Hodgepodge (or I'm burying this lead....)

Well. Some changes have come about.

• Today's Dinah's birthday. And next week is our 1st year anniversary. These two events being so close together again underlines some great planning on my part. I'm not a good shopper (especially for her it seems), so having these two gift-related events together doesn't play to my strengths.
• I contacted my father last month for his birthday. I didn't say much besides happy birthday and left open the possibility of us talking through our issues. He was away, so it took him a week or so to get back to me. His message was fine. He told me where he had been, what he'd been up to while away, and said he wanted to get together with Dinah and I and his woman-friend (wife?). And, me being me, it took me a while to process through everything and figure out what I wanted to say and how to say it. But, I finally did that this morning. I pretty much just said I didn't want to argue it out anymore, but I felt he'd acted inappropriately during the divorce and I don't think he's gonna change me mind now. And if we're gonna get together and figure it out, he'd just have to accept that's how I felt. I don't know how fair of me it is, but I really think that's the best I can (or am willing to) do. So. We will see, I guess.
• The gumshoe stuff is coming, but I've run into editorial decisions that I'm over thinking. I have two and a half posts just about done, so they'll come soon (hopefully at least one this week). Sorry, I know I said there'd be some this week, but I just couldn't make up my mind.
• The Great Buck Howard. Dinah and I saw a free screening of this movie on Wednesday and I was impressed. I'm really starting to like Colin Hanks. And John Malkovich is always solid. It's a good movie and worth seeing. And I liked it. I wanted to really like it, but. The overall message of the movie--(Sort of a SPOILER here) that if you're doing what you love, you'll be able to find the money to make everything work out--is one that I think would be better accepted if the economy weren't turning to shit around us. The theme, though, seems to be a constant from Hollywood. Which makes sense, I guess. I mean most people who make movies have money now and probably didn't have money when they started. And they're doing what they want to do now. So, yeah, if they can do it, I'm sure they wonder why everyone else cannot. And truthfully, I want to believe it. Everyone probably wants to believe it, right? But, yeah, this is not true. Maybe the economy is making me pessimistic (or I'm just getting old), but it just seems like this kind of theme was something I would've loved a couple years ago (five years ago for sure). But I couldn't quite get my head around it on Wednesday. Getting back to the movie, I think there was just too much going on in the world outside the theater for me to completely believe the story inside.
• I got a job. This is probably the biggest news for me. I had an interview last week and got an offer last Monday and start work tomorrow. I'm excited and nervous. It's a paralegal position, so this is good.
• I've also made the decision to not talk about my work stuff online anymore. Becoming a paralegal there are issues of client anonymity, but more than that, I just never really got the enjoyment of talking about my work crap that I thought I would. After I was outsourced, it helped to have this outlet, but mostly, I don't think it helped me think about things. If anything, I think it made me angrier. So. It's not like it's been a big staple of my blog lately anyway, but there you go.
• It's funny. I was laid off right before labor day, so holidays were always on my mind when thinking about getting a new job. Initially I wanted to be employed by Halloween, but that didn't work out. Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Christmas, New Year's, MLK, President's Day and Valentine's all went by as my new "deadlines", with nothing. I got the job just before St. Patrick's Day. It probably wasn't the best way to think about it. I mean getting a job in this climate is hard, and doing it by a deadline is impossible. You can't control who's going to call you. All you can do is put together a good resume (which I'm never confident I do) and a good cover letter (which I'm only a little more confident in than my resume) and hope someone sees what they want in there. I'm a smart guy. I'm a good worker, but I don't know how you'd see it just from a resume. And truthfully, my interviewing skills aren't always the best either. I have a tendency to over think things and become really nervous. So. Next time I'm looking for a job (and God willing that'll be years away), I've gotta remember that it's just about doing it and not always about doing it fast that's the important thing.
• MLB package this year. Which is good, because I've got a good feeling about this Cardinals team. I think Carpenter's gonna be good (and healthy, I say knocking on wood), which combined with Adam Wainwright could give us the best 1-2 in the Central. Pujols is gonna be Pujols. I think Molina's bat is on the upswing. And I'm really optomistic about Khalil Greene. And Tony will figure out the bullpen. He will. It's what he does. I'm not one for making predictions, but I think this team will be fun to watch and in the hunt. Which is all I ask for.