Success

In case my last two posts made anyone think I'd sustained a head injury, this may be more like it.

Peace Within

"Today may there be peace within.  May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.  May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others.  May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.  May you be content with yourself just the way you are.  Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.  It is there for each and every one of us." ~ not sure where it came from other than an email that made me smile this morning.  :-)

Love

I am terrible at blogging in real time.  I have a whole list of things that have intrigued me, pissed me off, made me laugh, etc. but when I sit down to write about them, I always think I need more time to really give the ideas justice.  I do miss having an outlet, though, particularly since I'm supposed to be working to become a less-mean girl.  So, I'm going to be better about blogging when the idea strikes...hopefully a few of the blogs will be worth reading.

Tonight, I'm working and watching Real Housewives of Atlanta.  Clearly I need to marry money.  Well, most of them aren't married, so I guess I need to get pregnant by, and secure child support from, money?  Important decisions to be made...

I'm also starting the transition to a plant based diet.  Let's face it - I'll never be vegan and have no aspirations to be.  I love my leather shoes and purses.  Yes, I'm a hypocrite.  Deal.

Through this transition, I've been stalking the hippie blogs I love the most.  I stumbled upon one about love, it caught my eye, so I decided to share.

"It is a mystery why we fall in love. It is a mystery how it happens. It is a mystery when it comes. It is a mystery why some loves grow, and it is a mystery why some loves fail. You can analyze this mystery and look for reasons and causes, but you will never do any more than take the life out of the experience.

Love is more than the sum of the interests and attractions and commonalities that two people share. And just as life itself is a gift that comes and goes in its time, the coming of love must be taken as an unfathomable gift that cannot be questioned in its ways.

You need to treat what love brings you with kindness. If you find yourself in love with someone who does not love you, be gentle with yourself. There is nothing wrong with you. Love just didn’t choose to rest in the other person’s heart.


If you find someone else in love with you toward whom you feel no love, feel honored that love came and called at your door, but gently refuse the gift you cannot return. Do not take advantage; do not cause pain. How you deal with love is how love will deal with you, and all our hearts feel the same pains and joys, even if our lives and ways are very different.


If you fall in love with another who falls in love with you, and then love chooses to leave, do not try to reclaim it or to assess blame. Let it go. There is a reason and there is a meaning. You will know it in time, but time itself will choose the moment.

Remember this and keep it in your heart. You don’t choose love. Love chooses you. All you can really do is accept it for all its mystery when it comes into your life. Feel the way it fills you to overflowing, then reach out and give it away. Give it back to the person who brought it to you. Give it to others who seem poor in spirit. Give it to the world around you in any way you can.


Love has its own time, its own season, and its own reasons for coming and going. You cannot bribe it or coerce it or reason it into staying. If it chooses to leave your heart or the heart of your lover, there is nothing you can do and nothing you should do. Be glad that it came to live for a moment in your life. If you keep your heart open, it will surely come again."

- Kent Nerbern

Red Flags and Rose Peddles

I knew my last relationship was over when my ex called me his "little rose peddle."  It wasn't a typo.  He repeated it multiple times...and each time I fought back the urge to vomit all over my phone.  Since it was a brand new iPhone...that he was supposed to give me the money for...I resisted the urge.  Looking back, I should have gone with it.  Of course, when we look back it's always easier to see the red flags.

A friend of mine is equally gifted in picking out winning boys to date, but I got an email today that let me know she's learning!  The grasshopper may surpass the teacher soon.

Email received today - names changed to protect the innocent and deter the pathological.

Okay, so the back story to this is that this guy (Jake) is the home owners insurance guy who came out after those storms to check Casey's roof.  She immediately called me and told me how awesome he was.  I, of course, am remembering Albie who was also "perfect" for me.  I sent him an email and today get this reply.  I'm thinking serial killer.  Look at his grammar, lack of capitalization, lack of punctuation, run on sentences...including "lol" in the middle of an email.  And the "have a good day and ill be watching."  I'm hoping he meant he'll be watching for my email...not that he'll be stalking me.

(This part is why we're friends.)  Of course I will continue to correspond with him, for entertainment value and research, but I just wanted to point out that I am learning - I can see the red flags.


For your entertainment, Jake's response -

"I hope she did also.  Sorry it has taken me so long to respond i'm just so busy today is the first time i have checked my personal email in weeks.  So what exactly has she said about me and my baby face?  I will check my email more now so if you want you can email me back and maybe we can get to know each other a little, or as well as you can through email lol.  Have a good day and ill be watching."

Ick.  Not dating material...unless perhaps he bites his nails (Nail Theory) and has interesting tattoos/piercings...but that's for another blog.  For now, I'll hope no one ends up in a Lifetime movie or a rose peddle situation.

Lucky

While recently trying to convince a friend that she has lots of good things in her life despite the current challenges she is dealing with, I was reminded that I might not always be vocal enough about realizing how lucky I am.  I'm good at bitching.  Hell, I'm great at bitching.  I should be clear, though, that I do know I have it good.

I went to Europe in May and had a great natural disaster free time.  Several times during what has become an annual trip I thought to myself "is this really my life?  How did I get so lucky?"

As usual, there were different tones to these questions throughout the trip. 

The glass wall I walked into head first.
Lesson learned - never underestimate
the importance of a morning coffee.

The bus on top of which I perched for a great
view of Dublin.  Until I was hit in the face by a tree.

Me...heels...alcohol...cobblestone.
You do the math.

Why does the world think Americans are dumb?
Oh yeah...

And my tone changes
while walking through Angels and Demons.

The second set of Spanish Steps we found...
subway shortcuts should be used with caution.

Keats and I in the same place?  The Republicans loved it!

One of my favorite moments ever.

Maybe my business casual dress code isn't so bad after all.

Three countries in two days.  Magnets!

Impressive.
Doubles as a no-holds-barred mosh pit Sundays at noon.

Behind the scenes of Vatican City.

Maybe I hit a beggar with an umbrella here.
It was totally not intentional.
Really.

Dublin is awesome.  Best weekend of the year.

Who doesn't love a musical pub crawl?

Temple Bar in Temple Bar.

Some awesome Irish musicians.
I wanted to take them home with me.
Should have at least bought the cd.

The Dublin Spire...aka The Spike,
The Binge Syringe, The Stiletto in the Ghetto,
The Nail in the Pale, The Pin in the Bin,
 The Stiffy at the Liffey,
The Erection in the Intersection,
The Rod to God, and the end of Liberal Boy.
(Buh-Bye LB)

Brugges

The small beer...
The waiter laughed at me for ordering it!

Not a bad place for after work happy hour.

Who doesn't love a year-round
Christmas-ish tree with scary birds on it?
Every hotel should have one.

So yeah, in conclusion, I know I'm damn lucky.  Watch out, though, the bitching will resume tomorrow.

Love It!

What Not to Date

If nothing else, my friends and I are becoming experts at who not to date.  If you eliminate the guys below, will there be any left?

Ladies, beware when confronted by the following men:

Men who habitually use bad grammar and spelling (they should at least be trained to use spell check by the time they reach adulthood).
Men who have more emotional baggage than you.
Men with multiple felonies.
Men who are over 30 and live at home by choice.
Italians.  Yes, all of them.  If in doubt, refer to MTV's Jersey Shore.
Australians - Don't get fooled by their accent and liberal use of "crikey."
Men who play WoW/Call of Duty.
Men who are/might be virgins or near virgins.
Men who can't handle you drunk and obnoxious (once in a while).
Men who you can't tolerate without being drunk.
Men who tell you they love you before you've ever gone on a date.
Men who don't get along with your family.
Men who have never done anything, thereby making you dumb your own adventures down in order not to look like you're bragging.
Men who freak out about driving on the highway.
Men who think leaving their town/suburb qualifies as traveling.
Men who have dumped you before/told you to get out of their house (and meant it).
Men whose family you can't get along with absent the benefit of therapy.
Men who hunt and expect you to get up at 5 am to go sit in a tree so that you can hunt...or perform sexual favors so they can stay awake.
Men without ambition.
Men who have not been to college.
Men whose jobs require excessive traveling and UN men in general should be evaluated with a more skeptical eye (through STD testing and marriage/divorce/birth records search).
Men who are restaurant managers.
Men who cannot use any toilet but the one in their own house.
Men who have a sick obsession with Elvis.
Men who say things like "I'm going to blow."

The driver of this car...complete with race car seat belts and helmet.

This guy, for sure...and the one driving...

This list can, and will, be updated at any time.  Check back often.