Running in place....

At the college where I work, we have an understanding with the campus police. We provide them with rapid response to their computer issues, and in response they let us slide when we park our cars in the service vehicle spots behind our office. The tradeoff is that sometimes someone will park in the single lane driveway that leads up to those spots, and we can't really complain about being blocked in since we aren't really supposed to park there anyway.

I was going to be good and walk or take the shuttle to the gym, but instead I ended up BS'ing with two coworkers (and regular madanthony.net readers) about everything from 9/11 to cars to the paths of our lives.

The path my life should be taking is something I tend to not think about for a while, then worry about intensely. I often feel like I should be doing something else, but I don't really know what.

Before I got my current job, I was thinking about going to law school, based mostly on one undergrad "legal environment of business" class that I enjoyed and way too many episodes of Law and Order (I once wrote the law and order drinking game, which amoung other things involved taking a shot every time a judge threw out a piece of evidence on constitutional grounds or Lenny Brisco made a bad joke). In retrospect, I realize while I probably would have enjoyed law school, I would still have no clue what to do afterwords - I have no desire to argue cases or read reams of contracts.

There are a lot of things I like about my current job - most of my coworkers are really cool, it's very hands-on, there's a fair amount of freedom, and I get to do lots of problem-solving and actually see a sense of accomplishment, of stuff getting done or fixed. There are politics that I hate, but every workplace suffers from them. And while I'm not thrilled that my overtime will probably be going away soon, which will mean I'll actually have to think before spending money, I still make reasonably decent money (plus killer benefits).

But there is still the question if at some point I should do something else. I'm in a part-time MBA program, mostly because it's mostly free, and my parents will occasionally ask me what I plan to do after I graduate. What I plan to do is nothing. I'm getting the MBA mostly because I feel I should since it doesn't cost me much, and because there may be a time when it comes in handy, but I plan on making no effort to try to seek out such a time.

I tend to be very set in my ways - I don't like change. When I go to resturants, I tend to order the same thing or couple things. I tend to keep the same schedule every day, every week. I've put off buying a house for a couple years, and I always seem to find an excuse. Recently, it's been the overtime loss and the fact that I have to take a first-time homebuyer's seminar before I can qualify for a Maryland first-time homebuyer program - but I always wonder if I'm secretly kind of glad that I don't have to- or can't- make a decision yet.

One thing about working Saturdays is that it gives me something to do on Saturday, as well as an excuse to not do anything on Friday night. Ever since I graduated from college, my weekends are no longer a time to party. This has it's plusses - I no longer wake up with a killer headache, an empty wallet, and a door pulled off it's hinges. But I always feel like I should be doing something on weekends, even though I'm not exactly a people person and tend to feel somewhat uncomfortable when I am around people I don't know.

If there is one other area that I can't say I'm thrilled with, it would be dating - or lack thereof, as anyone whose read my valentine day posts can figure. My tendancy to avoid change and people I don't know is a major reason for this. I've thought about the whole internet dating thing, but I'm not convinced I could possibly write an ad that would attract anything good - reading, selling on ebay, and blogging aren't the kind of hobbies that set girl's hearts a-twittering.

I think this post has probably said less in more words than most of my previous ones. End result - I think I should change something. But I don't know what, beyond growing a beard.