Wow, I can’t believe it. This will probably be my last post of 2002. A year that started on one note is ending completely different then I would have ever planned, and I can’t complain at all. It’s been officially 1 year today since the last time I had any contact whatsoever with the Insignificant Other. It’s been 5 years since I first started to learn to hand code HTML. It’s been … a lifetime in a year it seems. I said a year ago that I didn’t want to date, I didn’t want to meet someone in Houston because I wanted to move - and instead I met Mike when I least expected it and I’m truly thankful for him. I’m glad I’ve gotten to know so many of the other bloggers here in Houston. I’m thankful for my son, my parents, and all of my friends. I’m truly blessed. Thank you!

Reading through my old blog posts last night from a year ago, I noticed something. I had a sense of humor, a way of writing, that I feel like I’ve lost in the past month or two. No real reason why - probably a lot of stress all rolled together - but that’s part of what I was talking about yesterday when I said I need a change. I want to get back in touch with the old me.

Now I’m off to get ready to ring in the New Year at Elaine & Kenny’s with Mike and a lot of our other friends. Tomorrow it will be a new day and a new year, and I wish all of you the best in 2003!

Today’s Featured Blog - Somewhat New to Me Even if it’s Not New to You: Quinn MacDonald

A bit late, but I couldn’t pass up Promo’s last Monday Mission for 2002!

1. Which Blog post of yours was one of your favorites of 2002? Wow. Uhm, huh. It’s been a really, really long year. I’m still thinking on this one.
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Just in case you didn’t know already - you know, if you’re offline a lot like I am lately - Geekgrrl has moved her site here and Kat has moved here. Now go and update your blogrolls! (While I’m busy updating mine!)

Additions! Carla has moved here! And Kathy was having problems with her old host, so she’s moving her other sites on over to Blogomania. She’s up & running already and her blog is temporarily here. New year on it’s way, everyone is moving around!

The interview has been confirmed - 11:30 on Thursday morning. And I still don’t have a clue what I’m going to wear. Ugh!

Picture Yourself has been updated, and more will be added tomorrow. I’m going to add more stuff to Pixelog tonight too.

How on earth did Gawker come to be without me even noticing? This is GREAT! [via Barkingmoose Mike who sent me to Bluejake]

I would like to point out to Mother Nature that it is December. December! Why on earth am I under a tornado watch again in December? What is wrong with this picture?

Yes, I just love the weather here in Houston. The fun just never ends.

I just got off the phone with the placement agency. Now that the holidays are over the people that they sent my resume to weeks ago have finally said they want to interview me. Yes, as soon as they can coordinate it around my temp work later this week I am going to finally have a real interview! About freakin’ time!

Crap. I have no idea what I’m going to wear!

Amy left a comment the other day in my “Call for Help” post that got me thinking. You see, there is this whole Inner Circle Syndrome (ICS) going around and … well, it bugs me.

I’m associated with an inner circle that I haven’t felt a part of for months. Sure, the people I’m lumped with are my friends, and I treasure them dearly. But I have always been one of those people that has friends in every group. You know how in high school there were 100 cliques? Yeah, I liked to have friends in all of them. It has always worked well for me too, because I always have had friends to turn to when I’m in need of one. Remember those high school days if you ticked one person off in your clique of friends and then they told all of the other clique members not to like you? Yeah, I just moved on to my other friends. I don’t play those games well at all. Ironically, it normally bugged the person that was mad at me so much that they would try to patch things up. Funny how humans work, isn’t it?

But back to my babbling point here. I have friends near and far in many different circles. I am friends with the supposed “A-List” (that’s a rant for a whole other day.) I am friends with bloggers here in Houston. I am friends with war bloggers, gay bloggers, tech bloggers, geek bloggers, pretty bloggers, mom bloggers, dad bloggers, just regular bloggers, not so regular bloggers, and people that don’t blog at all. I have never looked at a comment from anyone as “I don’t know them so they aren’t worthy.” No, quite the opposite. Some of my nearest and dearest friends I have met were because of the comments they left behind here.

I’ve been very nostalgic lately. I was telling Jennifer last week that I was in a funk. At first it felt like I had the “No one likes me blues”. Then I got a grip on reality and realized that isn’t the case at all. I have had no luck on the job front lately, so that leaves me quite melancholy. But in the end, that wasn’t it either.

Then it hit me as I had a long talk with Kathy the other night (Long girlie talks are so much fun!) Looking back over the past year as I am prone to do - it is Dec. 30th after all - I realized that friendships come and go and change in this cyberworld. I’ve lost touch - thanks to work, being busy, not having time - with some people that I truly adore. Others have lost touch with me. Such is life, and you can’t always change it. However, I’m going to try.

So, what are your thoughts on this? Do you suffer from fear of the ICS and think that I’ll ignore you if you’re not cool enough? I promise … that’s the furthest thing from the truth. Every new person I meet through this site is just a friend waiting in the wings. I’ve met some truly incredible people thanks to the Internet. People that have helped me in times of need, helped with tasks small and large. People that have lent me an ear when I needed someone to talk to. People who have laughed with me. Cried with me. Just been there for me. Who knows - the next person could be you?

In all of this, I know one thing that I will stay true to - I write what I write here for me first and foremost. It’s not about the traffic. It’s not about being noticed. (Well, unless I’m playing a game like Blogwhore or Big Blogger where I need the links!) It’s really about me & you. Yes, YOU. You there, reading this. An individual, a person - a friend. And if your viewpoint is different than mine, that’s ok. Like I said before, diversity is what makes the world go around. I like it when people challenge my way of thinking!

It’s time for a change around here. It may be subtle, it may be huge. I don’t know yet, I just know that I need to shake things up a bit. Hope you will stay along for the ride!

So, what are YOUR thoughts on all of this? Come on, you can tell me…

Addendum: Just to be clear, I never said I didn’t like the circle of people I’m often lumped in with. I just meant that I like a lot of people outside that circle too. Circles happen naturally - you are normally drawn to those like you and like similar people. Also, I never said nor claimed to be on an A-List anywhere, and as a number of people can back me up on, I’ve laughed whenever people tell me I am. I am nowhere close, nor do I want to be. I just want to live, let live, and be. I mainly just wanted everyone that travels through without commenting to know that they are welcome to comment any time. That’s why the link is there! (Edited at 8:21pm.)

Today’s Featured Blog: One Girl’s Life

What a great evening! After picking Mike up from the airport at 5pm, we decided to catch the 7:20 show of The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers. WOW! Wow! I mean … WOW! Jason & I rewatched the Fellowship of the Ring (extended version) earlier today, and the second one is just as good as the first! It was so good, I would happily go see it 2 or 3 more times in the theater, at least!

Granted, I’ve never read the books. I have seen a few people say that they were a little disappointed in this one. I don’t agree at all - I loved it! I don’t know if I can stand waiting another year for the third one - I might just have to break down and read all of the books before then!

By the way, the LOTR website has screensavers and wallpapers that you can download. There are pictures of all of the main characters. I’ve saved pictures of Legolas, concept art of various scenes, and Aragorn is now full screen on my desktop… yum.

Although he doesn’t normally read my blog (if he’s ever even read it all), I just have to take a moment to do this …

Happy Birthday Dad!

Every time you buy a t-shirt from T-Shirt Hell, God kills a kitten. (In other words, some great, hysterically and really funny t-shirts.) Come on, talk nerdy to me… [via Grrl Gift Ideas, via Not Martha]

In the past, thanks to one of the perks of MovableType, I banned three IPs from leaving comments. Like I said earlier, I really am open to any comments you might have, but one of those IPs was useed to spam my comments with nasty trash, and the other two … well, I don’t even remember why I banned them. But thanks to Tracy pointing out to me that sometimes she can’t leave a comment because of it, I deleted them all. Soooo… if you’ve had problems commenting before, you should be all set now.

Moving on to a topic that seems to ruffle feathers, did you know that Duhhhbya’s approval rating has dropped? Yeah, the media doesn’t want you to pick up on it, but it’s true. A December 17-18 Time/CNN poll has found that only 55% approve of how he is handling his job as president, 48% doubt whether or not they can trust him, and 55% felt that his accomplishments in office are because of his advisors. Maybe people are getting over the patriotic chest beating and finally opening their eyes to what a clueless idiot the man truly is? Maybe? At last? (I won’t even go in to my personal conspiracy theories right now…) [via Scott]

I should point out that my hate for Duhhhbya goes all the way back to when he ran for governor in 1994. It is nothing new for me. I thought he was a slimy creep then and I still feel that way today. What do you think of him? Come on … be honest. It’s ok - even if you disagree with me. Varied opinions are what make the world go around.

Much fun & amusement can be found at Dirty Questions.com. You know it’s going to be good when the “About” section starts off with “Let’s talk about sex!” Makes you just want to suggest a dirty question, doesn’t it? [via Mark, found via Sarah Hatter]

First I brought you Naked Quidditch. Now I must ask, what if Lord of the Rings had been written by someone else? You can find a sample of a version by Ernest Hemingway, Danielle Steele, Dr. Suess, and many, many more. Much laughter, to the point of tears. Good stuff - go read! [via Dick]

(But in your haste to go read, please don’t forget to leave me a comment! Please?)