Hola and happy Mardi Gras to anyone lucky enough to enjoy it. I'll be attending a County Council Meeting this evening, and I'm fairly certain there will be no New Orleans-style celebration.
We had a fun beginning to the week-- a bunch of friends came over to watch the Superbowl on Sunday. Lots of food and drinks, and a pretty excited crowd after the Giants won! Now I have to admit, my loyalties lie with the Buffalo Bills and the Indianapolis Colts, but it was pretty exciting to see New England get shut down. It was especially fun to watch it with a group this year. In the past, I have typically only watched it with my family or one or two friends, but it was a lot of fun to have our first party (finally!) in the not-so-new apartment.
In other news...in an effort to push myself out of my box a little more (and to prevent myself from becoming a hermit at the tender age of 24), I've joined Pittsburgh Young Professionals, a networking organization for--you guessed it-- young professionals in our area. There's a new members' social this week and I have to admit, I'm a little nervous. Based on no amount of reason whatsoever, I sometimes still have those, "But what if no one likes me?" fears that most people have on their first day of kindergarten. I tend to feel that way around larger groups of people, especially when I don't know anyone. I'm always afraid that I won't know what to do or say, or that I'll just end up looking like a dork. Joining PYP will be a big step for me, I think-- not something that I would normally do unless a friend was joining with me. Hopefully, it'll be worth it!
Speaking of stepping out of my box, I've also been working on dealing with anxiety in different ways (other than my typical, the-sky-is-falling method of all-out emotional breakdowns when something unexpected happens). I am very happy to report that during the past couple of weeks, I have been dealing with things VERY well, to the point where I don't even recognize myself sometimes. In the past two weeks, I have had the joy of dealing with the following:
*Realizing that in order for my car to brake, I needed to press my foot all the way to the floor
*Receiving a call from VISA Fraud Prevention Services informing me that there was a suspicious charge on my credit card to a German Internet phone company (and then subsequently having to cancel my credit card the morning after I dropped my car off to get fixed)
*Putting a dent in the side of my car. With a concrete pillar.
*Being informed that my insurance company has me listed with a January 1, 1980 birthday...oh, right-- as a MALE with a January 1, 1980 birthday
..and a few little tidbits that I won't bore anyone with.
It was not so long ago that any of the above would have sent me into a tailspin. I have been working REALLY hard on figuring out new ways to deal with anxiety, though, and it finally feels like I'm starting to get a handle on it. Instead of freaking out as each thing happened, I did the "So what?" test-- for example...
The Germans took my money. So what?
So now I'll have to cancel my credit card. So what?
So now I won't be able to use it to pay for my car to get fixed. So what?
So I'll either use my debit or ask to use someone else's credit card for the repair. I'll call the credit union to get a dispute form and a new credit card. So what?
So my car will get paid for, I'll get my money back, and I'll have a new credit card. Oh.
And just like that-- crisis averted. Sweetness. Now I can even drive my car to Corning next weekend (dent and all) to visit my family, which I am SUPER excited about, because I haven't seen them since Christmas. And really, who wouldn't miss these faces--
We had a fun beginning to the week-- a bunch of friends came over to watch the Superbowl on Sunday. Lots of food and drinks, and a pretty excited crowd after the Giants won! Now I have to admit, my loyalties lie with the Buffalo Bills and the Indianapolis Colts, but it was pretty exciting to see New England get shut down. It was especially fun to watch it with a group this year. In the past, I have typically only watched it with my family or one or two friends, but it was a lot of fun to have our first party (finally!) in the not-so-new apartment.
In other news...in an effort to push myself out of my box a little more (and to prevent myself from becoming a hermit at the tender age of 24), I've joined Pittsburgh Young Professionals, a networking organization for--you guessed it-- young professionals in our area. There's a new members' social this week and I have to admit, I'm a little nervous. Based on no amount of reason whatsoever, I sometimes still have those, "But what if no one likes me?" fears that most people have on their first day of kindergarten. I tend to feel that way around larger groups of people, especially when I don't know anyone. I'm always afraid that I won't know what to do or say, or that I'll just end up looking like a dork. Joining PYP will be a big step for me, I think-- not something that I would normally do unless a friend was joining with me. Hopefully, it'll be worth it!
Speaking of stepping out of my box, I've also been working on dealing with anxiety in different ways (other than my typical, the-sky-is-falling method of all-out emotional breakdowns when something unexpected happens). I am very happy to report that during the past couple of weeks, I have been dealing with things VERY well, to the point where I don't even recognize myself sometimes. In the past two weeks, I have had the joy of dealing with the following:
*Realizing that in order for my car to brake, I needed to press my foot all the way to the floor
*Receiving a call from VISA Fraud Prevention Services informing me that there was a suspicious charge on my credit card to a German Internet phone company (and then subsequently having to cancel my credit card the morning after I dropped my car off to get fixed)
*Putting a dent in the side of my car. With a concrete pillar.
*Being informed that my insurance company has me listed with a January 1, 1980 birthday...oh, right-- as a MALE with a January 1, 1980 birthday
..and a few little tidbits that I won't bore anyone with.
It was not so long ago that any of the above would have sent me into a tailspin. I have been working REALLY hard on figuring out new ways to deal with anxiety, though, and it finally feels like I'm starting to get a handle on it. Instead of freaking out as each thing happened, I did the "So what?" test-- for example...
The Germans took my money. So what?
So now I'll have to cancel my credit card. So what?
So now I won't be able to use it to pay for my car to get fixed. So what?
So I'll either use my debit or ask to use someone else's credit card for the repair. I'll call the credit union to get a dispute form and a new credit card. So what?
So my car will get paid for, I'll get my money back, and I'll have a new credit card. Oh.
And just like that-- crisis averted. Sweetness. Now I can even drive my car to Corning next weekend (dent and all) to visit my family, which I am SUPER excited about, because I haven't seen them since Christmas. And really, who wouldn't miss these faces--
The Boys, February 3, 2008
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