Excuse me while I write this...

So, a friend pointed out that I will now share my birthday with Britney Spears' new baby. Good luck with that, little kid.
So, as usual, my birthday leads me to reassess where I am...maybe that's why I don't like them all that much, because the answers I come up with aren't that easy to implement and then I find myself not following through.
These are some things I've thought of:
1) I like my job. I work with fun people, and it's possible I can forge some sort of "career" out of it. However, I'm not necessarily challenged, and I don't think I'm using the abilities I do have to the fullest. I'm by nature a very creative person, but I feel my creativity has been somewhat dulled over the last few years. I dont believe I'm anywhere close to fulfilling my potential, and that's disappointing and frustrating, and honestly, I don't feel all that good about myself because my creativity is holed up somewhere. So, I'm going to start thinking about next steps to rejuvenate my mind and rekindle the creativity. How how how?
2) Where shall I go next, and how much do I really want to stay in New Jersey? I do like living here and have met a bunch of great people. I appreciate having my brother and his family here, and I've learned much about myself with having them around and spending time with the nephews and niece. However, I have been here 7 years, and I think I'm getting kind of antsy to try someplace new. Knoxville has always been a very appealing option, and I'd have family there, which is certainly an added plus. Nevertheless, it's easy, and I've lived my whole life easy. I'm thinking about California...seriously. I'm not even sure why, but it's almost the opposite of New Jersey, isn't it? People say "Dude, you won't like California...it's so unlike you." Uh, yeah, that's the point, friends.
3) Tread carefully in romantic minefields. I think I might have thought the same thing last year, and talk about not implenting! Sheesh. I think I'm going to develop a list of criteria, the first of which possibly being that she should be born some time in the 70s, as that may give us at least a common jumping-off point. Also, I've discovered my heart and my brain don't necessarily work as the team they should.
4) I've got to relearn how to create my own opportunities. I've done this before, and it worked rather well (until the dot com economy tanked. Long story.). This requires an unrelenting faith in myself, which I have to dig up again. I'm too close to just floating along these days.
That's what I've come up with for now. I feel I've shared too much, but I think I've turned off some of the filters...so be it.