Sunday, buddy Sunday

Tonight I went to a group friend gathering in Arlington. It was fun and we all got to gaze upon a pretty little baby who miraculously did not seem to go to the bathroom for the entire three hours I was there.

Here's the deal on the guy front. I had called him earlier today, and he called again while I was out. That's five calls, trying to get the other on the phone! Yipes! But late tonight we finally touched base for twenty, and he's going to give me another buzz tomorrow. We are finally relaxing on the phone. That's a good thing, I think...

Take me to Morocco

Yesterday was very enjoyable. I went to a friend's who I haven't seen for a long time, where we did craft projects, took a nice walk, and watched movies. It was an all-day/all-night affair, and I didn't go to the salsa club! Her guy made the most delicious Moroccan chicken with breasts off the bone, olive oil, beets, acorn and butternut squashes, parsnips, apricots, and fennel bulbs (reserved the fronds for the top.) It was to die for! IIt was like restaurant food, but better because it was at home. He is a whiz in the kitchen.

One of the movies we watched was Being John Malkovich, another wild ride. This seems to be the weekend for absurd movies.

Tonight, a few hours with other friends, and I'll get back early enough to have a proper sleep. (My sleeping patterns have left much to be desired recently.) Also, the dude and I have been playing phone tag. I'm it!

A message for me

So tonight I had a delicious dinner at a friend's (steak tips! with grilled veggies!), then did some lite shopping, then we all watched Burn After Reading, which was one of the absolute strangest movies I have ever in my life seen. Comedy? Not exactly. Excellent acting and comic timing, but the Coen Brothers were up to their usual tricks -- the movie leaned more toward dark comedy, but was not quite dark enough to be called dark comedy. A few chuckles, but nowhere near as funny as The Darwin Awards.

During dinner I dished with my friend and her hubby, who I consider my big brother, if I were to have a cool brother. I describe the guy, and ask my "brother" if he thinks the guy will call me (he said yes, but tomorrow.) My bro asked about a million questions about how long our conversations have been, and what does he drive, and what does he do for fun, etc. etc. blah blah blah. He also gave me ridiculous "advice" which I would of course never follow, but that was certainly good for a laugh. I mean, why not figure out where he works, greet him as he's leaving the office, and announce that I've washed his car for him? And that my mom is in the parking lot, just dying to meet him? Could you even imagine!? This guy can always make me laugh, even when I'm super confused.

So I get home around 12:45 AM and there is actually a message from The Guy. He was still on call, but sounded kind of bummed that I wasn't home, and looks forward to talking to me soon. I'll call him sometime tomorrow. I'm thinking I'll get asked out again... eventually...

End of week reflections and happenings

Friday stuff.

• My mortgage rate went down again! This month it’s 4.163%. That means I might be able to buy myself a pizza this month! It’s funny ‘cause it’s true…
• Diet Coke is still the #1 pick-me-up. I could have easily fallen asleep this afternoon without it.
• I’ve begun to save up for a new laptop. Maybe by the holidays it will happen. I also need a digital camera. Need! I would like an iPod Touch, but I really can’t justify that in addition to a laptop. The real reason I want the iPod Touch is I can go online whenever, but can throw it in my handbag since it is a handheld. It’s not like I’m going to be doing any serious writing on such a weenie device. Although it does have a voice recorder built in, which I would find very useful. You know, “note to self”? Maybe just maybe, if I can find a 32GB for $250 I might buy it. But that will never happen, so it’s really not even an issue. If I want to be able to go online at, say, Panera or something, I figure could just do something cool to an existing laptop bag to make it hip enough to wear around, and pull out the laptop and then continue to be all cool about it.
• I think I’ll watch a movie tonight, with the lights off and the window open and a blanket on me. Also, one cat or maybe two if they decide to be sweet.
• I have decided to conspicuously not wonder about that guy. If he calls me, he calls me. If he doesn’t call me, life goes on.
• I’m at the point in my month when I could really use a nice steak. With french fries, extra crispy with sea salt and cracked pepper. Maybe some fresh parsley sprinkled over, or a little rosemary. And sautéed spinach with caramelized onion and a teensy bit of fresh garlic. And a Bloody Mary. So to speak. Also, a triple chocolate brownie for dessert.
• Nertz reminded me of Nerds, which got me thinking about other Willy Wonka candy, which led to Gobstoppers, which I now want.
• In summation, I am feeling unsatisfied. I need another Shopgirl!

Flying to the top

Ahh, New England.

There are two days until June. This is the third day in a row of dark, dreary, rainy, misty, 50 degree weather during the day. At night it's been dropping to the forties. Sunday it was in the nineties. Today the supposed high will be 72 (yeah, right.) This weather is beating me down. But the greens of the trees are fabulous!

And how’s this for a happy ending to Mother Nature’s whims? Two weeks ago, it was so hot that the lilac flowers died right on the row of enormous bushes outside my office. Then came the cold. Unexpectedly, a few new buds sprouted today, right through the dead flowers, presumably as a result of the rain. Also, I saw a brave little bird struggling to fly with waterlogged feathers… and fly it did, to the top of the greenest of the trees. I like that little bird…

Shopgirl

I just finished Shopgirl, by Steve Martin. I loved it!

Although snack-book-sized, this one packs an emotional wallop. I found it funny, sad, real, disarming, and also beautifully, sparely written, which appeals to me. It wasn't so very long ago that I was clueless about love, and although I have never worked a glove counter, or had glowing-from-within, eye-catching patches of milky white skin, or dated a millionaire 12 years my senior, I identified with Mirabelle like crazy.

It was her particulars that started it for me; that and the Serzone situation. I have many particulars of my own, and between those, understanding her financial situation, and my desire for her to succeed in more ways than one, this was a very satisfying read. As for the incidentals along the way between secondary characters, if I had to classify them I would do so as intelligent slapstick.

If you have not read this one yet, please do. Maybe I'll even see the movie, as long as it's thoughtfully done. (I wouldn't want to sully my memory of the book with overacting or a poorly followed plot line.) All in all, I am very proud of Mr. Steve Martin. He's super talented, always has been. Thirty years later, he's not a wild and crazy guy... now he can just be his smart self.

One more thing -- for whatever reason, this book reminds me to try to cultivate more patience. Thank you, Steve Martin! Keep 'em coming!

Nertz

The latest in a series of words the wordsmith friend o'mine uses to kick my butt at Scrabble. Just sharing.

I don't think it's anything after all

Maybe he's just not that into me.

I called him tonight and he was on call and so he had to call me back, which was fine. We were on the phone for 41 minutes (approximately 2 minutes of which was a work call he had to take -- and by the way I just heart a man who knows what he's talking about -- that's hot) and he laughed a lot and I laughed a lot and we had a great convo, but... he did not ask me out again.

And then HE said, 'So we'll talk again!?" and I said, "Hope so!" with a smiley voice. And he sort of chuckled and said good night and I said Bye! So maybe he's just not that into me. Oh well. Guess I'll see what happens from here. The suspense is just killing me...

Date successful

So here it is Tuesday afternoon, and I never reported about my date on Sunday! Shame on me.

Well… it was really fun!

We met at the Stone Zoo (which itself was somewhat depressing since the animals seemed underfed and sluggish) where we got slightly sunburned walking around and looking for 2.5 hours, chattering the whole time. He is all-around smart (educated, but not a know-it-all) and appropriately funny (we traded date-from-hell anecdotes, but without becoming grouchy), tells these good stories in his suck-you-in voice (deep, with a Brooklyn accent. So nice to hear that again), dresses nicely but not overly metro-sexually (quality brown leather shoes with square toe, cool jeans), has excellent manners (helped me down from the bleacher seats where we watched a bird show; was kind to strangers; opened and closed the car doors for me, but not leeringly.) He had intelligent, descriptive answers to my questions and continued to pose interesting questions to me. If I had to say what we talked about, I wouldn’t be able to put my finger on it, though -- we kind of just constantly shared info about ourselves and talked about anything and everything. He was also an excellent driver and I felt very safe with him. Much laughing and smiling took place.

After, he found this cool local restaurant with beautiful décor and excellent waitstaff where we lunched on Asian food (I had the Thai crazy noodles, he had chicken lo mein.) Also, when he paid (for the zoo tickets and the lunch tab -- I left the tip) he did not make a big production about pulling out his wallet and paying; he just paid, like a normal man. Granted, the whole date only cost him $36, but it’s the principle of it. (Unfortunately, there are a lot of cheap men out there. Just one of the reasons they are single, in my ‘umble opinion.)

Hmm. Actually, thinking about it, I have mostly been a cheap date in the past, which is why it really bothers me when a man doesn’t want to pick up the tab. I bet I could have a fun date in a supermarket! If I had to quantify this one, I guarantee that was the most fun he could have had for $8 an hour (the date was slightly longer than four.) And if our date were a movie, I would have watched it. There was not one boring moment (at least for me), and that’s unusual. Comparatively speaking, it was at least twenty-five times better than the first date with WF, and far less awkward than hanging around with another woman for the first time. I just feel comfortable with this guy!

There had been a quick hug hello, and a quick hug goodbye, and I wanted another hug before he walked back to his car after walking me to mine (three cars down, that was sweet of him), so I asked for one, and it was about the quickest hug I have ever had. Maybe he’s not used to doing the hug thing? I dunno. It still didn’t seem awkward, but considering we kept bumping into each other while navigating the uneven walkways at the zoo, I had been anticipating a slightly longer hug at the end of the date. My mom told me he was probably just exhibiting an appropriate first-date PDA. He said we should do it again, but didn’t ask me out right then and there. Drat.

Anyway, dispensing with protocol, I decided to be myself and follow up with a (short but sweet) email the next day, telling him that I had a great time. And he called me later that day! So I guess he likes me, or at least kind of likes me. Or at least was willing to be seen with me in public once. But he still has not asked me out again. The call ended with him saying we should talk again, so I said, ok, I’ll give you a buzz sometime this week. He said ok. I wonder what “the competition” is like. Sigh.

All in all, he is A Generally Cool Guy. I don’t think I have ever dated someone in this genre of Cool before. Wish me luck…

Going down and looking up

Happy Saturday.

Maybe what I took for feeling strong the other day was really feeling slimmer. I'm down another 2.6!!! OMG! Guess I'll just have to keep on dancing and eating Caribbean food. Hey, life could be worse!

And I will see that guy this weekend, too. Things are looking up for the clever cat. Whoop whoop!

Breaking up is hard to do

So tomorrow I have to break up with my gym. It won't be easy, but it has to be done. I just can’t afford both that and dancing. And since I actually enjoy salsa, I’ve decided to stick with that.

Speaking of dancing, I was so disappointed with myself last night at class. From the first one-two-three-count I was messing up. First, I broke lightly when I should have broken hard. Then after I fixed that, I embarrassingly slipped three times on the same foot. Halfway through, I totally booby-bumped some poor guy with my left one while doing a cross-body lead. He was gentlemanly and didn’t snicker (at least, out loud), but by then I had lost my sense of humor anyway.

And then for the life of me I was unable to learn a combination involving half turns and constant holding of my partner’s hands. (My instructor said I had some kind of mental block against it.) I was so frustrated! My face became bright red and everything. The funny thing was, I could do the whole combo properly with my eyes closed, but when my eyes were open I got nervous and panicky about what was happening behind my back. My hands and feet would go all jumbly and get twisted and I would lose my footing and screw up. Plus, because I couldn’t tell how much space there was between me and my partner, I kept getting nervous that my butt was taking up too much room. I was a mess!

By the time class ended, I was much more than a mess – I was a sweaty, flushed, frustrated mess, happy to climb into my car and zoom away. But I still felt good. I'll be back for more salsa punishment at the club tomorrow night! YAY!

Things are cool

Ok, I didn't drive him away. Yay! I'm glad about that. We'll see how things go -- I will keep you posted!

Let's get physical... books

Recently, I am reading more and more that it’s substantially kinder to the earth to read a book via electronic media than printed. I like that electronic media can be distributed faster and with less work than numbered printings and paperbacks. I read ebooks sometimes. And I like being green, at least in general.

But if I want to read a printed book, I will do just that. How dare Amazon (at a cost of $359 per machine, and the typical new Kindle book costing $9.99 each, sheesh. What happened to free? Free is good. I like free!) try to guilt me into buying their unit by telling me that it’s brown to produce bound books. What’s next? Printed media is a fire hazard? Physical libraries going away, for good? It all seems utilitarian and a little Brave-New-World-ish to me.

I can certainly appreciate someone writing with the intent of being listened to (The Chopin Manuscript) or with no intention of creating additional formats (Ur.) Hey, ya makes your choice! But in general, the text-to-speech thing turns me off -- I consider it old-fogey-ish. With the exception of erotica, I highly doubt I would never remember a book or story with pleasure if I had to listen to it. I like the feeling I get when I turn a page, read a well-written description, and feel my body react to the author’s writing. I get a kick out of seeing words on a page, and I like the feel of paper between my fingers. Text-to-speech reminds me of a lecture, and although I love learning, I never cared much for school. I wonder if the general public finds lectures fun! Doubt it.

Sure, bundling different media types at the cost of a hardcover (a physical book, a digital audiobook, plus an ebook) appeals to my wallet, and it’s a nice feature, but considering I typically buy hardcovers only as gifts, it’s not necessarily going to keep me from just going to the library to read a new book. And as for digital-first or digital-exclusive publications… they had better be damn good. Without free previews, I don’t think they stand a chance.

Although their advertising campaign made me look twice, and although the technology is certainly cool enough, I am certain this is one piece of electronics I will never feel the need to buy. Who out there loves it? I wanna know why.

I might be scary

I think I may have scared away the speed-dating dude.  But better to know now than later.  If a guy can't handle my strong personality, I'm unwilling to become a shrinking violet so that he feels less threatened.  I may be lonely, but I'm sure as hell not desperate…

All right. Now we're in play!

So speed-date dude called me again last night, ahead of my expected schedule. He made a point of telling me he was calling before he ate dinner, but after the gym. All righty then. Works for me!

Half an hour of banter and I complimented him on his voice, but still forgot to grab his real (e.g. non-speed-date) email. I called him back an hour later, and I think he was somewhat surprised. What if something funny happens that I need to share with him!? He agreed. And so begin the interesting, more flirty emails. Can he write? I love this part.

Some other happenings:

• My favorite bras have recently been leaving bruisies on my shoulders. Not comfy, and also not pretty.
• Still no state tax return check. Dang.
• I received an email from some guy in Arizona and another guy in Israel. As if they even fit my criteria. I wouldn’t go to Israel even if I won a free trip!
• High of 91 degrees today. Bleh.
• Salsa class tonight. Yeah baby!
• It's a good hair day, and I'm receiving compliments on my green shirt. I like it too.
• Just 1.5 days until another long weekend. YAY!

Another book sale

These are the books I rescued from the library on Saturday, again at a measly 2 bucks a bag. Some are really good and some are really trashy. But most of them are in excellent condition.

• Mapping the Edge, Sarah Dunant
• My Little Blue Dress, Bruno Maddox
• The Witching House, Anne Rice
• Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Gregory Maguire
• The Book of Shadows, James Rees
• The Snow Goose, Paul Gallico (Knopf Publishers, my favorite)
• Lights Out in the Reptile House, Jim Shepard
• Kitchen, Banana Yoshimoto
• Shopgirl, Steve Martin (for some reason I picked up two. I must have not realized I had already put one into the bag. I'll just bring one into the office.)
• The 158-Pound Marriage, John Irving
• Geek Love, Katherine Dunn (head-biting geeks, not computer-loving ones)
  
• Geometry, Relativity and the Fourth Dimension, Rudolf v. B Rucker
  
• Lipstick Jungle, Candance Bushnell
• The Food Taster, Peter Elbling
• Girl, Interrupted, Susan Kaysen
• Hand-me-down, Lee Nichols
• Magical Thinking, Augusten Burroughs
• Diary of a South Beach Party Girl, Gwen Cooper
• Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
• Chang and Eng, Darin Strauss
• Pandora, Anne Rice
• Beyond the Veil of Stars, Robert Reed
  

Plus a board book the I plan to cut pages from and use the still-attached ones as a craft project. I can't wait to get started on this pile!

A phone date

So last night I rang that guy and we had a decent 45-minute conversation, full of interesting info bits and double entendres. I am sure he is talking to a bunch of other women, but no biggie.

I think I was Girl Convo #2 of his night, since when I first called at around 7:45 PM I had to leave a voicemail. He called me back a few minutes later, and then about 40 minutes after that, it sounded to me as if his call waiting was ringing. For a second I thought he had hung up, but he was still there. Another five minutes and one more call waiting pause, and he ended the convo. (I got the feeling that was Girl #3, and that he would call her back after he finished with me.) We have a phone date for some point later this week, but I didn’t ask who would call who, or when. I assume he will call me on Thursday. Depending on if and when that happens, I may or may not be there, since I will be shaking my tail at salsa class later that night. And if he doesn’t call, that’s his loss.

Anyway, his manners are excellent, his sense of humor is both juicy and spicy, and he seems bouncy and fun, but I am treading very carefully with this one. What if he turns out to be another nutcase? I won't waste my time wondering -- there’s just no need to worry about that yet. And besides, I refuse to live my life in fear of loonies. Reader, raise your cup! To sanity!!!

Degradating

There’s no such thing. There is simply no such thing as degradating the system. The system may degrade, or may suffer from degradation, but it cannot become degradated. No. It’s just not a word, at least not in English. And for some reason, it really drives me up the wall when people use it.

Hey, I’m all for making up words, but this one is just plain annoying, especially when it is said with such assurance. Example:

Coworker #1: So where are we with the testing portion?
Coworker #2: Almost there, but I’m certain this will cause the system to become degradated.
Coworker #3: (Sighs.)
Coworker #1: Really? It sounds feasible and there really shouldn’t be any issues with service.
Coworker #2: No, I’m sure we will be working with a degradated system.
Coworker #1: Have you even done any preliminary testing?
Coworker #2: I will, but that will definitely degradate the system.
Coworker #3: (Slams hands on desk and stands up.) Cripes criminy! “Degradate” is not a freakin’ word! (Hurls ergonomically designed stapler across the room in a fit of pique and stomps out of the office.)

That was my afternoon. How are you?

Another Sunday night

What a nice Sunday. I think my salsa happiness is trickling to other aspects of my life!

My hair looked amazing from the moment I rolled out of bed early, and it lasted throughout the day. A guy made eyes at me in the parking lot of my supermarket. The get-together was a success -- nine people (including myself) enjoyed gastronomical delights of the Caribbean persuasion. There were no awkward moments. The rice and beans came out like a dream.

Also, the cool guy called me 10 minutes before people were due to show up, so we had a short 8-minute convo -- only twice the length of our first meeting, and besides, I was multi-tasking. He asks really good questions, and although I answered them thoughtfully and fun-fully, I may have neglected to ask him enough questions about himself because I had so much going on at the moment. I am eager to learn more about him and we have a phone date early in the week. I'll call him. Meanwhile, talk about speed dating! A regular conversation will probably feel like a year...

Another Saturday night

Fun! Fun! Fun!

As I told a friend, ideally, the guy I end up with would enjoy salsa dancing. I just like it that much!

Tonight I learned left turns and was able to pick up a left turn into a right turn, which is one of the things that makes salsa look so complicated. I really need to work on loosening my hips and arms, though.

Anyway, in the class I am taking, they teach to dance "on the clave", which is to say break on the second beat of eight, not the first. When I tried salsa for the first time 6 weeks ago, the guy I was with taught me to break on the first. But the more I hear the clave, the more it makes sense. It's like a treasure in the music that you have to constantly keep track of.

My instructor asked me what I thought about two vs. one and I explained that I originally (originally. Like it was so long ago! ha) learned on the first, but that you can feel the clave better. He was thrilled that I am enjoying myself so very much. But now, I need music, which he will email me. Hooray! The Hacha y Machete dance company rocks!

Another Friday night

Well, last night the dance looked like a drag, so we didn't cross the threshold. The majority of people looked to be in their fifties, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves, but were too old for us to date. Plus, the organizer looked kind of desperate and we did not find that attractive... so we left and took back roads through nice-looking Tewksbury to not-nearly-as-nice-looking Lowell.

We went to the Lowell Brewery, which features a few bars, billiards (free on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesdays!), a weekly free poker tournament (Wednesdays), a mechanical bull (free Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. No one even approached it), various video game machines (including those basketball free throw games. For some reason I like those), wi-fi, a dj, a dance floor, and occasional live entertainment (Busta Rhymes on 6/18/09) in a somewhat club-like, decent-sized, multi-leveled setting. They call it an "entertainment complex." Plus, some cute guys, even though most of them were far too young for us. We did get a few eyes, so that was validating.

We looked around and drank and ate chicken wings and sat on comfy sofas on a raised platform and giggled at a few hoochie mamas. She watched the Sox game while I engaged in one of my favorite pastimes, people-watching. It was fun!

Salsa tonight, and I got the name of the place. Hopefully someone will ask me to dance.

And guess who emailed me again! Yup. The guy from speed dating. Aaand, my friend got him mixed up with the guy after him, so it was an accident that she clicked him in the first place. So goody for me!

And as if all that were not enough, so far I have 5 yesses for tomorrow night (that includes me) and 3 adult maybes plus a baby maybe. This weekend is shaping up to be very fun. And I was worried that I would have nothing to do. See how wrong you can be?

Weekend plans

• Me and a friend will be attending a singles dance tonight. If it's lame we'll just bail. However, if the dancing is good, we might actually have some fun.
• My high school graduating class is having a reunion tomorrow. I'm not attending, but I'm sure it will be really nice for those who do.
• Oil change tomorrow morning. Yawn.
• Book sale tomorrow afternoon. Can't wait!
• Salsa practice "party" tomorrow night! But I'm still not sure where. I sure hope the instructor remembers to email me! It's really, really fun, and a very good workout. And actual dancing shoes make you feel (and look) like you know what you're doing.
• I'm going to try to get some people together for drinks and high jinks on Sunday night. Hopefully it's not a bust, but if it is, life will still go on...

User-unfriendly email

Apparently, I can't figure out email. All my stewing was wasted! Good thing I didn't spend so much time on it. Here's what happened.

After a nice shower and some comfort food last night, my sleep was much improved from the night before. I put things into perspective, and woke up ready to say "whatever!" to the world. I arrive at the office and check my email, and hello, good morning! There's a notification of a new email from the speed dating guy I emailed on Monday. It asked if I received his reply. What!? No I did not! (What kind of dating service does not send notifications of responses?)

So I log on, and lo and behold, there is indeed a reply. A friendly reply. A somewhat flirty reply. So I respond and apologize for the delay and explain that I have no idea what I am doing with their email system. I may as well be myself, right? If he doesn't like me now, he certainly won't like me later! So we shall see. Wish me luck!

Get a grip!

Ok. As of 1:36 PM today, I was done stewing. It was too tiring! Who has the energy to stew so very long? Sheesh.

You know what? I bet none of these guys know how to have fun, anyway. In fact, I'm almost certain of it. Oh, well. Their loss! I will just attend salsa class alone, and throw my own parties, and read and learn and write and play Scrabble and go to the gym and play video games and talk about computers and have all types of fun and only muck about with people who appreciate me, from now on. There. Done. What's next?

Fuff-fy

Finally, something to make me smile today. A butterfly. Ahh. (It's the little things that stop me from screaming, sometimes...)

Mr. Bean

Oh, one more thing about the JDate Mr. Bean. (And let me say that I actually kind of like the real Mr. Bean. It's the Brit in me, what can I say?) He asked me about work, and then had the gall to tell me I was sexy and could I make him a website. Um, no I cannot, and by the way, you cannot speak English very well, and you cannot spell, and oh, also, you look like Mr. Bean!!!

Daily affirmations

Ok. I am rather pissed right now, and I fear I will have an attitude for the rest of the morning, if not the rest of the day. Hopefully, no one will talk to me, and I can work and stew quietly for a while.

Here's the deal. In addition to the horrible realization that my ex will most likely ask the woman he is dating to marry him, eventually (I know this is the case, I can feel it), no one else yessed me from the speed dating. No one. NO ONE!!!

I basically cried myself to sleep last night after I had the realization about my ex's next gf. My sister had told me that he would propose to his next lady, and I had agreed. At the time, I had joked that it would be her problem, not mine... but I have such an awful feeling in my stomach right now. It really sucks to be the teacher and never reap the spoils. And I had an awful sleep, to boot.

But enough about him, and back to my no-click problem. Either I have such a bad personality that there are no men who even want to spend three minutes writing me a quick email to see what I am all about. Or I am incredibly boring. Or I am intimidating. Or my look is intimidating. Or I do not present as intelligent enough. But none of these seem right, especially considering I have been told otherwise. Why is it that so many guys just want to look down my shirt? (This is why I can never wear v-necks.)

Seriously. I am well-educated, reasonably attractive, ask interesting questions, and can keep a conversation going. I can dance, sing, write, paint, and budget. I am kind to animals, gentle with people who need it, and firm with the rest. I'm supportive, intelligent, quick-witted, and have good hair. I can cook. I don't chew with my mouth open. I have excellent manners. I protect my friends. I am many other things, too.

And there is nothing anyone can do right now to make me feel better. I just need to ignore this feeling, and eventually it will go away on its own.

Anyway, another guy from JDate IMd me last night. In addition to being tooo ooold for me to date (his profile said 45, but he was 52 if he was a day) he had a look reminiscent of Mr. Bean. O M freakin' G. HEEEEEEEEEELP!!!!!!!!!!

Here goes

All things considered, and annoyances aside, the guy from speed dating who clicked me is still very cool. I am going to email him and see what he's all about. He is definitely interesting, and I still like him. I will keep you posted! Wish me luck!

Another "party"

So because I only met nine of the "minyan" that was at Friday's speed dating thingy, I get a free one. (They emailed me today.) Hooray. My enthusiasm is palpable. Question: is it awful if I wear the same dress? How about in a different color?

Men, schmen.

Take cover. Rant a'comin'!

So apparently I am only up one person's alley, who happens to be a lot more of an outdoorsperson than I am. I really am not a nature person -- I prefer to view it from the comfort of an air conditioned room, rather than climbing it, and sweating in it, and getting sunburned in it. The closest I have gotten to the sun in the last few years is my tattoo. So I don't know where this speed dating click will lead. It's actually the guy that me and my friend both clicked, who happened to also click both of us, so this should be interesting.

Also, I just found out that my ex of almost a year went out on a fourth date with some woman tonight. Bully for him, but I am trying very hard not to feel inadequate about not getting clicked myself. I don't think it's working, though. It just about kills me that he might be getting laid at this very moment, while I sit here, geekily working on websites (at least I get some money from it, not that it really matters in the big scheme of things), blogging about his date, and absolutely nowhere near the prospect of a lay for me, in any way, shape, or form. Not to be crude, but I could really use one.

I can't say I'm not disappointed about White Shirt... but I can say "fuck 'em all!"

Ahh. That felt really good. Maybe I'll say that more often!

On the positive side, a different guy from JDate IM'd me this morning and we shot the shit for a while. The funniest part about his profile is that he hopes to find someone "reasonably attractive." I'm certainly reasonably attractive. We'll see what happens. (JDate still makes me very nervous...)

Yes. No. Yes. Next!

So Jewish speed dating wasn't so bad after all. And I was happy with the way I looked, in a cute black dress, heels, and last week's haircut, done wavy-style. General info:

• There were 18 women and 10 men. Dang.
• None of the men were jerks. Hooray!
  
• I only met nine of the men because one who came late skipped a date (I assume by accident) and and got the others out of order. Drat.
  
• The acoustics at this place were not good, and it was somewhat crowded. I was able to snag a comfortable chair, so that made it a little better. Ahh.
• The leader forgot her whistle, so it was hard to hear when the "dates" were over. Sigh.
  
• In my 3" heels bringing me to a not-so-towering 5' 6.5", I seemed to be one of the taller women in the group! (Or at least one of the ones with better shoes.) Ha!
  

Anyway, of the nine guys I met, I'm clicking yes to five. Of those five, one I found very interesting (but was not attracted to) and would consider as a friend. Of the remaining four, one was flirty and friendly, but I'm not sure I understood his sense of humor. I liked him all the same. Of the three left, I very strongly liked one of them, and it turns out I work with someone he went to school with, and also with someone he occasionally works with, too. I found him very cute, too. Warm, somewhat piercing eyes, plus he was wearing a proper white shirt. (Some of the guys were dressed rather schlumpily.) Hopefully, I'm on his "yes" list. The last two were also suitable as I remember, especially one in particular, but I think the other one lives in CT. (I could be wrong, though; four minutes per guy was enough to figure out if you don't like them, but sometimes not enough to figure if you actively do like them.)

I compared notes with my friend after, and the best part is this: we only had one real romantic crossover. I liked guys she said "no" to, and she liked the guys I found tiresome. We've already agreed -- if he clicks "yes" to both of us, we each work our magic and see what happens, then call dibs. Haha! There's no guarantee that he liked either of us, but better to have a plan, just in case. It's really not cool to date the same guy at the same time. ew! Ew!! EW!!! She and I are close, but not that close...

The medical side of matchmaking

I'm not loving the idea of shiduchs, (and I'm not even sure that I like the idea, even a little, even for someone else) however I am nowhere near Orthodox, therefore shiduchs are of of little consequence to me. But thinking about the people who do engage in matchmaking, I researched and came across something very interesting today. Did you know that some organizations screen people of marriagable age, give them pin numbers, and after they are introduced, the candidates enter the pins and find out if their kids would be born with critical disabilities? Maybe kind of clinical, but apparently this type of setup has resulted in a sharp decrease in the number of children born with Tay-Sachs and other genetic disorders.

I feel the same way about this as I do about my mom injecting herself with lizard spit to stay healthy: even though it may sound strange and engineered, if it results in fewer people with illness, so be it. The danger with this point of view is... where does it end? How much engineering is too much engineering? Are we avoiding creating babies born with disease, only to keep already living people around for much longer than natural science would dictate? What does that mean for the physical world and the world population? And what if by doing this, we lose a future chance to make a connection between different genes that could help reduce or cure diseases?

I think it's kind of creepy. What do you think?

Round little cheeses

You know how sometimes you buy the Babybel cheeses and they are always good, but not always creamy? Jackpot! I had a craving and bought them for lunch, and they are sooo creamy and delicious. It's like buttah -- but bettah!

Speed dating questions. Help!

Eep! I need some questions to ask the men at the speed dating "party" tonight. I want to leave out any boring ones.

I could go with stuff like "What do you do for a living?", "Where do you live?", and "What do you do for fun?" but I also want to ask some specific ones. Maybe something like "If your home was about to up in flames, what would you save?", "Do you like to dance?", and "What convinced you to try speed dating?"

Are those too stupid? Although my expectations for this thing are virtually nil, I want to at least be prepared. Please respond.

Breaking the code

Uh oh! Niecey broke the K'vod Code!

Yeah, I didn't know what it was, either. Apparently, the K'vod Code is some kind of honor code/respect code that the kids follow at the day school she attends.

Here's what happened. Yesterday she and two boys had some free time at recess, and they decided to play "throw the rock." Well, she threw the rock, and managed to accidentally hit one of the boys in his head. (Leave it to a boy to jump in front of a rock.) He went to the nurse for some ice, while she got a demerit and a phone call home. She had to write an apology (Dear So-and-so, I'm sorry I hit you in the head with a rock. Get well soon.) Also, her tv time was taken away for the rest of the week. She totally forgot about it, and when my sister said "No, you are not allowed to watch tv until Friday," she said, "Wait, what'd I do again?"

Although my sister didn't grill my niece on exactly what game was being played ("catch the rock", "throw the rock for distance", "dodge the rock") she did assume that Niece most likely threw the rock with greater velocity than the boys anticipated, since they probably were not aware that she plays catch with her dad often. She actually has a pretty good arm.

We can call this one "Adventures with Boys, Episode 1." Actually, Episode 2 -- Episode 1 had to do with "boyfriend" number one. "But mom, he just won't stop being my boyfriend!" "Sweetie, you can stop being girlfriend and boyfriend whenever you want. Hmm. Let's get your Auntie on the phone..."

Drinking water

So a water main broke yesterday afternoon, right down the street from my house. I am boiling my drinking water (I actually brushed my teeth with bottled last night and this morning) but I totally forgot to give Butch and Twinkie bottled water this morning! Ono! How could I have done that? If I give them intestinals I will be so angry at myself. I'm kicking myself as it is. They seem fine, at least for now -- but I will keep a close eye on them. I hope hope hope they are ok!