Post-Christmas wrap up

Christmas is over and all things considered, it went very well. Things I learned:

• Always start dinner sooner than planned 
• Always start the gift making sooner than planned 

Every year Mom and I go back and forth about who should get a Christmas gift. I err on the side that less is more while Mom wants to keep the extended family included, even though we never see nor speak to them unless there's a wedding or a funeral. As this year has been hectic, we decided to forgo the traditional gift-giving and instead much merriment went into making heart-felt, homemade cookies and the ever-fabulous Creme de Vie (Cuban eggnog).

Officially unemployed

My cup runneth over

I'm one of those people who has insisted on buying bottled water. Smart Water, Fiji or Zephyrhills has always been in stock because I'm convinced they have less nastiness than what's on tap in my sink. Portability has been another issue because even though I own at least three reusable water bottles, I always manage to leave them somewhere and frankly, the water just doesn't taste the same.

The debate of bottled versus tap will have to continue without me because I've begrudgingly jumped on the tap wagon because I'm spending a lot of money on bottled water. On average it's about $25 a month, not to mention all the plastic containers that get thrown away. It may not sound like a lot of money, but I could be putting it away into my rainy day fund or at the very least on a new pair of shoes.

Because I still refuse to drink straight from the tap, I bought a PUR faucet-mounted filtration system. There's a Brita pitcher in the fridge I use for Harley, but the black haze that rests on the bottom grosses me out, even though Brita swears it's OK. The set up was fairly easy once I opened the instruction booklet and stopped guessing how I thought it should work. The only drawback so far is that it's just not cold enough, but that's why the good Lord invented ice.

This will work for now. If I ever want to splurge on water it's always at the store. Thankfully my parents also stock bottled water, so I can also sneak a couple from them every once in a while.

The times they are a-changin'

I resigned from my job today. I do not have a confirmed job lined up. It's both the ballsiest and dumbest thing I've probably done. Ever.

This is something I've thought about for a while. I had practiced multiple versions of the resignation speech at least 100 times, but for all the prepared voice inflections and hand gestures it was still a difficult experience. I thought I was going to word vomit all over my boss.

A hot mess

Every couple of months I go through my closet and make a trip to Goodwill. The cleaning spree is usually inspired by some television program, one usually involving Niecy Nash. Those "Clean House" episodes that feature hoarders scare the bejeezus out of me. The process is empowering. With every item that goes into the donate pile, I feel a little lighter. It's only until later when I'm at the mall or browsing online that I find a lust-worthy item. I convince myself to buy said item by reminding myself of all the crap I got rid of, so naturally there's room in the closet for another pair of shoes. It takes little convincing, really, as I do love me some shoes.

This season's purging session is long overdue. Almost a year overdue in fact. Now there's a pile of clothes, shoes and bags almost my height waiting for me to load into the car. The time has come, I've been postponing the inevitable for too long. Not only do I need to get this out of my apartment and get my tax-credit receipt, but I need to reclaim my floor space. The apartment is small enough, I don't need to sacrifice valuable square footage to things I no longer want.

The loading process wasn't as bad as anticipated, although it did require four trips up and down the stairs. Three volunteers helped unload the car. Within 10 minutes I was done and on my way. 

The kicker of course is I should have been more vigilant before leaving the house. I opened my closet and immediately found more stuff that needs to get to Goodwill. Stat.

The next big thing

I pick up new hobbies like Perez Hilton picks on celebrities. With each project I become obsessed with buying the right supplies, how-to books and planning how I am going to be the next big:

• linguist 
• scrapbooker
• photographer
• embroiderer
• chef
• health fanatic
• gamer
• blogger

Two years ago, I was convinced I could de-stress my troubles away by picking up a needle, some embroidery floss and a loom. I was going to embroider patterns on dinner napkins (with matching kitchen towels), a cozy blanket and pillowcases with cute sayings to give away as gifts. That lasted long enough to finish three napkins. Then the supplies were put away and forgotten. I was on to the next fun hobby.

This is not a quarter life crisis (I hope)

I've noticed I'm a little distracted lately. It took me almost a week to write this post because I couldn't sit down at my computer long enough to put thoughts together. After much careful contemplation and some wine to clear my head, I've decided I need to get rid of some of the excess. What's that mean exactly? Don't know. I figure if I start purging the superfluous from my life I'll feel more satisfied. I make no promises, but I'll give it a whirl because everything has become a bit too routine for my liking.