Lately, I don't think of this at all.

Things have been kinda puttering along for some time and nothing really blog-worthy has come up. The year had started out with such promise and promise is still here, though it feels as though its dropped slightly. Here are some things that have been going on.

Oakland Cemetery

In January, I had attended Second Saturday which is a monthly volunteering effort to help with the landscaping. I had wanted to do it for some time and I was really excited at the chance. I did something I cared about and that felt good. I quickly signed up for more volunteering opportunities and for the past couple of months, I've been training to become a tour guide and to work in the visitors center. Whenever I tell people that I volunteer at a cemetery, I do get the occasional odd looks, but once I start explaining the history and the quiet serenity easily found there, they don't think that it's such a bad idea. This past weekend was my first mentoring session and it went well.

Work

Work is...well, it's work. It's never too much fun but it's also never too boring. We've been working on a lot of great projects and getting ready for different presentations. It's been a blast working with Mike and JP (sometimes) and I'm grateful that I have a job.

Billy

Billy and I are doing well. We recently celebrated the fact we've been together for three years. I'm still not looking to get married any time soon. And I'm leaving it at that.

Health

Lately, I've been on a health food kick and I've had a desire to exercise. I haven't seen much difference and actually, I feel more tired and exhausted than ever before. Countless appointments need to be made (most especially, a dermatologist) and I just want to not feel as tired as I am.

If there's anything I've neglected to mention...oh well.

A historic day.

Today is Inauguration Day. Today is the day that Barack Obama became our 44th President of the United States (and the day that every single computer dictionary should update to show that typing 'Barack Obama' is NOT misspelled). Watching the ceremony today, Chief Justice Roberts messing up the Oath of Office, Obama giving such a speech that even my father was impressed, made me realize that this is an incredible moment in history that I was able to enable and bear witness to. But, it didn't quite strike me until tonight when I was watching a completely memorable movie that had one line that made me sit up and take notice.

TCM was running a marathon of Katharine Hepburn movies and, at 8:00 p.m., played "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" also starring Spencer Tracy and Sidney Poitier. This movie is already a classic for Tracy/Hepburn fans (the scene near the end where they look at each other is heartbreaking when you think about their relationship and Tracy's death so soon after shooting) and was groundbreaking for taking a hard look at interracial relationships (which, in 1967, the year this movie came out, the decision on Loving v. Virginia was made that ended restrictions on interracial marriage nationwide). But nothing about this movie struck me more than one simple line that Sidney Poitier says when speaking with Tracy's character about the challenges his kids are going to face (skip ahead to the :52 second mark):



If you didn't watch, when Tracy's character asks about how his daughter feels about their kids, he says, "She feels that every single one of our children will be President of the United States and they'll all have colorful administrations." 42 years later, we have a bi-racial president. Considering the fact that that's not as long ago as it could be, it makes me happy and proud that America has come so far. That's not saying that there's still a long way to go, but the fact that the same man who uttered that line is still alive to see Obama become president is absolutely mesmerizing.

I have no doubt that, while the road will be long as America repairs itself and its image, we'll be okay in the long run. With Obama as our president, I think we're off to a good start.

In a funk. And not a very rhythmic one at that.

Man...today has not been the best day.

All of my blogs lately feel like they've been dropping like flies. It all started with The Burgh Blog back late last year and now Going Five Hole is ceasing to update. Blargh. I mean, I understand it. I do. These blogs that I've been reading are popular. And when you start a blog just for fun and it gets popular, it starts to feel like a job. You have to be "on" all the time and, after a while, you just get burned out. So, while another website will be removed from my Facebook profile, I guess I'll just actively seek out new blogs that will in turn become popular and then will shut down. :)

Pens play tonight. They play the Ducks tonight (quack. quack. quack. quack. Okay, I'm done.) and they desperately need a win. Granted, it's a western conference team, but still. Totally important for morale. Especially when Crosby got injured on a really ridiculous hit and now won't be playing tonight. The injuries on this team are ridiculous: Crosby, Talbot, Scuderi, Letang, Fedotenko, Dupuis, Zigomanis, Gonchar...it's just too many good players getting sidelined when we really need them (though Ziggy and Sarge were injured a long while ago--Sarge was out in the preseason for cripes' sake).

And I'm just in a funk. Not quite happy with any situation that presents itself, but it could be a lot worse so I'm grateful for what it is. Really, all I want to do this weekend is camp out on the couch, watch some tv and especially watch the Steelers/Ravens game. Trés important.

Who's ready to be home? That'd be me.

Me? Superstitious? Of course!

So...I blogged the night of the Penguins/Thrashers game. They win. I don't blog for the Preds and Avs game. They lose. I blog the day of the Flyers game. They win. Call me superstitious, but I'll be blogging the days of the game until they lose. Which will probably be tonight given my propensity for being a jinx.

This week has been going at a snail's pace. I woke up this morning and realized it was only Wednesday. It feels like a late Thursday already. Or early Friday. Could it still be some sort of holiday doldrums? I don't know, but I'm not liking the outcome.

So, it's been confirmed that I will not be able to go to the inauguration. It's sad times, but considering how many people will be there and all the stuff their projecting (Metro not being able to handle that many people, food shortages, cell phone towers crashing, etc.), I think I might be okay not going. The only really sucky part is not seeing Sara, but I think I'll be seeing her later this year.

I was just looking at the place to put labels for this post and the examples and I honest to God wish I could say that I could label this post with the words scooters, vacation and fall. It sounds so lovely and perfect. Instead, I would probably label this post, misery, despair and dear god please win. Not really, but the last one would probably stick.

Pens v. Caps tonight. I don't get the game because I live in stinky ol' Atlanta and don't get Center Ice because "it's a waste of money." That's grounds for a break-up, right?

LET'S GO PENS.

I like my tea at Starbucks black and sweetened.

Blah. The Penguins played after my blog and won. Now they're all losy again and I want them so bad to win tonight. Blah.

I think Roger is covertly lowering my chair and making a mockery of the judicial system. But I can't be so sure.

My birthday is coming up at the end of the month. You know what I want? What I really, really want? Books. My insatiable need to have books has come back and all I want to do is spend loads of money at Borders/Barnes and Noble. I guess it would help to launch into a book I currently own, but I'm feeling quite apathetic towards my collection (and those of you who have seen my collection are probably gaping in horror at the screen) and feel like I need new life in my bookshelves.

In other news, the McRib is back. Alert the media.

It'll all be okay. At least, that's what I have to tell myself.

Anyone who has met me knows one thing for certain: I love the Pittsburgh Penguins. Love them. Love them. LOVE THEM. The love was sparked by my brother-in-law and has grown into an animal all of its own. My work computer rotates through 156 different pictures of the Penguins that I have collected. I try to go to every game they play here in Atlanta. I wear their shirts. I wear my jersey that I've had since high school. I'm crazy about them. In my eyes, they could do no wrong.

Except for right now.

The Penguins have faltered as of late losing their last five games. They're 0 for 32 on power plays. They've slipped from #2 in the Eastern Conference standings to #9. In a word, the Penguins' play has sucked. They're all over the place and can't seem to properly play the game. They've lost something in their step. And it's disheartening.

I can tell they're as frustrated as the fans are. I mean, if Sidney Crosby has a fight and draws over 20 minutes in penalties, you know he's frustrated. On the game last night against the Rangers, the expressions on their faces showed frustration. Versus showed Jordan Staal really expressing his emotions after a stick breaking. It's not a pretty picture.

I recognize that this is just mid-season. They're not completely out. But it's frustrating for all involved in this team.

Tonight they play Atlanta who have been having a particularly bad season right now. I think the Thrashers are just the team to snap the Pens' slump. I just wish they were playing in Atlanta.

I'm a writer? I forgot.

So I've been a terrible blogger as of late. But I never promised much, so I'm not that concerned.

With the new year, I found myself making a few New Year resolutions even though I don't see the point in them since I inevitably break them a few weeks in. One of these so-called "resolutions" that I made was to write more. Not just in a blog, but more creative writing as well.

I used to write a lot. I mean, a lot a lot. But as real life got in the way, my writing sort of took a back seat and then whenever I did write, I felt as though it wasn't as good as it could be. Frankly, I feel like I haven't produced anything good creatively since high school when my "budding" journalism career was just taking off (and we all know how well that turned out). Now any writing I do is copywriting for work and that's not really lending itself to creativity. My creative juices have run out and I need to figure out a way to get them back.

So I guess that my biggest resolution is finding more time or any time really to write everyday. I actually have a few old goofy books that have the one word pages and scenarios that no one ever seems to find themselves in so that should be a good jumping off point. Of course, there's still the tour de force idea that I've been kicking around for a few years as I've been unable to figure out how to set it up. Maybe this is the year I finally figure it out.

I hope 2009 is much more promising that 2008. It already is in my estimation.