Debbie Does Drivel

Hi
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So, this is my first time here.
The idea of posting is slightly threatening to me, as people will be able to read my mind minutae should they choose. I may prefer to have my thoughts squirreled away in my own private journal. But I haven't decided yet. My own diary is extremely boring as it is (to the public at large), but it is damn interesting to me. Oh! The times I've shared with myself! Minute-by-minute conversation re-creations of IMPORTANT DEBBIE THINGS. Like, when I got mad at my husband for not doing the dishes. Or, when my friend Lisa didn't call me back. Or, or...that time when my boss so unfairly criticized me for something that OBVIOUSLY was NOT my fault. Good times. Good times.
At any rate, I'm betting the only people who'll read this Blogger thing are the friends I specifically direct to read it. And, that's OK with me...because that means I can go to boring town with my thoughts and know one will care but me.

So, at the moment, as the day has just started for me...there isn't too much for me to write. Just little things, like I am currently in the process of looking for a job, which is its own special brand of soul-suckiness. One woman called me last night at 9PM to say she'd received my resume and would like to interview me over the phone. She told me she was calling late from work. Uh, that's not a good way to promote the job. I'm not sure I'd want the type of job (unless I was writing screenplays, music, or doing something I would actually enjoy) that kept me at the office until 9PM. But I still tried to sell myself to her as a job candidate. It's like a date. Even if you don't like the guy, you want to make real sure he likes you. I stumbled over her question of why I want to leave my current job. Putting "They are sucking my soul out with an industrial-strength vacuum" into words is not easy. I mean, for most people, the reason they leave their jobs is they don't like the management, they want more money, or some such thing that doesn't sound like the thing prospective employers want to hear. So, I attempted to come up with something politically correct, and it just didn't translate. And that's another thing: as I become older, it is harder and harder to be phony, be PC, be untrue to myself...which is what looking for a 9-5 (or 9-9, as the case may be) job is all about.

Whilst pondering these deep thoughts, I am going to log off now and go over to www.scorchlive.com to listen to the music of a songwriter who knows what it's like to follow his dream. I need the inspiration.

Last week, my book club girls and I decided to have a "Networking Happy Hour." The secret agenda was to meet guys, the publicized agenda was "bring a friend and meet new people." So, we sent e-mails to everyone we knew and told them to bring friends to our happy hour. We said it would be a good way to meet someone new and break out of the "same old people" circle. We thought if he brought a friend and she brought a friend and so on and so on, that everyone would meet somebody new and different. In the e-mails I sent, I tried to be breezy, bright, and non-pressuring. You know? It's summer...let's sit outside, have a drink, and talk to new and exciting people! Let's live that old Sprite commercial with a jingle that sounds like Hanson wrote it! The one that is shamelessly be-bop, but completely epitomizes how you want your summer life to be!
Well, response has been minimal. So far, all my book clubbers are coming, and the people we see every week or so...but the outer fringes people have not RSVP'd. And, no one is really bringing a friend. So, it's like a happy hour with my book club. Which is fine, but the whole reason we came up with this idea (last week when we were all together)...was to BRANCH OUT. EXTEND THE CIRCLE. We all get so caught up with our routines, I thought this would be a good way to shake things up, inject some juju into the our existences.
Then there's the fact that I feel responsible. As the token married, I want to let my single friends know I CARE. I want them to meet men. I want to facilitate their meeting of these men. So, I decided we'd do this "Networking Happy Hour" and the sooner the better. Now, the whole thing is becoming more like a commercial for Folgers.
Why are people so hesitant to step outside of the box that is their life? Why wouldn't you welcome the opportunity to talk to someone new? I am bored with the same old thing. Isn't anybody else? Am I just projecting? Maybe everyone is perfectly happy with the routine...but wouldn't these people at least want to get a drink?

So I decided we're gonna have fun at this thing. It's nearly time to leave for my failed attempt at cruise directing...but who says I can't raise the fun quotient by a good bit of forced joviality? Certainly not me! Yippee!!!!!!!

The Happy Hour went OK. I made everyone get up and say their name, their occupation, and the last concert they attended. Yes, it was trite and cliche, but we needed an icebreaker, since there actually were some new people there. I may try this again...

Tonight Kev, his mom and I will be seeing "Shear Madness." We promised his mom we'd take her for Mother's Day and we are just getting around to it. She's so patient, and we make her wait every year for her presents. Shear Madness is the longest-running something-or-other ever, so wonder if it'll be good...or just fluff for the masses. Though I do tend to find something to like in almost every live performance. (Did not like "Chicago" though. Too overtly jazzy.)

Also want to see a movie this weekend. I am very slightly intrigued by AI...but more so by this: http://www.crankycritic.com/archive01/crimsonrivers.html

You know, last night we were with Kev's mom for the evening...and I just kept thinking: she is so boring. (I do feel guilty for this thought, by the way.) It seemed that nothing new or stimulating was being added to the conversation, every word seemed to take eons to actually come out of her mouth, and stories seemed pointless. I was also slightly hung over and extremely tired, so this probably exacerbated the impression. However, the whole time we were conversing, I was silently, but vehemently, screaming inside.

Around 10:30, I truly felt I could just not take it anymore. I dutifully remained fixated on her face as she spoke and tried to feign interest, but my efforts were getting weaker and weaker. Isn't that horrible? Despite the guilt, it's just so elitist of me to label other people "boring." Especially when I read back over some of these blogs...
and I realize...
I.
Am.
boring.
too.

How do you become non-boring? In Kev's mom's case, she is a creature of habit. She just doesn't do much that is new. Her days are filled with the same types of activities year after year. There is simply not much to talk about that she hasn't said before.
The same may be happening to me. I haven't even read the paper lately to hear about what other people are doing, so I can't talk about that. My last travel destination was Chicago...and I've been there countless times before. The last good book I read was the Golden Compass (oh! well, there's something...it WAS good...an interesting look at good vs. evil told in a young adult book but decidely NOT a true young adult book...it is one of a trilogy). The last movie I saw? I can't even remember. But I do want to see Shrek (wow. when I see this in writing, I see things are way worse than I thought).
My last concert was Brian Wilson/Paul Simon and this was a fluke since I went to volunteer and not to watch. The last CD I've listened to which I really like is Kasey Chambers (well, that's something too, it is excellent and beyond the norm...but Kev discovered it for me, so it doesn't count).
I have not had one original thought or idea for awhile. And original thoughts/ideas are spawned by mind stimulation. Mind stimulation comes from subjecting oneself to a variety of stimuli, like books, movies, music...and listening/looking to/at other original ideas via lectures, museums, maybe performance art. Albeit, I do live in San Diego where original ideas do not flourish...but I've got to do something.
I'll start with reading the paper to find out what is happening in the world, so I can possibly offer interpretations and maybe even analysis of what I find there. And I'll do it over coffee in a NEW breakfast spot and NOT the same old breakfast spot. But I will NOT invite Kev's mom.