Today is a good day.

Borrowing a February 2008 post from Ye Olde MySpace blog (long since dormant) to celebrate this oh-so-special day.

Happy Start of Spring Training everyone!

"The pitchers and catchers report today.

Repeat the sentence over and over again like a mantra. Close your eyes and relax, thinking about the warm desert sun.

Take a deep breath and repeat the sentence again, imagining Felix Hernandez throwing his first fastballs of the new year to catcher Kenji Johjima.

Find your baseball Zen and listen to the pop of leather as the pitchers throw their first long tosses. Hear the crack of the bat, a spring sound as familiar as the robin's first tweets.

Soon the doors of Safeco Field will creak open. Spring is coming. Baseball's got next.

Pitchers and catchers report today."

*****

Is it sad that I literally let out a sigh of relief as I read this? OK, I think I know the answer to that. But you've got to hand it to Steve Kelley for having the ability to evoke that kind of emotion through words. The true writer/journa-geek in me thinks that is absolutely amazing.

Full article from today's Seattle Times here.

Self reflection is hard.

The New York Times did a profile of Jon Favreau, President Obama's head speechwriter, this week. (Side note: How awesome is it to say "President Obama"?! Still gives me chills.) Basically, he's 26 and, for my money, has one of the best jobs EVER. Oh, and he's HOT. And single. But I digress...

Not to bore you with the details, but the whole reason I chose my major (public relations) in college was because when I asked my mom, "What's PR?" she answered, "You know, they write speeches for people. Like politicians and stuff." I've, of course, since learned that PR is a lot more than that, but looking back, the goal when I started my PR degree was to eventually start working for a senator or governor or something, writing speeches, interfacing with the media, etc. In the end, I took a different path. But politics was always something I wanted to get back to.

There's nothing like reading about someone who's your age and way more successful than you that makes you really think, "What am I doing with my life?" Favreau was working on John Kerry's campaign when he was 23. Twenty-three!!! When I was 23, I think I spent most of my time nursing hangovers and eating top ramen.

Anyway, reading the article made me think of my long-term goals and what I need to do to acheive them. The only thing is, I know it won't be easy. And, quite frankly, I've become quite accustomed to easy lately. Either way, it's given me a lot to think about.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens*

*Keep reading, Lauren. That's the last of the Sound of Music lyrics. Promise (Pom Pom).

Holy crap. How bad am I at updating this thing? Oh yeah, really bad. Like Bush Administration bad.

...But that's neither here nor there.

Anyway. What better way to ease back into blogging than to use the much-adored, easiest-blog-post-format-in-the-world, the bulleted list?

(Pause for applause)

My Christmas was great and my New Years fun (and a little foggy), so I thought it would be a great time to share with you my five favorite things RIGHT NOW (as opposed to my favorite things all the time...like John Mayer, bologne sandwiches and kids in hats). Cool? Cool. Here goes...in no particular order:

1. Scarves.
Oh how I love, love, LOVE scarves. They cute up any outfit, and they're cozy for these cold winter months. My personal favorite are the lighter-weight summer scarves, if you will, but actual functional and warm scarves are great too.

2. Flat boots.
No matter how hard I try, I just can't motivate myself to wear heels. Like ever. I mean, why would you torture your feet like that if you have a perfectly cute pair of flats within reach? I'm really into flat boots lately, and I've been steadily building my collection. Comfy and practical for walking, bus riding and general city dwelling. UGGs can also fall into this category!

3. The Twilight Series.
Love it, but not in the way that those crazy 13-year-olds do. I mean, I wouldn't wait for four hours in the middle of the night for a chance to meet Edward at Hot Topic or anything. But they're an easy and engaging read and that's OK by me. (PS, is it just me, or is the guy who plays Edward not nearly as beautiful as he's described in the book? I was disappointed. But as a member of Team Jacob, I may be biased...)

4. Duffy.
On New Year's Day, I dragged myself off the couch and into the shower just in time to hear The Mountain play her Rockferry album from beginning to end (it was 6:30 p.m., in case you were wondering). She rocks.

5. Snow Cap.
Besides scarves, Pyramid Snow Cap might just be the best thing about winter. Most definitely my drink of choice as of late. Also, the fact that it's 7 percent alcohol (as opposed to the 5 percent of other, inferior beers) makes it a can't miss...

That's all I've got for now. Stay tuned for my next post about my sudden realization that I might never own matching dinnerware...

There are no words

I still get chills whenever I think about the hope, promise and opportunity on the horizon. I'm proud beyond words and honored to think that I played a part in it -- that I did what I could to change not only my future, but the future of our nation and the world.

January 20th, baby... Can't wait.

And while we're on the topic of unrealistic expectations...

Hilarious!

Questions

(Yes, this blog is still alive. And yes, I have been really lazy about updating/completing posts. Heck, who knows if I'll actually finish and post this one...)

I've come across two questions during the past week or so that have really made me think about being single:

From my happily married best friend: "Do you think you would be happy if you never got married?"

From Liz Tuccillo's How To Be Single*: "What's the scariest thing about being single?"

My answer to the first question (after a good 30 seconds of really thinking about it) was this:

"I could be."

And the second those words escaped my lips, I started to wonder if I really believed it, or if I just said it because, if I'm going to be single forever, I don't want my friends to feel sorry for me. After thinking about it, I decided that yes, it was true. Not that I wouldn't be happy to get married, but I think I could be just as happy (a different kind of happy?) if I never did. All was well in the land of Katie**.

But then I came across the second question. What, I asked myself, is the scariest part of being single? Here's my gut reaction: The scariest thing about being single is the fear that one day, I will not be OK with being single anymore.

And this, of course, would greatly affect my answer to the first question.

If anyone's still out there reading this, weigh in. Would you be happy if you never got married? What's the scariest part of being single?



*OMG you guys, this book is SO good. And I'm only 70 pages in so far. It's like a single self-help book disguised as chick lit, all wrapped up with a pretty little humorous and witty bow. Fabu.



**Well, besides me now wondering if she asked me that question because she actually thinks I'll never get married. In her mind, this is probably a good possibility, given that she probably know the most about me and my fear of commitment. And my fear of my fear of commitment... But that's neither here nor there.

Ri-hise and shi-hine and give God the glory glory...

Last week, I flew down to San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon for our all-day agency off-site on Thursday and Friday. Whenever these off-sites happen, I know I'm not going to get much sleep (corporate credit cards + co-workers you only get to see three times per year + a city full of nightlife = SO TIRED...and usually hungover), but this year, I think I really outdid myself. Dinner on Wednesday followed by beers and late-night burritos in North Beach ... Happy hour on Thursday followed by a cocktail party in Hayes Valley, drinks at Vesuvio and back up to North Beach for more beer ... Three bottles of wine polished off by four of us on Friday ... A mimosa as big as a fishbowl in the Castro on Saturday ... Home Saturday afternoon (miraculously, I took a break from drinking on Saturday night). But alas, the sleep deprivation continued to Sunday, as I was up and at 'em way too early for a 7:30 breakfast before my little sister's commencement. All of which leads me to the following...

You know you're seriously sleep deprived when:

• You tear up watching So You Think You Can Dance AND The Bachelorette
• You decide that a bologna sandwich and a bowl of fat free croutons constitutes dinner because you're too lazy to make anything else
• You get dressed without even checking the weather report only to walk outside and realize it's raining, and you're wearing sandals
• You FORGET TO GRAB YOUR DEBIT CARD FROM THE ATM MACHINE (Seriously)

I so wish my office had nap time...

UPDATE: One more to add to the list: You post your blog without a title...and then you post a title that borrows a verse from a biblical(ish) song.