(no subject)

I'm really tired so this post is doomed to be short and uninspiring...many apologies.

I went to SF yesterday all by myself and did all the wonderful things that my friends never consent to doing, like riding the trolley (ding, ding) and bumming around North Beach. It was lovely.
I originally went to celebrate Chinese New Years in Chinatown (which was one of the most fantastic spectacles that I have ever witnessed), but wound up meeting R for drinks and dinner as well. Who is R? Let me explain.

Nerd Alert.
R is an internet friend I met over a year ago in a chatroom (I know, it's hard to live down). We've since become very good friends, talking on the phone weekly, if not nightly. I've become his female confidante and he's become my career advisor and general voice of reason.
I campaigned for him to come to SF and succeeded but I've been hesitant to meet him. He's a very imposing young man. Although we're the same age, he's already graduated from Yale Law School at the top of his class, had a very prestigious clerkship, and is making more now as an attorney than both my parents combined. I had the lurking fear that if we ever "really" met he would write me off as a loser and the lovely friendship we've shared would be lost. I think it says something for my confidence that I agreed to meet with him this weekend.
We decided to meet for the "safe coffee" date (where you can bail after a few drinks if you don't like the person) and wound up at Vesuvio for drinks--it speaks well that we later had dinner at Cafe Michelangelo. I was pleasantly surprised to find that our telephone chemistry (platonic of course) easily translated to the real world. He's a wonderful guy, but more importantly, I realized, I'm a pretty wonderful girl. I have a tendency to be my own harshest critic and the nervousness I felt about meeting R only exacerbated this. But after I had faced that fear, I realized that hell, I'm not boring or stupid or academically inferior...I'm intelligent, witty, fun, and cute damn it. It was a new confidence and it's made me feel much better about myself and the world.

However, it didn't stop me from crying over D this morning...but I'm hoping that too will pass. *sighs*

In other news, A is going to accompany me to Napa the last weekend of March (the end of the quarter)...can I get a whoo hoo?! I'm sure it's a platonic outing but I'm still glowing from the prospect of it all. It's all vedy, vedy exciting.

:)

So in keeping with my New Year's Resolution, I did the following new things this Saturday:
1. Went to Chinatown and celebrated Chinese New Years
2. Rode the trolley
3. Met R in person
4. Went to a new bar: Vesuvios
5. Went to a new restaurant: Cafe IMchaelangelos

And I'm grateful for the following things:
1. That I rock!
2. That A came in this evening and asked to come along to Napa with me.
3. That my younger brother called and apologized for not telling me about his engagement.
4. That I have my secret midwestern goodness of Three Bean Salad sitting the in fridge (don't ask...it's an acquired taste).
5. That I have yet another week to improve my life.

If this is all getting to schmaltzy...tough...it's my damned journal and I'll be schlocky if I want to.

Hrmph.

Anyways on that note, it's time for me to go to bed. Tomorrow I meet with my personal trainer and start my running/exercise plan.

'Night all.