2010

1. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?
seriously tried out online dating
road trip on the pacific northwest coastal highway
taught summer school
went to the manayunk bike race
went to maryland wine festival
kickball team

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
1. healthy eating - kept track of eating from jan-may. shit hit the fan in the summer, but my veggie box and i are having a very happy life together. so, check.
2. finances - I didn't really make a lot of headway when you look at totals, but significant expenses came up this year (ccp classes, moving, bed)... and I don't owe any more. I took steps to get a loan to pay them off as well.
3. not blowing off guys - i really gave the online dating thing a good shot. and right now, things seem to be on the up swing.
4. i kept my blog religiously until the summer, and I am trying to revive it.

I'm still working on my resolutions for this coming year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
I don't think so.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
thank god, no.

5. What countries did you visit?
none in 2010. sad. does portland count?

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
a healthy relationship perhaps

7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Nov 6th - Homecoming wasn't anything spectacular or grand, but it was a particularly amazing time this year, and I will definitely remember it.
Other events stick out, but not actual dates. I guess I just forget them.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
getting back into yoga (after taking like march-aug off) and running (after taking may-oct off)
weight lifting regularly 2 times a week (starting in about october)

9. What was your biggest failure?
the serial dating thing totally did not work out.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
nothing out of the ordinary

11. What were the best things you bought?
my bed!
my new boots and winter coats

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Jess and Candie, Becca and Julia for standing up for what they wanted/didn't want, plus everyone else who moved on from something that wasn't healthy for them

13. Whose behavior appalled you?
how about arlene ackerman?

14. Where did most of your money go?
rent, credit card bills, CCP, food, alcohol

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
going to portland!
happy hours (even if they were a bit excessive)
the thought of actually meeting someone who i can open up to

16. What song will always remind you of 2010?
taylor swift's first album
Jay Z - young forever
michael buble

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? same
ii. thinner or fatter? same
iii. richer or poorer? same

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
have sex

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
eharmony

20. How will you be spending Christmas and/or New Year's?
christmas eve was with karen and her family
christmas day was with my sister, candie, and victoria (and eve!)
new years with the ingela

22. Did you fall in love in 2010?
nope

23. How many one-night stands?
none actually

24. What was your favorite TV program?
the bachelor and the bachelorette, followed by gossip girl

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
i don't waste time hating people

26. What was the best book you read?
100 places every woman should go

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
bittorrent

28. What did you want and get?
teaching in an elementary school

29. What did you want and not get?
to pay my bills off

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
i can't really answer this question

31. What did you do on your birthday?
had a big party at my apartment. tons and tons of fun. and made bad drinking decisions involving tequila, brandy, wine, and beer that resulted in me not drinking liquor any more. and i lost my cardigan.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
more sex

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
summer: skirts, tank tops, flowers, easy breezy
fall/winter: leggings, skinny jeans, boots, tights, sweaters

34. What kept you sane?
Jess, happy hours, yoga/running/gym

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
i'm team edward, but jacob is smoking

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
freakin race to the top. god obama, i like you less now because of that.

37. Who did you miss?
my dad

38. Who was the best new person you met?
hard to answer

Back on the Wagon

Talk about falling off of the wagon!

I have been seriously absent from my blog! About the time I stopped internet dating, I stopped posting. Well, folks - not only did I reactivate my OkCupid account, I have decided to breathe life into my blog as well.

I have been lifting for the past month or so. Most weeks, I have met my goal of going 3 times. I do an upper/lower split that does not take very long (25 minutes). This is a big change from my practically cardio-only approach that I did for so long. I don't know that I'm really seeing any big results/changes - but at least it's getting me doing something different and shaking things up. I am going to yoga once a week, salsa class once a week, lifting 3 times (or trying to!), and doing some other cardio after lifting - usually about 20-25 minutes twice a week. I'm going to start doing a little more lifting and a little more cardio (reintroducing running I think). It's hard for me to not do very much of it, but I've read time and time again that strength training is more beneficial in the long run.

Anyway - this is what I'm doing weights wise. The stars are next to new additions that I will be starting today.

Upper (3x10, previously 2x15)

Lat Pull Down
Military Press
One armed row
Bench Press
Curls
**Pull Ups (machine assisted)
**Lateral Raises
**Tricep Extensions/Dips
Abs


Lower (3x10, previously 2x15)

Squats
Dead Lifts
Calf Raises **(one foot)
Lunges (previously unweighted, adding dumbells)
Sumo Squats
Back Extensions
Abs

Bucket List

It's been a long summer, and I will update on my comings and goings shortly.

However, I have been thinking about creating a Bucket List, and here it is in its beginning stages. Some are simple enough things that I just haven't done, and some are more hard core. Some will take nerve. Any suggestions/comments?

Kat's Bucket List:

1. Outdoor rock climbing
2. White water kayaking
3. Hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
4. Spend at least a month in S.E. Asia
5. Rio for Carnaval
6. Live on the West Coast for a bit
7. African Safari
8. Learn to surf


That's all I have for now.

The end of online dating?

6 more days of summer school! I'm super psyched. I haven't really minded it (awesome paychecks), but it will be nice to have a few weeks of nothing to do. And I REALLY excited about our vacation road trip. Like, really really excited.

Over the past couple weeks, I have been rightly celebrating summer by going out and having lots of happy hours, but I've been going to the gym and trying to eat pretty well at the same time to balance it all out. So far, so good. My goal for the next couple weeks is to start running more (again) and find my way back to yoga. I ran on Sunday, which is a good start!

I'm working 2 more shifts at Dock St - a double this Saturday and a lunch shift next Saturday. The extra money is awesome - but I'm excited to have all of my time back. I'll still be around for people to call me if they need someone to cover their shift, but I won't be on the schedule anymore.

So about this online dating thing. I think it's over between the two of us. I have a pretty full social calendar. I've joined a few meet up groups, I've started taking dance classes and going out dancing again - so I'm around some different people and have the opportunity to meet some different people. I'm tired of first dates and meeting people that I don't have much chemistry with. It's been fun - and a great experiment - and maybe in a few months, I'll join match.com again (by far my favorite out of the three, by the way), but for now - I'm going to hide my okcupid profile and just take it easy. There is one guy that I went out with a couple weeks again that I'm going to go on a second date with, but other than that - I'm going to not meet anyone new for awhile.

This guy I met at Nodding Head, where we had dinner and a couple beers. It was nice - he's funny. He has been texting me randomly, which is nice. We were going to meet up on Saturday, but he ended up going out with some friends for his birthday. I think we may have dinner on Friday. I will let you know how it goes.

Fourth of July

I had a wonderful time this weekend! I worked Friday night and Saturday lunch and made a bunch of money, which was awesome. Ingela came (finally!) to Philly on Saturday afternoon and stayed until Sunday evening. We did quite a bit when she was here!

Saturday, as soon as she got here, we went to Northern Libs and caught part of the Matt and Kim concert. Kim is by far the happiest and most excited person that I have ever seen in my life. I would be interested to see how she is in her daily life. I can imagine her jumping in and out of Starbucks and bouncing around in her chair while she eats her lunch.

After the concert, we went to my favorite place: Dos Segundos. Yum: sopes and salad = delicious! Later that evening, we met up some with friends at Devil's Alley. It was an amazing night, and we got outside tables on the sidewalk since it wasn't very busy. At the very end of the night, Ingela and I met up with my friend Renata at this funny rooftop party at the Roosevelt. It was in the pent house ... no one lives there. Most of the people there had no idea WHY they were there. Awesome views though, lots of balconies and decks. A pretty good band played for a bit.

On Sunday, we went to the 1oth st Pourhouse (delicious and cheap!) for brunch. We then planned our AWESOME road trip, which I am super excited about. We are going to spend some time in San Fran, then go through the Napa valley, stop at a winery or two. Spend the night in Fort Bragg, going to one of the top 10 microbreweries in the country. Then, we will drive to Gold Beach in Oregon, where we will take a jet boat tour before going to Portland. Hiking, exploring the city, seeing Cannon Beach and the goonies rock will all happen before going north to Camano Island and Seattle. It's going to be a blast!

My Independence Day celebrations started after that with the Penn's Landing Icecream Festival, the Roots and Goo Goo Dolls concerts, fireworks on the Parkway, and Pete's afterwards. It was an amazing day. I had such a nice time and have some fun pictures to put up.

Yesterday, I spent some time in Rittenhouse with my sister before it got really hot, which I love. I also started SALSA classes, which I am super excited about. I miss dancing so much and am super pumped to learn actually HOW to dance. I've taken lessons here and there before and have done quite a bit of dancing in the past... enough to know the basics, but not enough to be very good. I'm pumped, especially since this means I'll go out dancing more often to practice! I miss it!

Going out with the guy from Northern Liberties again this week... on Thursday. (I shall dub him NoLibs Guy). Should be nice. We are going to go to dinner, and he mentioned going back to his apt to drink beer. Haha. Sounds perfect.

Road Trips and Fun!

Jess (sister), Ingela (best friend from high school), and I are taking a road trip next month. I am super duper excited, since we are starting to actually plan it and I am looking at all the cool things that we are going to be able to do!

We are flying into San Francisco, spending a few days there, and then driving north to Seattle. We are going to take 2 days to go from San Fran to Portland, stopping at Redwood National Park and some cool beaches, etc in Oregon. I am so excited!! We are going to spend a few days in Portland, too - which is awesome. I am going to be able to see my awesome friend Emily and spend some time with Ingela's cousin. Then, we will drive up to Seattle, spend a night or two with her family friends on some island (woo!) and then spend a night in Seattle before we fly home. I'm super pumped. Ingela is coming tomorrow and we the 3 of us are going to plan our trip!

eHarmony:
I have deleted my account on eHarmony. I went out on 4 dates with the Alfa guy. He was nice, and I had a nice time with him - but in the end, there just wasn't enough chemistry. I was disappointed, because I enjoyed spending time with him - but by the fourth date, if I am freaking out because you want to go back to your apt and I don't ---- then I'm just not that into you.
I met one other person for lunch last Friday. He is a middle school history teacher in NJ and works part time on the Spirit of Philadelphia. I had a nice time with him actually, and I texted him yesterday - but haven't heard back. Maybe he didn't like me. That's okay.

OkCupid:
I rejoined OkCupid. I figured that I since I'm trying to pay bills OFF, that paying for match.com isn't the most economical thing to do. I have met a couple people so far. I met someone on Sunday who I will most likely go out with again. We went to North Third. I had a nice time, not sure about the chemistry - but I'll have to wait and see. He lives in Northern Liberties and has a red convertible.
Last night, I met someone else. We went to Nodding Head. Dinner drug on a little longer than I would have liked - but we talked about all sorts of things, including schools, religion, work, gym. He asked me what yoga is good for (an honest question, though I got a bit defensive at first). He is not quite opinionated as me (haha), but that's probably better, haha. At the end, he said that he had a really nice time. It was a little awkward, and I think that at the end, he may have wanted to kiss me. Unless I'm sure that I like someone, I found that I do not want necessarily want to kiss them.

Then I went home and at 2 AM, I got violently ill. (I won't be eating at Nodding Head anytime soon).

Fourth of July Weekend:
I work tonight and tomorrow lunch at Dock St. (I'm trying to get my credit cards paid off, and should be able to pay off the one by September! Then, I can put all of that money into my other one! Its a lot of working, but looks like it will help me get the bills paid off pretty well!) Then Ingela is coming. I think we are going to go to dinner with a friend who also has a friend coming into town and hang out with my friend Megan. Sunday, I want to go to the ice cream festival at Penn's Landing and probably will be around the Parkway for the concerts (roots and goo goo dolls!) and fireworks. It's going to be wicked hot though. I'm not sure how long she will be sticking around, but I think that Megan and her roommate are having a party too which should be fun.

Monday, I'm going to start taking salsa classes! I'm super duper excited about that too! My environmental science class at CCP is over now, so I will have 3 extra nights per week free! Crazy. I'm going to be able to go to the gym more and have time to sit around at home (or... go out. haha).

Dates

I originally paid for a 3 month subscription to eHarmony. Combined with the fact that I decided after the first day that I didn't like it and the fact that it takes a really freakin long time sometimes to move through the "guided communication" process... I didn't spend too much time with it, and didn't end up meeting anyone from eHarmony until recently - maybe 3 weeks ago. Nice enough guy, but we didn't really click and our second date lasted exactly 2 hours on the dot.

Last week my card got charged for the 3rd month. I decided that I would give it a decent try for the last 4 weeks and see where it took me. I sifted through 191 matches (they send you a certain number each day and you are supposed to well, look at them and talk to them). I messaged guys who I had been ignoring. I closed out matches with anyone who doesn't live in Philadelphia, since I had to get through those 191 matches somehow. And so far, I've met 3 guys in the past week - the 34 year old Irish dude I already talked about (who texted me asking for another date, but I graciously declined) and two news that I met this weekend.

Here's a quick run down:

1. I met a guy for happy hour on Friday. He met me outside my apartment, and we went to Alfa. He's 26 and works in higher education. My first impression of him was that he was cute. He only had one picture on eHarmony - so it could have gone either way. We sat at a table in the back (which I was unsure of at first, I thought we could just sit at the bar - but having a table turned out nicely). We had really nice conversation and happy hour turned into 3 hour and 4 beers. It might have turned into dinner if I didn't already have plans for Megan to come over. It's better though - a too long first date takes all of the mystery out of it, and I think we all know (or well, some of us know) what can happen if I have a marathon first date and am drinking. Right. Found a reason to touch him (look at the t-shirt he was wearing under his button down) and the fact that I even WANTED to touch him was a good sign! When he walked me back, I asked him about his weekend plans, and we made plans to watch the Flyers game 2 on Monday at the Fox and the Hound - a sports bar right on the corner from my apartment. Oh, and this guy doesn't live right in the city - He lives near Bala Cynwood, but it's a hell of a lot closer than Far Away Guy.

Summary? There was chemistry, I liked him, and I am excited to see him tomorrow.

2. I met another guy at the Continental Midtown for lunch on Saturday. We sat on the roof, which was nice, but he got there 10 minutes early and just went up the roof and got a table (instead of waiting outside like most guys would). Anyway, that's fine. He proceeds to immediately tell me that he's hungover because one of his fraternity brothers was in town the night before. He told me where they went- and no wonder he was hung over, since he named like 10 places. He then told me at least 3 stories where he referred to his college fraternity days (and a couple ABOUT his college fraternity days). Throw in a story about a homeless dude with a coke and a mentioning that he likes to walk everywhere 983293 times, and you have a dud my friends.

Summary? I didn't even text him to say that it was nice to meet him. I don't think he liked me much tho either (could probably tell that I didn't like him).