Team player.

KJ has tried to prepare me for football season. He thinks it'll test our relationship. He doesn't think I'm "ready" for the obsessive football talk. While I can't imagine anything breaking us, I can predict a ton of annoyance. I'm already sharing him with his 20 other hobbies. Hopefully he'll compensate in other ways.

Mean girls.

Earlier this week, while grabbing a snack at Panera, I gave my number to a girl who I'd love to go shopping with. Who does that... what a creep show. I think I need other relationships, outside of those I've been handed for being KJ's girlfriend.

And while I was trying to make connections here, I forgot to call my best friend, Shannon, on her birthday. Totally forgot. It didn't even cross my mind. I was away from my cell phone all day, preoccupied with whatever... and I blew it. I'll do better.

Stuffed.

When it comes to food, I have huge voids to fill. Once I've found "my favorite this" and "my favorite that," I'm on a desperate mission to replace them. So far, I've found replacements for my favorite Indian, Vietnamese, and Mediterranean food joints! Unreal! My new Vietnamese place is just 5 minutes away from my office, and has a fridge stocked with soybean milk. I thought for a while that I'd forever crave curry from Bacchus in Soho and beef skewers from old faithful: Thai Angel. I'm so satisfied with my meals here... and I'm not blowing up.

Of truth and trust.

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. –Victor Frankl

It's been 30 days too long. I'm so torn with this blog. It's hard to be completely honest with the world, the blogosphere, whoever's out there. But I set out to tell a story here (hell, we're still in chapter one.) So, back at it!

As planned, I got a job. Graphic design for a non profit that I love. Working in the South has turned out to be... hard. (I'm at a loss for the right adjectives right now.) It's different. Everything is tiny. Trends that are a part of my vocabulary have yet to even take off here. I'm constantly pushing at limits that I've never had before. In short, I'm not sure what's going to happen... but I have a job.

My friend count here is still pretty low. I forget that everyone is friendlier. Coming from a place where is taboo to smile at a passerby... it's tough to even say hi to someone I admire. Lots of missed opportunities. Am I being too hard on myself? Ah.



Some Gloria Vanderbilt love.

Chow Bella.

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. –Annie Dillard

Fishmongers! A seaside style fish house in downtown Durham. I can't forget that fried goodness and the cajun tuna. Often, I find things that are "My favorite this" and "My favorite that". Oddly, my time is New York didn't yield too many favorite restaurants. I rarely had time for a normal dinner... It was a take-out lifestyle. By the time I go back, I'll have compiled a list of Foodie Must Haves.


Spending the weekend in Wise, North Carolina. If country folk say they're going to the country, this is it.

Love chub.

The goal is to not gain 40 lbs of relationship weight. It happens... it's almost expected. You're in love, you're comfortable, you eat, you relax. Coming from New York, where I walked a couple miles daily, just out of necessity, I'm even more susceptible to a huge gain.

KJ keeps me active. Sort of. He's super athletic but it doesn't rub off on me. I've debated joining a gym for a while. I really loathe memberships though. (Sidenote: Jessica Hishe's gym concept is brilliant). I went for a run 2 mornings ago. It was scenic, but I doubt the routine will stick. We're a "sporty" couple. weekdays at the pool, bowling on Saturday, horse races on Sunday. If only that burned 1000 calories/day.

I'm So Julia.

Me. And Julia Roberts. Going out on a limb for about a paragraph. As if this whole Raleigh situation isn't already a limb in the midst of hurricane season. (Wow, how quickly I digress.) My life, recently, draws such close parallels to the roles Julia Roberts has played. In no logical order at all:

• StepMom - all of it, literally.
• Charlie Wilson's War - ruthlessly steering negotiations that lead to wins (amongst a few losses).
• Pretty Woman - days with our loved ones, being taught how to select silverware from my place setting, as if I've never... eaten. Or, my resume being questioned, and my breeding, and my social security number 5 times backwards.
• Eat Pray Love - if the movie turns out to be anything like the book, it's dead on. Hiatus from corporate culture, on a mission to experience everything else. Everything. Seeing things for the 1st time.
  
• Mona Lisa Smile - ignoring doubts from friends, because really, I'm the one who has to live this life.
• Mystic Pizza - wishing now that I'd seen it...
  

That's just how I feel today. Tomorrow... I could be Queen Latifah.