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).

Big Changes

Change #1:
I got a job!! I was offered a job at an elementary school in North Philadelphia on Saturday, but didn't take it right away. I accepted today and will sign tomorrow! Hopefully I will be teaching 3rd or 4th grade, however, I may end up in 6th. I certainly hope not though. It's actually the school that my co-teacher is going to be at next year, which will be nice! (and what are the chances of that, really?)

Change #2:
I moved! On Friday, I moved into a studio at 15th and Spruce. I absolutely love this location, and it's been relatively quiet since I moved in. I still need a bookshelf so that I can unpack the rest of my boxes, and I am planning on getting two chairs for extra seating, since right now - I just have my kitchen table and bed. I'll take some pictures soon. Jack, my cat, is a little sad. I don't think he really likes being an only cat, but he will adjust soon enough.

Other changes/updates:
Far Away Guy seems to have died out. With the distance, I think we would have to be really great for each other for it to work. I liked him, but I'm over it, and not surprised or upset. We had a nice time, and I was reminded what chemistry actually feels like. So, I've been meeting some new people from eHarmony, even though I don't like it. I met two people so far - and I haven't really had any great amount of chemistry with either one. I have been on two dates with the one who lives in South Philly, and we get along well and have had a nice time. If he asks me out again, I'll probably go to see what happens. I also met an Irish guy last night. He is a little older than guys I normally date, and I just wasn't really feeling it. He texted me about going out again, but eh. What's the point when I know I really don't like him? He totally wanted to kiss me last night, but I gave him a quick hug and kind of ran inside.

My gym routine has been sparse with the move and 3 interviews last week, and my new Environmental Science class starting last week and such. I am getting back on the wagon this week - starting with walking to and from class (about 2.5 miles round trip). I was thinking about going to the gym after class tonight (which is 6-8) to lift, but I'm not sure that will want to. I'm going to go to class in my gym clothes though just in case. I think I will go and lift just for 30 minutes or so. I ran 4 miles on Sunday which was nice.

3 years

This year, my two least favorite days fall on the same date: May 9th.

May 9th is Mother's Day this year. I am not affected my Mother's Day as was a little girl in school, where everyone made Mother's Day cards and crafts every single year. I made them too, and I gave them to my dad. From the time I was six on ... my dad WAS my mother. He cooked me dinner, sewed my clothes when they ripped, bought me pads/tampons when I got my period, took me shopping, helped out with my girl scout troop. While there were other women in my life for sure, my dad filled the mother role comfortably, and he did a pretty good job at it.

We never went to my mother's grave on Mother's Day, because it was too hard and painful for my dad. We didn't even really talk about her until I was much older - in high school or maybe even college. I am sure that a good dose of therapy would have helped me deal with things when I was younger - because if there is one thing my dad didn't teach me, it was how to deal with tough things. Luckily, he didn't chose to deal with things badly by drinking or doing any other harmful activities - he just sunk into a depression, lasting most of my adolescent and teenage years. Possibly the only thing that saved him was that I was still at home, and he had to take care of me. Instead of facing up to whatever it was that needed facing, I learned to simply pretend that everything was fine and to not actually deal with anything (something that I still struggle with today).

Despite my dad's depression and whatnot, he was an active father who spent a lot of time with me and obviously loved me immensely. He satisfied both parental roles pretty successfully and supported me in pretty much everything I wanted to do - whether he totally agreed with my decisions or not. We went on vacations. He came to every single orchestra concert I ever had. He took me to church when I decided I wanted to start going. We almost always ate dinner together, often going out to eat- because he hated to cook. He helped me look at and get my first car(s), fixing them when I was stupid, not killing me when I wrecked his. He knew my friends. He helped me pick a college, came and helped my sorority grill for Homecoming, and didn't complain or try to convince me otherwise when I decided to move to Honduras for a year.

Today marks three years since my dad died. He had a massive heart attack at work and was rushed to the hospital. I was in Honduras at the time and got a phone call from my sister when I was teaching. Immediately knowing something was wrong, and a little worried that what I feared the most was coming true, I rushed to call her back. (My dad had his first heart attack before I was born. He had many more mild ones throughout his life, and I always knew that someday he would have one that his heart couldn't handle. I was worried the most that he would die alone.) Two days later, I flew home. Two or three days after that, we disconnected him from life support. 36 hours later, he died - but he wasn't alone.

This year, Mother's Day falls on May 9th - the anniversary of my father's death. While I have dealt with his death in my own ways, true to form, I don't really talk about him or my mother that often. Blogging about it is one of the the only ways I am comfortable doing it, and it is my way of saying "Everything is NOT fine, but I am okay." And while losing someone that played such a vital role in my life can be excruciatingly hard, I know my dad would rather us celebrate the life he had, then cry over the life he lost. So instead of tears, I will celebrate by eating an ice cream sundae and watching a western. Here's to you dad.

Broad St Run!

Yesterday was the Broad St Run. It was really hot.

Despite the awful heat, I managed to finish without dying, passing out, or needing medical attention of any kind. I consider that a bit of a feat in and of itself! :)

I didn't run it nearly as fast as I was hoping that I would. I actually ran it in like a 11:40 mile, which is a minute per mile SLOWER than last year. It frustrates me a little, but that's okay. I lost my running partners really early on. The one savior of the day were the hydrants. They had them open like sprinklers, which was really nice. You got soaked running through them, but I ran through every single one on the right side of the road! Afterwards, leaving the Naval Yard, I didn't feel so great, but a great brunch at the house of a friend of my roommate really helped!

Later on, I took a bus out to Valley Forge and met up with far away guy. We had a really nice time .... drank some German beer, ate food at the Sly Fox Brewery, played the bean bag toss ( I seriously need some practice), and watched True Blood. (This was exciting, because I don't have HBO - so I've only seen the 1st season. I'm still waiting for the 2nd season to come out on NetFlix!) At the end of the night, he drove me home - which was really sweet considering it was completely and totally out of his way.

Phillies game on Wednesday (Cinco de Mayo!)

new prospects

So let's call him "Far Away Guy." He lives in Phoenixville and works in West Chester. Those places are pretty far away. But I like him, so I think it's okay.

We first met a few weeks ago, I'm not sure when. (It was back in the first warm phase... I was wearing a skirt/tank top.) We met at the German beer place on South St and had a drink and talked for a couple hours. A week and a half later or so he came back into the city for Sunday brunch. We went to Farmicia and it was delicious. We hung out in my house later and played with my cats. I think he might be allergic to them, to be honest, but he said that he wasn't. After he left, I texted him about me being awkward or something and he responded with "no, you're perfect." (Awww.) Then he came into the city last night for the third time! We went to the Standard Tap in No Libs ... I had an amazing burger, we each had a couple beers. Conversation is easy with him. We have similar tastes. I don't really know what's different about him in comparison to the other dozen guys I met off of match.com (my profile on there is officially deleted, btw), but we seem to click. I was looking for something in the others and was getting pretty fed up with it all, but this guy is nice and so we will see. It's funny how that happens. On Sunday afternoon, I'm going out to Phoenixville (via bus) to go to a beer festival/goat race at the Sly Fox Brewery. I'm excited.

In other news:

1. I still dislike eHarmony. Frankly, it is too much work. I can't keep up with it - and am not really talking to anyone from there. I still have a subscription for almost 2 months though, so eh.

2. Broad St is Sunday. I averaged a 10:40 mile last year, but I actually ran five 10 min miles and five 12 min miles (approximately). I'm hoping to average a 10:30 pace this year and actually keep something around that pace for all 10 miles. The improvement in time might be slight, but improvement in performance would be pretty significant.

3. I've officially started strength training again and am going back to yoga starting Friday. I love to run, but JUST running is not doing a whole lot of anything to my body (but I'm sure that my heart is awesome). I even went to spinning yesterday. I think I might start doing that once a week too.

4. I think there are something like 36 more days of school and 6 Mondays left. We are going on a field trip next week to the Camden Aquarium, and I am pretty excited. I don't think that many (if any) of our kids have been there before! And thanks to a target field trip grant, it's only costing them $2!!

Why I Run

I was reading a magazine in the park on Sunday, and there were some articles written by different women entitled "Why I Run." Each of them had different reasons for running, but all of them agreed that running made them a better person. While reading these, I was inspired to write my own piece called, "Why I Run," and I am "publishing" it here.

I believe in the runner's high, and I believe that those who are passionate about running are the ones who experience it to the fullest degree possible. To me, the runner's high is a sensational reaction to a great run! It's an exhilarating feeling of satisfaction and achievement. It's like being on top of the world, and truthfully... there's nothing else quite like it!
- Sasha Azevedo

Some people run for exercise, to lose weight and be healthy, but they hate every single step. Some people run to escape: from themselves, from their families, from crappy circumstances. Some people run because they love feeling the wind on their face and the burn in their legs after the first 4 or 5 miles.

When I try to think about why I run, I have a hard time coming up with a solid answer. I started running for exercise. It started as a casual thing. I exercised (and still do) primarily to prevent heart disease. My father died of heart disease, which means it runs in my family, and it is the number one killer for women. It is also completely preventable. I may not be able to prevent cancer, but I decided early on that I most certainly would not die of heart disease.

So I exercised, went to the gym, ran 2 or 3 or 4 miles outside, but I needed some motivation - a goal that I could work towards. When a friend started talking about running a race, I let myself get roped into running a 1/2 marathon. I figured that was the farthest distance I would ever want to run, and all I wanted to do was to finish it. I did all of my training by myself, and I did finish it, in 27 degree weather, in a respectable 2 hours 27 minutes. In my first race, I had a respectable pace of about 11:19 per mile. I was proud of myself, but I also was really sick and tired of running. So, I stopped running for a few months, starting up again to run the Broad St Run last May. Everyone told me how much fun it was to run it, so I signed up. This time, I ran some of my runs with my sister, and I didn't hate it all quite so much. I enjoyed the feeling running gave me, the sense of accomplishment I had when I was done running. I liked running races and having a goal to work for. I liked running, but I still did not love it.

I ran casually on the treadmill and outside during the winter, not really enjoying it because treadmills are miserable and so is freezing cold weather. Then, in January, I joined a running MeetUp group. I started running more than ever- about 20 miles a week. I loved running with others, found myself running farther and faster, and loved getting up (even on the weekends!) to go for the runs. I love running. Something clicked in the past few months, and now I honestly love running. So much so that I am probably going to train for the Philadelphia Marathon in November. A marathon! I never thought that I would run a marathon, that I would want to run one.

But as it turns out, I love the way I feel, how it makes me look, how much healthier my heart and cholesterol is (!), the high that I can get when I get that extra burst of energy in the middle of the run, when I feel as if I could run to China and back, and I love the calm and clarity I get when I'm done. I feel accomplished, and I love that you can always push to run farther or faster - it is (almost) impossible to reach a point where you can't keep improving. I don't run to escape myself or my life. I am very satisfied with both. I run to gain clarity, to be healthy, to push myself. It's becoming one of my passions. Running makes me a better person: physically, emotionally, and mentally.

That's why I run.

Spring

I just absolutely love spring. I love everything about it: sitting in the park, running in the warm weather, having to start wearing sunscreen, new flowers, green grass, buds on trees, leaves on trees, warm breezes. I just love it. For example, yesterday, I went to a bar crawl that benefited a bunch of charities. It was called the Bunny Hop. It was nice out, so people were spilling onto the sidewalks out of the bars. I went with a girl I met through my running group and a friend of hers. We had a really nice time, had 4 or 5 beers and dinner. I went home by 10:30 (started at 5:30!), but it was so nice out. Got to wear bunny ears. This is one of the reasons I love spring.

Partly due to the warm weather and partly due to the running group I joined (http://www.meetup.com/Run-like-a-Philly-Girl/), I have been running a lot lately! This week, I have already run 17 miles, and I am also running on Sunday. Last week, I ran 18 miles. The week before that, I ran 20 miles. I am getting faster, running farther, recovering from longer runs far more quickly. And I am thinking about training for the Philadelphia Marathon in November. Actually, as long as I have girls from my running group willing to train with me, I'm 90% sure that I'll do it. Broad St first week in May, ODDyssey half marathon the last week in May, and the full in November. Looks like this is going to be the year, folks.

Despite the recent rain, my self esteem issues, and overall gloomy disposition, the weather (and the fact that I had off work for the past few days really helped my mood. Part of my issue, according to my roommate, is that I am "serial dating." This is what match.com does to you. You meet all of these nice guys, but none of them are quite right for you. Nothing is really wrong with them, and nothing is certainly wrong with you, but since none of them are "the one", if you even believe in that sort of thing, it gets to you. After awhile, you meet so many guys, that they all sort of blend together and you get tired of meeting guy after guy. I guess I don't really know what I'm looking for - but I'm pretty sure that I'll know when I find it. I'm not looking for my husband, but I want to spend time getting to know and dating someone who I have all of those different types of chemistry with. I get that you don't always know that on the first date, but I think that by the second or third date, you do. Does anyone disagree?

Regardless of all that, the sun came out and I decided to press on. So, I met a guy for lunch on Thursday. We ate at a table outside at Moriarty's. Nice guy. Beautiful day. Volunteered for two years in Micronesia with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. He taught high school there. He hates running but likes to bike. I hate biking but like to run. (Sounds like a match made in heaven, right?) He is graduating soon with an MS in Counseling, but he doesn't really have any idea what he wants to do when he graduates. I appreciate the fact that he is keeping his options open, but 27 is a little too old to just be hanging out waiting for life to happen. It certainly is not a deal breaker, and I liked him enough to go out with him again. Actually, I liked him more than most of the guys that I have met so far. It's a little intriguing - the fact that is totally calm and comfortable with the fact that in a month in a half, he has no idea what he will be doing. We each had two beers, and when I left and was trying to go look at an apartment - I found myself seriously tipsy.

I am moving (on June 1st)! I submitted my rental application and go Tuesday to give him my first month's rent!! I found a studio apartment on Spruce St between 15th and 16th for $775, which includes heat. I really like it! I looked at some other places in the past few days, mostly because I had off which made it really easy to schedule appointments. I like this one the most, and it's a good deal that will be snatched up quickly, so I took it! It's in my price range, which is great and in a fabulous location. It's pretty big, and they are redoing the kitchen and bathroom, which is awesome. There is a closet with built in shelves, hard wood floors.... I'm happy! It's actually the building that my sister's ex-gf just moved into. I double and triple checked with her that it wasn't weird that I was moving there, and she is totally cool with it. It makes it easy on my sister - that way she will be able to visit me and her kitties (who are living with the ex-gf) at the same time!! I'm excited to move into my own place right in Center City. I don't have that much stuff to begin with, so it's not a big deal that it's a smaller space. I'll post some pictures when I take them.

Tomorrow, Jess and I are going to Cape May on an adventure! I have never been there before, and I am pretty excited. On the agenda is stopping to buy a camera on the way! :)

Running and Resolutions

One of my New Years Resolutions was to start eating healthy, with the benefit of that to be some weight loss. I am happy to report that as of yesterday, I am down 10 pounds!! (Some of it was certainly just holiday pudge, but it is still 10!) Plus, I am finally below a certain number that was haunting me! I would like to lose nine more pounds.

I joined a running group over the winter and have been doing quite a few runs with them. Last week, I ran 20 miles, and this week I will have run 18 after tomorrow. I'm getting faster running with this group, which is totally amazing. I have been wanting to get faster, but I have a hard time forcing myself to run above my most comfortable speed. I am running Broad St in May, and then I think I will run this half marathon in Philly at the end of May. I am playing around with the idea of training for a marathon, but I'm not sure how I feel about it.

On the school front: We had 31 parents out of 53 students come to pick up their kid's report card. That is actually a pretty good turnout. They should be announcing Renaissance Schools on Monday.

Dates: I met a guy at Monk's on Wednesday. He was nice enough, but he misrepresented himself in pictures and laughed at the service learning project my kid's want to do. It really bothered me! Plus, he lives in Conshohocken which is kind of far away. I don't think that I will go out with him again. I had another date last night. We had dinner at the Continental. Really nice guy, easy conversation. I wasn't particularly attracted or not-attracted to him. He also does not live in the city, but there was nothing that stood out that I didn't like. He does karate, which is cool. I guess I am looking for some spark that I haven't found yet.

Chemistry from the beginning is important to me, and in all of my past relationships it was something that brought us together from the beginning. (Clearly they did not work out, but still). Chemistry is more than just on the physical level though, too. There needs to be more than just a conversation going on - I'm not really sure how to put into words what I mean, but when you are talking/meeting/having dinner with someone - there is physical chemistry, but also there is chemistry in the way you interact, what types of things you talk about. You have to click. And I havent really found that with the people I've met on match.

I think that people should be with a person that makes them the best versions of themselves, and I have never found that. Of the guys I have dated, even the ones that I really liked, I have always compromised some important part of myself or changed (slightly, not drastically) something about myself. Whether it's the way someone treated me, or the amount of alcohol I drank, or safe sex ... I'm all for compromising in relationships, but if you don't help me be the best version of myself, then I shouldn't be with you. And that goes both ways. I think that if there is the physical/emotional/intellectual chemistry, then helping each other be the best they can should come naturally. It certainly isn't something you can force.

Dating update

Here is a quick recap on recent events:

1. Went out on 3 dates with the Pharmaceuticals guy. On the third date, we went to Dave and Busters. I didn't have as good of a time as I hoped that I would. We didn't talk after that, but it was mutual. I didn't contact him, and he didn't contact me. Ultimately, he was nice - but we didn't completely click, and I don't want to date someone who doesn't drink at all.

2. Went on two dates with the guy who works in the casino. We went to Bar Ferdinand for our second date. He is a nice guy, but I am just not physically attracted to him. We had tentative plans set to go out again on Thursday, but I am just not feeling him - so I just texted him to let him know that I am not interested. Nice guy, but no dice.

3. The Drexel med student isn't working out. He had exams for two weeks, then we tried to meet up the Saturday of St. Patrick's Day - but it just wasn't meant to be. haha. I totally don't believe in that, but we weren't able to meet up. Then, he was home all last week for spring break. He said he'd call when he got back, but I don't think that will happen. Honestly, if we can't go on a second date within a month of the first date, it probably won't work out.

4. I randomly joined eHarmony today. I am kind of sick of match.com and my suscription runs out soon. I found a good $19.95 promo online so I went with it. I will let you know what I think.

5. I am meeting a few more guys from match this week. What do you want to bet that I like one of them since I just spent more money on eharmony? :) I have plans to go to the Continental on Friday and possible plans on Saturday to meet someone for a drink.

St. Patrick's Day!

Katie and Brooke came to visit two weekends ago, the 13th and 14th of March. We celebrated St. Patrick's Day Philly style with our own personal version of the Erin Express. Not deterred by pouring rain, we got decked out in our kelly green and went to an empty New Wave for brunch. We then headed to Moriarty's to drink bud light in a green bottle with Becca and friends. After that, we ran across the street to Irish Pub, where we spent approximately the next 4 hours. We had a really good time there, so our original plans to hit up Erin Express bars were postponed (maybe next year).

Becca's boyfriend, Brandon, and some of his friends were pounding the Irish Car Bombs, but we decided to stick with just one. After a couple hours, we got out our Irish temporary tattoos and went to town. The pot of gold on my foot took about 4 days to scrub off!

We left Irish Pub to go to Mad Mex in University City around 6 - shortly after Katie's phone broke in two, literally. We had dinner there, and then we headed to my sister's - her and Candie were having a little party. Some people didn't show up due to the rain, but it was a nice little turn out anyway.

Sunday morning, Katie, Brooke, and I had brunch at Sabrinas and walked around the Italian Market before they headed back home. It was a great weekend! :)

Birthday Party!

My birthday party was a ton of fun! My friend Liz came up from Baltimore and at one point, I counted 25 people in my apartment!

For starters, I wore an adorable outfit. We had an amazing taco bar that was a big hit, and people brought lots of Mexican themed fun snacks like guacamole, black bean dip, tortilla chips, etc. We had lots of booze - various Mexican beers, bud light (thanks to Becca), sangria with fruit and brandy (thanks to Megan and Mike), and margaritas (thanks to C, H, and H!) I, of course, partook in all of the various alcoholic beverages. After awhile, we had two lively games of Apples to Apples going on (one in each room), and I think everyone had a lot of fun!

I was definitely tipsy/drunk and having a great time, and everyone started leaving around 12:30-1:00. Around that time, Megan mentioned going to a bar to meet her friend from work. I decided that this would be a fantastic idea, despite my sister and Liz trying to convince me not to go (taking back their initial enthusiasm). Well, it was my birthday, so off we went. We took a cab all the way to 16th or 17th and got a beer when we got there.

This is what I remember: talking to Megan's friend, falling off of a bar stool. That's all. We came home not long after arriving, and I went to the bathroom (where I threw up). Keep in mind that I do not remember this. The next day, I woke up - not feeling too terrible - and promptly went back to sleep. We went to Sabrina's for brunch, and after that, I felt totally fine. So fine, that I went for a run later that evening.

That cute sweater I'm wearing in the picture? It's missing. I have absolutely no idea what happened to it. My skirt was in the bathroom. My tank top in my hamper. I thought that maybe I left it in the bar, but my much more sober sister told me that I did not even take my coat off there. It's the mystery of the evening. If it turns up at any of your homes, please comment and let me know.

A few more pictures from the evening:

Dates and Updates

So I went out with the guy from the northeast again last Tuesday night. He normally works on Tuesdays, but he switched around his schedules. We went to Bar Ferdinand and got a yummy cheese plate, a meat plate, some calamari and dessert. He was cuter than I remembered him being, and I had a good time with him - it was very comfortable conversation, etc... but I'm just not really sure how much spark there is there for me. He is in Puerto Rico this week, and he called me yesterday to see how I was doing, etc... which was really nice. I'm going to go out with him one more time and see how it goes. He is in school, and he also works a lot. I think he has off Friday nights but works every Saturday. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I dated someone for about 9 months who worked the complete opposite of me, and it can be really draining on a relationship after awhile.

I've had some contact with the Med Student. I had a really nice time with him, and he said he was going to call sometime yesterday/today. I got an email yesterday saying that he had tried to call and would call back today, but I never had a missed call. He texted me this morning to wish me a happy birthday and said he would call. He hasn't yet, but there is still time. He just finished his mid term exams (as a second year med student he is quite busy), but his birthday was a couple weeks ago... so he said about doing something for our birthdays. I hope we do get together, because I have been on like 6 dates (3 different guys) since I met him 2 1/2 weeks ago, but I'm still going back to wanting to get to know him better and such. I haven't forgotten about him yet and am still quite interested, so that must be a good sign. I like that he emailed to say that he called (and he had emailed over the weekend to say that he texted, but I didn't get that one either).... we shall see.

Today is my birthday! I had a special birthday lunch and a birthday dinner today, plus a birthday nap, a birthday cupcake, birthday balloons ... and I had a fun party on Saturday. I have friends coming into town this weekend to continue celebrating and am going to the Fridays After 5 thing at the art museum with some friends this Friday to celebrate too! I am such a lucky girl!! (Celebrating is a little exhausting though ... and not so good for losing weight!!)

I'll update with pics and stories from Saturday when I can.

Preview: Awesome party, 2nd tequila shot was a bad decision, bar at 1:30AM was a bad decision, but didn't feel so bad on Sunday as a result of the effects of the bad decision! Oh, and the cab driver gave me a bottle of water on the way home from the bar I shouldn't have gone to. And I managed to lose my cardigan, but not my coat or phone or purse.

3rd date

I went on my third date with the crepes guy on Monday.

I went in with expectations that were maybe a little too high. We went to Dave and Busters, and we had a good time - but he wouldn't play DDR with me. It made me sad. I also suggested Guitar Hero, and he didn't want to play that either. We played plenty of other games, and he didn't make fun of me when I was bad at basketball - but I think that I wanted him to. (is that weird?)

He is really nice, and I have a nice time with him - but I feel like we haven't gotten to know the quirky sides of each other, so it's not completely real. You may be thinking: but it is only the third date. But it's already the third date. I do like him, and I'm attracted to him - so we'll just have to see if there will be a fourth. If he asks, I will go and see how it goes. I think that a fourth date will have to be a little more intimate (ie. dinner and movie at my house or his house or something).

Also, he doesn't drink. I don't want that to be a deal breaker, but I like to drink beer and drink wine with dinner. I'm not sure I want to date someone where I have to be embarrassed that I don't remember walking home on Saturday - or that won't have wine with me at a BYO or a beer at happy hour.

I guess we will have to see. He has a friend in town this week. I was considering asking him to come to my birthday party - but I didn't. I don't know.

Pre-Birthday Celebrations

On Saturday, Meg P came to visit me in Philly for round 1 of the birthday celebrations. As soon as she got here, she locked her keys in the car at the parking garage. It was a new car, and she didn't realize that it locks automatically or something. We waited maybe 20 minutes for AAA, and the guy was able to jimmy it open pretty easily.

We then went to the grocery store and bought lots of food to make some yummy thai/indian/some type of curry. My sister and my friend Sarah both came over for dinner, and it was delicious!! I was a little stressed near the beginning because I was cooking curry - which I never done before ... and I managaed to spill coconut milk all over the stove (which my roommate said looked like baby puke), but it turned out great. Not too curry actually, because there were so many vegetables and should have been twice as much coconut milk, etc - but that's alright. There's always next time.

I drank a lot of wine with dinner. Woo. Then we went out to Sugar Mom's for a fancy can of PBR (woodchuck for megp) and had a photo shoot in the bumper cars.


We met up with my friend Megan and her boyfriend Mike at Sugar Mom's around 11 and after awhile we headed over to National Mechanics for a little dancing. I only had 3 beers out, but the wine I had with dinner really went to my head. I had a good time at National Mechanics dancing and what not.



After we left National Mechanics, Meg, my sister, and I went to the South St Diner, which is now open 24 hours. It's a little blurry after that, but I remember that I got the hiccups and we apparently walked my sister to her car and then went home. I woke up the next day and had shut the cats in the room with me. I almost always shut them out of the room. Not sure what I was thinking. Oh wait, the wine was thinking. I was passed out, but Meg said the cats walked over her a bit.

We woke up around 10 the next morning. I wasn't hung over - but I was still completely exhausted. Meg wanted a cheesesteak, which I ate and it promptly made me feel ill. Don't worry, I went to the gym anyway. Bad idea. It was a rough two miles, let me tell you. But I finished it anyway.

stories, snow, and beer

So I went out with the crepes guy for a second time on Tuesday. We went back to the same place, but this time to the bar upstairs, where there was a Story Slam. It is this really cool monthly story telling competition in Philly sponsored by First Person Arts: http://www.firstpersonarts.org/. For each story slam, there is a topic. This past week was Emergency. As you go in, you can put your name into a bucket if you have a story to tell. Throughout the night, they pick out ten names for audience members to tell their story. They have 5 minutes to tell a story, and it is judged by the audience members.

We got there about an hour early to get a seat, because it gets really crowded. In that time, we talked ... and I found out that he doesn't drink. at all. He doesn't care that other people drink, and he was even in a social fraternity in college - he just doesn't really like alcohol and said that he doesn't need it to have fun. Fair enough.

The stories were all really good this week. There was actually a tie, and they had to have a story off. You can watch the video on the story off here (theme: underpants). http://www.youtube.com/firstpersonarts. They were both really funny. The original stories on the topic of Emergency came from a guy who talked about going to this weird bar to play his acoustic guitar and almost having sex with a random hot girl in the bathroom, which he said never happens, and not having a condom. The girl told this story about being in this acting school in Moscow and getting really drunk and walking home in Moscow in the middle of the night. She stopped in a bank to get cash and got stuck inside the bank, the alarm went off, people were yelling at her through the speakers in Russian ... it was funny.

Anyway, the date was really good. We are going to Dave and Busters tomorrow night. I've never been, so it should be a lot of fun!

I met another guy on Thursday at Royal Tavern. Even though it was snowing, he drove from the northeast. We had a few beers, talked for 2 hours.... he was nice, and I think I'll go out with a second time to make sure that I'm not blowing him off (hello new years resolution), but I don't think I'm attracted to him.

I'm hoping to go out with the med student this week. I had a really nice time with him, and I would like to get to know him better.

Also, upped my calories this week that I was eating. Set the livestrong.com thing to "lose 1 pound a week", which used to be set at 2 pounds a week. I hadn't lost weight for the first 3 weeks in February, and I was thinking that maybe it was because I wasn't eating enough or something. So I upped the calories I ate and I lost a pound!! I also went to the gym 6 times. On Friday, I went twice. I went to 3 yoga classes. Go me. (I also had 2 snow days).

Lolita

Great guac. (They serve it with plantain chips. Oh goodness, it's tasty).

Good enchiladas with awesome portobello.

Not so great conversation. (It seemed forced and slightly awkward, and he didn't seem interested enough in me and my life).

Not so great date. (I wasn't physically attracted to him, but he was nice enough).

The end.

Crepes and Coffee

I met another guy this morning for brunch. This date also went quite well!! We met at Beau Monde, right near my house. I had a delicious crepe with eggs, tomatoes, poblano peppers, cheese, and avocado. Yum.

He is in pharmaceutical sales and travels for work to train sales reps. He is active - bikes, does a little running, likes to kite surf, ski, does triathlons ... We talked about family (His parents are from Bangladesh, and he grew up in Kuwait until he came to the US for college at USP). We talked about what we like to do, cats, trips he has taken. I talked a bit about Italy and college and studying languages. He takes salsa classes and actually went to Brasil's last night... where I have been many times. It was a nice, casual time ... it wasn't awkward and did not feel forced at all. We parted after about an hour and a half or so, which is quite a long time to sit and have brunch and drink coffee considering that our crepes came within 10 minutes or so. He gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek and said that he would love to get together sometime this week. We may go to the story slam at l'etage on tuesday or get together sometime this weekend.

Both of these guys were really nice, attractive, active, interesting - I will just have to see what happens.

In the meantime, I'm meeting someone else for dinner tomorrow night. :)

Mexican Post

I have some dates to report on! I met a guy on Friday at the Mexican Post in Center City. It was definitely a successful date!!

The guy who we will call Med Student is, in fact, a 2nd year med student at Drexel and lives in East Falls. His mom is from Argentina, and his dad is from Cashmere. (Or maybe it's the other way.) We met for happy hour and ended up having dinner.... for 3 hours!! We talked about all sorts of things, including his experiences in med school, my school experiences, kids who take too much medicine, traveling, tequila, places for good beer in the city ... There were not awkward pauses at all, 3 hours of free flowing conversation. We didn't even get into typical first date questions, didn't need to. He is talkative, outgoing, cute, tall, smart (went to Cornell for engineering as undergrad but not awkward academia), passionate about what he does, genuine.... a really nice guy.

He told me at the end of the evening that he had a really good time, that he really wants to get to know me more, etc. He also said that he is very busy with exams the next two weeks, but that he would love to get together in 2 Fridays, and he asked if I did karaoke. haha. I have only ever done karoake in college and in Honduras. He gave me a kiss goodbye, and he ran off (literally) to try to catch the Drexel shuttle back to East Falls.

I look forward to going out with him again and getting to know him a little better. It was really nice to meet him, so hopefully in 2 weeks we will get together again!

Party!! :)

So I went out for a friend's birthday on Saturday. She had a bunch of girls over for wine, cheese, and crackers. We had a lot of fun and managed to get some chocolate on the white couch. We oxy-cleaned it though! :)

After we left her house, we went to Ladder 15 where pretty much every girl met her boyfriend/guy she's dating. Awesome. It was fun though. I bought one drink and then people just kept putting drinks in my hand. I think I probably had 4 beers or so. I was drunk but not too crazy drunk or anything....

However, I managed to leave my debit card at the bar. I didn't even have a tab, but I must have it in the credit card book thing after I signed. I was still pretty sober at that point, I don't know. Maybe it fell out of my wallet when I was paying for coat check? I called them on Sunday, but they said they couldn't find it/didn't have it. Oh well. I got a new one, which looks like play money.

I also managed to lose my camera. I remember having it in the bathroom about 20 minutes before we left. It wasn't inside my clutch, which was stupid, and I think that there is a good chance that I left it there. Sad. I realized that I didn't have my debit card when I was in the cab, but I don't think I had my camera at that point. I didn't realize it at the time though.

It was fun, but I feel bad that I lost all of the pictures I took of her birthday! I am usually the picture taker of the group when there is a special occasion! Oh well. I usually lose my camera about every 6 months - sober, drunk, whatever. I can't hold onto it for some reason. This camera I bought last March. That is almost a year, my friends. Not too bad. It survived Italy and everything.

Winter Wonderland

Tomorrow will be Philadelphia schools' 3rd snow day in a row. The second big snow storm in the same week has left trees, power lines, awnings, roads, and roofs with ice, snow, and slush. I have seen at least 4 trees in my extended neighborhood down, blocking the road. Pretty crazy, really. Right outside my house, a branch fell from the tree.


Despite near-blizzard like conditions, I decided to trek over to Irish Pub at 12th and Walnut for some an adventure of snow, food, and beer. What else do you do on a snow day - especially when you know that you have the next day off as well?





























Irish Pub is only a mile from my house. I am generally a pretty quick walker, however, when you are walking through a blizzard - it's tough to get anywhere very fast. 30 minutes later, I arrived at the bar in desperate need of a drink. We had a nice time. Played some cards and attempted to play Catch Phrase, except that none of us could pay enough attention for that game. 4 1/2 hours later, we left the bar and trekked home. A friend and I actually found a cab. The poor cab driver was from South Jersey, had been working since 10 AM and was stuck in Philadelphia because all of the bridges were closed. Poor guy. It was a great snow adventure!

Compliment

Today, someone at school that I usually don't talk to said, "You're losing weight! You look good!"

I was happy to respond, "Actually, I have lost about 7 pounds. Thanks!"

I don't go fishing for compliments or anything, but it's nice when people notice!

Medieval Times

Last weekend I went to DC for the weekend to visit my friend, who recently got back from Iraq. She just got engaged (congrats!) and her fiance was there as well. It was great to hang out with him, play Wii, make fun of southern accents, etc. We took a road trip in the snow (and the unplowed lanes of 95) to Medieval Times, because well, they wanted to go and had already bought tickets. It took 2 hours to get there, when the trip should have taken maybe 40 minutes. It was a lot of fun, though, and we didn't die.


We arrived just in time for the show to start. We were seated in the section for the yellow knight, who died in the end. However, before he died, he gave us flowers! :)


It turned out to be a pretty fun time. We sat in the front row, which was cool. The chicken they gave us was the size of my entire plate. The show lasted about an hour and a half, and the drive home was much less dangerous than the drive there. It didn't snow very much in DC, but apparently - they don't plow the roads so much.

Dates and Duds

It hasn't been a good weekend of dates for me.

I was supposed to meet a guy on Friday for a drink. He canceled by email two hours before I was supposed to meet him. I got the email, but didn't think to respond right away. He never called to double check that I got the email to begin with. I realize that a lot of people have internet/email right on their phones, but what if I wouldn't have gotten that email? I would have been sitting at the bar, in the snow, waiting for him. I emailed him back and told him that, but also said that I would be willing to meet up another night. I don't think he liked being called out on his inconsiderate behavior since I haven't heard back from him.

The guy that I met at Misconduct last Friday also has turned out to be a dud. He called me on Monday and asked me to dinner on Saturday. Then, he emailed me saying that he couldn't go on Saturday - so he made reservations for Friday. That was Tuesday. I didn't get back to him until Thursday morning, because I was waiting to hear from a friend who said she may be in town. By the time I emailed him, less than 48 hours after he emailed me about going on Friday instead, he had already made other plans to go to New Jersey or something. (He could have called me.) So, we made plans for Sunday. Well, yesterday, he emailed saying that he was stuck in Jersey and couldn't get back until later last night. So, we rescheduled for today. Then, he emailed me this morning saying that the "planets were aligned against us meeting," because apparently, Dmitris is closed on Mondays. Regardless of whether or not that is true, I suggested just going somewhere else and made some suggestions. Then, he emailed me saying "I don't think I'm going to be able to make it tonight. I really apologize. I did really like meeting you and think you're really cute!" Seriously? I emailed him back saying that it was nice meeting him, to take care, and that in the future, please just tell someone that you changed your mind and don't make a thousand excuses, because it makes you seem a bit self centered. I honestly didn't really like him that much from the beginning anyway, but I still want him to be interested in me. I think that's pretty normal, but most people won't actually admit it. Maybe he thought I wasn't smart enough.

I mean, are these guys for real? I don't think that I'm holding unrealistic expectations. Call me if you are canceling, at least send a second email or something. And don't reschedule on me 28392 times and then tell me that you can't make it, but it was nice meeting me. Honestly. None of that rescheduling nonsense was my fault. I guess if there's this much drama to schedule a second date, it's probably not going to work out in the future.

Hopefully the next guy has his shit together a little more. Maybe I'm expecting too much, but I don't think so.

Misconduct

I met a new guy on Friday for happy hour at Misconduct on Locust in Center City.

He just turned 30. He already has a PhD in Philosophy and is in his last semester at law school. (Jesus!) He was very nice, maybe slightly strange - but we had nice conversation.

He ordered a glass of wine. I drank 2 beers. Is there something wrong with that picture? Maybe not.

There wasn't anything awkward really. He did ask me about past relationships, with I thought was a little intense for a first date, but that's fine. Apparently his last girlfriend was a bit of a bitch and ended the relationship by being distant and not talking to him much for like a month. (Sounds like a winner for sure.)

He asked me out for dinner this Saturday, but then he emailed me and said he couldn't do Saturday. He asked about Friday, but my friend might be in town so I haven't answered him yet. He is taking me to Zahav hopefully! It's this Israeli restaurant that I have been wanting to go to!

On the Wagon - Off the Wagon

On the Wagon: I'm happy to report that I am still on the healthy eating - New Years Resolution wagon. This was the end of week 2 at my school's Biggest Loser. I lost 2 pounds last week and 2 pounds this week! I didn't do as well this week as last, but I'm glad to see that I was still able to make decent choices (even with going out to dinner, etc). I have lost 7 pounds in the month of January! (At least 3 of the those pounds were gained over the holidays, though). I'm currently eating chips and cheese. (haha, the irony. or is it irony? I've always been confused about that one.)

Off the Wagon: I am not doing as well this past week with my budget. I am going away this weekend to visit a friend in DC and have given myself $100 to spend this weekend, which should be more than I need - hopefully. I'll stick to that and when I get paid next week - I'm back to being hard core. I'm still spending less than I had been previously, though.

Match: Meeting someone new tonight, E. Heard from J finally on Thursday. Vague email, but I guess if he wasn't at all interested - he wouldn't have emailed. We shall see.

Weekend: I am hoping to have some interesting stories to report on from my weekend. I'm taking Greyhound to DC, because Amtrak is too expensive (like 3 times as expensive). We are going to Medieval Times, because ..... well, because my friend wants to go I guess. It should be fun, though. I'm leaving on the 8:00 bus so that I don't get stuck in as much traffic. Meeting the guy before at 5:30.

2nd date

So I went out with J (Tria guy) again on Sunday. We went to brunch at the Continental. It was a nice time, and we went to Barnes and Nobles after. It was good conversation, good food, drank coffee. We have stuff in common. He's very laid back, and I have a good time with him - but I'm not exactly sure how much chemistry there is. I texted him on my way home, and said "Thanks again for brunch. Next time is my treat." He didn't answer, but last week when we went out, he actually waited three whole days to contact me. We'll see. If I hear from him in the next couple of days, I'll totally go out with him again - maybe try something more casual/fun - but if I don't hear from him, I'm not going to be offended or upset.

On another note, I am going to meet a guy on Wednesday (I think) for a drink. And someone else soon for coffee - maybe on Thursday. haha. I'm getting my money's worth from match.com. :)

Biggest Loser

In keeping with my New Years resolutions, my school is having a biggest loser contest, and I am participating. I had been weighing myself at the gym on Mondays, but since the weigh in for the Biggest Loser is at school on Fridays, I'm going to use those weigh ins instead. It's a better time anyway, I think - since over the weekend I'm not as stringent as I am during the week. I wear jeans every Friday, so granted - they are heavier than the work out capris I would have on at the gym, but I'm focusing on the difference in weight, so as long as I'm wearing the same thing - it will be fine. Last Friday we had our first official "weigh in." One of the school police officers weighs us in the nurse's office. Yesterday was the end of the first week, and I lost 2 pounds! I had the biggest weight loss of the ladies for week 1! The final day is the last day of school. I would like to lose about 10-15 more pounds, I think. I'm down 5 pounds from Jan 1st, but about 4 of those pounds were holiday gain, so I think losing 14 more pounds from what I'm at now is my goal. We will see though. In the end, it's only a number. I'm using livestrong.com to track what I eat, and it really helps me keep myself in check. I'm not perfect everyday, and I don't track on Saturdays - but it definitely helps.

My new favorite place to run

Besides match.com and teaching, I do have a few other interests. Running is one of them. Previously, I have always run through the city - along Spruce, Arch, Christian ... All around my neighborhood, etc. Sometimes when I'm running farther, I'll run over to 25th and Locust and along the Schuylkill Banks/Kelly Drive. Despite my extremely close proximity to Penn's Landing, I never realized or something that you could run down there by the river.



It is officially my new favorite place to run. I'm sure during the spring and summer it gets really crowded, but right now - it's pretty empty. We were, in fact, 3 of the only people down there running this morning.

Another date!

So I went on my 2nd match.com date tonight.

His name is J. He is a 31 year old lawyer. Went to law school, from the suburbs, lives in the art museum area. He is a runner, has a membership to the art museum, likes movies at the Ritz. He's cute - cuter than his match pictures even.

We met at Tria, which is this super cute little place that I had never been to before tonight. Conversation at the beginning was a little slow, so I talked a lot, but he seemed to loosen up and talk more as the night went on.

We ended up talking about a lot: We started off talking about running, then moved on to jobs, families, places we like to go, school and union/contract nonsense, etc. We were at Tria for about 2 hours. I went to the bathroom at one point and when I came back he had paid the bill. Score points for him.

When we walked out, we walked to the corner of 11th and Spruce, and I hugged him - said it was great to meet him, told him to walk safe - etc. Then, he said - "Well, I can just walk you home if you don't mind. I'll probably take a cab anyway." Isn't that nice? So he walked me home, we hugged again, and I told him to call me, that we should definitely get together again soon. He agreed.

It was a nice time! I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

the occassional poor decision

A fun one, nonetheless.

Friday night was our holiday party for school. It had to be rescheduled because of the snowstorm back before Christmas. We paid $50 for dinner/open bar from 8-12. Bad news right from the get go.

The actual party was a lot of fun - I had too much wine, but nothing crazy happened. Then some of us decided to go dancing. We ended up at Silk City. It all gets a little fuzzy around this time - but I remember drinking some beer and dancing a lot. I think that the people I was with were also pretty drunk. Let me rephrase: I hope that the people I was with were also pretty drunk. At some point, almost the end of the night - I decided that it was time for to go home. I'm assuming that I said goodbye to the people I was with, but really - who knows. (In college when I got drunk, I would just leave parties when I thought it was time to go without saying anything to my friends.) Well, my coat was in the car of the girl who drove, and it seemed like a good idea to leave without it and get it on Tuesday. So I got into a cab and decided that I left my credit card at the bar. So I went back in. Don't worry, the card was in my wallet the whole time. Then I got into another cab and went home.

I didn't feel so hot on Saturday, that's for sure. Got up around ten - about two hours too early probably. I didn't feel that awful until I made myself and ate eggs. Bad idea. I went to the art museum with a couple friends anyway. Threw up a little in the bathroom there, but felt so much better after wards.

Oh geez. At least I reminded myself of WHY I rarely drink that much.

Match.com Update

So, I met my first match.com guy on Wednesday. I met V for a drink at a bar a couple blocks from his apartment. I suggested my neighborhood, but he wanted to meet closer to his house. Uhm, okay.

He talked about his abs a few time, which was weird. He actually talked about his abs in an email before I met him. In my match profile, I say something about keeping my New Year resolutions. Well, he told me that his resolution is to run more when he's at the gym, because he just works on his abs a lot. Then when we met, he mentioned his abs a few times - casually thrown into the conversation.

He seems like a nice guy - works in finance. Lives close to me. But he definitely thinks I'm crazy. See ... We had made plans to go to dinner tonight, but no time or place and no confirmation yesterday or this morning.

Oh, he also tried to get me to go back to his apartment a few times. It was Wednesday night at like 9:45, and he walked me home. He knew I didn't get home until 7:00 that night and had to get up early, and he asked several times if I was sure that I didn't want to see his apartment. He was very complimentary, but maybe he just wants to get laid. Hmm.

Anyway, I was in King of Prussia visiting friends last night, and I spent most of the day today. I hadn't heard from him, so finally around 2, I texted him and asked him how his weekend was. He finally answered around 3 and said something like "it was great, i'm looking forward to a relaxing sunday. how was yours?" I answered ... and didn't get a response. So I finally asked him if we could do dinner another night this week instead of tonight. I wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be great company. He called and we said that maybe Wednesday would work. He texted me about an hour later and that this coming week would not work.

So then I texted him like three times. And he never answered. He definitely thinks I'm nuts. First, I said "Okay, well let me know if your schedule frees up." I should have stopped there, but I felt bad, so I said "If you still want to get together tonight, I might be able to swing dinner at 7. We could go to Royal Tavern by my house." He didn't answer, and I was on the train about a half hour later feeling shitty, so I texted him again and said "Sorry for being so indecisive. I really don't think I'll be very good company tonight, I don't feel well. Why don't you just call me if you have an evening free and want to get together."

He definitely thinks I'm crazy. But thats okay. I'm meeting someone else tomorrow for dinner at Tria.

Resolution Update

Weighed myself yesterday: Down 4 lbs!

A date!

I have a date with a guy named V tomorrow. We are meeting for a drink. We haven't really talked a lot through email or anything, but he suggested meeting and that's fine.

Another guy, J, and I are planning on getting together this weekend. I've talked to him more. Went to Penn for law school. He's a runner and has run a marathon. From the burbs, lives in the Art Museum area, was in mock trial in high school. All very important information. :)


Interesting school tidbits:

1 - We are writing odes. One student who spends a lot of time in the hallway is writing an ode to the hall. Another student is writing an ode to her iPod. Some have chosen their dog or family - moms are an overwhelmingly popular choice. My example was an ode to my radiators. My favorite ode from last year was "Ode to My Sneakers."

2 - One of my lovelies spent his day pushing chairs around - pretending they were cars. Him and M. were crashing the chairs into each other. Then I. was in the back of the room picking up and tossing the chair and pushing it back and forth across the back of the classroom. I love him.

Weekend Etc

* I responded to a bunch of emails on match.com tonight. A lot of people are curious about how dates are going to go - so I will be setting up some dates shortly and reporting out how they went.

* I'm undecided on how I feel about guys who have kids. I have emailed back a couple. One guy is 33 and has an 8 year old that he gets a few days a week. I'm just not sure how I feel about that. I do not want to be a mommy anytime soon. Gosh. I like kids though.

* I saw Broken Embraces tonight - Abrazos Rotos. I really liked it.

* I did very well with my spending this weekend and with eating. I exercised 4 times and stayed within my calorie budget 5 of 7 days. Friday was my cheat day and I didn't go over too far on Saturday. I weigh in tomorrow. I'll update. Trying a new dance class on Tuesday at the Old City Sweat and am going to go on a run with this running club I joined with my friend Megan - hopefully on Tuesday.

match drama

So I got some emails yesterday on match.com, but didn't answer them. I glanced at a few profiles on my "Daily 5," and messaged one guy. He was a teacher and decided to send a short (2 sentence) message to ask him about how his first year was. (Generally, when I am interested in someone - I send a nicer message asking about things in their profile, etc.)

Today I got this email:

Hey Kitty-Kat,
You need to try a little bit harder when you message roommate of somebody that messaged you and you didn't respond.
C-Dawg

Uhm, really? I don't know who your roommate is. I know that he couldn't have emailed me before yesterday, because I joined and finally got my picture approved like 2 days ago. Also, I'm not your freakin "Kitty-Kat".

Whatever. Anyway, in keeping with my New Year's Resolution: Don't blow nice guys off, I decided to email back the two guys that emailed me yesterday.

Good Day

Had a good day today. Both classes were pretty great. I actually got through the lessons in the afternoon class. Yesterday, the class was terrible. To top of the fact that I wasn't able to get through ANYTHING, a girl pushed me while trying to get to another student. Ugh. Today, however, was good.

Best comment of the day:

"Yo miss. We should put weed in this bag. Then we can go out and get high."

I'm going to a happy hour tonight for this running club that my friend joined. I'll prob join too. It would be fun to run with a group of people sometimes. I don't need it for the motivation, but running in different places would be a nice change of pace too. I'm not so into running in this cold weather, though.

Another good thing, I have heat in my apartment for the first time since I moved in (in August 2008). The radiators are actually WARM. I am so excited that I cannot even tell you guys.

Finally, I've been doing well with my New Years Resolutions. I had gained 5 lbs over the holidays when I weighed myself last Friday (1/1/10). I weighed myself yesterday - just to see (not for recording) and I was already up 2.5! (And I still have my period.)

Tomorrow is finally Thursday.