We Chilled on Sunday...

I went on a date this week.

A super promising date.

The kind that you plan in your head for days before-hand, just praying that you don't do or say anything ridiculous and strange (as you are prone to do).

It was a strange situation, because this gentleman asked me out, then left the country for 3 weeks. So, 4 weeks later, there we were on a first date.

It was still wonderful. We sat there at the small two top table, far apart from one another, but quite close to the older ladies dining next to us. As we chatted and got to know each other, the loud and boisterous woman sitting to my left kept interrupting our conversation with her raucous laugh and loud exclamations to the lord. My date and I started talking about religions (taboo on a first date, I know), and discovered that we are both from Jewish and Catholic mixed families. My gasp of surprise at this must have drawn the attention of the older ladies, because suddenly the obnoxious blonde was leaning over, whining "Wait, what are you both, what are you both?" as if she were somehow invested in our conversation.
I looked over at her, and explained that we are both from Jewish and Catholic families. Her quieter, brunette friend started to ask about how that works, right as Loud Blonde interrupted with a dry, "So, did you just meet?"
My date joked that we had met ten minutes ago, while I said we had technically known each other for 4 weeks. Great, glad we are on the same page already!
She then asks how we met, and I explain that my date is actually a friend of my father's (no, he's not super old).
Her response was a classic, "Good! If you had met on eHarmony I would've been disappointed,"with a wave of her ring-free hand.
Although my date tried extensively to politely exit the conversation, this woman was determined to learn all about our lives, and to tell us all about her and her friend. Luckily, they were finishing up as we were getting started. Before leaving however, Loud Blonde managed to awkwardly and repeatedly tell my date and I what a cute couple we made. She actually said "I can't wait to see your babies"... which is just too far. Not the first time this has happened with a stranger and this particular gentleman, also. Maybe it's a sign.

Anyhow, they finally left, and we really got to connect.

We drank wine, joked, told stories, laughed, I did some ridiculous things, which he actually thought was charming, not weird.

We listened to each others favorite songs in the car, and I didn't want the night to be over.

We did NOT kiss...

But as he got out of the car, I said the typically girl line, "I had a really great time tonight,", which is code for "ask me out again."

His response? "One of many, I'm sure..."

We will see, sir.

Hope for the Hopeless

I am 26.
I've never had a real boyfriend.
I've never said "I love you" to a man and meant it (other than my father).
I've never wanted to spend time with a man more than I've wanted to be alone.

http://introvertedblogger.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/alone.jpg

These are all true things. I've always felt like I was a late bloomer as far as love, intimacy, and sex go, but I tend to also think of myself as an old soul, with more old-fashioned tastes than my peers. I've had lots of men interested in dating me seriously, but I always have found reasons to break it off before things got "real". It can't be healthy...

Deep, deep, deep down in my heart, I believe that I am meant to marry my first love, and that's why I haven't met him yet. When I find love, it will be the kind that lasts an entire lifetime.

http://www.nuediamonds.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/romantic-proposal-diamond-gold-jewelry1.png

Maybe I'll die a spinster.
Maybe I'll get married within the year.
Maybe I'll turn into a crazy dog/horse lady and decide I don't need men to fulfill me.
Who knows...

But right now, I'm reasonably happy with the way things are going, and I do still have hope. What would giving up get me?

Tell me about you.

Making the Most: I Ain't Got No Regrets

Just kidding... everyone has some regrets, even if they're little things or big things.

I was just stalking myself on Facebook (don't lie, you do it too!), going through all the old photos, all the way back to Freshman Year.

Here's a super blurry photo from the Fall of my Sophmore Year. 

I took a look at this photo, and at the time I remember being disappointed that it was so blurry, because it actually looks like a pretty cool candid shot of me and a close friend of mine. Now, I just love the blurriness, because it allows me to imagine all the details as perfect, instead of reality.

Looking back, I started to feel this intense pull in my chest that said, "Go back... those were the best years of your life... you were so happy then..."

Listen, these are not the thoughts of a G! I had to check myself, because A) It's not possible to time travel back to college, B) Theses thoughts are really unproductive and don;t help me live my life right now, and finally C) I'm exhausted at 26, and I only go out once in a while. WHAT?! There's a zero percent chance I would survive college. In all reality, I would go back to school and end up trying to take care of all the silly little girls around me who haven't learned all their lessons yet.

No, I think I'll keep my two bedroom apartment, my quiet Sunday mornings without a vicious hangover, having a full time job, and therefore a fully stocked kitchen, and clean sheets, like most of the time.

But, in order to get myself together, I thought, "what is it that I actually miss about college?" so that I could end these negative feelings I had. Here's a short list:

1. Spending a lot of time with very close friends
2. Taking photos of everything, because why not? It's so easy to keep the memories in this digital age
3. Being adventurous, spontaneous, and carefree

These are all things that I'm going to strive for in my life as a twenty-something, to recreate some of those positive things that I miss from my college life! Let's all live in the present, y'all!