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Friday, January 23, 2009

I can handle it

Last weekend was a test. It was test of my self-confidence. It was a test of my desire to still be just like the old me. The old, pre-kids me when I felt comfortable going out to dance clubs all by myself.

I had plans to meet at Ruby Skye in San Francisco with some acquaintances from my favorite dance club/Irish pub on the Peninsula. We firmed up plans to drive separately. We firmed up plans to meet at the club at a certain time. Then once I found the perfect street parking just a block from the club, I got a call saying that they would be delayed. They were meeting up with some other friends at the W Hotel first. Since I was not giving up my free street parking (the lot was $28!), I said I would head to the club solo.

Going into the club alone was relatively easy, but heading onto the dance floor solo took a little extra courage. As I stood at the edge of the floor I watched for a few minutes and tried to pick out the most-friendly-looking group of women. Fortunately they were very nice, and I stayed with them the whole night.

Earlier this year, I started to learn the joys of going out to dinner by myself. I also learned that I like traveling by myself. It forces me to get outside my comfort zone and talk to new people. And now I know that I still have it in me to go out dancing alone. I'm proud of myself, but honestly, I prefer the company of friends. Still, I won't let a lack of a companion hold me back from doing the things I want to do or going the places I want to experience.

And as for those lame acquaintances who ditched me -- their loss.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Getting serious

With just two weeks to go before the cut-off date, I decided to apply to grad school to get my MFA with an emphasis on creative writing. I've been meaning to get my masters since I graduated with my BA from Northeastern University more than 10 years ago.

Fortunately the program I'm interested in does not require the GRE, which makes applying at the last minute much easier. So now I'm schmoozing up former editors and colleagues so that they'll write me flowery and glowing letters of recommendation. And with all the work I've done on my book, I have an overwhelming amount of material to pick from when deciding what to submit for my writing sample. I suspect the applying part will be easy and the waiting part will be much more difficult.