What's Your Red Dress?

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It was sort of fitting that Hurricane Irene ushered in my first vacation of this year. After starting a new job last July, I have been on the road about 21 of the past 52 weeks; I regularly work 12 hour days. Mind you, I'm not complaining (I'm employed! And I like my team: bonus!), nor am I doing that wacky New Yorker routine of "I'm busier than anyone in the entire world, which demonstrates my inherent worth to all of you less busy/important people around me." I'm just saying, I'm a little keyed up. (This is also the person who was so focused on an Excel spreadsheet she thought the recent earthquake we felt in New York City was just the HVAC system kicking in in her office building. In other news: I need a life.)

Although the hurricane largely spared* both New York City as well as my parents' house, where we camped out for the weekend, the lead up to it was all booming headlines and dire warnings, generating for me an exciting level of low grade anxiety. By the time we reached the beach house, I was a ball of stress: my first night here, I found myself sleepwalking!

Instead of catching up on various creative projects, I have largely spent my time here staring blankly into the middle realm and wondering if The Muse has given up on me. Remember those blissful days when I was able to post here daily? Sigh.

So, absent my own creative energy, I bring you other people's!

Remember how Litachiquita from For Serious Batman, who guest posted here about life's amazingness and the accordion that saved her from a bad marriage, taught us the word "peen?" Well, she recently saved my life by sending me a link to The Bloggess and her adventures with Beyonce' the giant metal chicken (now you know why everyone has been running around screaming "knock, knock, motherf*cker"). Which led me to reading back-posts over at The Bloggess til I found the famous, traveling red dress. Which is what I wanted to tell you about.

It's about living with exuberance and abandon and laughter. It's about valuing yourself enough to go for it, whatever "it" might be for you. Interestingly, she doesn't mention Excel spreadsheets even once...

I'm thinking, that red dress would look sweet with my red hair. Exuberance suits us, don't you think?

And you?

What's your "red dress"?

*I know a lot of people were hit really hard by the storm. Sending well wishes during the recovery.