I readily admit that I am a nerd. My second story was posted on yahoo last night, and I immediately went to see whether anyone was reading it. Turned out, at the time I checked, it was the second most viewed story on yahoo finance. Of course, its popularity is a function of it being posted at 8PM.

This morning, it was the most emailed story, doubling the number of times the number two contender had been emailed. And, I didn't even contribute to the distribution. I'm in nerd heaven!

Related to people reading my prose, I was relieved to receive an email yesterday from my good friend MEL who wanted to know why people are always tearing me down on my blog. I wondered if it was just me who thought that some comments were a bit more bitter and self-righteous than seemed warranted. People, lighten up. This is MY life, and not even really my life. It's what I've decided to occasionally comment on based on how I'm feeling at that moment of typing. For people who feel better about themselves by harshing on me, I guess I'm providing a public service. You are all completely entitled to your opinions, and I recognize I put myself out there by posting publicly, but to base judgment on this small sliver of space on the Internet that my personal words are occupying seems short sighted, doesn't it?

My first article was published on yahoo today. Woo hoo! I forwarded the link to my sister, who jokingly complained of having to read it. Once she did, she promptly wrote back, "This is sooooo interesting...to someone who knows what you're talking about." OK, so maybe not everyone is fascinated by Exchange-Traded Funds. I am trying to be.

I got a job offer, so I think. I've been interviewing with a large retail company, and they called me yesterday to state that they were extending me an offer. They were supposed to email the offer letter today. As of yet, no word.

While it's perhaps not a perfect fit with what I'd ideally love to be doing (retail equity research), at the end of the day, I like the people and it's that proverbial bird in the hand, though in this case, it's a hummingbird - the world's smallest bird species. At this point in time, given my lofty goals of early retirement, if I accept the opportunity, I will likely continue part-time endeavors to augment my income. With all due respect to the company, I don't, like, want to eat ramen for the rest of my life.

Maybe that paragraph will attract the attention of the Plain English Campaign. Did you see who posted a comment on my last entry?!?! I'm getting closer and closer to stardom every moment. Go me!

Craigslist is an amazing resource. Its postings have allowed me to explore the realm of possibilities. For brief moments, I have pictured myself handing out soup samples at Costco, directing a rehabilitation program for murderers, rapists, and kidnappers out on parole, teaching high school Spanish (hey, I took it in high school), and hosting a TV show.

I became a professor through craigslist. And now, I can also proudly add the job of business writer to my already chaotic resume.

I used to pretend I was a writer. A friend who is a "real" (in other words published) writer read some of my travel notes and decided to put my name on a list of travel authors. I am now invited to media events about the town of Phoenix, Arizona. Out of curiosity, I attended one of their events, and I found myself quelling my laughter as I described my job as a freelance travel writer whose work is posted on the Internet. My goal was to remain as vague as possible in order to limit the amount of deception I had to portray. I enjoyed their drinks and appetizers and took home a bag full of pamphlets, hotel lotions, and a t-shirt. Most importantly, I had a new story to tell of the wacky ways I've managed to fill my time of partial employment.

As if I foreshadowed my own future, my dalliance as a freelance writer has come to fruition. I am attempting to quickly become an expert on Exchange Traded Funds so that I may pen articles with authority. I admit that it took me a few days to even remember what ETF stood for, and now that I've got that knowledge under my belt, I'm absorbing more and more each passing day.

Yesterday, I submitted my first article to my editor. I was somewhat hesitant, realizing that people will actually be reading what I have to say. That hesitation led to significant amounts of dawdling and self-imposed distraction, rather than any added effort spent to ensure a better quality piece of prose or analysis than I could have turned out in a couple hours of time. I'm hoping that as my confidence builds, my cycle time per article will shorten. For now, be on the look out for any craigslist postings seeking a master of Spider Solitaire. I would be perfect for the job.