Miss Popularity

Ach! Nothing came of that last date. We talked and texted a few times, and then we were supposed to go out and suddenly, to use a movie term, he "went dark." No contact, nothing, nada!
It might have been because I was supposed to text back on a Monday night after practice and didn't because I went out with a friend after practice, had a couple of beers, went home, and fell asleep right away. But I had forgiven him for not contacting me for months! He can't forgive one night?

Hmmmm ...

Last night I went out with some friends for a girls' night and one of them asked me how often I go out; "what, like, once a week?"

I was agog!

My friends think I'm popular!!!

That's the nicest compliment I've gotten in a long time. Seriously.

Then I immediately had low self-esteem. It suddenly seemed like this was an expectation of me, and I was letting my friends down. When I had to tell her, "No, it's more like once a year," it dawned on me that I've probably gone down in their estimation. They thought I was cool enough to have a date a week, and I'm not. So now, I'm not only letting my friends down, but I'm unattractive enough to get that many dates! My only comforting thought was perhaps this makes them feel better about themselves. You know, like Schadenfreude.*

I'm always happy to help others with their self-esteem.

Still I felt like I got a glimpse of what it must have been like to be one of those popular girls who give in to peer pressure. I mean, the weight of having to meet your friends' expectations is daunting.

*Wikipedia it!

Are you listening?

I had a date last night and it was awesome! Do you know how long it's been since I've been on an AWESOME date? Continents were still drifting.
He looks like my ideal - blond and blue-eyed. And he asked me so many questions. At one point, he apologized for asking so many questions, and I had to tell him that I love it! So different from the last date I was on.*
At the end of the date, he was such a gentleman. So much in fact, that I thought he might not be interested.
But he just called! and he definitely wants to talk.

Fingers crossed!

*did I tell you about that? Ugh, it was awful. I LITERALLY never thought I would say this but I got sick of him being interested in me only physically. Not that I don't want someone to be interested in me physically, but come on! I'm a smart person, I can tell that you're just asking the perfunctory obligatory conversational questions and that you're not really interested in listening to me. Conversation went something like this:

Me: Aren't you going to ask me any questions? (I LITERALLY had to ask him to ask me questions).
Him: What historical period do you most like?
Me: (stunned) What? Oh, uuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Victorian, I guess.
Him: Really?
Me: Well, I think the scientific advances of the time really influenced the art of the time.
Him: What scientific advances?
Me: Oh, like the study of anatomy, it reallyHIM: I'd like to study your anatomy!

Of course, this is the first guy I meet after I dated a guy who asked me 4 times within the span of two hours, "Which one is your parking space?" We were standing IN IT for the first three times he asked. On the 4th, I snapped back, and he took it personally. He sulked for about an hour and then tried to instigate a fight. I apologized, saying that I don't like feeling like I'm not being listened to. He ignored that and kept trying to fight. I stopped the fight and said, "This is what I'm talking about." He backed down, but I LITERALLY lost interest in him at that moment.

The long and short of it.

So that date I went on? It was normal. Unfortunately no sparks. That's a shame.

Of course, I should have known. This man told me that he'd never seen an episode of Seinfeld in his life. How is that even possible?!? It's on 30 different channels at least twice a day, and they show 4 shows each time, and I'm pretty sure that they're broadcasting it into space to prepare aliens for what sarcasm sounds like. It's ridiculous!!! In all seriousness, we have to admit, that this is a show that has become a defining cultural icon of the '90s, like leisure suits in the '70s.

Imagine having a conversation where you say, "He's a close talker," and the other person DOESN'T KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN. If he were smart, he might figure it out from the context clues, but my goodness, you don't want your date conversation to turn into a 5th grade reading question!

He also did not know what imdb is. One of my proudest moments is being listed on imdb.* He had no idea what that was.

So how can someone who's into comedy and pop culture, and loves movies, be with someone who's never seen Seinfeld, and is not familiar with imdb?

Short answer: You can't. Long answer: I tried, but it still takes me back to the short answer.

*Incidentally, despite having been told several times in my life that I have a "movie star's name," I am the ONLY one with my name on imdb. Yeah bitches. 

This man is an idiot. He likens the lockdown in Boston to a "military style occupation."

For those of you who weren't locked down, which includes this idiot, we were not forced to stay indoors. If you follow my Facebook page, you no doubt saw my pictures taken from outside my front door.

The lockdown was more of a request that everyone stay inside.

We weren't being forced at gunpoint to get back into our houses. When anyone did encounter law enforcement, they were simply asked to go back inside. Neither did we have any of our other rights taken away, i.e. we weren't told we couldn't vote, or what religion we were supposed to be.

I think what makes me angriest of all, is that he says "we have been conditioned to believe that the job of the government is to keep us safe, but in reality the job of the government is to protect our liberties."

There are so many things wrong with this statement, but suffice to say if you want to make this argument, then you are not allowed to claim that the 2nd Amendment and the right to own a gun is so that individual citizens defend their liberties. I am sorry, sir, but you cannot. It is a poorly reasoned argument.

Springtime in a Bottle

Ugh, Day whatever and that cigarette smell is still here. I think I should order some Febreze for the office.

Hey, I'm gonna chanel Mindy Kaling and do Things I Love!

Febreze!

This stuff is awesome. It needs to be on your dresser or in your purse as if it were a moisturizing lip balm that you can't live without. It solves almost all laundry problems (by which I mean, you didn't do your laundry and want to re-wear something that you're pretty sure is questionable). It deodorizes rooms (great for getting rid of early morning smell). And it can have you smelling fresh and clean as a daisy for work (after an all-night bender of partying, leaving you little time to actually change your clothes for work).

Nota bene: it does not freshen breath.

I was first introduced to Febreze when I lived in Japan. I gave private English lessons to a woman who worked at a public relations firm in Tokyo. Febreze was one of their clients. She and her coworkers had been given samples to test. She tested hers by staying out all night (as is the norm in Tokyo) and then febrezing herself at the end, in time to go to work. I kid you not - smelled as fresh and clean as a daisy.

Nota bene: daisies do not actually have a scent.

As part of an English lesson, I encouraged her to describe and "sell" the product to me. She did such a good job that one could say that it is a testament to my teaching abilities, or one could say that she is very good at her job. idk, one or the other.

Nota bene: I didn't make a lot of money as a teacher.

In any case, that's when I started using Febreze. I have used it after all night carousing in Tokyo. I have used it on a former roommate's towels, which she NEVER washed. I've used it in cars, shoes, bathrooms, clothes hampers, curtains, and couches. Once I even used it on my hair.

I don't know where it gets its magical powers, but they should bottle and se ... oh wait.

Today I am working in the store all alone again. It's not such a big deal really. It saves me money in my budget, and I get endless hours of web surfing. The only thing is that trying to do office work from the store is a lil' difficult. It's very distracting here. 

Also that cigarette smell is back! Argh.

It might have been the reason that we had a fire alarm go off in the building. And for the first time in a long time, we actually evacuated the building. The alarm goes off all the time, and we almost never evacuate. Everyone waits a few minutes for the announcement that it was a false alarm. But no one waited this time. Not after last week. 

What a fun evening I had last night. I went out to dinner with a very good friend of mine.

We went to a great restaurant here in Boston, Toro. It's a tapas restaurant by Ken Oringer - my inner food snob rejoices. Excellent food. I highly recommend the grilled corn with aioli. Yum. And the Paella Valenciana was very good, if a little too al dente. But this is from someone who never liked Paella. Also, it's a wonderful place to try Iberico ham - if you don't mind paying a LOT of money for ham. I would pay anything for it. 

The best thing about going out to good restaurants with this friend is that he's a chef. So I always know it's going to be good food. Of course, he's pretty even-keeled in his opinions of other restaurants. So I've never heard a blatant criticism. However when the bill comes to $122.24 for two people, you expect good. or really good criticism.

Tonight I have a date. I met him online. After a brief email exchange (which I prefer) he asked me appropriately out for a drink. So we'll see how it goes. I am hoping that this will be normal date. Of course, I'd like sparks, but if that is not in the cards, it would be reassuring to know that there are at least normal dates to be had. 

Smoke Signals

I'm working in the store today, and it's very warm. Two of the walls are glass and they magnify the sunlight. It's soooooooo warm.
Also, it smells like cigarette smoke in here. This is very frustrating because it's not coming from inside or just outside the store. It's actually coming from the air vents. Which means that some idiot has decided to take his/her smoke break right by the air intake. I really want to go out there with a sign and a blunt instrument.
Do I sound nasty? Sorry.
I was having a good day up until the cigarette smoke. This is the 2nd time this week.

My only consolation is that cigarette smoke is BAD for that person.