Planning for November

So October ends, as does my rest after the half marathon.  I’m going to lift weights today and start running tomorrow.  My goal?  Stay in shape and tone some muscle.  Stave off winter fat as much as possible (I seem to do this particularly well–in fact, I tend to gain weight in the summer, and I think that’s because I much more comfortable with winter running than with summer running) until I start training for my next half marathon (still haven’t decided on that one, but it will be in the Midwest or on the East Coast).  I plan to participate in a 10K on November 13 at Hudson Mills Metro Park even though the poisonous snake of Michigan lives there–and no, just because I’ve chosen to run in a place inhabited by snakes does not mean that I will camp, so everyone (you know who you are) better get that idea out of their pretty heads and get back to work.  I’m not planning any races for December because I don’t know what’s planned; I’ll look into that once we’re well into November.

However, November will be fun, and I will now enumerate why in chronological order.

First of all, Thursday is my little sister’s 21st birthday.  In addition to getting her rip-roaring trashed, we’ll be enjoying a cookie cake.  Oh, she brings about such good fortune when she’s present.  Can you believe I didn’t like her when she was born?

Second, by Friday of next week I should be done, if not close to done, with this season.  That leaves me more time to apply for jobs.  I spent the entire weekend doing this–one application took me about three hours to finish, but it was time well spent.  I think my cover letters are getting better, and hopefully one or a few of them will pay off with some interviews.  If I could just get that face-to-face interview–I’m not bragging when I say I can turn on the charm and dazzle at interviews with my answers and my questions.  I’m not saying that I’ll get a job as soon as I interview, but I do try to make myself memorable in addition to being well-qualified.  It’s really not hard to do because I don’t blend in with the crowd–if there’s one advantage to having a Mexican/European/Moorish/Basque background, it’s the these looks aren’t duplicated much within nature.  I’m not plain, and that helps me stick out a lot when it comes to interviews.  Is that ego speaking?  Maybe, but it’s an advantage I don’t hesitate to use. 

Third reason why November will be fun:  Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire comes out on November 18!  If you haven’t seen the previews, I highly recommend you hightail it to The Leaky Cauldron to see a few previews and clips that have come out over recent weeks.  The movie looks absolutely spectacular.  While I really enjoyed the first and second movie, the third and fourth have really been injected with oomph; it helps that the story really starts to pick up in the third book, but I also think that the new directors have brought a lot more to the Harry Potter table.  The fifth film begins filming in January with the same cast, so we know another one’s coming relatively soon.  With only one more book to go, it’s nice to know that we have at least two movies coming our way; I have very little doubt that books six and seven will be made into movies.  Even though they’re growing up, they should keep the same kids.  I never watched 90210, but didn’t those people play teenagers while they were in their 30s?  At least the Harry Potter actors are close to the ages of their characters.

Cutest scene from the clips?  When Viktor Krum takes Hermione’s hand when leading her into the Great Hall for the Yule Ball.  Her little giggle perfectly conveys how flattered you feel at a young age when a guy starts to drool over you, especially an older guy.

Fourth and squeal-inducing reason why November will be fun?  I’ll be spending Thanksgiving with my boyfriend.  We’re mulling over whether to go traditional for the Thanksgiving dinner, or to just eschew tradition and make whatever the hell we feel like.  Since I’m not much of turkey person, I’m sort of pulling for the non-traditional feast.  We still don’t have a definite plan, but at least we’ll be spending time together.  I do plan on baking something for my family prior to leaving, though, so they’ll have me there for Thanksgiving in spirit.  And in the form of pumpkin cheesecake.

Well, as it’s now 11:30am and almost time for lunch, I should break away from this computer for a bit, send off some resumes (I need to go to the post office, not only for exact postage, but because some vandals destroyed our mailbox for the umpteenth time on this road), and finish doing laundry.  I guess I should also try to finish the majority of my work today.