It's Monday morning, and I'm at Starbucks again. I've got some work to do, despite being off for the week, and I just can't get it done in my apartment. This atmosphere on a sunny Monday noontime is very different from the rainy, cold Saturday afternoon atmosphere.
On Saturday, I came in to edit some pictures, and sat at a table next to a young couple, as it was the only table available where I could work on my laptop. I could sense the awkwardness almost immediately as they were discussing the movie "Twilight" versus the book "Twilight". He tried to turn the conversation to his favorite book- The Hobbit. I got up to get my coffee and raspberry truffle cake pop (another reminder) so I missed a bit of the conversation. When I returned, it was time for her to go.
And it just got more awkward. It was time for her to go, which meant it was time for the "what do we do now? does he like me? do I like him? do I want to see him again? what do we do now?" departure. They both begin to take turns sharing their online dating stories. What should have been a five minutes or less "see ya later" took twenty minutes. I don't know what else was said- it was getting so bad I had to either put my earbuds in and escape to iTunes or leave altogether. And I had work to do.
Eventually they moved the conversation outside and I don't know whatever happened to them. And I really don't care. The whole interaction reminded me of why I hated the online dating, the few times I tried it. Aside from the guy that clearly had Asperger's, or the Mama's Boy who sent several red flags flying the minute he started telling me about how he was divorced and had his wedding band melted down into a right-hand ring because he'd always wanted one, I've met a few decent people through the online situation. It's just that none of them were for me.
The issue with online dating and that first initial coffee-shop meeting are that you have two people trying to tell the other person so many things about themselves in such a short period of time with the sole purpose of trying to impress another person. It's a recipe for self-involved disaster. And it's nothing like a real relationship. It's a real relationship on speed, with a touch of meth.
There's no point to this, other than to remind myself of why I don't do the online dating scene any more. It doesn't always end up being real. If I ever do it again, because I don't rule anything out as I'm approaching Old Maid status, I will just remember this conversation and others before me, and suggest the potential suitor/husband/awkward blog post inspiration meet for something other than coffee. A service project. The dog park. A cooking class.
But not coffee.
** On a side note, I almost had to get up and punch the above-mentioned guy in the throat. He mentioned being a "nerd" (yeah, right tattooed motorcycle rider) and she asked if he watched the Big Bang Theory. He scoffed and said "no...those are just actors playing nerds and I am a real nerd." My issues are this: a) No, you're not a real nerd. You're a self-absorbed hipster trying to pretend you are a nerd. b) Nobody messes with The Boys. Nobody. (He probably would have tried to put Baby in a corner if given the opportunity. puh-lease).
Monday, March 12, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Daylight savings time and constant reminders
Today was the day we spring our clocks forward and then try our bestest to stay awake during church. Our worship leader is a little long-winded when publicly talking to God, and today I had to keep my eyes open because if his prayer went longer than about a minute and a half (and it always does), I would be out. cold.
At church, we only had about 15 little ones, when we usually average 30-40. I went to the baby room when I was done with my teaching duties, and the precious little ones were hilarious. They weren't cranky, but their eyes were glazed over and they were yawning, as if they couldn't figure out why they wanted to sleep but couldn't. It was a particularly snuggly morning, and for that I am grateful.
After church, I went and had lunch and dodged the four families I saw at the deli for as long as I could, lest I have to answer the question "What are you reading?" with an answer of a young adult novel few people have ever heard of. I just tell people it's Hunger Games-ish. Or Hunger Games Light, which is more accurate.
Before getting out of the car, The Aunt called, since she is on her way to the Big D (YAY!) and I warned her that I had not had sufficient sleep and should not be talking about much of anything. True to form, I was in quiet tears before the conversation was over.
When I say I do not do well on little sleep- people, I am not lying. I was telling her about the prior evening that kept me up so late, meeting the sister's boyfriend, and discussing once again how I just don't fit into my family at all. If the aunt hadn't been present at my birth I would be searching for my birth mother right now.
(Insert awkward transition to a completely different topic here)
I've mentioned before that Kelly Clarkson may or may not be musically stalking me. I've actually given in to her hotsy-totsy ways and begun liking her new songs and singing along. In my car. Rather loudly.
I've also daily been reminded of Phoenix or Arizona. Sitting at my parent's desk I see a leftover Christmas card detailing a friend's trip to Phoenix. A coworker comes to show me pictures of her son's wedding. Where was it? Phoenix. And he's a doctor.One of my students wears a shirt from the Phoenix Zoo. Phoenix and Arizona are everywhere.
I went to Best Buy yesterday. As soon as I walked in I saw they were showing Beauty and the Beast. My second favorite Disney movie but someone else's very favorite.It was the storyline from one of the new shows I watch: Once Upon a Time. It's shown regularly on ABC family.
I turn on the Disney Pandora station, and Hedwig's theme plays as a whole song, and I have to look up for a moment, turn my attention away from the papers I'm grading. And sigh.
All reminders of someone.
Someone I'm trying to forget.
I try not to read into all of this... after all, sometimes a stop sign is just a stop sign. I think of it like a car you notice. When I decided to buy The Escape, I started noticing them everywhere. Every other car was an Escape. Blue ones, red ones, lots of ones that look just like mine. It wasn't a sign- just a heightened awareness. Phoenix and Kelly and Belle...
Now, the task is to train myself to unnotice them. Easier said than done.
Especially when Kelly sings every other song on the radio.
At church, we only had about 15 little ones, when we usually average 30-40. I went to the baby room when I was done with my teaching duties, and the precious little ones were hilarious. They weren't cranky, but their eyes were glazed over and they were yawning, as if they couldn't figure out why they wanted to sleep but couldn't. It was a particularly snuggly morning, and for that I am grateful.
After church, I went and had lunch and dodged the four families I saw at the deli for as long as I could, lest I have to answer the question "What are you reading?" with an answer of a young adult novel few people have ever heard of. I just tell people it's Hunger Games-ish. Or Hunger Games Light, which is more accurate.
Before getting out of the car, The Aunt called, since she is on her way to the Big D (YAY!) and I warned her that I had not had sufficient sleep and should not be talking about much of anything. True to form, I was in quiet tears before the conversation was over.
When I say I do not do well on little sleep- people, I am not lying. I was telling her about the prior evening that kept me up so late, meeting the sister's boyfriend, and discussing once again how I just don't fit into my family at all. If the aunt hadn't been present at my birth I would be searching for my birth mother right now.
(Insert awkward transition to a completely different topic here)
I've mentioned before that Kelly Clarkson may or may not be musically stalking me. I've actually given in to her hotsy-totsy ways and begun liking her new songs and singing along. In my car. Rather loudly.
I've also daily been reminded of Phoenix or Arizona. Sitting at my parent's desk I see a leftover Christmas card detailing a friend's trip to Phoenix. A coworker comes to show me pictures of her son's wedding. Where was it? Phoenix. And he's a doctor.One of my students wears a shirt from the Phoenix Zoo. Phoenix and Arizona are everywhere.
I went to Best Buy yesterday. As soon as I walked in I saw they were showing Beauty and the Beast. My second favorite Disney movie but someone else's very favorite.It was the storyline from one of the new shows I watch: Once Upon a Time. It's shown regularly on ABC family.
I turn on the Disney Pandora station, and Hedwig's theme plays as a whole song, and I have to look up for a moment, turn my attention away from the papers I'm grading. And sigh.
All reminders of someone.
Someone I'm trying to forget.
I try not to read into all of this... after all, sometimes a stop sign is just a stop sign. I think of it like a car you notice. When I decided to buy The Escape, I started noticing them everywhere. Every other car was an Escape. Blue ones, red ones, lots of ones that look just like mine. It wasn't a sign- just a heightened awareness. Phoenix and Kelly and Belle...
Now, the task is to train myself to unnotice them. Easier said than done.
Especially when Kelly sings every other song on the radio.
Sunday, March 04, 2012
- I think, quite possibly, the word you're looking for right now is "Oops".
I know you are all thinking I gave up blogging for Lent, but I did not. I gave up soda and also caffeine, which is by the way, kicking my arse. The lack of caffeine makes me say profound things like "You know how Ash Wednesday is always on a Wednesday?"
True story.
I have been busy, and once again, all h-e-double-hockey-sticks has broken loose at my school, so I've been all over the map in my thoughts and such. I've also been the Momma for five different kids and three different dogs in the last two weeks.
And I got a crown put in my mouth (when it should have been placed on my head), and I'd just like to take a minute to give all of the people who know me in real life a good little laugh and ask them to picture this ADHD girl all jacked up on novocaine in the dentist chair. I think we can all say God bless my sweet little dentist, because she had her work cut out for her!
Though it may not seem like it, this is all good stuff for me right now (and I could and probably will write an entirely different post about how God is chasing me down trying to hit me upside the head with Romans 8:28 as of late). See, a few weeks ago, I went out on a limb. And the result makes a lot of sense, though it was definitely not what I had in my mind. And because of all of this junk all around my life otherwise, I have not been able to dwell on it or even think about it. At all.
And as Martha would say, that is a good thing.
I can't dwell or be discouraged because I've got too much stuff going crazy in my world and I am just taking it day by day until Spring Break, which is mercifully only a week away.
I will leave you with one funny story really quick, in which I pull a muscle in my leg by using a rolly chair.
See, once you leave the doors at the end of the fourth grade hallway at school, there is a small decline in the cement leading down to the kickball court. I always take my ginormous and heavy black chair down to kickball duty, and ride it down the small decline, with my hands in the air and typically saying "whee!"
On Friday, my turn at kickball duty came up, but instead of taking my big, heavy black chair out to recess, I chose to take my small, lighter-weight blue rolly chair out.
I rolled it down the incline.
It hit a bump.
The chair stopped.
My body did not.
I'll just go now and let you visualize that in your head.
True story.
I have been busy, and once again, all h-e-double-hockey-sticks has broken loose at my school, so I've been all over the map in my thoughts and such. I've also been the Momma for five different kids and three different dogs in the last two weeks.
And I got a crown put in my mouth (when it should have been placed on my head), and I'd just like to take a minute to give all of the people who know me in real life a good little laugh and ask them to picture this ADHD girl all jacked up on novocaine in the dentist chair. I think we can all say God bless my sweet little dentist, because she had her work cut out for her!
Though it may not seem like it, this is all good stuff for me right now (and I could and probably will write an entirely different post about how God is chasing me down trying to hit me upside the head with Romans 8:28 as of late). See, a few weeks ago, I went out on a limb. And the result makes a lot of sense, though it was definitely not what I had in my mind. And because of all of this junk all around my life otherwise, I have not been able to dwell on it or even think about it. At all.
And as Martha would say, that is a good thing.
I can't dwell or be discouraged because I've got too much stuff going crazy in my world and I am just taking it day by day until Spring Break, which is mercifully only a week away.
I will leave you with one funny story really quick, in which I pull a muscle in my leg by using a rolly chair.
See, once you leave the doors at the end of the fourth grade hallway at school, there is a small decline in the cement leading down to the kickball court. I always take my ginormous and heavy black chair down to kickball duty, and ride it down the small decline, with my hands in the air and typically saying "whee!"
On Friday, my turn at kickball duty came up, but instead of taking my big, heavy black chair out to recess, I chose to take my small, lighter-weight blue rolly chair out.
I rolled it down the incline.
It hit a bump.
The chair stopped.
My body did not.
I'll just go now and let you visualize that in your head.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
No time. Or interwebs.
So I don't have time or energy to blog tonight, as I am kid sitting and I just discovered that the dog ate the chair.
Little sister is at dance and big brother just finished his homework. He's online looking at music and just said that some song called We Are Young is the number one song on iTunes.
The same song that has been "featured" on this here little old blog and is by a band that was featured just yesterday on my crush week as one of my favorite new groups.
Coincidence? I think not.
Oh, and here's what I found.
Rocky 1. Chair 0
Little sister is at dance and big brother just finished his homework. He's online looking at music and just said that some song called We Are Young is the number one song on iTunes.
The same song that has been "featured" on this here little old blog and is by a band that was featured just yesterday on my crush week as one of my favorite new groups.
Coincidence? I think not.
Oh, and here's what I found.
Rocky 1. Chair 0
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Technology Crushes
MORE CRUSH WEEK FUN
TV SHOW CRUSHES
 |
| Favorite. Show. Ever |
 |
| Guilty pleasure. And I unashamedly say that I want to have a love like Ice and Coco. |
 |
| New Favorite. And I may want to marry Jimmy. |
MUSIC CRUSHES
 |
| Always and forever my favorite- even though they are no longer together |
 |
| I love grouplove |
 |
| fun. Indeed they are. |
APP CRUSHES
 |
| Curse you Aunt for getting me addicted to this. |
 |
| My name is Wild and Precious and I have a solitaire problem. |
Tomorrow: food, drinks, or possibly nothing at all because it is the start of Lent and I am giving up soda and I have to be somewhere at 5:30 in the morning.
Monday, February 20, 2012
I've got a crush on you
One of the blogs I love {eighteen25} is written by three sisters, so when they have a crush week, they each get a day. Well, there's only one of little old me, so I'm going to stretch my crushes out into a couple of days. There may even be a guest post by Daisy herself, but I'll warn you: I've seen her attempt at typing, and it ain't pretty.
Let's start the week off right, shall we?
My main crushes
1. This girl
2. This guy
3. These kids
4. This camera
Tomorrow: iPhone apps, tv, movies, and music (like I can narrow that down to one post...)
So, tell me readerlings, what are you crushing on lately?
Let's start the week off right, shall we?
My main crushes
1. This girl
 | |
| My Daisy girl. |
2. This guy
 |
| I owe him a dollar. Well, actually only .32 now. |
3. These kids
 |
| I'm not going to actually show you their pictures... |
4. This camera
 |
| I heart my DSLR |
Tomorrow: iPhone apps, tv, movies, and music (like I can narrow that down to one post...)
So, tell me readerlings, what are you crushing on lately?
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Rain, Harry Potter, and memories
Today was just one of those weird days.
Long, but not long enough.
Boring, but interesting.
It was cold and rainy, and when I say that I only got out of my pajamas twice, I am not exaggerating. Once to go grab lunch (and then right back into them for a nap) and then once again for dinner. It's well past ten, and I'm about to put on a fresh pair in which to sleep.
I was awoken from my nap to some sad news. A coworkers son was in an accident. He wasn't driving, and was sitting behind the driver. His best friend was killed, as was the girl he was sitting next to. He's got a neck injury, and other various maladies, and they haven't told him that two of the other passengers were killed. Because we're southern, a couple of us have already planned a couple of dinners and such, but it's just something that sticks in your mind all day (especially the rainy ones).
Thanks to ABC Family, there has been an abundance of Harry Potter movies, which fit the weather and my mood all day long. All day long, I've been flashing back to different times, circumstances, etc. I remembered going to see the first Harry Potter movie. I was teaching Resource, with a class size of about 10, and my co-teacher and I arranged to have about five of them checked out for the day while we took a half day and we all went to see the movie together. Magical, indeed.
I've been lost in some other thoughts too, but those are reserved for my paper journal. The one that no one sees. The one that The Aunt has strict instructions to burn should I ever pass.
Up next week: my crushes. Things I'm loving right now.
Stay tuned.
Long, but not long enough.
Boring, but interesting.
It was cold and rainy, and when I say that I only got out of my pajamas twice, I am not exaggerating. Once to go grab lunch (and then right back into them for a nap) and then once again for dinner. It's well past ten, and I'm about to put on a fresh pair in which to sleep.
I was awoken from my nap to some sad news. A coworkers son was in an accident. He wasn't driving, and was sitting behind the driver. His best friend was killed, as was the girl he was sitting next to. He's got a neck injury, and other various maladies, and they haven't told him that two of the other passengers were killed. Because we're southern, a couple of us have already planned a couple of dinners and such, but it's just something that sticks in your mind all day (especially the rainy ones).
Thanks to ABC Family, there has been an abundance of Harry Potter movies, which fit the weather and my mood all day long. All day long, I've been flashing back to different times, circumstances, etc. I remembered going to see the first Harry Potter movie. I was teaching Resource, with a class size of about 10, and my co-teacher and I arranged to have about five of them checked out for the day while we took a half day and we all went to see the movie together. Magical, indeed.
I've been lost in some other thoughts too, but those are reserved for my paper journal. The one that no one sees. The one that The Aunt has strict instructions to burn should I ever pass.
Up next week: my crushes. Things I'm loving right now.
Stay tuned.
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