Week 6: Rollcoaster of Life

You will notice that a lot of "new" things happen in life, when you're watching for and analyzing your daily occurences. So, while I cannot say that I have anything exceptionally adventerous to share this week, I do have an appreciation for the rollercoaster that is everyday life. In my case, I think of the times when the rollercoaster is climbing a crest of the ride to be the roughest part, because you know that things are about to take a dive. I wish life was more like a rollercoaster in that way, at least you'd have a heads up on the dive just around the corner.

For this week's blog, I have two categories: Ughhhh = the dive and Wheeeew = the coast

(Ughhhhh...) On Monday morning, a teenager rear-ended my car in the Starbucks drive-thru. That was a ton of fun. After a bit of a run-around, I might be able to get them to pay for my repairs. I sure hope so. I'd like a new bumper, ya know? You can't really tell from this photo, but apparently $740 worth of damage was done. It's hard to believe that, but dang. That's the downside of owning a car....

(Wheeeew!!) My friend Stephanie and I did a little retail therapy together. I was SHOCKED to find a dress that I actually liked and that looked pretty good on me. The shoes I bought to go along with the dress are crazy. They are really cute, but completely impractical and I'll be required to wear them only at venues where there is a non-skid surface and plenty of places to sit down. I also splurged on a really cute necklace.

(Ughhhhh...) I didn't end up going to the event that I was supposed to go to with Stephanie on Friday night, where I would have shown off the new ensemble. This is partly my fault and partly the fault of weather. I really hate driving in snowy or possibly icy conditions and Green Bay was just too far for my liking.
(Wheeeew!!) I got my haircut, finally! It's cute. And I no longer look like a 34 year old who is trying too hard to retain her youth with hair down her back.
(Ughhhhh...) Part of the weekend was spent internalizing a lot of insecurity about myself and wondering why I'm single. Then I realized it's because I'm too shy to ask guys out and I tend to like guys who are also, apparently, too shy to ask me out. : }
(Wheeeew!!) My nephew had the brilliant idea for me to buy the blu-ray box set of the 25th anniversary edition of the Back to the Future trilogy. So, we've been watching them and loving it.
That's about it for this week. Lots of new things happened.

Oh, and I started reading The Hunger Games series. Good stuff.

Week 5: To Entertain and Enlighten

This week was a little different. I thought I had something lined up to be my "Next Best Thing", but my plans changed completely. Truth be told, I was too lazy to really think it through, or maybe just too busy. My brain is crammed with all sorts of things these days.
At the risk of sharing too much personal information, I am going to tell you (my vast list of followers??) what I "learned" and "found" this week, that was new to me.

New People
On Friday night, I went out for happy hour drinks with some co-workers. There were a small group of them that I actually knew, and being my introverted self, I sat in one spot and hoped I could make it through a few drinks without fighting the itch to leave the whole time. I was successful. What was also great is that my friends are better at making friends than I am. So, thankfully, I made a few new friends, thanks to them. One was a guy that enjoys karaoke, so you know we're gonna get along. He was calling all over to see if he could find a place for us to go sing in Oshkosh on Friday night. It didn't work out this time....but next time!!

New Insights
A few years back (oh, maybe more like 6), I went through a really rough patch. I had some severe anxiety. I think I've always lived with a low(ish) level of anxiety, but my mother's death brought on a much more unbearable amount. I finally got medicated. But, during that time, I really started to analyze my own thoughts about how I go about living life. Long story short, I've reconsidered my situation, and I think I might have an actual disorder that needs to be addressed. So, back to the doctor I shall go...... Don't worry, this is a good thing! I might actually have a happier life this way. Smile, no worries. :)

(btw - I took this photo in Ireland - Torc Waterfall)


New Entertainment
I'm not sure calling the TV series I watched (and completed in the last week) "entertainment" is really appropriate. If anything, it was like participating in someone's therapy and watching them share all their internal damage. I watched all three seasons of "United States of Tara". This show is about a woman with DID (Dissociate Identity Disorder). It used to be MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder). It is a fictional story, but addresses some very real concepts. It was really hard to watch sometimes, but I did. I had to finish it. It may have caused me to think more about returning to the doctor to address some of my own issues (no I do not have alternate versions of myself living in my head....stop worrying). But, this is a good thing. I think I live in denial a lot, so if a TV show can help me snap out of that pattern, so be it.

New Apps
On a completely light-hearted note, I found a couple of fun new apps for my smartphone! One is called Quell: Reflect. It is a game of puzzles where you have to figure out how to move a little drop of water around increasingly difficult mazes. Super relaxing and yet frustrating! It is worth the $1.55 I paid for it. The second game is a brain stimulating game, lots of different questions, patterns, and memory games. This game, Brain Matter, is free!!! It's a fun way to pass the time, if you're sitting around doing nothing.

Hope you all had a great week! What have you done / learned / experienced lately that was completely new to you?