People offer interesting ideas when they know your employment situation is less than stable.

One man, apparently knowing nothing about my line of work, mentioned a car dealership where three women have left recently. (Even if I weren't looking specifically in public relations, would I really want to go to work for a place that is experiencing a mass exodus of employees?) Someone else offered a random tip: "I'll bet title companies need public relations people." This seemed particularly out of left field, since the person doesn't work for a title company or even in real estate. Sometimes, if I don't respond with enthusiasm, I get the impression that the person thinks I'm being way too picky.

I just have to remind myself that people mean well….

There's a Walgreens store at roughly every quarter-mile -- unless you're actually looking for one, in which case they're nowhere to be found.

I just found out you can buy stamps through ATM machines. Is this something people have been doing for years, and I'm just now finding out about it?

Is it possible to come up with a less desirable color for office supplies than "putty"?

I went shopping last night, trying to stay ahead of the grocery store employees' strike that may start this weekend. I'd planned to buy a little more than usual, hoping to avoid the stores for a couple of weeks. Then I kept finding personal favorites on special, so I stocked up even more than I expected. When I looked at the heap in my cart just before checking out, I felt sort of like I was preparing for a famine (albeit a short famine).

I'm not much of a cat person. I don't dislike them; I just don't see the point of owning a creature that's going to walk around ignoring me all the time. I've learned there are exceptions to the aloofness stereotype, though.

I usually keep an eye on my neighbors' two cats when they're out of town. Whenever I stop by to check on them, one of the pair stays glued to me, meowing constantly and walking all over me if I stay in one place too long. The other skulks about on the other side of the room and hisses if I come too close. Neither of the extremes is very appealing. If I venture into pet ownership, maybe I'll start with something simple, like a fish.

Hugh Grant on the appeal of both singleness and marriage:        
"Like most blokes, one wants both worlds," he said. "You want two houses, about 300 yards apart. One of which is your single house and another is your family house."

Last weekend a friend talked me into going to the annual Greek Festival. I've heard about the event for years, but have never gone. Mostly it consisted of 1) Greek dancing, 2) Greek food, and 3) masses of people trying to watch Greek dancing or buy Greek food. We wandered around for about an hour, indulged in the obligatory baklava, and left for someplace less crowded.

I'm bored. It's not a shortage of things to do, but more a lack of interest in doing most of those things. I procrastinate on freelance projects. I let too many phone calls go unreturned. I can't remember the last time I tried a new recipe or did anything related to home improvement, other than replace two throw pillows on my sofa. I usually feel rejuvenated in the fall, but right now I just feel bored.

I'm supposed to be working on a freelance article, but can't seem to get motivated - partly because the subject matter is very technical, and I'm not sure I'm able to completely understand the material myself, much less explain it to a non-technical audience. I've been sitting at my computer for half an hour, realizing that there's nothing like an intimidating project to make just about everything on the Internet seem utterly fascinating.

I have a bizarre fear of getting in a traffic accident while drinking a soft drink, and impaling the roof of my mouth with a straw. I really need a shorter commute - not just to decrease my risk, but to give myself less time to think about such things.