the acquisition of new skills

so i'm learning a few new tricks here.

first i'm acquainting myself with the fine art(s) of lobbying. i'm learning the ropes and intracacies of the general assembly and trying very hard to be master over my introversion. reviewing all i ever knew about non-confrontational,yet effective, communication. reading a bit of george lakoff. learning to reframe things.

and then also, i'm working on actually becoming good at cooking. i do not know why this suddenly interests me, i literally used to hate it. but it seems to make me happy now. maybe because i actually have the time, and i'm not trying to do it under pressure? i'm only cooking for me, so if i screw up, who cares? and maybe partially, because i'm so enjoying grocery shopping here. there is every kind of grocery imaginable within close range of here. i like just strolling around them and it puts me over the moon to buy obscure items or ingredients. or maybe it's because i actually have a set of sharp, nice knives, and chopping is theraputic? or maybe i just like my tiny little kitchen. who knows? this week, i'm trying jambalaya, on my own.

and i'm thinking that my next venture might be to concentrate on learning a second language. all these enl people i'm meeting- so smart and so interesting, they are inspiring me to attempt this. or maybe it's all those episodes of "international house hunters" i watch. right now, i'm trying to decide what language to start with. Spanish might be nice, because i know a tiny little bit, but my new friends make fun of the way i say "guadalahara" and i can't roll my r's. or maybe i should go with japanese as it seems that i could really use that one. french is out. i'd consider russian.

and then there are the old goals of actually mastering playing an instrument competently (instead of like a 6 year old) and becoming a better than snail-paced runner. running is the weak leg of my tri-atholon skills. only problem is that i think those triathalon people are ridiculous. and i don't want to be one. (-: it just makes me mad though, that i can't actually run. running just seems like a practical skill, you know? to get away. to catch up.

anyway, geez, what's next? growing orchids?