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).
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, May 3, 2010
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!)
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