new look, new purpose... still too lazy to capitalize proper nouns

greetings. when i first created this blog (and it really wasn't much of a creative act -- it involved choosing a template from blogger and typing some words in a text box) it was supposed to be a place for me to write and be creative and ruminate upon all the cliches that my daddy always told me: don't let anyone steal your joy, everything happens for a reason, wish in one hand shit in the other and see which one fills up faster... he reiterated each of those classic gems with an almost frightening frequency because he believed in their truth and wisdom.

recently, for possibly the first time in my life, instead of pondering, ponificating, analyzing or agonizing, i actually started to do something. around june-ish, i initiated several large changes in my life. first, i quit my old job. i had great coworkers... and, well, that was the only thing i liked about it, really. the work was very stressful and very unsatisfying, and i realized the other day when i didn't freak out about some news that would have sent me into a screaming rage six months ago that the stress of that job went mostly unacknowledged. nevertheless, it had been killing me emotionally and spiritually, and if i hadn't left when i did, i would have gone over to the dark side of the force. second, i got a new job, doing social science research from home. it pays much better than my old job, and the commute is much shorter. ha. it isn't necessarily steady, and i almost had a panic attack when i realized that i was TURNING INTO MY FATHER, who never had steady work and counted himself in the ranks of the self-employed, otherwise known as contract workers. gulp. but alas, the job allows me to work less hours and get the same (or more) money as my previous one, which leads me to waystation number three on my Journey Toward a Fulfilling Life. the new job has given me the time and mental freedom and energy to start Writing a Book. i have about seventy pages so far. i was lucky enough to find a person who is also Writing a Book willing to share her wonderful work with me, and to keep me on track by exchanging at least ten pages a week of new material. ten pages isn't a lot, but it really is when you are working a near full-time job and trying to maintain a romantic relationship. perspective: if i keep up this pace, i will have a draft completed by valentine's day. i am finally doing something that is meaningful to me. it gives me pleasure. it makes me happy in ways that i never imagined.

and so, i am reshaping the content of this blog. instead of thinking about my dad's cliches, i am living them. it is hard to believe that everything doesn't happen for a reason when i applied for and got a job that gives me the time and money to write. it's hard to think that everything doesn't happen for a reason when through that job, i met a writing partner who helps me every day. it's hard for anyone to steal my joy now that i am doing something i am proud of. so many years of thinking about these things and how to achieve them, and all it took was doing something i really really wanted to do.

from now on, this web log is about books and writing, my two favorite things. and sometimes chris. but of course, he is inextricable from all of it because of his support and his inspiration. right now, i am thinking that many of my posts will be book reviews, ruminations about the writing process and flaky, floaty, shallowly deep ideas that pop into my head but don't really fit into the Book. i hope those of you who still read this blog like the changes.