If the summer is hot, then why do I have a cold?

While stuck at home in the pressure-cooker that is the southern United States in the summer, I have contracted (from Little Sister) the dreaded summer cold. As usual, when infected, the first thing to go is my voice, so that is possibly the reason I felt compelled to start a blog today. If I cannot speak, then I must type. I am unsure what happens if I accidentally lose my fingers tomorrow, but that is a completely seperate issue. Dog Child is also sick with the runs from some antibiotics the vet gave her after she was spayed last week. So thank Oprah, I am spared from smelling what I imagine is probably pretty foul, but I can still hear when Daddy yelled that she had had an accident next to his prized cherry office desk (and then again in their bedroom, it was gross). Due to the cold medication, I spent of the day semi-comatose, a state that only bothers me when I am sick. When I'm fine, I actually enjoy being lazy, because then it's just a form of procrastination, and I usually feel (almost) no guilt from taking a day to glue myself to HGTV or watch a marathon of Arrested Development. That's totally backwards, I know. Today, it was reruns of CSI while cuddled with sick Dog Child. They were the good episodes back from the days when the Miniature Killer kidnapped Sara and everyone found out that she and Grissom had been dating for like 2 years.I was somewhat productive today, though, since 1) I started this blog 2) I applied for an extra job as an online tutor and 3) I applied to be a guide on About.com, which apparently you get paid for. (Who knew?)

Mostly, though, I expanded on a line of thought that has been bothering me lately. This past year was by far the most difficult year of my life, and part of it was that I realized that leaving the nest stripped me of a major part of my identity. For my entire life, I had been with my parents, a unit to their whole, but suddenly I was the independent unit and (not to get all hokey and psycho-analyze myself or anything) but I think it caused a fairly major identity crisis. To this end, my immediate to-do list revolves around things that I can do in the next two weeks to make my life feel more purposeful and more like my own. I pledge to:

• I am determined to get out my debt mess and start managing money as Suze Orman would like me to. Seriously, Suze Orman is who I want to be when I grow up. Her motto of "People first, then money, then things," is brilliant and I've decided to put it as one of my life affirmations on my fridge when I get back to life in the city. I hope I didn't just break some copyright law or something...
• I am determined to lose weight. MUST, MUST, MUST lose weight. I downloaded the Weight Watchers iPhone app and then joined the program, but haven't gone to a meeting yet. I've done it, with limited success, in the past, but I know it does work. Favorite Cousin-In-Law has lost an astonishing amount of weight. She has three kids and a husband, while I am only responsible for Dog Child, so there's really no excuse for why I don't have the time or energy to do it.
• I am determined to get a significant amount of work done over the summer. I have a very long list, and it's just possible that it's unattainable right now (since it's already June 7th and I've done nothing on it so far...) but I am determined to try.
• I am currently about a third of the way through Wicked, which is an awesome book. I will post a full review as soon as I'm finished. Reading non-school related items has been a goal of mine for a while, since I believe that it encourages creativity and a more balanced life.
• I have also decided to get back into my old hobbies. I was really into photography and drawing in high school, but I haven't touched either in a long time. I also learned to knit with Cousin-In-Law but haven't done that either lately, while she has an Etsy store. Etsy could be a good way to make some more money to supplement my meager student income.
• After a recent move, my apartment looks like a nuclear bomb hit it. I've been scouring the internet for organizational design ideas, which I promise to share.  

Rediscovering my hobbies, getting work done, organizing my apartment, and consciously trying to become more balanced are lofty ideals, I know, but they are all steps to my ultimate goal: creating a grown-up version of myself who is someone that is a whole, complete person, independent of what the rest of the world says.

Cast of Characters

Me: I'm a bookish nerd who buys books instead of paying the gas bill, a procrastinating grad student with a mile long to-do list, a hopelessly naive liberal who wants to change the world, a bra-waving feminist rebelling against my Baptist upbringing, a giggly flirt who likes to show off her goods, a Cancerian nester who loves World Market and Pier 1, and a sarcastic and blasphemous comic with a filthy mind.

Cali Friend: I met Cali Friend last year when I moved to a new city to begin my graduate studies. We hit it off immediately, and she helped me through the most difficult year of my short life. Cali Friend has had trials of her own, but is always there to be a shoulder to cry on. I honestly do not know what I would have done without her.

Medi Friend: Medi Friend is currently in medical school. We met through a mutual friendship with Cali Friend, and the two of them have become my best friends in the New City.

Dog Child: My beloved labradoodle, who loves to lick away food crumbs and tears. She will sometimes appear in the blog as "20% of my disposable income."

Dog Niece: Cali's own labradoodle, a half-sister to Dog Child.

Mama: I'm from the south, so it's Mama, not "mom" or "mother." We've had disagreements, of course, but I worship the ground she walks on.

Daddy: See above for note about Southern tradition of naming parental units. He's a hardworking, decent man, but nevertheless, he has ended up as a therapy topic several times already.

Little Sister: I use the term ironically for my sibling who was born five years later, but has decided to grow seven inches taller than me.

Favorite Cousin-In-Law: Although we are technically of no genetic relation at all, I consider her my older sister. She gives great advice and is always willing to lend an ear to listen to the trials of my warped life. She and my cousin are married with three kids, all of whom I adore and attempt to spoil whenever possible.

Voldemort: My ex-boyfriend. He told me he loved me, I told him I loved him. I was telling the truth. He wasn't. Sadly, we share a relatively small social circle, so I have to see him. This does not mean, however, that I can't give him the nickname of Harry Potter's evil and only partially human nemesis. Still working on the forgiveness thing.



This Cast of Characters will grow as I mention people already in my life, or meet new ones (preferably hot, male ones, but I'm not going to hold my breath on that one...)