CourtneyP

I’ve been putting off blogging for a few reasons, and the excuses aren’t really all that good. The more time that passes between each entry, the harder it is to get back into the flow. The stupid thing is, I started this current blog to be free of the constraints of the old one, and I see myself falling into those old patterns.

I told myself that I’d write a New Year’s post, but there was so much to say about the past year, that I got overwhelmed and simply didn’t write anything. So here I am, three weeks into the new year and I still haven’t written anything. I figured I should just start typing and let things just flow forth and hit the “publish” button when my fingers stop.

Photos of me from each month of last year

As many of you know, the past year brought a lot of change for me, mostly for the better (and honestly, I can’t think of any changes that were really all that bad for me). I guess my only complaint right now is that there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do.

RL has taken precedence over my online life, although my offline life continues to be supplemented and documented online. I guess I can’t deny those geeky tendencies. Most of the people that I care for (and vice versa) know the fine details, so I won’t really waste the time and energy right now to recap what’s been up with me. I have no problem writing an email, going for coffee talk, chatting on the phone or IM, so hit me up so we can catch up sometime.

Oh, and that my attention span seems to be waning. I blame the internets.

Ooh! Shiny thing!

Hopefully, you’ll be hearing more from me!

Happy New Year!

I know I’m a bit late with this post, but of course, the craziness of this time of year has taken its toll. I’m a bit relieved that it is over, but a bit wistful as well.

So no year-end is never complete with out some List-Mania. I’m gonna type this out as it comes to me, and probably edit it later…

In the Year Two Thousand… Four

…some of my top movies:

• Garden State

• Napoleon Dynamite
• Shaun of the Dead
• Sideways
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
• The Incredibles
• Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Shrek 2

note: In writing this, I realize that I didn’t get to see as many movies as I wanted to this past year. That’s prolly why you’re wondering why I don’t have some particular movies listed. Wah.

…my top albums:

• Transatlanticism, Death Cab for Cutie

• Summer in Abbadon, Pinback
• Hopes and Fears, Keane
• The Spine, They Might Be Giants (natch)
• Franz Ferdinand, Franz Ferdinand
• Future Soundtrack for America, Various Artists
• Garden State Soundtrack

On that subject, I will add that I am attempting to participate in Rich‘s 2004 Mix CD challenge, which includes:

• Best New Music of 2004 (IMHO, of course)

• New to Me This Year

and I may take from Elke‘s book:

• Still Good As New

I’ll be posting those playlists later, for reference.

I suppose now that I’ve done the obligatory list entry, I hafta do the resolution post?

Heh. Maybe tomorrow.

All the social software in the world don’t seem to drastically help those of us who are introverts at heart. We are the ones that grew up timid, shy kids who barely spoke to anyone we came upon. Our hearts would beat fast whenever it came to talking to someone new, or when it came time to speak in front of the classroom. We around walked with our heads down to avoid the chance that someone might want to talk to us.

We are geeks. Hear us squeak.

Granted, I have become a lot more assertive as I grew older, enough to get by in the world socially and professionally. But, for the most part, I still maintain my nature of keeping to myself. Sure, I go out, I socialize a bit… but then at the end of the day, I go home and that’s pretty much the end of it. Nothing further.

And don’t get me wrong, I love all the gatherings I’ve been going to lately!

In a discussion with MJ not too long ago, it was pointed out that many of us seem to have tons of acquaintances and not enough friends. We try so hard to keep up with all the acquaintances that we meet through work, friends of friends, social events, sports, concerts, common interests, etc., that we don’t have the time or energy to maintain a real friendship amongst the craziness. The cliché “things to do, people to see” becomes an everyday mantra.

Not to say that I’m the party girl or the social butterfly, but the internet has definitely increased my circle of friends and acquaintances. It’s certainly no chore, but it’s definitely time consuming to keep up with everyone IRL and OL, as Nicole has pointed out. We socialize, but in different contexts, let it be at the coffee shop or on IRC, at a party or through blogs. Either way, it takes time and effort.

So, what’s my point? I think we all have increased our social circles via acquaintances, but in turn, have neglected to maintain friendships.

A funny thing I have noticed is that there is a common sentiment that we do not seem to know when it’s appropriate to just call someone up and say “Hi” or ask them out for coffee, or to just hang out.

Consider this an open invitation. I’m serious. If I know you (IRL) and we haven’t seen each other in a while, I ask you to call me, e-mail me, whatever. Let’s go for an iced latte or go to the movies. Let’s get to know each other better.

Spring is coming. I can feel it in my veins.

Mostly, I feel it in my sinuses.

The blossoms are appearing on the fruit trees all over town… as beautiful as they are, they are deadly. They wreak havoc on my allergies, which only came to be only a few years ago. It looks like those allergies are here to stay. I must’ve cursed myself when I started telling people that I never had allergies growing up, and I seemed to be the only one in my immediate family that wasn’t cursed with the itchy eyes and chronic sneezing. By the next spring season, the symptoms arrived. Cursed pollens! *shakes fist*

I actually can’t say that I know exactly what I am allergic to, but I know that flowering plants and grasses can irritate ‘em to high heck. They seem to occur on and off year round, so I cannot pinpoint precisely what triggers my eyes to water, my nose to run, and my sinuses to explode.

I am not about to go through the skin prick test to find out exactly what causes my allergies. Have you ever had that done? It has always looked incredibly painful to me. I have memories from my childhood, accompanying my mom to the allergy clinic, where I would see other patients with dozens of pricks/scratches on their arms, and some on their backs. Eww. Those sights affected me greatly as a child… I thought that allergies were the worst thing to happen to a human being, well, besides having your head or other body parts severed. I feared the day that the possibility of taking that test would arrive.

To tell you the truth, I would fear having that test done today. I have extremely sensitive skin, and any kind of irritant makes my skin turn red and itchy and not heal for days on end. It’s just not worth it.

Oh, and enduring allergy shots? Forget it. It always seemed like a pointless exercise to have to get a needle pushed into your arm that might or might not work for your allergies. My parents were on the receiving end of those needles for many years, but they still suffer from full-on allergies.

I prefer to treat my symptoms as they come. Currently, I use a one-two punch of Flonase and Claritin, and Opcon-A eyedrops as needed. So far, so good.

I’ll have this thing licked yet. Or at least I’ll blow it out my nose.

Birthdays can be dangerous.

Especially if they bring you a copy of Simcity 4 that works beautifully on your powerbook with graphics acceleration.

Oh yeah, autumn seems to have begun… outside.

*sigh*

That is all.