Well, I’m not too happy with Grouper right now, because my date was canceled.
I AM ANGRY.
Canceling the night before isn’t cool. Wah.
Hi there,
Single girl here. I just have two updates. Nothing major.
Update 1: This week I am attending one of the latest dating craze event-thingies: a Grouper.
What is Grouper? Well, it’s a “social dating club” (BS title) that sets up drinks between two groups of friends. I sign up, and a Dude signs up. And Grouper matches us up and tells us each two bring two “wingmen/women.” The night before the date (in this case, this upcoming Wednesday), the Dude and I will both get e-mails letting us know where to show up. The first round of drinks is paid for in the fee, and we go from there.
In theory, this makes the chances rise exponentially of at least one girl and one guy hitting it off; it runs a converse relationship with how the awkwardness factor decreases by having two buddies there with you. If all three dudes are stinky, you drink with your friends and peace out. If they’re awesome, group flirting is more fun and effective when you’ve got hot ladies to tell funny stories about you and make you look GREAT.
Stay tuned. If nothing else this should be an epic story.
Update 2: I went on a date with a nice guy the other night, and we’re going out again on Saturday. I’m having a lot of trouble lately with the pressure I put on both myself and the gentleman to be perfect within the first five minutes. I think I’ve heard way too many fairy-tale stories in which the man and woman lock eyes, get butterflies, and live happily ever after.
As CJK pointed out, the entire act of Internet dating lacks the organic, natural feeling of meeting someone in real life. You aren’t flirting and impressing one another and using body language cues to tell each other you’re interested; you’ve already scored the date, and you already know weird, basic information about the other person. The rest is trying to be normal about a very manufactured situation—one in which I rarely find myself feeling anything for the person across from me at all.
I’m giving this a chance, though; I’m saying yes to the second date and seeing if feelings can develop on their own, even in the forced set-up of the Match.com way of life. Because not everyone feels the butterflies immediately, right? (RIGHT?!) Ladies, help me. Am I setting standards too high by hoping to find someone who meets each of the Three Big Things for me? (Smart, funny, and attractive?) Will I have to compromise on one of these things in order to find someone at all?
Any dating advice (from Single Ladiez and those of you in long-term relationships) is much appreciated. Did you KNOW right away? Did you feel something within 10 seconds? Can it come along later?
What a lovely little weekend I had. It started with an uproariously funny girls’ night, one straight out of rom-com movies where everyone sits in a circle, lounges on couches, drinks wine, and tells dating horror stories and shares good news of life accomplishments (a pregnancy!) and changes (new living situations, roommates, and boy toys). Have you done that lately? The kind of girls’ night where one person talks at a time, and there aren’t six separate conversations getting segmented across tables and seats? It was really nice.
[Above: Georgetown is really coming in a close second to theUniversity of Richmond for Most Beautiful College Campus in Springtime.]
After seeing a mondo-depressing foreign film about a 13-year-old’s affair with her 65-year-old doctor at Fat Camp, last night my friends and I needed some levity: we promptly ordered one pitcher of margaritas that became two, and then decided that dammit, we are young, and so we marched off to listen to our favorite cover band at a sweaty, cramped, and 22-year-old-filled bar in Arlington. It was the best.
This morning met me with a punch in the head, but two Tylenols later I was on my way to Eastern Market for an incredible brunch at Ted’s Bulletin and good old-fashioned flea-market-shopping in a parking lot.
I met the newest version of a Hangover Helper in my life:
forgive me, dieting gods, for i have sinned
In the end I purchased a lot of great gifts for Father’s Day (hi, dad!) and upcoming birthdays, and maybe just one for myself. I’m now sufficiently exhausted which I think means I had a good weekend, right?
Awolnation, “Kill Your Heroes”:
And this obnoxious song that I can’t get out of my head:
CLARITYYYYYY.
Happy Monday!
I’ve been having a great time.
Somehow, I’ve been blessed with the gift of free time. I haven’t had an exam since last Monday, and I don’t have one for another two weeks. (WHAT?!) Every other week of the semester has been test, test, double tests, paper, tests papers tests. (Side note: this will come back to hurt me come finals.)
So this week? Dance class. Nats game. Playing outside. Reading outside. (For pleasure.) Visiting historical landmarks. Eating delicious food with the parents. Drinking things with alcohol in them.
All in all? Spring is feeling just fine.
I just have to recommend to you local DC people that you hit up Mount Vernon some afternoon. What a stunning place.
If you’re interested, you can take a pretty detailed virtual tour online. We were kind of shuffled through the mansion, so we didn’t get to enjoy it this much even when we were there.
Tip: One of the best things about the museum is the movie about the Revolutionary War. Actual snow falls from the ceiling.
It happened just like we knew it would: spring got steamrolled by summer, and now… we’re screwed.
It was 86 degrees today; 90 tomorrow. I guess we complained about the 40-degree temps a little too much.
In any event, this chili tastes good whether it is hot or cold outside.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped onions
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 jalapeño pepper, minced
- 1 can chopped green chilies
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 can (19 ounces) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cubes cubed turkey or chicken (optional)
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
- shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Heat oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic, saute 5 minutes. Add jalapeño, green chilies, cumin, oregano, cayenne, and salt. Cook 1 minute. Stir in broth, beans, and turkey. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, about 15-20 minutes. Stir in cilantro. Serve over brown rice, top with cheese.
It’s the first sunny, mild weekend in god knows how long and I am spending it memorizing the treatment, symptoms, management, and care of people with endocrine disorders, among other things. (Other things being neurological problems, surgical and operational care, wounds…)
Which isn’t to say that we didn’t celebrate the spring air last night with some cheery cocktails.
But it is to say that yes, I really am this boring, and that’s why there aren’t any blog posts anymore.
I’ll direct you to some fun things, though:
A cherry blossom web cam.
…And web cams from tons of other National Parks.
A piece that will make you want to say, “Grow up, bartenders.”
My Game of Thrones name really sucks: Whore Lysa Tully.
My make-up is new and exciting and I love it.
And I have a basket overflowing full of CRAP on my dresser.
This is my make-up station, doesn’t it look cluttered and horrible?
And with the FIRST nice day of spring weather outside….
…I am suddenly filled with the urge to purge, organize, and CLEAN!
Enter Container Store, wondrous mecca of the Monica Gellar in all of us.
With tube and lipstick and cosmetic organizers from The Container Store, you can have a nice clean make-up area, too.
CLUTTER BE GONE!
NOW I can go do my homework.
*The Container Store doesn’t give me any money to promote its stuff. Wah.
I’ve started off my holiday weekend right:
Martinis a la Mom and the best darn goldens on the planet.
Wherever you are and whatever you’re up to, I hope the sun shines a bit for you today and that you get to spend some time with those you love (furry or not!).
I haven’t read a book since Christmas. How awfully sad is that? The bibliophile without any time for reading. Tragic.
Well, that’s not true. I read a memoir about genetic testing over Spring Break….(and you just fell asleep even at the topic, let alone reading the whole thing, didn’t you?)
I want to read a book. Over my Easter weekend. With golden retrievers on my lap and my Mom upstairs cooking something and my Dad in front of the fire.
What shall I read? Probably The Round House, unless anyone has a better suggestion…
