I'm back!

So much has changed since I last blogged more than two weeks ago! I've been trying to think of witty and interesting ways to encapsulate my recent evolutions into a series of hilarious and poignant blog posts, but I think I'm just going to have to jump right into the mess and start writing where I am.

First of all: I have a new job!! Back in December I had applied to a ginormous (seats 250, has a 100-foot bar) restaurant in midtown Manhattan, hoping to be hired as a bartender. The manager called me a few weeks after I dropped off my resume and said she had a server position available.

It wasn't what I thought I wanted, but fortunately my unemployed ass realized: "I need a job, and someone just offered me one." So I took it!

Waiting tables is one of those things I had declared loudly and often over the years that I would NEVER do. I thought I didn't have the temperament for it, that it would be miserable, and that I was "above" it somehow. Well, I guess I've changed enough that I've done a complete 180 on that front! I had three days/nights of training last week and I start my own shifts next week. I can honestly say that I am excited and looking forward to it!

Also included in the list of "things I always said I'd never do, but now I enjoy them" are:

-getting married
-doing yoga
-wearing mascara
-eating seafood
-reading personal development books (aka 'self help'--though that term still turns me off)
-learning how to manage money

For my own life, at least, "never say never" has proven to be a very good policy!

Learning to manage my money better is one of my new year's resolutions, and I've started by signing up for daily e-mails from DailyWorth.com. I have a long way to go, but the important thing is to just get familiar with the areas of personal finance that intimidate/mystify me and start taking baby steps. I listened to a podcast interview with the founder of DailyWorth and I liked what she had to say. If you're in the same boat, check it out!

My other new year's resolution is to lighten up. Yup, that's it! I inflicted so much doom and gloom on myself in 2010, wallowing in unemployment and having pity parties for myself because I didn't know what my "purpose" or "dream" was. I still don't, but thankfully I've realized that I won't find it by sitting on the couch (or desk chair) and fretting about it. I really think that loneliness is the worst part of being unemployed (or working from home). I don't think being a waitress will fulfill me until the end of my days, but all my new coworkers are friendly, kind, and fun to be around, so it's a good start!