This past Friday, I found myself running late for work. It seems to happen a lot lately, mostly due to the ridiculous comfort of my bed. Anyway. Friday I was so late, I missed the last possible bus by about 3 minutes so I opted to drive to work.

A bit frazzled, I get downtown with just a few minutes to spare. As I drove into the parking lot, I could see the booths where you pay and exit. The solitary employee working was a larger, blond haired woman. She was standing half in, half out of the booth, and she was dancing her ass off. Shaking her butt, shaking her hands in the air, huge smile on her face, dancing to a song only she could hear. She boogied and waved at me as I drove past.

Suddenly, it hit me. She is a parking lot attendant, and she is stoked. Doesn't matter what her station is in life, her job, nothing - she was filled with joy and was sharing it with anyone who bothered to take a moment to look.

I want that.

I'm trying to see and experience as much of the world as I can - my world here in Portland, and the planet at large. Conversely, I'm learning how to sit still a bit more. The upcoming 37th birthday has me worried that I'm wasting time, and I want to live a life I can be proud of at the end of it.

Right now my interests include photography, food - specifically eating locally and seasonally - and cooking, travel (always), reading, and finding places other than bars to meet people. Exploration, both internal and external.

I took a Thai cooking class this morning, and it was fantastic. Plans include mastering that cuisine and then moving onto the next. Mexican, perhaps? Japanese? Mmm. Ethiopian. Did I mention I love food?

...being brave!

...making people laugh.

...moving! As I said, I need to learn how to sit still a bit more often.

...procrastinating. Fortunately I can usually pull something out at the last minute that is decent, at least.

Hair? Tattoos? Junk in the trunk? I have no idea. I'd like to think it's my rapier wit and sparkling intellect, but somehow I doubt it. At the very least, I should be laughing.

Although I have heard that a lot of times I have a pretty severe/mean/mad/crinkled facial expression, and it's because my face isn't really attached to what's going on in my brain so it has a mind of its own... which is sort of creepy when I think about it so I'm not going to think about it. Just know that I'm nicer than I look (if I don't look nice).

Favorite books - Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal; The Red Tent; In Defense of Food; Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.

Movies - Sixteen Candles, Love Actually, Amelie, Blade 1 & 2, anything with Will Smith, lots of action or suspense, zombies or vampires. And kung fu, please and thank you.

Music - Generally the stuff that make other people think I'm depressed (Jeff Buckley, Cat Power, etc.). Ooh, and just recently, Rachael Yamagata's "Elephants." But on my iPod Shuffle - used specifically for working out - you'll get everything from Ice Cube to Justin Timberlake to the Drive-By Truckers to Aerosmith, NIN, Wolfmother and Jet.

Food - Sushi, burritos, and pizza are my three favorites. I'm trying to branch out with cooking, and have been reading up on eating locally/seasonally, etc. I love to cook, and more than that, I love love LOVE to eat. Have you been to Andina? Please, for the love of all that is holy, go there. NOW.

Learning experiences
Options
Love
Different perspectives
Awe
Rainy nights and fireplaces

What I can do to improve my life.

Missing friends in faraway places.

What's next!

Either happily home watching TV and making dinner, or out and about with friends, drinking or not, getting in some quality personal time.

I can make a fart noise by rubbing my shoulder against my face.

...you feel like it. If you think we'd get along. If you want to give me a million dollars. Or if you simply have something to say (and I bet you do).

I should probably add that if you send a message with glaring editorial errors (poor spelling, poor grammar, use of net-speak instead of real words), I'm much less inclined to respond. Yes, I realize this makes me sound like a jerk, but a girl's got to have standards.