How Liberating

Do you ever have those days where nothing -- nothing -- can bring you down?

Today was one of those days.

I woke up to a morning of cool weather. It hasn't been in the 60s since about March, and you better believe I was excited. If only I had had some warm chai latte to sip while sitting on my porch, my day would have started out that much better.

Perhaps tomorrow. Sigh.

My boss called in sick. I was a powerhouse with my to-do list. My normally frizzy hair was behaving itself perfectly. My brand new computer is finally working superbly -- and it's by far the fastest thing I have ever used in my life. I got to get away from the office to run a few errands. And and and! On my way to run errands, I passed a place that would have normally reminded me of him. And I didn't even think of the connection until I got back to the office.

That's when I know. That's when I know it's official. I'm over it.

How liberating.

After work, I was scheduled to present to one of the student organizations at the local university. Trudging over to the campus, I finally found the building where I was supposed to meet everyone. I found the room and walked in.

And it was packed, people! I bet there were 50 or 60 people in there! I was speaking about how to put together a PR portfolio; not about a missions trip to China for crying out loud! Who the heck wants to listen about portfolios?!

I was really nervous when I got started. But after a while, I got into it, and it was actually pretty loose. They were hanging on my every word. Taking notes. Asking a million great questions. Being attentive.

Afterwards, one of two of the officers said "You were the best speaker we've ever had." The advisor even told me this, too. Sheesh. Talk about driving home on cloud nine. I had no idea that my presentation would even be helpful, let alone the best speaker they've ever had. Geez.

To top it all off, I came home to find a package on my front doorstep.

I had visited yet another church last week, and they came by to drop off cookies for me! They're homemade, too!

But the best part of the day? As I was filling out my calendar at work, I realized that I am becoming more involved in so many new and exciting things than ever before. I'm delving into things that I never would have gotten into had I still been attached.

Prioritizing my life to focus around God and making new friends is something that I am more than excited about.

How liberating.

But oh no no. Don't you worry. I'll still have room for a date or two every now and then.

In fact? There's a certain someone that I just can't help but stop thinking about...

A Crappy Update For Jayme

I have so much to write about, but not enough time to do it.

So Jayme? You get a crappy update. Sorry.

1. Why is everyone breaking up with one another?! I've had about three friends break up with their boyfriends in the last week. Sheesh. Maybe its the weather.

2. Did I mention the Best Buy guy was cute? I did? Well, he was. The funny thing was he was short, kinda dumpy, and of Arab decent. But he had the most hilarious sense of humor and loads of personality. The other qualities never even crossed my mind until I was well into my computer conversations with him. Isn't that funny how those kinds of things are so much more important to me?

3. Speaking of computers, I got a new computer at work last week! The bad news? We had to have our technology support guys transfer all of my files from the old one to the new one. Buuuut? It comes back tomorrow! It's like Christmas in August! Yahoo!

4. Last Thursday night at the ballpark was a drunken good time -- with $1 Bud Lights! Then again, any Thursday night that I spend with my girlfriends ends up being a good time. We've started a ritual, and it is something I look forward to every week. I think this week we might try going to the Brazilian restaurant roof for some good food and live music.

5. My mother's friend wants to set me up with her nephew. "He told me he just wants to date a good girl, and I immediately thought of Sandra Dee!" How sweet. Hmm. Welp, I'm game.

6. I went to another lunch group at the church yesterday. Where, may I add, there were some fabulous people there yet again. I really like that group. And we're going to the state fair together in a few weeks -- and participating in a service project next month!

7. And remember this? Well, I'm helping the Camp Fire USA people also. I start in the next few weeks, and I'm stoked! I've been dying to help with kids for a while now, and I feel the Lord is pulling me in this direction.

Life is fabulous!

My Last Couple of Days at Work

I never thought I would be saying this.

But I just want to get some freakin' work done at work!

AHHHHH!

First, my e-mail has not been working. And our web people don't know what's wrong with it yet.

Have you ever tried going through the day at work without your e-mail?

Um, I feel kinda naked without it.

Second, my 5-year-old computer apparently has a bootleg copies of Windows XP, Microsoft Office, Photoshop, InDesign, and every other program on my computer. And somehow? Microsoft has recognized this. As a result, it keeps shorting out and restarting my computer until I get a legitimate copy of XP on it.

Awesome.

So today? I went shopping for a new computer.

Have you ever tried talking about gigabytes and motherboards and duel processors with nerdy techies before?

I hadn't. And I knew I was gonna be lost.

So I called our tech support guy and asked him what he recommended we get. I wrote it down. And armed with my list of essentials -- must have 1 GB of memory, an 80 GB hard drive, and, ahem, legitimate copies of programs, et cetera, et cetera -- I ventured into the semi-unknown territories of Best Buy, Office Depot and CompUSA.

And I walked right up to the service people and gave them the list.

"I don't know what the heck all this is, but I want all of these criteria in one computer for less than $1,000."

They laughed. But they helped me.

Now I have to choose between about 6 different computers.

I think I'm more confused than I was before making my list.

At least the guy at Best Buy was cute.

Hrumph.

Dear Unsaid Online Dating Service Who Claims to Be the #1 Site for Love:

You bastards.

Sincerely,
Sandra Dee

I am only asking for one thing.

Dear Unsaid Online Dating Service Who Claims to Be the #1 Site for Love:

I am writing to inform you that I have a date tonight with a gentleman from your Web site. And I am very excited about it.

He is quite good looking in his photos. He has a very well-written profile. We have had several very lengthy phone conversations together, and he seems normal.

He has not brought up meeting his mother. He not 30 years older than I am. He does not e-mail me seven times a day. He does not talk to me like I'm stupid. He had not called to cancel because he is too hungover.

All the signs are there for this to be a good date.

I am only asking for one thing.

Please let him be cute in person.

Sincerely,
Sandra Dee

Friday? Dinner? Perfect.

Remember this dilema?

After a two and a half hour phone call last night, I was left thinking: "What is his problem?! Ask me out already!"

So I took matters into my own hands this morning via e-mail. The goal was to make him think he was asking me out:

"I enjoyed talking with you last night. What's the next step in all this?"

He replied:

"Well, I imagine the next step in all this would be the two of us get together, go out, and try to have a little fun. If you want, I can call you tonight and we can talk about it for a few minutes? I promise I won't tie you up for two hours this time."

Bingo.

Why waste our time if the chemistry's not there in person?

He called tonight. When are you free? Friday. How about dinner? Perfect.

P.F. Changs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Details to come.

Philanthropic Endeavors

Because everyone that comes around here probably thinks that all I do is work, socialize, work out, and accept the occasional date, I am going to unveil something to y'all that I haven't told many people yet.

It is something that I have been thinking about doing for a while now. And last week, I just decided to jump in and go for it.

My volunteer application for this is complete!

They're supposed to call me next week to talk about where I'm needed, and I can't wait! I have been looking forward to working with these little girls for a long time now.

I did stress that I probably wouldn't be such a great troop leader, but that I had the knowledge of what Girl Scouts was because I had done it in grade school. Maybe I could help them with programming or earning badges. Or maybe even cookie sales! Yum.

I'm so excited!

What are some organizations that you're involved with? Any that you recommend?

The Hanger On

As The Eternal Freshman likes to call them, I've got a Hanger On.

Just when I was ready to forget the weirdos in the online dating world, get some cats, and start talking to myself, this guy winks at me. Dammit.

So I check out his profile. Hmm. He's cute. Lives in the city. Good grammar and punctuation. College degree. But 5'11", which usually means they're lying, and they're actually 5'7". I decided to look past that with all the other strong points, even though I'm 5'9".

I wink back. He e-mails me: "Thought I'd break the ice and say hi." Super. So I respond several days later, including my regular e-mail address because my subscription is expiring that next day.

We have volleyed e-mails back and forth for about a week now, and he and I finally talked on the phone Tuesday night.

For an hour.

We obviously have a lot in common, and he sent me an e-mail Wednesday morning telling me he enjoyed talking to me and would like to do it again that night.

And so be it. He called again Wednesday evening, and we talked for another hour. He sounds super cute. Very nice voice. Definitely intelligent. Friendly for sure.

But? No mention of meeting.

Hmm.