filling the void

I'm unemployed right now as many of you know. If you've been unemployed before you also know that there really is only so much you can do each day searching for a new job without going bonkers. That leaves me with more free time than I've had in awhile. We've done our best to fill any time that Bret is off work with lots of exploring the city and taking of pictures (please see any other blog post I've done lately as reference). But while Bret's at work I've tried my best to keep active and busy. Here are a few things I've been doing lately to stay sane:

1. The most obvious time-killer is television. I've tried to limit my daily intake but it's been hard lately what with fall line-ups and everything (but lets face it, I would have found time for shows like 30 Rock, Biggest Loser and SYTYCD no matter how busy I am). Besides the obvious favs, I've also rekindled my love for Oprah, Cash Cab and Jeopardy and discovered a new love, Project Runway. How have I missed out on this show? I'd heard about it of course but never really gave it a chance. At least I have a lot to catch up on now should I want to.2. I've also been catching up on some reading. Luckily there is a great library in walking distance that has become my second home. My most recent favorite has been Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens Who Don't Float (subtitle: Classic Lit Signs On To Facebook). If you've read a lot of classic literature and you're at least slightly familiar with Facebook, you'll appreciate this book. It's a super quick read, took me only a couple hours actually, but it's full of good stuff. Basically it's written as if famous characters and authors were on Facebook and how they would interact and how their stories would be told through social media in the form of status updates and news feeds. For instance:

- Jane Eyre has "Hark Knock Life" on repeat.
- Juliet sent Romeo 1,000 Goodnights.
- Hamlet wonders if he should continue to exist. Or not.

Very fun and clever. I'm looking for a new book now so if you know of any good ones, let me know.
3. Another Library find was the complete DVD collection of the Horatio Hornblower Mini Series by A&E. I remember when these first came out while I was in Jr. high and my parents being so into them and me thinking I'd rather die than sit and watch it. I'm very glad my tastes have matured enough that I can appreciate these really awesome "movies" (8 in all) starring Ioan Gruffudd (Amazing Grace).
The best part about them is that Bret actually watches and enjoys them with me! I feel like I've found a loophole to the "bonnet movies" curse (bonnet movies referring to English period dramas like that of Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell that women adore but their husbands can't stand to watch with them and, yes, have an abundance of women wearing bonnets). Horatio has the perfect balance of English accents and old-fashioned clothing that you can enjoy mixed with high-sea, swash buckling adventure and hardly any bonnet-wearing (hardly any women for that matter) involved that he appreciates. Give it a try, it just might save your marriage.

4. Bret and I have also taken up salsa dancing. We've been wanting to do some kind of partner dance class since the beginning but we've never followed through. Well luckily some friends of ours (the group Bret has known since he lived here in middle school) know a guy who teaches salsa and agreed to give private lessons in their apartment every Thursday night for six weeks. There are four couples doing it and so far we're half way through our lessons. After last night's lesson I feel like we're finally catching on. Soon enough we'll be doing moves like this (probably not in that dress though):
5. Blogging.

6. I love going to the Theatre and Bret and I have been lucky enough to go to two great shows in the last month. First was Wicked which was in town here for a few weeks. I decided one particular Friday when I had nothing to do to try my luck at the lottery. I'd won it before in NYC but that was after several attempts. Knowing the odds and also that we've already seen it before, I wasn't too nervous about it. But by golly I won. No need to go on about how great that show is.

This week we went to a play with some people in our ward called The 39 Steps. It's adapted from the Hitchcock movie (which was adapted from a book) about a man caught up in a world of spies and evil plots. Despite my assumption that it would probably be dark and scary, it was actually one of the funniest plays I've ever been to. There are only four cast members that take on hundreds of rolls in the story through very clever and creative costume changes. We loved it.
7. I'm also trying to become a better cook and have ambitions to learn to sew. My mom gave me a small sewing machine when I moved and I hope to take some lessons at a fabric shop down the street. Let's hope I inherited the same sewing genes my sister apparently did from my mother.

So that's a taste of my life lately. If you have any suggestions as to what books to read, recipes to try, movies to watch or hobbies to pick up, please let me know. Please note that despite all these distractions, my first priority is still with finding a job. If you have any suggestions in that department I'll be just as appreciative.

*I'd also like to add trips to the ER to this list.