so many fans that I'm not sure they would ever have the time/inclination to read what I have to say- but you never know.

2009 has really NOT been a good year for more than a few people that I know, myself included. I'm not sure how much of my issues I want to share online- heck, I sometimes have issues writing in a journal, which no one sees. I have said to God on more than one occasion that I am fully aware that things can be much worse; I have no idea how much worse or in what ways, and if it's all the same to Him, I would rather not find out. In fact, I'd really like to realize, to live how much better things can/will be.

So I am hoping and praying that 2010 is soooooo much better for myself and other folks for whom 2009 was less than spectacular. In fact I pray that 2010 is better for everyone, even those for whom 2009 was pretty darn good.

I send out to God, to all my fellow man, and to all of God's creatures love, peace, prosperity, good health, success, and service.

P.S. Sun Goddess, I like men too. Oh boy, do I ever...I don't think I could ever put it as well as you did in your last post.

The main reason I have a blog here

Is so that I can always be up to date on other blogs; mainly the public ones, such as Geek Pad and The Laugh Track. I also have a friend who has a blog on here, that she gave me the address for. Also I discovered Dispatches from the Island, written by a past Hot Slut of the Day, Mr Jorge Garcia from LOST.

I should however contribute more to this site. Definitely after April 15th. Maybe even before.

I SO LOVE MY JOB BTW!!! :)