Okay, Let's Get Started!

I must admit, I am very new to blogging and the blogging world, but I got inspired recently.  I've been reading the book Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen and really liked Ms. Powell's style, humor and down-to-earth conversational-style writing.  I'm looking forward to her new book, Cleaving: a Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession, due out in December.

So, a little about myself - very liberal Democrat living in the western Chicago suburbs with my dog, Woof.  I call her Woof because she won't bark, with the exception of small "woofs" at the mailman.  Single, never married, over 30 with no prospects, no children, working retail although I have a Master's degree, and absolutely no retirement or savings, so you can see where I got the title of my blog.  Not to say I'm severely unhappy; just not comfortable with my current circumstances.  Not really sure how I got here.  My dreams never included being single at my age and working fucking retail (and yes, I do swear, not frequently, but enough to make an emphasis).

I grew up in Southern Indiana - farming country.  Moved to the "big city" as my dad calls it about 11 years ago to seek my fame and fortune and future husband.  Eleven years pass, and I'm pretty much totally screwed.  I can at least take some comfort that in the current recession, my job is fairly secure.  Like Ms. Powell, I worked a ton of low-paying, dead-end temp jobs before I started this retail job, and while it does pay the bills, there is absolutely NOTHING left over at the end of the month.  And now is SO not the time to be looking for a new job - security trumps the boredom and tedium I say.

I will admit, I'm not your typical gal.  Been overweight since birth, but I'm what my doctor calls "fat but fit" - no health problems, exercise fairly regularly, but a diagnosis of hypothyroidism keeps me from losing weight easily.  I was diagnosed fairly recently, and I keep wondering if this was caught, say when I was in high school, would I be in this predicament now?  Would I be say, a size 4 or 6 with a husband and children like I dream of?  Well, as they say, no crying over spilt milk - I can't go back and undo things now.

I'm also loud - probably too loud and not very feminine, no matter how much I want to be.  I like football and NASCAR and martial arts.  But I do like dressing up and going out.  And I'm funny.  I'm a conundrum, I know.

I think that's enough of laying myself out there for today.  I can see the blogging thing being therapeutic - and a heck of a lot cheaper than seeing an actual psychologist!

- Nichola