Victoria! (by the way, that's Spanish for 'victory')

So tonight we played our first full soccer game against a complete team - and we won! Yay! I think I have my niche at the fullback position. I think too many people had been playing all over the field and doing everyone's job, and that wears us out. I know for damn sure that it wears ME out! I need to take care of my ankles. They aren't the sturdiest-issued ankles and they have always given me trouble when I ran track in high school. I had a scary moment tonight but I stretched the boo-boo'd ankle out and was fine to keep running. That's the nice part of being fullback - time to do stuff like that! Billables sucked again today because of interviews... gotta seriously crank some stuff out tomorrow. I feel good about this level of activity. I worry a little about overextending myself. I think, however, that so far I have a pretty decent handle on it and have options when it comes to activity partners. I need to get out and network a little more... to really spread my wings and be bold. No one is going to really hurt me in any way that matters, so why not be bold? I really must get over this shyness/fear of being judged. There is a huge networking happy hour this Thursday downtown, and I'm going to try to work it. It's a lot of professionals - engineers, doctors, lawyers, journalists, business school folks - it should be nice. It's a great opportunity for me to just put myself out there and get to know people. Maintaining the connections are going to be tricky, but it's time I started filling up the rolodex. I don't even own a rolodex. I suppose I should remedy that, eh? I do have a pile of business cards. If only we were downtown... "let's do lunch" could be a more practical option. Ah well, we'll see. First things first - make more contacts and don't be afraid to mingle. These are the roots of bringing in more business - and also more pay! The 20% would be nice, and getting started now wouldn't hurt. I was talking to another gf this evening about "roots" and how I've actually been putting them down. She said I've been building a sense of community. I guess that's really it, isn't it? Simple but profound. It's that support network - community - that makes it harder to leave. Am I really beginning to love this place? Has the area won? Time will tell. I don't see myself here for eternity, but for the near future, it's not so bad... not if I keep up the kinds of things I've been doing. Each activity is a small victory - something that makes me more comfortable while simultaneously tethering myself here. Right now I am letting life go and am just trying to adapt. I kind of feel in control, but not entirely - I have a few fingers on the handle, but life is the blade. The trick is to figure out what it is I really want and then shape my life to fit it. Or am I just being a control freak? We'll see. I don't mind being flexible right now. It allows me to find what I like and don't like, and allows me to adapt to life more easily. Oh well. At this moment, sleep is conquering my run-down body. Another day, my friends - I will ruminate upon this stuff another day, because right now it's just making me more tired. Peace.