getting started

So I have pretty much nothing certain in my life at the moment. I just moved but I'm staying in a room at a friend's house until I can get my own place; I just broke up with my boyfriend (though he thinks we are on a break and might get back together, and I'm not willing to contest that 100%); I just got out of grad school and do not have a job in my field (or a job of any kind).
I have my cat, my friends, my family, my church (All Souls UU), and my brain. Not exactly a small arsenal, but I really need to find a job in a hurry!

I also just spent perhaps the crappiest summer of my life being egregiously neglected by sed former boyfriend and I don't exactly look the way I used to/want to. So I came up with a list of things that I wanted to accomplish by october 21st. One month from the day I started (yesterday). By October 21st I will:

1. lose 10 pounds
2. have a good waitressing job and have $ under control
3. get my website up and running
4. have business cards
5. get applications in to TCG schools who are looking for professors
6. get some sort of theater gig in DC
7. find a good apartment for november 1st
8. get my portfolio dvd and resume to all theaters and schools in the DC area
9. sleep with at least one man I'm really attracted to
10. spend lots of time with friends and family
11. spend lots of time at All Souls (join choir)
12. find a volunteer activity (though that may be the choir)

I think I have been doing well on most of these counts. My priority this week is simply finding a job. I sent out 35 resumes this past weekend and had an interview yesterday and another one tomorrow. Last night Jen McDivitt and I went out for drinks at Zaytinya and I thought very clearly "I want to work someplace hip and busy like this". None of the places that have called me seem especially hip or busy (Mio and Adour). But I will persevere. I will also stop by Zaytinya and Central today to drop off resumes in person and say hello to the management. And I'm calling the general manager at Nora.

I will start singing with the choir on thursday and then Angela and I are going out for drinks afterwards. So that hits both friends and All Souls. Again, last night I had a friggin BLAST with Jen and last week I hung out with Lisa several days and went out to Ikea with Seth. I also went to Church on sunday for the first time in 3 years (I mean, I've been to church in the last 3 years, I just didn't like it much and rarely went back).

I keep looking around this city and thinking "this is home!" and I'm sort of surprised to hear that voice in my head.

I also went to a play reading last night and started being introduced to some local peeps. My friend Jason, from Mimis, directed the reading and was so lovely. He says he's got lots of suggestions for how I can connect to the city (though one of them was "take Joy's directing class at the Studio Theater" and I smiled politely while thinking "yeah RIGHT! I'd TEACH that class gladly, but take, NO WAY!").

And on to weight.
Now, I can't actually tell whether I will have lost 10 pounds from yesterday as I don't have a scale. But I know what it feels like to lose weight (also, there's probably a scale somewhere in this house, I'll figure it out). So my general plan is to do what I did in Sarasota: run/stretch/strength training monday through friday plus eat 1800 calories a day (with two or three times a month eating something delicious and highly caloric). here was yesterday as I didn't have time to start this blog then:

Sept 21
Ran: 30 minutes
Stretch: full routine (minus ballet legs on the floor)
Strength Training: 2 arms, 2 ab

food:
breakfast: 500 calories (ensure + cranberry juice and club soda)(no not in the same glass)
lunch: 280 (lean cuisine)
dinner: 450 (frozen mini pizza)
drink: 200 calories (I looked it up before I went out)
late meal: 350 calories (ensure shake)
day's total: 1780 calories :)

so far today I did the full workout and had a bowl of smart start cereal with 2% milk (320 calories total). I am going to deal with job stuff for awhile and then tonight I have been invited by the lovely couple that sold/gave me their mattress from Alexandria to go to another free play reading or I have been offered a spare ticket to see ZOMBIELAND. The only catch with the ZOMBIELAND ticket (which of course I can't wait to see!!) is that it's from Van who is making me a tad nervous that he wants to pick right back up where we left off 20 years ago which is not something I want (mostly because he's really suuuuuuuuuuper negative about everything he talks about).

we'll see.

pura vida!
jennifer