Not together, but I’m getting there February 11, 2007
Posted by charmingbutsingle in Random Musings on Life.26 comments
I am giving myself until the end of Valentine’s Day to be bitter. About the ones that didn’t work out and the ones who still annoy me. About being alone. About trying too hard or not hard enough, depending on the day. About how I’m going to be a Sister In Law and a bridesmaid and a spinster.
All of this started with the goal of me cleansing the negativity from my dating life. Truth be told I really just wallowed in self-pity and ate Ben and Jerry’s and grilled cheese and didn’t wash my dishes for days and days.
Look, I’m not proud of turning into a grump. But from time to time I dip down into the dumps. I am thankful that I can recognize this and snap out of it before melancholy becomes my only mood.
I do have a good life. There are things I could do better. Like cleaning and organizing and eating healthfully and exercising and ironing and writing thank you notes and waxing my eyebrows on a schedule and returning e-mails.
And maybe I will start to do all of these things. Maybe I’ll buy that new comforter and finally decorate my room in a planned, normal way. Maybe I will finally go to the bookstore and jog this week. Maybe I’ll go to church and eat salad for lunch instead of a six-inch turkey on wheat from Subway. (Oh yeah, I started eating meat again. Not, like, a lot of it. And I don’t OWN any meat. But man I love me some turkey sandwiches. It was like opening my eyes for the first time and thinking, “Dear Turkey, why did I not eat you for five years? You are delish.”)
Maybe I won’t do any of those things. However, I will actually carefully shave my legs for real, though. (Promise.) Instead of just shaving to the knee while in a skirt and heels when I am running late for work.
Dear God, did I just admit to that?
Charming on wheels February 9, 2007
Posted by charmingbutsingle in Blog.1 comment so far
Guest blogging over at Shoot the Duck today. Childhood memories, roller skating and my Dad. Go check it out.
Being nice? Overrated. February 8, 2007
Posted by charmingbutsingle in Dating.23 comments
Scene: Cigar bar, Thursday night
To be nice, I went to have a drink with The Blackberry because it was his birthday and he promised to behave.
When I shot him down and made it obvious that he was invading my personal space (after buying him a birthday drink, no less), he got all pissy about how he wanted to come home with me.
I said no – “Because I said so” was my reason. And that, my friends, is reason enough. For anything.
“Can I sleep on your couch? How am I going to get home?”
“What would you have done if I wouldn’t have come to the bar tonight?”
“I would have improvised,” he said.
“Well, improvise then.”
Why basing life on bad movies is to be avoided February 8, 2007
Posted by charmingbutsingle in Dating, Friends, Random Musings on Life.15 comments
When I was 17, Best Friend Ever and I went to see a romantic comedy on Valentine’s Day before going to a restaurant to share a dessert. We saw “Fools Rush In,” of which I remember very little, save that Matthew Perry may or may not have impregnated Selma Hayek. And that there was this once scene where her family came over and painted the rooms a different color. (Because apparently that’s what Hispanic families do? I have no idea.)
The movie isn’t the important part really. BFE and I went because she was either on a break from her inappropriately aged boyfriend or her parents had banned her from seeing him. Or both. (He was older. We thought this was cool, because he could buy us alcohol. At the time.)
Anyway, we were sitting there looking at all of the couples on romantic dates to see this romantic movie. And then a preview for “My Best Friend’s Wedding” came on. If you recall, the plot line of “My Best Friend’s Wedding” involves Julia Roberts vowing to marry her best friend if they weren’t both married by age 27. And then freaking out when HE was getting married so she couldn’t marry him. I remember few details about this movie.
Except for one very important thing. After BFE and I saw the movie and the movie trailer, we discussed how it was a great idea for us to spend Valentine’s Day together and we made a pact based on Julia Roberts’ movie pact.
If we were both single when we were 27, no matter where we were, we would spend Valentine’s Day together, we vowed. Because, absent a loving significant other, your best friend in the whole wide world is the clear choice when selecting Valentine’s Day dates.
We joked about it from time to time, but I’d forgotten all about this pact until I saw a trailer for some romantic comedy or another that opens on Valentine’s Day. And I thought, “Didn’t I have some 27th year of life Valentine’s Day pact?” And then I gasped and realized that, I did in fact make a pact 10 years ago revolving around Valentine’s Day and, even worse, my fellow pact-maker is about to get engaged, talking wedding dates and bridesmaids and just all around giddy in love.
Ten years seems like such a long time ago. We’d laughed at the thought – being single at 27 was not in our high school plan for how our futures would look. She’d be a top Marketing Executive with an airline or some other travel-related company. I’d be a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter for the New York Times. We’d both be married and we’d both have kids. The pact seemed so silly and so unlikely to ever happen.
Funny how things work out, huh?
Also, My God has a sense of humor (I hope) February 6, 2007
Posted by charmingbutsingle in E-mail goodness, Friends.5 comments
Even more actual e-mails:
From: College Roommate
To: Charming, but single
RE: Hi
So I’ve been trying to order a couple pairs of shoes off the Nine West Web site, and my ancient computer won’t let me. You think God is trying to tell me something?
—
From: Charming, but single
To: College Roommate
RE: Hi
Um, my God is a woman and She would never deprive you of shoes.
—
From: College Roommate
To: Charming, but single
RE: Hi
Well, hallelujah!
