Points off for Incoherence

I have a new addiction aside from caffeine and shoes...and the hordes of other frivolities I can't live without: reading other people's blogs (places other than on here I mean).
It all started with reading the Glamour magazine dating blog. This chick Alyssa knows/meets more men than humanly possible, dates them all, writes about it, and asks readers to weigh in on daily polls about what she should do next. The draw there is obvious. Who wouldn't want to have the vicarious fun of fucking up someone else's dating life with capricious advice instead of her own for a change?

From there, I found out about this one called Greek Tragedy by a Stephanie Klein. She's also a writer who started out writing about life in NYC...although now she's gotten married, moved to Texas, and gotten pregnant. But somewhere between worrying about gestational diabetes and what kind of Rachel Ray side dishes to make for Thanksgiving, she has some really good observations and creative writing exercises she's done.

From her weblinks, I've discovered more blogs, mostly by women, writing about work, friends, relationships, creativity, politics, celebrities, and a million other things. I'm not sure why I like it so much, other than it seems like, as different as individual women are, whatever city we live in, whatever work we do, we spend time thinking about very similar things. Maybe that's comforting.

Anyway, it inspires me. Makes me want to write more often. However, I don't think I could be a daily blogger...does anyone really care what I did last night? In case you do, Karma and I watched Strictly Ballroom, after which I salsa-ed around the house for the rest of the night. Aren't you glad you asked? Sorry there are no pictures available.
What's weird is, just as soon as you think there's a deep interconnectedness between people and that we are all just here to build each other up, there's always someone to bring you back to reality. Mine was this morning. I went to Starbucks with a coworker that I usually avoid spending quality time with (but we were both on our way at the same time). She said she heard I had a birthday coming up and wanted to know how old I would be. She is a good 5-7 years older, so I didn't mind telling. Then in a seemingly unrelated question, she wanted to know if I had a boyfriend. When I told her no, this was her response, "You better work on that; women in their early 20s have all the power when it comes to dating. If you don't find someone before 30, you will regret it."

Find someone? Geez, forget coffee, let's buy cianide and end it all. In fairness, as I mentioned before, she's a little older than me and single too, so maybe it's been a bad dating month. But seriously...is the situation as dire as all that? It was early and I was a little shocked, but I think I said something like, " Wow, I'll be sure to hook up with the wrong guy ASAP."
I'm not trying to be a bitch, I get her point. It is much easier to meet people (in sheer volume) when you are younger, college and all that. But whoever said it's quality not quanity that counts hit it on the head. If I wanted to choose from strings of men, I'd try the modern equivalent of the mail order bride catalogue, online dating. It totally works for others, but it's just not me. Is it wrong to prefer the organic method of meeting people through your friends and acquaintances, even if that limits the number of options? I don't know 100s of guys; I know a few gems. Good enough for me.

As for nearing the big 3-0, I'm really really okay with being 28 next week. I was thinking the other day about the difference between life now and when I was 22. Six years makes a big difference. I wouldn't go back even if I could, I don't think. Yes, perhaps I could make better decisions now, but where's the fun in that? I had a great time in my early 20s. Lots of love, laughter, and trouble. But truth be told, the 22-year-old me was a little bit of a dip and a lot of a drama queen. There's still plenty dippiness left (very little drama queen), but overall, in the past year or so, I've become much more secure in my life and my choices and sooooooo much happier than I was then. It's not a bad place to be for a change.

So welcome 28. I think it's going to be a good year.

Oh, and go read some blogs.

11/17/06