How to Meet Guys: 101

A few months back, finding myself newly single and pondering the age old question - how does one go about meeting men?  Of course, all taken friends have their suggestions, and some happen to be internet dating.  And while I have no qualms against it, I'm not ready to admit defeat just yet. I'd like to think I still have it in me to find a guy in person....  So my options are limited, I haven't found a church I like, work - well, let's just say: "don't sh*t where you eat" should be followed, and the hobbies I like... not so sure I WANT to meet a guy who knits, scrapbooks, or is in love with Edward Cullen...;-).

Little did I know that by posing this question to the universe, that the universe would respond back with a smack-in-the-face of "this is how b*tch".  Ok, well maybe it wasn't that forceful, but definitely, don't ask if you don't want an answer.

Now, I believe that things happen for a reason and I'm always open to meeting people and up for something new (obviously, or how else would I have met the lovely Mr. Dempsey!?, trust me, you meet no one in your hotel room, unless you're into the housekeeping ladies, which I, am not, instead you meet them in your hotel gym ;-P).  Ok, let me put a caveat to that "open to meeting people" - I don't do blind dates/ set-ups.  I am not up for these, no matter "how amazingly awesome" he is.  If I must meet him, at least attempt the "nonchalant meeting", please, save me from the insanity of blind dates!  (unless of course I get to have those little bubbles coming out with my thoughts!)

In the past 6 months, I have met guys in some normal and some of the most unconventional ways (which is which, well, I'll let you be the judge :) - like the taxi driver who gave me his personal number after dropping me off one night - umm creepy, he knows where I live and has me trapped in his sticky cab!).  But thinking back, compared to other times in my life, the recent meetings aren't any more unusual than normal for me (such as rock climbing with Cheri, meeting a couple guys, and going to the Shanghai Tunnel (skipping in our gym clothes) for some stout and mac'n'cheese after...)

Case in point, I've both flirted with and gotten phone numbers while driving... though I think we only talked on the phone that once, I still remember him trying to communicate his number to me w/ his hands... only to realize that he kept leaving out the area code - which wasn't 503 as expected, but 360, dude, those 3 numbers are important!  While most times, flirting with the guy (or sometimes just the car itself, haha), I've at least gotten a wave of acknowledgement and a coy smile :-).

There's the "standard" bar scene - which obviously hasn't lead to anything permanent, but has yielded some friends (namely those residing in Sin City).  I did find the "you look bored" line amusing, especially when he asked if I was going to end up blogging about him, sorry dude, this is all ya get.  I mean, what kind of people hang out in bars, seriously?;-)

I also enjoy meeting bartenders mostly cuz they can't get away from me;-) haha, j/k.  But no, not really, I like that they have to talk to me...

Probably, the most amusing recently was the guy from the shuttle bus - ha! Just admitting that "out loud" makes me laugh.  I mean, who seriously gives their number to a guy from a shuttle bus?  Apparently "this girl" (points to self with thumbs).  Even worse, after he'd taken my number (and I'd driven away), apparently it didn't save and he had to ask the MasterPark for my name (shame on you MasterPark for giving it out!) and he then proceeded to find me on LinkedIn.  Gotta give the guy props for the follow-through (unlike the waiter at a restaurant who memorized my name from the receipt and looked me up on MySpace - claiming it was unusual so it was easy to remember... ask me for my number next time, stalker...).

There are the few guys I've met at concerts, which seems like a good place - instant common interest!  But my luck there runs thin (anyone remember Texty!?), not to mention the guy I met at the Rocky Votolato concert the other night - this dude's friend's decided it would be amusing to pretend he was someone famous.  Gotta admit, his one friend was fairly annoying about the whole thing...seriously, they went as far as to have people come up and take pics with him... I guess it takes all types, right? (so if you ever meet a guy by the name of Ian, he isn't, nor has he ever been famous... don't let him or his bored friends mess with you)

Who knows, I keep hoping my braveness (also interchangeable for stupidity) will lead me to the man of my "dreams", and if worst-comes-to-worst at least more amusing adventures :)!!

This Day is Out to Get Me!

This is definitely one of those days that if I hadn't have been in SUCH a good mood, I would be pissy and cranky.

I woke up at 5:52 am - 8 min prior to my alarm going off - this is one of my LEAST favorite things, I value sleep and want to squeeze every minute of it like getting that last drop of juice from a grapefruit.  But I know why I woke up - I was uncomfortably warm and needed water - thank you alcohol for the lovely dehydration you granted me!  And as I laid there, I fought with myself - do I get up, read my Bible (gasp, I know) and workout or do I hit the snooze button.  Getting up at this point would still leave me PLENTY of time and I'd probably be to work early as a result.  Because normally, I like to snooze for exorbitant amount of time - 1 1/2 hrs some days.  Well, the lazy side won - and snooze until 7:30 it was... hey, I didn't have a meeting until 9:30 - this was my tired self justifying my lazy a$$.

Either way, I'd decided what I wanted to wear - my white pants - it feels springy and happy and I knew I'd seen an idea of how to wear them on this fashion blog - awesomeness, you should check it out - http://www.frugal-fashionistas.com/.  The outfit was modified to what I have, but still, I think it works?  Confidence is definitely an accessory :) haha.

Coffee was next on my agenda - and of course I had to throw it out to coworkers, and got Beth's order in perfect time to add it to mine (a tall, 1 pump vanilla, whole milk, light caramel, caramel macchiato - this is a treat cuz some mornings, all I can get out is - tall vanilla latte).  Sigh, happiness.  Plus my ipod was playing some great music - oh wait, it's MY music... who needs pandora? :) - Sam's Town was giving me happy thoughts of the Killers concert, and I was rockin' out!

But as I was about to turn to work... I heard my phone - Wan texted how much she appreciated the offer... well, I couldn't leave her hanging and it wasn't quite 9 yet, plus, I justified, I needed breakfast and kleenex.  So off I drove to the Safeway.

Donut holes, kleenex, some draino (for home, not Wan's coffee), bananas and coffee later... I was back in the car.  Well, mistake - I had the drip coffee (thank the Lord it was only drip and not some sugary sweet/ milkiness) in the carrier by itself and on flipping a bitch.... it decided to flip one as well!  Crap!  Ok, put it upright... no napkins were available, so I rolled down the window and watched the coffee slosh :(.  No worries, I'd get it at work - still smiling.

Got to work, cleaned my car (I think Meredith liked the coffee, some had sunk in already...), and got ready for the 9:30 meeting (including getting some donut holes, they were rolly polly little buggers and a couple escaped my grasp :().  It wasn't raining, so we walked :).  The meeting ended early - woohoo! and I got to my desk in time for the Dbrief (cpe training on fraud, super fun!).  And while I was listening, I decided to check mint (yes, I am addicted, LOVE IT!) - hmmm, what's this RC Railway in AZ?!  And for $584 bucks!?  Yikes!  Well, turns out its a super nice hotel at the Grand Canyon - one that I did not visit.

A quick call to BofA - and withing 15 min, they were telling me they would credit my account, cancel the card and send me a new one! No disputing, no questioning... just believing me! Wow, gotta say, much appreciated!!  Though this will have been the 2nd credit card number I've memorized and had to give up due to some fraud... :-(

And now I'm smiling to some new music (Train's - Hey, Soul Sister - it was amazon's mp3 deal of the day, so the CD was only $2.99!) and waiting for Jon & Gayle to bring me my Vietnamese chicken sandwich - yum!  This day is not going to steal my joy! :)

Shane Co Away!

Ok, so maybe that title didn't work as well in writing as it did in my head, but it amused me enough to be retained as the blog heading.

I know we've ALL heard the Shane Co commercials on the radio, and can probably quote the ending line for line w/ the announcer (...Shane Co, off of Hwy 217 across from the Washington Square Mall, open weekdays til 8, Saturday and Sunday til 5, online at Shaneco.com...).  
Yes, they are annoying, not to mention all the other jewelry ads we have to put up with - Fred Meyer, EE Robbins, and the dreaded Jared the Galleria of Jewelers (I'd rather let a carnivorous earwig eat my brain out).

They are usually just white noise and I don't like to station surf if I don't have to, so most of the time I put up with them.  Though I have to say, after my breakup, I couldn't and would change the station immediately (come on, it was like salt in the wound, a carrot in front of my face that I could never have... mean!).  But I got over that and it's been fine.  Until last night...

I'm not sure what it was that caused me such pain, but it was like a stab in the back, a scab picked off that hadn't healed fully.  The commercial was addressing the far distance to drive to Lynnwood, WA to get an engagement ring.  And Mr. Tom Shane in his monotone drawl, was saying it was worth it for their direct diamond imports that save you money (don't you tell me you don't have a friend in the diamond business!).

And his last line was something like: "isn't your girlfriend worth the drive" and my first thought was no, I mean, really, to a certain someone, I wasn't even worth the diamond let alone the excessive drive to get one.  I don't say this to be completely bitter, but he really did complain to me about the cost of a ring, many many times (its not the size or price that matters, its the meaning, right?).  So I just have to say that stupid commercial just reopened the wound that said "I wasn't worth it"...and now, I will return to my boycotting of those wretched commercials and their unintended reminders of my worth or implied lack thereof.

The Dating Game...

Well, I've been meaning to get this one out for awhile now (that's what she said? - Jason, you'll have to let me know if that was appropriate or not...it's feeling a little limp to me;-))...and be prepared, this guy was nice, but well, it's turned into something that Really Grinds My Gears... :)

Being as I've been single for going on 7 months now, and having a few dates here and there, but nothing to write home about (not that I would anyway...), I decided at the Phoenix concert, I would give out my number and try going on a date with a guy (I mean, really, if you don't try, you'll never know right?).  I know, I was being brave, but little did I know what I would be getting myself into....

For purposes of anonymity, we'll call this guy Fred.  Fred did the polite thing and gave me a call Sunday after the concert (I didn't answer, as I was with Jackie all day, plus, I have to admit, I am a phone screener, I hate talking on it, so why would I want to talk to a person I didn't know?! Unless I get to pretend to be a scary guy named Stewie who likes to pick up guys in my car...).  There were probably a couple of red flags I should have heeded from the concert

1. he was there with a group of friends, and his ex-gf happened to be there as well, he had to hide that he was getting my number, I'd had a little alcohol, my senses were a little off, and 
2. he asked if I gave him a fake, and then referenced that when he texted me later - not sure I've met too many confident guys who worry about that...).  

I hate listening to/ returning phone calls, I avoid it like the plague, so it said something that this guy was willing to pursue since he texted me on Monday (or it says desperate, you be the judge).  Now, I have to say, that I have been guilty of this before, and it always throws me back to "he's just not that into you"... but when you look through your chat screen, it should be about an 1 to 1 ratio, give or take a few.  I mean, really, if you are going to have a chat conversation, make it that.  If you want an answer to a question, let the person answer before asking the next question...but I digress...(and for all those non-iphone users out there, my messages are in green :))

I agreed to a date for that coming Friday night (and I wasn't happy to be giving up my Friday night to this guy, but no other night was available) - you can't tell about a person strictly from a text, I'd give him a shot.  But as the week wore on, and I got worn out by the text conversation (I mean, it was like he was trying to get to know me via text, dude, wait for the date!  I don't really wanna play 20 questions ALL FREAKING DAY!).
Friday came... and boy was I not looking forward to this date, I was beyond annoyed, and I'd made get out plans with Jackie.  My poor coworkers had to hear about this, and I'm sure were amused at my antics (I'm sure this single girl provides lots of amusement, maybe its just my plight in life?).  I asked where we were going, hoping to just meet up (I mean, who gets in a car w/ a stranger, I would *never* do something like that... haha, ok, that's a lie).  So Fred asked:

Either way, the date went actually ok.  He was a very nice guy, we had a nice dinner at the Icon Grill, and I was feeling ok to keep hanging out for a drink after, plus the half bottle of wine had me happy.  I wrote off the mad texting to the "he was just nervous" category... and ok with the idea of date 2, but not willing to go out of my way to make it happen (should have been another flag to me, as I believe that you make time for what you want to do, no matter how busy you are... case in point, I'm hanging out w/ a friend tonight to watch Family Guy :), even though I already have plans M, Th, and F).

So I hadn't committed to any times/ dates, etc, as I really didn't know what I had going on, and didn't really want to fill up every night, plus I knew I had plans to eventually see Avatar with Wan, collect on drinks from my Fantasy Football win, and umm, relax like a normal person! :)  Last week was much the same, so I wasn't quick on the response (and there was one night where I made it clear I was just getting home from work at 7, and wasn't feeling well, and he was like psycho crazy texter that night), and this past weekend I was out of town all weekend with K :) (see blog here).

I was beginning to realize his interest in me was a lot more than mine in him... he's looking for a serious relationship, whereas, I'm like seriously, do I want to be in a relationship?!  Another case in point - his worry about my responding to texts...

I left my phone at work last night, eh, no biggie, I've figured out how to use the oven timer to wake me up in the morning, but let me tell you, trying to snooze that way isn't very fun... ;-)... this also means, I wasn't getting any messages, no biggie for most normal, secure people, right?  I think the unread messages this morning might have pushed me over the edge...

And now, I'm not sure where to go... I really don't want a second date, but I kinda said yes before...how do I let him down? I've never been known to stick around for freebies... (or else I would have had some clothes from Brooke Burke...but that's another story), so putting up with this for a possible date next week seems out of the question.  But I would really like this monkey off of my back... as I'm pretty sure I'm not interested, because in comparison, when I am, responding makes it's way to the top of my list, and I look forward to hearing back from that person.  But Fred hasn't given me that chance, he's always 1st to text me, I like to feel like I have room to reciprocate the feelings.  Ok, I've reached the end of my rant, suggestions are more than welcome!

What is the difference between 10:55 and 10:35?

Ahh!  After a looong week at work (and boy, do I mean long!) and fighting a yucky little cold, the weekend had FINALLY arrived.  Friday night started it off right with a great concert at the Showbox SoDo with K.  Jack’s Mannequin put on a great show, I love a band that is talented and (at least seemingly) humble.  We called it an early night and agreed to meet up at 9:15 to head to the airport, for our 10:55 flight to Victoria.

 

The morning started out fairly productive for the both of us – I got a workout in, and K was able to get her coffee and breakfast (in retrospect, I should have skipped the workout and gone for the coffee first thing).  We arrived at my work parking lot, braved running across International Blvd, and while waiting for the shuttle, I decided to make sure our flight looked ok – urh-oh!  The flight was at 10:35! Yipes!!  It was currently 9:40… ok, I thought, no biggie… you only have to be there 30 min prior to the flight to check in… we’d be ok.

We arrived at the airport, tried the kiosk… and gulp, it was too late (hmmm, lesson #1 you must check in 1 hr prior to departure on an international flights!!)!  Ok, no biggie – I know how to circumvent this – list for the next flight and then have them switch us to the earlier flight when we get to the gate.  Time waster #1 – the kiosk wouldn’t print our passes….so we went to the agent – she was able to get our tickets and we were back on track going through security.

Lesson #2 always check your gate, cuz regardless of how many times you fly, it’s always best to know where you’re going (and international flights leave out of a different part of the terminal).  Time waster #2 - but we didn’t check, and I needed coffee, so I got some coffee and K got some magazines.  We walked to the C gates and I realized, oh shit… the Victoria flight is usually out of the south satellite.  So with full coffee in hand we booked it about as fast as any Ditgen’s have.  We didn’t push past the people going down the escalator (time waster #3) and JUST missed the train.  But the time was just 10:15… so really, they just started boarding at 10:10 (the standard 25 min before for them).

We raced up the escalators to see our gate and it was … deserted.  There was no one around.  The door was shut.  It was still 10 min prior to take-off, and the plane was outside getting ready to depart.  Seriously!?!?!?!  We debated on what to do… it was 4 hours until the next flight.  We figured we’d at least head back to the main terminal, and on the way, we checked how full that next flight was…there were zero seats available.  Karissa suggested, hey, we could just drive.  It’s only like 4 hours…and we’d make it up there before the next flight even departed.  Ok, let’s do that.  Then we won’t have to cab it or anything.  Yeah! This sounds like a decent idea!

So we called back the hotel shuttle, got in the car, set up the ipod, searched the directions and off we went!  Road trip!  Cool huh?  It was a beautiful day, and we’d see places we’d never been before.  Around noon, I was like, hey, we should check what time the ferry is to know if we needed to hurry or dilly-dally.  And the futile search began…lesson #4 there is only one ferry (the Victoria Clipper) that goes to Victoria in the beginning of February.  We somehow found the “magical” weekend from Port Angeles, where the Washington state ferries were out for 10 days on dry-dock and the private ferry didn’t begin service until May. 

Ok, well, there’s still another option - Anacortes!  Maybe we can just head there; it’s not super far… We had gotten all the way to Poulsbo at this point, and while trying to find a place to pull over to figure out directions, we saw a fish park – cool we’re road tripping, photo shoot!  

We then turned into McyDs to get a soda and some fries (we still had a couple hour drive ahead of us, we needed sustenance – and just wanted to say, one of us got 1 fry, while the other had the rest… ).  Bad news - the ferry from Anacortes didn’t start until May either!!! WTF?!?!?  How do people get off that island in the winter?  Well, we weren’t about to drive to up to Vancouver and over…. Sooooo I guess we’ll take a look at the flight?

Ok, there were 2 seats available… and we were getting up there!  We had an uncancellable hotel, so I did what I figured was the best option given our luck – and used my “precious” positive space passes (I mean, really, the whole thing was my bad) – and finally, we had confirmed seats to Victoria :).  It was a little after noon at this point, and we were back our way to Seatac.  Karissa decided to be a little more proactive and check in online… and no go.  Ok, let’s call reservations and have them check us in over the phone!  Ummm, they told us we had to do so at the airport and a supervisor would be needed.  At this point, we’re feeling the time crunch…we knew we needed to be at the airport at least 1 hr in advance to check in…and it was getting late.

I have never purposely sped so much in my life.  Our giggles over the ridiculous-ness of this situation started to subside and the realization that we could not make it started to sink in (oh and we both started to have to use the bathroom, as we’d both had coffee and hadn’t stopped at the airport).  Drive Meredith like you’ve never driven before!  Our plan was set, we’d go to the departures, I’d jump out and go start the check in process while K parked the car in the airport garage – making it was more important than the cost at this point.

Yikes! The Customer Service line was long…I think, maybe, just maybe I’ll be able to use the kiosk.  And thank the Lord… It worked (it was rather odd though, it’s like it remembered us because, well we were supposed to be on that 1^st flight and it didn’t require our passports to be scanned).  With both boarding passports in hand, all I had to do was wait for Karissa to come back.  We met up, made it through security, went straight to the gate, and checked in with the gate agent (who lectured us on not being there before – trust me, WE WANTED TO BE!). 

After 4 hours of unnecessary stress and hilarity, we were finally on the aircraft headed to Victoria.  And we were not in any danger of missing the concert.  The weekend would go on.  All I have to say, 1) is even when you fly often, don’t forget to double check anything, and 2) you learn a lot about a person’s character through stressful situations.  And I have to say, my cousin has to be one of the best people I know.