Here's what I really want to blog about. I am single. I have been single for almost one month. I am sure that all my ex boyfriends are reading this. As well as any man I have gone out with on a date and will be going out with. Not because I am arrogant. But because they will tell me. Or they have told me. I have not been single in a really long time. And it's time to be single.
I am non-committal. No. I take that back, but I am not deleting it. I am anti-marriage. And while I have been asked if I am working on that in therapy, I don't see a point. I am happy with it. When I first started this blog in 2008, I wrote about getting out of a relationship. And the main thing I point out is that if you are unsure, then it is time to get out which most people do not do. And I do what I want because life is just too short to do it any other way.
Now, I know someone is going to verbalize that I am being way too open here and this posting is not to be intentionally specific or anything like that, but I need to get this out there in the open.
When asked this week why I started the blog, I realized that I had never even told the story. Three years ago, I was thinking about starting one when my sister e-mailed me a blog on the progress of her friend's house project. I looked at their blogspot site and saw that I could create my own. And I did. Right then and there. I wanted to journal about my move to Madison, Wisconsin. And then I e-mailed some people and told them I had started my blog about my new life.
And the fresh journey still feels extremely refreshing. And this was never a site to bash ex boyfriends and it never will be. I like to talk about my personal experiences. And now that I am single and I have pointed out how easy it is to put yourself out there. I am going to repeat my earlier posts.
And while my aunt just said that people meet either at a bar or online, I completely disagree. I have never met anyone online and I never will. I have nothing against it. It's just not my thing. I have also never dated anyone I met at a bar. Everyone is fair game, so the opportune time can happen - well - at any moment. Always be prepared for that.
And that's all I am going to say for now. Especially since I just scheduled a date with someone who is probably reading this......
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
The Shaft & the Flip Flop Blow-Out
The funniest thing happened the other day. My friend and I were walking down State Street, while my dog dragged me along as she always does, when all of a sudden, I blew out my flip flop. (I did not step on a pop-top. Not sure what that is, either).
I had to cruise into the shoe store. Fortunately for me, the shoe store is about two store fronts down from the "blow-out" incident. As I hobbled down the sidewalk, the dog pulling my arm out of the socket, I entered the shoe store with one shoe on/one shoe off. I was forced to buy a new pair of shoes, even though I didn't really see any that I liked. And that is why I now own a pair of moccasins.
Running late for a "man appointment," if you will, my friend had to come over and assist me after the flip-flop incident, so I wasn't late.
Move onto Tuesday. I am at work. I walk onto the elevator with a co-worker. My arms are full of stuff. I am leaving for an appointment. As I enter the elevator, I drop my collection of keys. As I look down, it's like slow motion. All of a sudden, they have disappeared down the elevator shaft. What do I do? Those are my only set of keys. My car key is worth about $300 (it has a chip in it), my condo key is $50 to replace, etc. I laugh. Completely hysterical. Uncontrollable laughter.
Well, the building engineer goes down to the basement and about thirty minutes later I am reunited with the bent-up, busted looking keys. And I was very, very happy to see my keys. So now I know that if you drop something down an elevator shaft, you can recover the item.
If you blow out your shoes, you may end up with a pair that you don't necessarily want. But at least I have a cute pair of moccasins and some funny stories.
I had to cruise into the shoe store. Fortunately for me, the shoe store is about two store fronts down from the "blow-out" incident. As I hobbled down the sidewalk, the dog pulling my arm out of the socket, I entered the shoe store with one shoe on/one shoe off. I was forced to buy a new pair of shoes, even though I didn't really see any that I liked. And that is why I now own a pair of moccasins.
Running late for a "man appointment," if you will, my friend had to come over and assist me after the flip-flop incident, so I wasn't late.
Move onto Tuesday. I am at work. I walk onto the elevator with a co-worker. My arms are full of stuff. I am leaving for an appointment. As I enter the elevator, I drop my collection of keys. As I look down, it's like slow motion. All of a sudden, they have disappeared down the elevator shaft. What do I do? Those are my only set of keys. My car key is worth about $300 (it has a chip in it), my condo key is $50 to replace, etc. I laugh. Completely hysterical. Uncontrollable laughter.
Well, the building engineer goes down to the basement and about thirty minutes later I am reunited with the bent-up, busted looking keys. And I was very, very happy to see my keys. So now I know that if you drop something down an elevator shaft, you can recover the item.
If you blow out your shoes, you may end up with a pair that you don't necessarily want. But at least I have a cute pair of moccasins and some funny stories.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
A Real Kind of Touristy Day
After reading "Water for Elephants," I suggested that a few of my friends hit up the Baraboo Circus World Museum with me. I enjoy seeing what inspires an author to write a story and I thought we would be able to envision more details from the book. No trip to the Circus Museum can be accomplished without a trip to Wollersheim Winery. So, it was a big day for us city gals!
Upon arrival, I discovered that I was very hot and sweaty. We opted to sit in the big top and watch a circus performance. After looking around at a few things such as a train that originally stored some horses, original photographs and replicas of what would be referred to as "freak show circus people," we sat under the big top for the "greatest show on earth."
Sitting in the uncomfortable chairs, I was tired, hot and sweaty when some man around my parents age came out to do an intro. As he blabbed about the history of something, my friend on the left looked at me and said, "What the hell is he talking about?" I admitted that I wasn't listening and asked the friend on the right. Certain that she always listens and pays attention to every instructional detail, she confessed that she was not paying attention, either. So I am afraid I can't tell you what the intro entailed. Besides, we were all distraught because we had all checked our phones while waiting for this show to start and found out that Amy Winehouse had died.
Once the show got started, a man who is probably not much older than me took the microphone and started singing some song about the circus. He was wearing a cheesy costume and I was slightly embarrassed for him. And that's when I lost it. I laughed so hard I was crying. It was too funny. Here we were, these city girls, after a week of wining and dining and dating and what have you, and we were amidst a bunch of white Wisconsin people, watching a circus performance.
I must say, though - once the performers got going, it was an excellent show. It's an intimate area - not a lot of space. They were very, very talented. There were dogs, a monkey, a horse, a pony and an elephant. Our main question after walking out of the show was "How much money could they possibly make?"
We then moved on to Wollersheim for some wine tasting and snacking. I actually like their Prairie Fume so we opted for that and a cheese spread. I must say, I think Wollersheim could be a nice romantic excursion if you are trying to think of a nice date place. The grounds are really pretty.
After a long heated day of exploring some of Wisconsin's finer things, I am headed out to Spring Green for another warm and exhausting day of summer. Did I mention I love it here?
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Emotional Movies
Three years ago, I went to see the "Sex and the City" movie with my loving sisters and one (of two) brother-in-law.
I love movies. I love seeing them and I love talking about them with friends. I feel like you can have some really great movie conversations. Mainly, I like to discuss feelings which comes out in these discussions. I will ask questions such as:
"Did you cry?"
"Did you watch it alone? Did it make you lonely for someone?"
"Was it depressing?"
"You need to see "X" because it will make you laugh out loud."
So when it really comes down to it, I am all about setting my emotions up for something when I see a movie. I have to be in the right mood or place to see something sad/heartfelt/funny/cheesy, etc.
The other thing about movies is that I have to be comfortable letting myself cry. And sometimes I am really in the mood for crying and other times I refuse to let myself do it. And crying can feel really, really good. And really therapeutic a lot of the time. So once the tears are allowed, they usually don't stop.
I have not let myself cry during a movie in a really long time.
But back when I went to see "Sex and the City," I got really teary eyed in that last scene. There is nothing significant about it to the average person. At the time, I was living in Cleveland, thinking about moving to Madison. Miranda, Carrie, Samantha and Charlotte all walk down the street together. And they look so happy. So happy to be united. And here I was, watching it with two of my closest friends (even if they are my sisters) and it felt so good to be with them. But I was really, really missing my girlfriend time with all of my girlfriends. And it made me cry a little. I'll never forget that feeling because of my extraordinary memory.
So now that I am in Madison and have made a lot of good girlfriends, it has felt so good to be able to walk down the street like the gals from the movie. And know that I have a nice community here of friends. Where I can wake up in the early morning and have text messages awaiting to meet for breakfast or dog parking or whatever. It just feels so good.
I love movies. I love seeing them and I love talking about them with friends. I feel like you can have some really great movie conversations. Mainly, I like to discuss feelings which comes out in these discussions. I will ask questions such as:
"Did you cry?"
"Did you watch it alone? Did it make you lonely for someone?"
"Was it depressing?"
"You need to see "X" because it will make you laugh out loud."
So when it really comes down to it, I am all about setting my emotions up for something when I see a movie. I have to be in the right mood or place to see something sad/heartfelt/funny/cheesy, etc.
The other thing about movies is that I have to be comfortable letting myself cry. And sometimes I am really in the mood for crying and other times I refuse to let myself do it. And crying can feel really, really good. And really therapeutic a lot of the time. So once the tears are allowed, they usually don't stop.
I have not let myself cry during a movie in a really long time.
But back when I went to see "Sex and the City," I got really teary eyed in that last scene. There is nothing significant about it to the average person. At the time, I was living in Cleveland, thinking about moving to Madison. Miranda, Carrie, Samantha and Charlotte all walk down the street together. And they look so happy. So happy to be united. And here I was, watching it with two of my closest friends (even if they are my sisters) and it felt so good to be with them. But I was really, really missing my girlfriend time with all of my girlfriends. And it made me cry a little. I'll never forget that feeling because of my extraordinary memory.
So now that I am in Madison and have made a lot of good girlfriends, it has felt so good to be able to walk down the street like the gals from the movie. And know that I have a nice community here of friends. Where I can wake up in the early morning and have text messages awaiting to meet for breakfast or dog parking or whatever. It just feels so good.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
A Week in Review (Or Something Like that...)
For the “glass is half-empty” folks, I will remind you that we are entering our third week of summer. (No, the summer is not “almost over.” It ends in September,) We need to focus on the positive, people.
Madison has had a very exciting summer which has hardly yet begun. While protesters are still yelling to “Recall Walker,” emergency vehicles were speeding by me on my morning run ten mornings ago. Knowing something was wrong, I walked over to see a building in flames before I left for work. My poor friend had lost everything in that building, as did everyone else who lived there and two business owners are without a business.
While the Concourse Hotel graciously gave rooms to the displaced residents for a week, it saddened me to run into one of the displaced victims wearing what looked like some “St.Vinny’s giveaway” as she walked to work. I gathered some of my favorite clothes and dropped them to my friend. She needs to remain looking fashionable. No sense in dumping a bag of tee shirts to these people. It’s sad.
A week before this fire, a woman who was walking to her campus job was hit by a metro bus that was off duty, driving back to the station. The poor woman died as she crossed the walk (and had the right of way), as she did every day, to walk to her job. The city was shook up by this event. I feel horrible for her family. And I feel horrible for the bus driver who must have had some sort of blind spot.
I have always said that Madison drivers are much more courteous with pedestrians and bikers and we just never hear about this. It was another sad day.
And speaking of bikers, Trek’s new program has distributed bike racks surrounding the capitol square, around the city, including on the hospital grounds. You can rent them with a credit card and have a bike for a day. Their goal is something like “20 in 2020” – I believe they want 20% of the city to commute by bike by 2020. The bikes are being utilized a lot – I notice them riding by me when I run in the mornings. It’s a great initiative for this healthy city.
Personally, my summer has started out nicely. I continue to meet a lot of great people and hang out at all of my favorite walkable places. The night scene is really fun and as much as I love to stay in after work in the winter, it is too hard come summertime.
My favorite spot is Graze, right on the square. I also like drinks at Natt Spil and I still prefer any night of dancing at Plan B. Enjoy the summer and if you have a boat, feel free to take me out on it. (No Pressure).
Madison has had a very exciting summer which has hardly yet begun. While protesters are still yelling to “Recall Walker,” emergency vehicles were speeding by me on my morning run ten mornings ago. Knowing something was wrong, I walked over to see a building in flames before I left for work. My poor friend had lost everything in that building, as did everyone else who lived there and two business owners are without a business.
While the Concourse Hotel graciously gave rooms to the displaced residents for a week, it saddened me to run into one of the displaced victims wearing what looked like some “St.Vinny’s giveaway” as she walked to work. I gathered some of my favorite clothes and dropped them to my friend. She needs to remain looking fashionable. No sense in dumping a bag of tee shirts to these people. It’s sad.
A week before this fire, a woman who was walking to her campus job was hit by a metro bus that was off duty, driving back to the station. The poor woman died as she crossed the walk (and had the right of way), as she did every day, to walk to her job. The city was shook up by this event. I feel horrible for her family. And I feel horrible for the bus driver who must have had some sort of blind spot.
I have always said that Madison drivers are much more courteous with pedestrians and bikers and we just never hear about this. It was another sad day.
And speaking of bikers, Trek’s new program has distributed bike racks surrounding the capitol square, around the city, including on the hospital grounds. You can rent them with a credit card and have a bike for a day. Their goal is something like “20 in 2020” – I believe they want 20% of the city to commute by bike by 2020. The bikes are being utilized a lot – I notice them riding by me when I run in the mornings. It’s a great initiative for this healthy city.
Personally, my summer has started out nicely. I continue to meet a lot of great people and hang out at all of my favorite walkable places. The night scene is really fun and as much as I love to stay in after work in the winter, it is too hard come summertime.
My favorite spot is Graze, right on the square. I also like drinks at Natt Spil and I still prefer any night of dancing at Plan B. Enjoy the summer and if you have a boat, feel free to take me out on it. (No Pressure).
Monday, July 4, 2011
An Extraordinary Memory
I have an exceptional memory. I have always been told that I "scare" people with this unusual trait. If you want to call it one.
I have read about people who have these types of memories. It's a blessing and a curse. There are a handful of people out there who "remember every day of their life." While I can't say my memory is that good - it is very good.
I can pretty much tell you what I was wearing or what year or what day of the week an event occured. It's a blessing because it is extremely helpful in the business world. It is a curse because imagine all of the sadness in life. And how crystal clear it remains in your mind.
I think about terrible events that happened on a daily basis. Not a day goes by when I don't think about deceased relatives/friends and reflecting on that news. Where I was - what day of the week it occured, who I was with, what I was wearing. I am not exaggerating when I say that. Supposedly humans have 2,000 - 3,000 thoughts a day. I would be curious to participate in a study for this and see how this is measured. While this may be the case, I would say 20 - 30 of my thoughts are of sad memories.
As I have grown, I feel that there is a lot of joy in life. I work in a health care setting. I see sorrow. I have plenty of friends who only have one parent who is alive. I feel lucky in that sense. Sometimes, I feel lucky that we have little children in my family, too. After walking out of the Children's hospital. It's a blessing that way.
While this memory may be haunting and hard, it helps me to stay happy about the joy in life.
I dare you to challenge me about what you were wearing when we met or what year a movie came out or what day of the week something happened. Because I can tell you that. It's a phenomenon. One that I am not always comfortable sharing with people. And if you think I don't often look back and think about when I heard the news that your parent was diagnosed with cancer, or that your friend was in a horrible accident, think again. Because I am thinking of you each day.
I have read about people who have these types of memories. It's a blessing and a curse. There are a handful of people out there who "remember every day of their life." While I can't say my memory is that good - it is very good.
I can pretty much tell you what I was wearing or what year or what day of the week an event occured. It's a blessing because it is extremely helpful in the business world. It is a curse because imagine all of the sadness in life. And how crystal clear it remains in your mind.
I think about terrible events that happened on a daily basis. Not a day goes by when I don't think about deceased relatives/friends and reflecting on that news. Where I was - what day of the week it occured, who I was with, what I was wearing. I am not exaggerating when I say that. Supposedly humans have 2,000 - 3,000 thoughts a day. I would be curious to participate in a study for this and see how this is measured. While this may be the case, I would say 20 - 30 of my thoughts are of sad memories.
As I have grown, I feel that there is a lot of joy in life. I work in a health care setting. I see sorrow. I have plenty of friends who only have one parent who is alive. I feel lucky in that sense. Sometimes, I feel lucky that we have little children in my family, too. After walking out of the Children's hospital. It's a blessing that way.
While this memory may be haunting and hard, it helps me to stay happy about the joy in life.
I dare you to challenge me about what you were wearing when we met or what year a movie came out or what day of the week something happened. Because I can tell you that. It's a phenomenon. One that I am not always comfortable sharing with people. And if you think I don't often look back and think about when I heard the news that your parent was diagnosed with cancer, or that your friend was in a horrible accident, think again. Because I am thinking of you each day.
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