41, looking at 42 in a few months

I thought I would look at what I felt when I turned 40 - see if anything had changed... Now, when I turned 40, I was working at the National Notary Association, traveling, making a little money after a year of being destitute. The heading to my brand new blog site said (and still says): Life really did get better at 40. Not perfect, but better. Great job, bad, bad hair, good TV, bad books, not enough exercise, bad doctor, a few good flicks, loser in the "relationship" department, good visits with Erin... See, lots of good stuff but too many bad things that I still have to work out. So this is me, working it out.

Did I work it out?

Then/Great job: maybe... I am very happy that I have a teaching position, just not sure yet about the subject matter - I am NOT a computer expert and the position really does call for expertise. But I love the administration, I enjoy most of the staff, and the kids are, by and large, great.

Then/Bad hair: What was up with my hair when I turned 40? I don't remember. Wait. I think I got a really bad perm. Which I cut off as soon as I could. Right now my hair is very short. I went and got it cut the other day and decided I would try a little highlighting. The stylist and I agreed that it would be a subtle warmth, nothing too blond. So of course it was the equivalent of zebra stripes. Bold brassy blond highlights. I looked like a freak. I swallowed back the tears, drove home, and colored my entire head back to my normal brown. So, haircut is okay, color is okay, texture is something akin to straw. But I wear myhair so short that I'll be cutting all this bad hair out in no time.

Then/Good TV: I still watch too much TV - nothing on right now that I am particularly obsessed with - but summer shows will be on soon - like Monk and Psych. And hey, new vampire series coming in the fall - and in one of them Jason Dohring (who I loved, loved, loved as Logan Echolls on Veronica Mars) will be playing a vampire in a supporting role. YAYAYAYAYAY! And since I am excited about it, and since it is a Sci Fi or Fantasy series, it will probably last two episodes.

Then/Bad books: I still read trashy novels, I always will. I wish Val McDermid would put out a new Tony Hill novel - I am in neeeeeeed. Just finished Robert Crais' most recent Elvis Cole book - which was really a Joe Pike book this time out - which is okay with me because I have a crush on the enigmatic, brutally efficient Joe Pike.

Then/Not enough exercise: I get lots of exercise these days. One of my goals when I moved to AZ was to exercise more, to lead an active life. I finally believe it might really happen. It turns out I needed a reason to exercise beyond the "I need to exercise" line. Ballroom dancing is the reason. I want to be fit so I can dance better. I want to be fit so I look better on the dance floor. I want to be fit so I am not paranoid about being held in someone's arms. When I am working out, I picture my goal - me dancing with a partner and enjoying it. It helps that Jen is a fit-aholic. I attach myself to her when I can and go along to the YMCA when she is having her training sessions or when she is meeting her 4000 workouts-a-week plan. Before it started being 243 degrees every day, I walked the dogs at night. Last night, after it had dropped 138 degrees and was only about 105, I took the dogs out for a brisk walk around the neighborhood. We even jogged a little. When I am done here, I will take them out again. Strange how my body is adjusting to the heat. I never thought it would. Hey, I'm not planning on any noon dogwalks. At noon I am safely indoors with plenty of AC blowing. But if the sun is down, I may be able to get dogwalking back into the exercise repetoire.

Then/A few good flicks: Since we've been here, I've been to see one movie. I am pathetic. I shouldn't even be allowed to keep my email name - movichik. I should be TVchik. Or internetchik.

Then/Loser in relationship department: Yeah. Still am. I tried, I really did. I went on something like four blind dates and hated every one of them. Internet dating is not for me. And it's not just that I don't like myself - it's something else. I think my taste in men is stuck back to when I was about 30. I like them a little too young. Oh. That's probably too much information. You know, it's weird - when I was around 30, I was pretty gone over a guy closer to 40. Now I would like to date someone closer to 30. Well, I would like to date someone closer to 30 once I have changed my appearance drastically.

Then/Good visits with Erin: So this is the worst of the list. Back then the NNA flew me up to the Bay Area about once a month - so I had nice free trips to see Erin. Now I live in AZ. I miss her a lot but she seems to have a very full life up at Berkeley right now so that makes it easier to swallow. Besides - she is coming in August so I have something nice to look forward to.

So, = if it stayed the same, + if it got better, and - if it got worse:

Job =
Hair +
TV =
Books +
Exercise +
Doctor (I don't have one, but I have great insurance starting soon, so I won't include this one right now)
Movies -
Relationships =
Erin -

Overall, I improved my life by one point. That's progress. Now, if I had to include my bank account or standing with the IRS, I don't think we would have seen improvement - but since I didn't mention them the first time around, I won't include them here. I'll take my improvement and just go walk the dogs and listen to Santana/Rob Thomas as I dance through the neighborhood (thank you Gary for a CD I thought was weird at the time - Santana's Supernatural - years later and it is still my number one CD choice - heavily featured on the old iPod).

Really, really late to the dance...

Way back in January of 2006 I posted that I was going to sign up for ballroom dance classes. I didn't. I was on the road too much - it just didn't make sense. Tuesday I had a half hour lesson. Today I had my third lesson. I'm absolutely as bad as I feared I would be. But I'm so happy that I am taking the classes. If I had a home I would be taking out a second mortgage to fund these lessons. As it is, I will most likely start prostituting myself on street corners - oh, no, that won't work. I guess I really do have to get a part time job. Weekends. Any suggestions?

So far I have learned the basic steps to the Foxtrot, Waltz, Rumba, Swing, Arizona Two Step (which my instructor renamed the Manhattan Shuffle when I expressed my distaste for country music) and the Cha Cha Cha. He's mixing in some turns and he's definitely making me sweat.

He? Joshua Smith. He's a great teacher. A little wacky but entertaining, funny, and talented. He wasn't supposed to be my teacher - someone messed up the schedule the first day I went in - so they called him and he raced down to the studio to cover (he's engaged to the owner's daughter - another instructor - so I guess he is obligated to pick up the slack) and I ended up with a great instructor. Supposedly he is ranked in the top one and half percent of all the Fred Astaire Studio instructors. Jokes on him - he's stuck with ME. For four more lessons anyway...

As nice as he is, I am ridiculously nervous at each lesson. I perspire (sweat, can't lie), I'm fat, I'm uncoordinated. And he makes me almost believe that I am making progress.

Anywho - school is going along just fine. I am working part time this summer but it will be back to full time in August (thank goodness - cause I need money and Jen needs me to make money. I have requested a whole bunch of software for the classroom and I think they are going to get it. Which is crazy. So I'll be teaching Microsoft Office and Newspaper and Yearbook and Graphic Design. Thanks to Montgomery/Cobb (Creative) for giving me the little knowledge I have so I can work through these classes... In the meantime, I spend my days working on a re-do of the school website. Which is pretty funny. I know nothing about web design - I am making it all up as I go.

Okay - gym is going to close and I still need to go work out. Ciao.