I love this town

I got to work late, bad Toddles. Work was low key. Got a promising response from a dating site with an email address, so we'll hopefully meet up soon. And I texted the woman I danced with 2 weeks ago, and she's up for tomorrow night. Sweet!

I still need a fridge, and decided to pack tonight solid: I drove to Standard after work, picked one out, drove back to Hawthorne, and watched Juno. Great movie, some hilarious dialogue and a touching story. Then I scoped out the Hawthorne Hideaway, where Shannon does trivia on Mondays. Interesting place, but not so cozy solo. Everyone was dressed dark casual and the place was drafty. Nice menu, and I had a chicken Caesar. The beer taps were sort of hidden but I figured out later that the have Heffeweizen among others. Made it home at 10.

A great song came on the radio on my way home from there. The people in my life are rad. Life is good.

Knight Rider

The Mustang is too flashy, and not quite sleek enough. There aren't really many cars out there that would fit much better, unfortunately.

Some ideas, from American car companies:

• Mazda RX8
  
• Pontiac G6 Coupe
  
• Saab 9/3 sport
  

Yeah, not so much. But it needs to be smooth as well as sporty. Chrysler has nothing, which says a lot for why it's doing poorly now I bet. Crossfire is too small, and Charger is too big and bulky (and very 4-door).

Just my style

The trend of wearing tall patterned socks over leggings with boots and a skirt/dress: I approve, very much so. So artsy and sexy.

The coat, gloves, hat and boots need to happen soon. It's friggin' cold and I keep not having enough to wear. I also realized I avoid neutral colors too much. Part of the reason is that what goes with brown doesn't go with black, or blue, or whatever. But black or green gloves are fine, and I figured out what to do for a hat. I'm going to crochet it with help.

Karaoke is not going so hot with the promotion, and Saturdays are rocky too. I'm thinking I need a huge jump in song selection, as well as more promotion and activity ideas. I think it's time to try ToddB's ideas next. New books next week for sure, and I'd really like to computerize. It's do or die, employees or not.

I just saw some videos by The Pickup Artist, and it totally will change my game. Todd and I should pick a time to try it out. Ooh, the bellydancing scoop is perfect to use as an intro. Tonight at swing dancing I'll try to practice a better approach along with my dance steps. Overall, it's all about confidence, which I really don't have yet for swing. But if I'm secure in what I know and ask her what turns she likes, there's a chance to learn and have it be about her, while showing myself as adaptable and empathic. Aha. :)

Techy toys and lifestyle

My friend Todd just got his Macbook! He's officially a Mac guy. I'm jealous but I still like the tiny EeePC. It's a little finicky sometimes though, so I hope it doesn't need to go back on warranty. I managed to break the screen on my iPod, but I got another LCD on ebay. Now I get to try to pull off this procedure. Looks scary. LOST is coming so I'm trying to get my computer set up to record video. I love the XBox Media Center for watching stuff on my TV, like it was supposed to be.

I finally started getting some much-needed clothes, and I'm working on a proper coat and footwear. The condo is coming together slowly as far as furnishings, but I'm still fighting the cleaning and pet odor battle. I'm taking Monday off for my birthday so I hope to get all that nailed once and for all. Honestly, I'd like to be able to have people over (both friends and in the dating context) and now it would give the wrong impression. My mom is helping with window coverings, to have something softer than mini-blinds and get much-needed insulation out of it.

Speaking of my birthday, I'm looking forward to going clubbing with some lady friends this weekend, platonic though they may be. Dancing with women is one of my favorite things and it hasn't happened nearly enough. But that's OK, because Thursdays have already shown some potential for dating and dancing with eligible women who don't already know me as asexual, and are pretty attractive in their own right. I'm doing a little better at not stressing about all that and keeping happy. The dancing itself is just starting to be fun, even though I'm early on in learning it.

I think I can actually say I like being single. Feeding myself and getting enough exercise/sleep still takes effort but I'm doing alright. Karaoke is taking effort lately, so I'm glad I'm not doing school this term; if all goes well, I'll have an operation to be proud of without it taking up as much time.

Some goals at this point:

• Volkswagen!
  
• chore, exercise and sleep routine
  
• comfortable at swing dancing
  
• few, organized possessions, all stored at home
  
• a budget and financial plan (long-term care/retirement, real estate)
  
• solid start on furniture or vehicle design project
  
• fixed bicycle
  
• DJ time set aside regularly, with all equipment working together
  
• read and watch movies more
  

Oh, and I have to go on vacation! Hawaii and NYC are the closer/cheaper ones, and then I need to go international. Part of the budget.

Learning to program in python with the nephews just doesn't sound very appealing or feasible. All the more reason I'm getting sterilized.

Shopping

I finally ordered some pants for work: Dickies in navy and silver. I still need to hit the outlets for shirts, sweaters, and more pants. I want some black jeans but they have to not look geeky, and I'm not doing the punk-rocker girl jeans.

Boots and a jacket will be tough. Well, boots should be easy enough at Al's, but the jacket is proving to be a challenge. I want it to fit flatteringly and not be too preppy or Highlander dork. It has to look right on an old cafe racer or Vespa to have the aesthetic I want. Some other shoes would be nice, like tweed Vans and some Asics runners. Oh, and real dancing shoes. That girl with the bowling shoes was cute. ;)

Love the Asus 701. I scored "White Blood Cells" on vinyl for under $25 with shipping in a lucky auction. My curtains are half done so I'll put those up soon, along with shelves and mirrors. The new rug is nice but I'm not convinced all the colors will work. They were out of the pillows I wanted for the couch.

I think I'll get a cheap LCD TV, for the bedroom and for mobile karaoke.

2008

Alright, I've done the 100 things before I die list, and as evidenced here, I'm working to be more responsible. A new year list is a good start to consolidating all these endeavors. Here goes:

1. be more responsible
   
2. exercise consistently (every week)
   
3. make my home finished and tidy, and have people over
   
4. visit my parents regularly to do projects
   
5. cook dinner weekly
   
6. run karaoke in a professional way
   

There are more specific goals subsidiary to these, like learning dancing, and finishing my car. Being more responsible is a many-headed monster: budget formally including retirement, get stuff done promptly at work, sleep and get up earlier, and generally be better organized. Hell, I'm president of my HOA, time to act like it.

Exercising is a big one too. I'm doing basic strength exercises at home and walking as part of my commute, and I almost have the handstands down. First I should stretch more, and keep at the dancing. I need another capoeira class, and I'm considering yoga.

Oh, and this year I might learn programming along with my nephews. Python on the OLPC is pretty strong, and I bet I would actually use it to do web stuff if I knew how.

School will have to wait another term, until I get karaoke squared away and the home in order. But I have some good ideas to build a CAD station. :)