I Know...

I know that I said I would try to keep this blog up as well as my new travel blog, but, well, I'm slacking. Between work, my social life, family life, and everything else, both blogs are slacking a bit.
Also, I've been off seeing the world again. I spent the week of November 11-17 in Italy and had an absolutely fantastic time. It was a very short trip, and there was a lot more that I wanted to see and do but just didn't have time for. Venice was ideal, I've written about it over on the travel blog, and Florence was amazing. I think what impressed me the most about Florence was the art. The galleries are impressive, the sculptures that are out in the piazzas, just the way the city seems to glow in the sunlight... its definitely a city I want to go back to.
The travel blog is something I need to put a little more work into. I'm looking at turning it into a full blown website, throw a few ads up on there and see if I can generate some additional income from it. Perhaps it can serve to fund my future trips. I am ready to take off for Europe, or anywhere else, again already.
In addition, I've joined a gym. A friend of mine is the owner and publisher of Sacramento's Health and Fitness magazine, and he hooked me up with a free one year membership to 24 Hour Fitness.
I activated the membership last month, but have yet to use it. Part of the reason was that I was in the midst of preparing for my trip to Italy, another was that I lacked any shoes appropriate for working out. You can't do the eliptical trainer in a pair of strappy Born sandals. But, last night I got the shoes and sports bras, and a couple weeks ago I got myself some cute yoga pants, so now there are NO excuses.
I've even found a new online goal tracker so that I can keep some traces of accountability for myself. The first two goals I put on there were to exercise and to update my travel blog. Next I added some of the boring day to day chores that I need to keep up on, such as taking out the trash and doing laundry, but I've also added updating this personal blog a couple days each week. I NEED to write more.
I have a renewed outlook on writing since my return from Italy. While sitting on my hotel patios in both Venice and Florence, scribbling away in my journal, I realized that writing keeps me more in touch with my true self and that its when I put the pen, or the keyboard, away, I lose track of my wishes and dreams, and through losing track of those basic things, I just find myself lost in the BS of day to day life.
Another realization I had on this last trip was exactly how much I dislike my current job. I've been with the same company for over 7 years now, and no longer feel satisfied there. As much as I hate the whole process of interviewing for jobs, I have to move on and find something new. I have found one job to apply for and am in the process of revamping my resume. Please, keep your fingers crossed. I need out. As much as I like some of the people I work with, the job itself has worn me down and I need to find something new, something with a little more security, a new scene, and different challenges.