Thanksgiving

Thursday: I find out Patrick Wolf is playing that night. However, I am tired and need to do the bathroom. I give myself a test: take a nap and see how I feel. I wake up from sleep, check mail, and go back to sleep.

Friday: Call to cancel a driving practice. I felt lame for not confirming it sooner. Clean bathroom.

Today: Go to driving school for my first on-the-road lesson. I should relax, not grip the wheel or push on the levers so hard. Right. I was just glad I made it out of the parking lot without hitting anything.

I hunt for my bus pass, but it is nowhere. I tried to cancel my reoccurring pass order, but I cannot get my account open. That annoys me. I'm not happy about having to spend more money on a pass when I just got this one. Plus, my copy of Letters From Earth is missing.

I should be getting some chocolate treat for the party later. Instead, I play Kingdom of Loathing and feel frustrated that I cannot think of where either of those items are. I wonder if it is worth it to go to the party.

I have veggies I should steam for dinner rather than going out. Sunday, more driving and visiting my brother.

My co-workers swear an awful lot on the job. I try to keep my cursing to a mutter. Stupid computer system.

I munch when I'm nervous. I also hate not being able to buy books written by people I know.

I went to a concert. Ha ha, Rodney Roadsteamer thought I was in college.

I got to organize the reading night. Even if it is at the last freaking minute.

I cleared out most of the papers in my room.

Being too tired to go to a birthday party kinda stinks.

Do I take a drawing class, go to driving school, or go to a novel-writing workshop with Melissa Scott?

Who am I going to ask for letters of recommendation for when I apply to graduate school?

Why does the idea of 'branding myself' make me vaguely uncomfortable? Establishing a reputation I can understand, but 'branding' makes me think of Comet. You buy it, use it, and throw it out when it's empty.

"CEO of You, Inc."? But I don't get to spend other people's money or organize people, unless you count the voices in my head. I guess, however, you cannot sell a book called No, Really, You're Going to Have to Do This All Yourself, and Be a Pain in the Ass to Boot, So You Can Get a Good Job. Or, You're Going to Be Laid Off Eventually: Proactive Architecting For The Unstable Job Market.

( Bad joke ahead )

But if I am going to think of myself as some sort of inanimate object, I better go whole hog. Like being so horrified by autopsy pictures that you feel compelled to see every website featuring them.

Get myself a logo, invent some buzzwords, find out the demographics of people most likely to think I'm great, and have a Mission Statement and Code of Ethics. Maybe figure out my 'core competencies' and find clever business-ese terms to describe my hobbies ('interconnected challenge-transforming virtual community-building' == 'playing Kingdom of Loathing a lot'). Hey, I know PowerPoint. If I play my cards well, I could be the next Microsoft or Scientology!

The hard part is I'm a writer who can learn technical stuff and sometimes help out other people. I rather be good, reliable and unpretentious, like a generic or a farmer's market booth or something. Besides, all that five-year planning would make for thick resumes.

I didn't pass the Medical Terminology exam. Edit: I did now.

I shoveled for a while and it sucked.

I am waiting for an informational interview subject to call.

PS She called. She is part of a longitudial study for mental health at Simmons. I got two things from this: 1) if I want a research job, I better refamiliarize myself with SPSS and interviewing; 2) Simmons is growing and has decent benefits for employees.

Have I repented for being a lazy bones and staying home?