Bleh.

Just watched Julie & Julia.

Kinda leaves you with that gross feeling you get when you see yourself in pictures and realize you really didn’t look as good as you thought you did in that dress. Or something.

I don’t want to be a hangers-on to a good idea, I don’t want to be just like everyone else with a blog and a narcissistic addiction to their words in print.

It’s sometimes why this whole writing thing seems so hard, because everything seems to need a gimic, a hook, a 10-seconds or less, elevator talk explanation of why we’re here and what it is we’re doing wasting our time listening to you.

If I’m ever able to answer what it is I’m doing here, I think I might actually get somewhere. But what if what I like to write about most is the pursuit?

Getting down to locking it down has resulted in at least a couple of concrete ideas I’m not disgusted by-

1. People. I love to write about people. Observe people. I think it comes from my mom always pushing me to look for the good in everyone – I like to stay quiet and see what eccentricities emerge, always hoping for a glimmer of something deeper worth celebrating. Sometimes I think I’d like to sit down and write something about each person I know, something intimate and small that makes them interesting and wonderful to me – like my dad and his Papermate pens or my mom’s spirit of mischief (see Encyclopedia, under “P” for “Papermate” and “S” for “Secrets”). It’s always risky to write about people you know, but I think if I could do it a way that shows why they are quietly fascinating and wonderful, it would work.

2. Daily Goodies. I’m a hoarder of things that make me think “yum” – whether it be trinkets, swatches of colors and fabrics, design, food, technology, ideas, products. Oprah has her favorite things, why can’t I?

3. OCD lists. I love lists. I’d like to see more lists – of everything remotely useful to someone living in Houston – parks, venues, fun restaurants. I think working in PR has spurred a new hoarding outlet in which I just plain collect info on news, people, everything online. When I come across a blog with a list of local food bloggers for example, I feast. Everything in one place makes me supremely happy.

4. For a while I was hell-bent on the idea Nicole and I start a blog about food – she would be the high art foodie, discussing the latest culinary masterpieces and hot spots, I would be the dumpster diver scrappy crappy food addict, discussing the high points of Raising Canes v. Chick-fil-a, and the best place to get your overpriced cupcake fix. It would be glorious. Also because her first name actually IS technically Lauren, we could be “Lauren & Lauren” and be the proverbial good and bad consciouses on each shoulder. The graphics would be great – blonde v. brunette, angel v. devil. Ruggles Green v. Whataburger.