'Tis the Night Before the Weekend

This week was not as exciting as last week. Besides inhaling a piece of granola for the second time and "choking" [Ok - It really wasn't choking], I didn't do anything out of the ordinary.

This "Spacer Dog Guy Owner" from the dog park was texting me to get together. Here is how it went:




SDG: [That's for Spacer Dog Guy]"Hey Janie! What are you up to this weekend?"

JGW: [That's for Janie G Winston] "Oh - I think a bunch of us are going to Plan B." [Then thinking to myself, "Is this dude wanting to hang out one-on-one or what? I said I had a group...."]

SDG: [A few days later] Hey Janie! How was your weekend?

JGW: [24 hours later] Good. You?

SDG: Great. I visited family, etc, etc. Play by play. [I don't know you but I am going to tell you all about my wknd] You want to meet for lunch one day this week?

[JGW is thinking - "This is so random! I met him like one time! Do I have some sign on me that says I am looking for lots of dates or what?" I mean, he is cute and all]

So, I am having a drink with my friend and I am telling her about this. How innocent are you people? The advice that I didn't take that was offered to me was:

"He's probably looking to meet new people since he is relatively new in Madison." And I am like, "He wants to go on a date with me."

So, here was my response to him:

"You mean like a date? Because I sorta got a man...."

And forty-eight hours later, realizing I am going to see SDG again really soon [afterall, this is Madison and we go to the same dog park], it occurs to me that I better make sure I didn't offend him.

JGW: Sorry if that was rude.... I just didn't want to lead you on and I am very blunt.

SDG: It wasn't rude. It was just letting me know.

Aha! I knew it! So, the moral of the story is to be forward, people and also I would have to say that the dog park is a good place to meet people. So, make sure you look hot at the park.

And here is my dad several days after I broke up with my former "Mr. Right Now:"

Dad: [That stands for Dad] So, are you making any friends?

JGW: [Thinking to myself, I have a zillion friends. Why is he asking me this?] Oh! You mean like am I dating?

Dad: Yes.

JGW: C'mon just say it! I am having fun. I don't think I really need more friends, per se.

And then came Tattoo Boy....

Here is me in therapy:

JGW: So, I am already talking to this new guy. And you know, I worry because I don't believe in marriage. And it makes me a little nervous.

Therapist: Well, do you get really intense in the beginning?

JGW: Yes.

Therapist: Ok. Well since you are aware of that, you need to be cautious of that.

JGW: Ok. I am fine with that.

And so, I am going home with him this weekend.... [Afterall, it's been at least - what - a few weeks since we started hanging out?]

Other than that, boating was a success this past weekend. We spent the day on Lake Mendota, through the locks to Monona. Very fun times. I think the mad dash from the hair color appointment to prevent aging to the Union to hop on the boat was a success. [I had about 20 minutes notice]. But I packed my bikini to my hair appointment. Just in case.

Sadly, summer will be over in about one month. I am ok with this. Soon, I will be cross country skiing over the lake. And the Halloween party I have been talking about will have taken place. I even had a dream the other night that I was picking out my costume.

Stay tuned for more fun summer adventures.

Gen Y and Phone Etiquette.

Still unsure if I am Y. A while ago, I did write a post on texting. It is the thing to do. But I must say, there are certainly other rules that come with Gen Y that are so clear to me.

As I suppose I am on the cusp of Gen Y, I know for sure that my little cousins are Gen Yers. And I know their routines. I do not take it personally when I call them and leave them a message and I never hear back from them. Ever. And I also don't care if they tell me they never listened to my message. Because I stopped leaving messages.

Once I started hanging out with massive amounts of people who are my age and younger (this happened when I moved here), I saw the real deal. For those parents who are still upset when the little niece doesn't call you back, let me jot down their protocol:

-They don't like talking on the phone - they prefer a text.
-They will not listen to your message. They see you called and they will call you back.
-They expect you to do the same.

How many times have I called someone back and said "I never listened to your message. What what was it?" Then I listen to it three weeks later when my phone alerts me that they will delete the message and it is some random message from a family member, telling me about some long boring thing that I don't care about. Notice that I haven't mentioned anything about my friends. Because they don't leave me messages. And in one a year, my boyfriend has left me his first voicemail two weeks ago. To notify me that he saw my dog was on the news. (She was not arrested for shop lifting at the pet store. I actually pay for everything she eats as she devours everything she passes).

I must admit that I am quite the hypocrite. Because I used to have this strict rule that if you called me and you didn't leave me a message, I refused to call you back. This stemmed from dialing a wrong number where the recipient called me back. I called about a car for sale. I dialed the wrong number. I realized it immediately, so I did not leave a message. The guy calls me back. He wants to know why I called him. The conversation went like this:

Wrong Number Guy: "Someone from this number just called me."

Me: "Did they leave you a message?"

Wrong Number Guy: "No, but I am calling back."

Me: "Well, I realized I dialed the wrong number after it was ringing, so I didn't leave a message. Don't you think if the person wanted you to call them back, they would have left a message?"

Wrong Number Guy: "Yeah, probably."

Me: "Ok. Bye."

And I am thinking to myself - this guy is a moron. But he was probably just being curious, right? This has happened about three times to me. So I used to say if you didn't leave me a message, I would not call you back. Now, if I see you have called me, that is the message enough. What is the message going to be, anyway? "Call me back?" The missed call says it all. If you want to notify me of anything more than that, text me.

The rules are simple and I changed.

Gen X and Beyond Needs to get on the Bandwagon with Texting

So all of my friends are texters. I remember my first text. It was back in 2002, and I was the recipient. My phone had some unidentifiable symbol, which I couldn't get rid of. I showed my friend, and she was like, "Duh - you have a text..." Since then, I can say that I do a lot more texting than talking. 

When I was at the cell phone store in November, the salesperson told me I had sent 697 texts the last month alone. Because of this, I no longer have to charge my phone nightly. There are days when I don't even talk on it. You can make plans, send suggestive messages, and text fantastic announcements through this cell phone trend. 

Let me explain the beauty of a text because some older folks ask why we don't pick up the phone and call the person. In today's "busy" world, where people are always complaining about how overbooked they are, nobody returns phone messages. If I have exciting news to tell my friend in D.C., I would prefer to not take the time out of our "hectic" little lives, and spend hours on the phone. With a simple message of "Did you hear so-and-so is preggers?" is much easier. I can do it while I am writing my blog, watching my nephew or walking the dog.

Besides being fast and easy, it is a very polite way of keeping all parties happy. If I am out of town visiting friends I rarely see, and my parents are trying to reach me, I feel the need to not take any time away from my friends. Our time is precious. A simple, "I am visiting friends. Will call you tomorrow night" is a courteous way of not ignoring my parents, and keeping my friends satisfied with our short time together. 

I am blessed with parents who know how to text. I can see that more and more Gen Xers and beyond are learning the art of it. Although my generation is 100% into the world of text, a lot of people don't see the beauty in the simplicity of saving yourself from returning those dreaded calls. 

I know it is very casual for many people. In real estate, I did receive counter offers via a text message, so get on board, and join in!