Obsessive

I've been doing a whole lot of learning lately. Not like, major life lessons or anything, but really sitting down and learning something new. I find myself looking for tv shows to watch on Discovery, The History Channel, and the like. I watch and learn about bridges, earthquakes, Megastructures, Hitler, anything that I can sit and absorb. It's been great. I don't know that I'll ever actually use any of this newfound knowledge, but it's fun to learn just the same. Sort of makes me miss elementary school, when everything you learned was completely new. Seems like these days you only learn new variations or context to add to information you already have.

Anyways, I digress. A friend of mine recently blogged about her latest obsessions, and it got me to thinking. I too have an insanely obsessive personality, and when I like something, I like it all the time in massive quantities. Besides learning, my latest obsessions are:

Craigslist.
This has been going on since June when I first started getting the itch to move. If you don't already know, Craigslist is a compilation of all sorts of stuff, including homes for rent, sorted by city. Back in June, my obsession was Chicago, which would probably explain why I still constantly scan Chicago apartments. But I've gone through phases. For a while I was seriously looking at homes in the Detroit metro area, in hopes of finding something closer to my friends and work. That morphed into more Chicago dreaming, but really I think my fascination with craiglist Chicago is that I love the apartments in that city. Everything is so cool. Anyhow, these days I don't stay limited to nearby cities which actually have a possibility (albeit remote) of becoming my next home. Instead, I spend my time scanning craigslist to see what kind of place I could afford to rent in all stretches of the globe. Amsterdam has some cute little places right on canals. I've always been partial to London, since I did live their for a summer way back when. Rome is captivating. I guess I'm obsessed with the possibilities that feel available when seeing homes for rent. I also love to revel in either immaculate interior decorating or, in stark contrast, the clutterbugs who don't bother to hang up their clothes or make their beds before photographing their rooms.

iTunes videos.
Ever since Apple revealed the video iPod, I've been obsessed with buying tv shows and videos from iTunes. It started with a newfound obsession with The Office (yes, I own every episode), and then moved on to Saturday Night Live episodes, music videos, and my latest discovery: Schoolhouse Rock. What? Don't act like you don't remember Conjunction Junction. I just purchased The Preamble, my favorite episode of Schoolhouse Rock, and the reason that I still know the preamble to the Constitution by heart.

Google image searches.
Oh sure, scoff if you will, but you would be blown away by the results you'll get with a simple search of the world red. It's fascinating. I think this obsession was born from my restlessness and desire to change my profile on myspace (another former obsession that has happily died down to a mild distraction). Searching for new images to spice up my profile, I began transfixed with the divergent results. Now when I'm bored, I'm usually running image searches. For anything.

Shamrock shakes.
Oh yes, it's that time of year again. Four leaf clovers are popping up in store fronts, friends are discussing taking a day off of work to guzzle green beer, and McDonalds has rolled out its greatest triumph: the Shamrock shake. Minty green, icy goodness, that's what it is. As sad as it is, I really do start looking forward to these shakes around early February each year. They're only served for about a month around St. Patrick's Day, and happily, that's where we are right now. I get them way more often than I care to admit, but suffice it to say, if it made my obsessions list, you know it's an unhealthy amount.

Blogs.
This one is probably predictable. I just can't help myself. I'll sit for an hour reading a complete stranger's blog, learning all about their life, their day to day experiences, their family life, their pets. Sometimes I read blogs about artwork or architecture. Sometimes they discuss the fine points of aviation. I think this obsession is due in part to the voyeuristic thrill of spying on someone else's life, and in part to my recent overzealous need to learn. Either way, blogs never get boring, and there are always new ones popping up to intrigue me. Some of my favorites are listed as links right here in my blog. Check them out if you get a chance, but be careful: they're addicting.

I think those are my major obsessions at the current time. They're always changing, and sometimes resurfacing. I know my friend Rockrgirl has her own share, but if any of you folks think there's something worthy of my obsessive-time, feel free to email me at dictadiva@gmail.com.

You are pure potential.

This week, during my recent and newfound freedom from the working world, I had lunch out with a friend of mine. After we were through eating, we took some time to peruse a few of the stores adorning Main Street in my hometown. It's funny the things you find time for when you're not rushing back into the office.

Inside one of the stores, a longtime fixture in this town, I found a display of magnets. Hundreds of them. I have this thing about magnets. I try not to let my fascination overtake me. I do, after all, have an entire shoebox full of magnets stored at my parents' house. Those magnets remind me of my childhood. The magnets in this store, however, made me think of my future. A multitude of inspirational quotes imprinted in vivid colors on their faces captivated me for over forty minutes. It was as if they had been placed there for only my eyes to see. Further encouragement and validation for my recent departure from my firm.

You are pure potential.

That particular quote, although not one of the three which I ultimately ended up purchasing, continues to ring through my conciousness. As cheesy as it sounds, I feel potential pumping through me these days with such a renewed force that it makes me almost uncomfortable. And although I'm pretty sure I'll end up at another law firm in the Detroit area, part of me continues to ask myself: but what if?

What if this is my chance to make a break? To take a risk? To do something I never thought I could really do? Maybe I'm supposed to move to Chicago or DC or New York. Maybe my calling is to move down to Louisiana and help with the rebirth of a city so devastated by hurricane that many of its own residents have moved on to new lives in new cities, abandoning all hope for their former home. Perhaps I should be going back to school and obtaining a teaching degree so that I can go back to the only thing I've ever done that's brought so much joy to my life that I felt fulfilled every day: working with kids.

See, I probably will stick it out in this world of law firms, of lexis research, motion-writing, and professional debate and strategery. But the idea that I am a raw ball of potential makes me smile ear to ear. Potential, yes. I know I have the ability to work and achieve anything I set my mind to. It's just a matter of channeling that potential and picking a direction.