I've tried to fight it for about a year now.  But I'm now ready to admit that my love of the Twilight books makes me no less a person.  They're fun and engrossing, kind of a Harry Potter meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  And though I'm no longer a 16 year old, I can relate to the feelings of alienation and insecurity experienced by the main character.

There I said, and I do feel better.

The fun things is that I know I'm not alone enjoying the saga.  As evidenced by the email I received from my good friend Lauren:

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple years, or you're acquainted with absolutely no girls between the ages of 9 and 14, you know there's a new, shall we say, popular vampire franchise dominating the prepubescent fantasy lives of our younger friends and neighbors. Although its name is escaping us right this second, we're pretty sure it has something to do with a time of day. Hmm, what's that name again?

Oh well, no matter, we're not here to talk about that thing, we're here to talk about our thing, Gnap! Theater Projects' upcoming fall show, Dusk: Improvised Tween Erotica, a loving parody/homage of said other new popular vampire franchise. In the style of previous Gnap! loving parody/homages, expect smart comedy, incisive storytelling, and highly attractive people never consummating their most molten passions.

We're pretty sure this is the perfect show for people to come see on Halloween, and we're pretty sure that our show goes up right before that other series has a new movie coming out. Not that we even pay attention to those guys.

If you're in Austin, why not get in a good gothic laugh?

Gnap! Theater Projects
Fridays and Saturdays, October 23rd through November 21st, at 8 PM    
$10 general admission, $5 for students; tickets available at http://dusk.eventbrite.com/
Salvage Vanguard Theater, 2803 Manor Road, Austin, TX 78722
 http://www.gnaptheater.org

Today is my final craft sale for the season. I've decided that I'm going to spend the next couple of weeks completing the things I've neglected over the past couple months and actually enjoy the holiday season.  In the past it always felt like a marathon of running to parties, getting gifts, completing end-of-the-year work ... just getting things done. 

I've completed a lot this season, don't get me wrong.  I've built and inventory, web site, store front, marketing materials.   I've networked and researched and even managed to sell a few items.  Some days are completely devoted to the web, others I spend entirely making jewelry.  And other days I get so much accomplished, so many of those little things that I can't even list them. 

It's  been six months since I left my job and I couldn't be happier.

Over the weekend, I was fortunate to see some friends.  The plus side of making your own schedule and not being overwhelmed with stress is that I can now actually devote time to listening to my friends.  Abby's show at Like the Spice Gallery was incredible.  I've only seen photos of her menagerie work.  In person it's phenomenal.  Overall, the show was interesting but I thought her pieces really stood out.

Chris Frederick was there.  His production group is raising finances to complete their film.  You can participate by going to the non-profit group Fractured Atlas.  It's been interesting to see his work grow and here about the process of getting this made.

Lauren attended as well and is gearing up to spend some time in the warmth of Austin.  She just organized and sent out the invites for her first yoga retreat.  Working with her yoga school in Costa Rica, she and a fellow instructor are offering a long weekend in Costa Rica, to shale the winter chill (it's over Valentine's Day weekend) and relax.  Personally, I think this is the best idea I've heard all year. 

It's all happening for everyone.  In all cases just as fast as it should.  It's interesting to see everyone's adventures and know my own is taking its course.  I feel like I belong to a pretty cool club.

So I had the thumbs up from the family and friends, decided the job wasn't worth keeping, had an idea of what I wanted to do.  Again, I'm pragmatic.  I just needed one more thing to take the faithful leap: real-life examples that it could be done.

It didn't take much looking around.  As I've mentioned, my friends are pretty amazing.  Hardworking, clever, creative and here in New York to follow their dreams.  Immediately I had examples of people who, within the past couple years, had made this leap.  It never before occurred to me exactly how brave they were.  In each case, I knew there had a been a lot of work involved, some times of uncertainty.  Ultimately though, they were all incredibly happy.

• Chris Hammersley, left his full-time job and started his own business,  Ion Training
• Kyla Hanley, left her full-job to become a fully certified acupuncturist and started Urban Buddha Acupuncture
• Chris Frederick, left his full-time job to pursue his art career (see his amazing work on this website) and started Say Something Productions which is currently making the film "Heads & Tails"
• Lauren Zinn, left her full-time job and became a registered Yoga instructor, starting Zinn Yoga

I had been with them when they made the decision to pursue their interests.  Although it took time, effort and perseverance, they are all happy.  In fact, each of these endeavors has given each of them confidence and knowledge (and they were all confident and knowledgeable people to begin with) that they wouldn't have found staying at their jobs.   No one ever says that making this kind of leap is easy, but everyone of these people proved it was worth it.

At the time I was making my decision, a colleague of mine had just returned from a year abroad.  When I asked her about making the decision she said "No one ever looks back on that year and says 'I wish I'd stayed working 9-5 in a cubicle.' "  And she's right.  No one ever says "I shouldn't have made the attempt."  Worst-case scenario, that time leads to something new and excited otherwise unavailable.

So the decision was made.

A funny thing happened this weekend.  I was out with Lauren and a couple of other people.  Someone described a friend as "taking the money he saved from his job and deciding not to work full-time for someone else anymore."  Lauren and I high-fived each other.