Friday, June 25, 2010

I've lost my mojo

Has this ever happened to you?

The Scene:

Me telling all my friends: I want to go on vacation to ___ place and I'm so excited and I can't wait to go and plan things and book my trip.

(Fast forward two months)

Friend: Are you going to New Mexico?
Me: Meh. I dunno. Probably not this year.
Friend: But you were so excited two months ago.
Me: I know. I've lost my mojo.

I don't know why I'm not excited to plan a trip to New Mexico anymore. But it's also this funk in general. I don't really want to travel anywhere right now. I'm content with being in sunny Colorado. I don't want to deal with researching airfare and hotels and everything else that comes along with planning a trip. Not to mention the actual budgeting of said adventure.

Has this ever happened to you when you've been excited to go somewhere and then the longer you wait, the more you change your mind? Should I still go with it and maybe somewhere in the midst of things I'll get excited about it and be happy that I went? Or should I just skip it and wait until I am excited?

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Wordless Wednesday: Greek Festival

This year's group

Sword fighting

The legendary ouzo shot. OPA!

Monday, June 21, 2010

I love the library

I know, I've already confessed to being a book worm, but this weekend when I returned my library books on time (yay!) I popped into grab a few more books and came out with six new ones--all of which I love love love. I mean, don't you just love it when you randomly see books on the shelves that you meant to read, but forgot about? That's what happened to me.

I got the second book in the series A Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. So far this book has had its sad moments but I feel so close with the characters that I have to keep reading. I want to know if Dakota gets to go to Italy, and if Anita will plan her version of a perfect wedding or if she'll elope with Marty.


Then I picked up two more books by Sarah Mlynowski. I just finished reading Milkrun and I have to say I actually want to buy that book. Probably because I could relate to it--the main character is a 20-something girl who works as an editor in Boston and is single but wants a boyfriend. But I'd definitely recommend you read it, because it's so funny! I hope these ones are funny too.


Then randomly I saw this book on display. I know, my guilty pleasure is now known by all my readers. Oh well. I didn't think her first book was terrible, so I'm willing to read this one too.



Finally, on my way out, I  grabbed this one off one of the display stands. It might have potential.



Do you love the library as much as I do?

Friday, June 18, 2010

You don't eat meat? That's okay, I make lamb

This weekend is the Greek Festival. I am a big festival type person and Denver seems to have a ton of them during the summers. I believe this might be my third year going, but every year it's guaranteed to be a good time. I still have yet to actually attend Greek church, but I will someday. My plan is to meet a handsome, single, Greek boy and live happily ever after. What?

Anyways, usually my friends and I drink a shot or two of ouzo, which tastes like black licorice which I hate, but somehow the thought of having ouzo is just worth it. After all, it's the once-a-year Greek Festival, how can I say no??

 Opa!

 Greek beer

In addition to the ouzo, there's usually Greek beer and wine to be drunk, and the meeting of random men.

The man in the middle was actually with his wife, but they still bought us wine and dessert

What I haven't experienced thus far is actually meeting a real Greek man nor have I won the raffle for a trip for two to Greece. But...but...maybe this is my year!

And who can forget about the live entertainment aka my time to scope out the hot Greek men?  Apparently last year at the end of the night, M got onto the stage and danced. But I have no recollection of that (perhaps I might have had too much ouzo) but this year, I am determined to document this and possibly join her on stage.

 They are so flexible...and hot...and Greek...and did I mention hot?

And it never fails that there is baklava, spanakopita, and gyros to be eaten. Not to mention, in our drunken states, we always are tempted to buy one of these:
Not sure if I'd ever really wear this but it's so appealing when you've been drinking.

What are you all up to this weekend? Doing anything fun?

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Rant of the Day

My coworker and i were at lunch in the conference room. I sit down, and notice she has a granola bar, yogurt and some sort of coleslaw.

We start talking and i stared at her food. and she looks down just as she's about to open her yogurt and says ya this was in the fridge or something similar and i look at her and i say "oh that's mine." CUZ IT WAS MY KEY LIME YOGURT. and she's like oh, and she tried to close it even tho she just opened it and i'm like oh no, go ahead and eat it.

it's like i don't want it now. and i go, "just do you know, all the original kinds in there are mine, including the strawberry one." and she goes, "oh i hate strawberry." and she's like i'll bring you one from home. except all of hers that she buys are light yoplait or custard kinds, both of which i hate. so i'm like oh no worries. and she's like i have this one i don't want, it's red velvet cake do you want that one too? and i'm like NO i hate red velvet cake.

so i'm annoyed. i realize it's trivial and i feel better after my walk but seriously WHO DOES THIS?

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

I'm a book worm

I love to read. I can read anywhere--in the car, on an airplane, in bed--you get the point. Not surprisingly, I've had a library card ever since I was in grade school. Over the years I have acquired new barcodes, but still have my original card with my second grade signature on it.

What's surprising though, is that as much as I frequent the library and check out bunches of books, I often return them late. I just forget when they are due. While I was at my old office in Boulder, I was never late returning naything because their system notifies you by e-mail three days before your items are due, which is awesome. U

Unfortunately, I'm not near that library anymore, and so I've been going to my local library, which doesn't send out any sort of courtesy reminder. *thumbs down* Therefore, as you can surmise, I've recently had to pay a lot of library fines...like...$12 worth. I know, I know, I should be more responsible. But what got me this time was the new book section. Those books you can only check out for like seven days, and when they are like 300 pages, I need more time to read them! Or at least that's my excuse.

I recently read the Bag Lady Papers, about a woman living in New York City who lost her entire life savings due to the Madoff scandal. It was a quick read, but most of all, it actually motivated me to start looking for a second job, because this lady did all sorts of different jobs, including working for a fish market, and still managed to write. Obviously I am not writing freelance now, but I could do it.


The book I literally could not stop reading yesterday but finally finished, was Laura and Lisa Ling's book. I don't normally read serious books because they tend to bother me, but prior to reading this book I had seen their interview on Oprah, so I knew a bit about the story. I just wanted the details. I personally could've done without Lisa's side of the story, but I can see why they wrote this book together. They are close sisters after all, and it ends happily with Lisa expecting a child. The only thing I never read in the book was about Laura eating rocks--I swear she told Oprah that some of the rice they fed her had rocks in it, but there was no mention of it in the book.


Last night I started reading this book, but honestly, I don't know if I'm going to read it after all. It's all so depressing and negative and who knew there's a 12-step program for weight loss? In all fairness, I didn't read the author's first book about her 188-pound weight loss, so maybe I'm missing out on something.



What are you currently reading? Any suggestions for me?

Friday, June 11, 2010

Travel Fridays: The Concrete Jungle

When I traveled to New York for my bff's wedding a couple of weeks ago, I realized that I am such an anxious traveler. Like, I immediately start stressing about what I'm going to do, and how I'm getting there, and what I need a week before the trip. But it always happens the day before the trip or the day of, I randomly take forever to pack. Literally, I have clothes and shoes strewn all around my room. And even once I get to the airport, I mentally check off my "to-do" list. And then I worry about getting through security okay. But once I'm on the plane, I'm fine and then I get excited about wherever I'm going.

Luckily this trip, I didn't have any layovers. I had a redeye flight on Jetblue, which I haven't flown with in a long time. I enjoyed the extra legroom and the low calorie snacks. I was bummed that they charge $7 now for a pillow and a blanket set, but I thought ahead and brought my own anyways. The only thing I did forget was my headphones, but since it was literally nighttime, I slept most of the flight.



My trip was short but sweet. I stayed in Brooklyn, went upstate for the wedding on Saturday, and then went into Manhattan on Sunday by myself. For some reason, it doesn't feel like New York to me unless I see Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, or the Brooklyn Bridge. While in Manhattan, I ate my favorite thai place, walked around Union Square, took the subway to Chinatown where I did a bit of shopping, walked down to Little Italy (by mistake), and then headed uptown to eat lunch at the famous Shake Shack, which had a ridiculously long line that I waited through.


All in all, it was the perfect amount of time to see old friends, enjoy summer in the city, and get away for the weekend. Are you traveling anywhere this summer? I might have to go back to the city in September for another wedding, but besides random trips around Colorado, I won't be flying anywhere else this summer.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

I want cute things

While I was in New York City two weeks ago, I saw a lady who had a really cute reusable bag. I'm pretty sure it said Whole Foods on it, which wasn't ironic at all because we were literally across the street from their store in Union Square. But I remember I liked it because it had a bit of Manhattan flair to it. On the side of the bag it listed the different areas of Manhattan, including Chelsea, and Hell's Kitchen. Ever since then, I've wanted one. I can't seem to find it online, but my bff offered to send me one if she sees what I'm talking about.

Then we got to talking about cute reusable bags. She has two from Pathmark--one has a squirrel holding an acorn, and another one has a polar bear on it. Those sound cute too. So now I want to add to my reusable bag collection, which currently consists of one black bag from Sports Authority, another black bag that says Colorado Rockies on it, and one mini shopping bag with fruit on it. My mom has colorful ones at home from Vitamin Cottage, but I want some of my own that are cute.

I found this website that sells really colorful ones (read: lots of pink and floral designs) but I'm not sure if I want to spend $16 on a reusable bag. Although, their buy 3 get one 1 free promotion might be a good deal if I can round up some friends to buy some too.

Flip & Tumble's bags have simple designs but lots of color. Perpetual Kid has this simple shopper bag that won't break the bank. Outlush's bag reminds me of France for some reason and Bright and Bold's merlot bag makes me want to drink wine in a palace. I'm sure I could keep googling this, but I'd rather hear from you. You guys make my life easier. So tell me, do you guys use reusable bags? Where does your favorite one look like & where did you get it?

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

No Boys Allowed

Exactly six months ago, I decided since it was a new year, it was going to be my year of not making the same mistakes again. Specifically with boys.

Now, we all know how I made the mistake of going to Vermont to spend a weekend with Special Agent man. I thought it was going to be a you+me kind of weekend, but it turned out to be a my-flight-got-in-late-and-you-invited-your-best-gay-friend-to-hang-out-with-us-all-weekend-so-I'm-going-to-leave-you-and-hang-out-with-my-bff-in-NH-instead kind of weekend.

Since then, I haven't really talked with Special Agent man. I don't hold any ill will towards him, but I'm over the whole flirting with him game. At one point after our trip, he said he might come home to attend his sister's wedding. He talked about taking me on a possible impromptu road trip, and gave me compliments about how much he missed my company. I'll admit, I was secretly hoping for the road trip part. But of course when he texted me last week, he confirmed that he wasn't coming home for the wedding, but that he "might be home in October." (OR NOT. #justsayin) So I'm not holding my breath on that one.

Then there's Alex, who used to literally work a block away from me. We never went out or anything, but we used to occasionally email each other or randomly talk on the bus. And again, I wasn't interested in him at all, he just was too old for me--I think he's like 30-something.

Last month during one weekend, I happened to be on Facebook and he was on there. We started chatting, and basically he told me that all this time he's been wanting to ask me out on a date, which honestly, my intuition told me that he might have more interest than friends, but I was always quick to say that I had some plans for that night or weekend, because I didn't feel comfortable going anywhere with him. I just told him that I wasn't interested in dating anyone right now, to which he replied, "I wish I could go out with you and spend more time with you. You never know, you might fall in love." UM, WHAT? I negatively answered that I don't fall in love with anyone, but by the end of our conversation, he still seemed to hold out hope that once I actually started to date, he'd be the first one on my list. (NO.)

Now here's the boy that I really was intending this post to talk about--the Asshole. Basically, I was that girl. The girl that flirted with him, went out with him, actually dated, then broke up with, and then hooked up with, and then decided we-are-just-friends with. The last time I saw him was the first week of January. I mistakenly thought that we could be capable of being just friends. I really believed that we could just grab dinner together and catch up and then I would go home and everything would be great.

Well, of course he didn't think of it that way, and of course we didn't just have dinner. I remember at the time when we were hooking up that night that I really was over him. I didn't have any doubts, and I wasn't even attracted to him anymore. I remember being so bored that I was trying to talk about where we should eat while he was all over me. Basically I promised myself that I could never go back to him. That I was over him and done making the same mistakes over and over and over again.

And that mentality has gotten me pretty far this year. I haven't seen him since that day almost six months ago. I have talked with him on Facebook chat or replied to his texts, but I've never implied that I want to anything besides have a friend to go hiking or to dinner with. I've made it clear that I don't like him that way anymore. And I really thought he got the point. Until this week. All this week, he's been texting me and Facebooking me to come over.

Saying no to him is the easy part. The part that is hard is my self-doubt that seems to be creeping up on me. For some reason, for every time I say no to him, another thought comes into my head that says, "say yes. You haven't kissed anyone in six months, and look how far it's gotten you. What's your reward for being so 'good?'" To which myself responds, "well, I haven't dated or kissed anyone in six months because I have higher standards now. I'm not gonna make the same mistakes anymore. I know I won't find fulfillment by kissing a random dude at a club. I'm over it, and if I have to wait another six months until a boy worth my time shows up, then so be it."

Yea, my internal dialogue can be quite lengthy. But you get my point. I know the Asshole is bad news. I know it, but it's hard to be optimistic all the time. Seriously, for the past six months, I haven't had any desire to go on a date, much less make out with anyone. I've been content with myself.

But the reason why I might be having this pity party for myself is because two weeks ago when I was on my flight to New York, I met someone. A boy, who obviously is black (because that's all I attract). Anyways, we talked for a bit. I learned he went to school about an hour away from me, and that he was coming back on the same flight as me that weekend.

Well, turns out our return flight was delayed. I had already drank a glass of red wine to kill the time, but we ended up running into each other by the gate. We talked for an hour about our families, our music tastes, and about Facebook. He gave me his email address so I could friend him, and we said our goodbyes. Well, I ended up friending him. He wrote on my wall saying thanks for adding me. Flash forward to a few comments back and forth--he asked me to lunch.

At first I thought, oh sure, that's fine, because honestly I just thought of him as a friend. But then the more I thought about it, the more I felt like he was wanting more than friends, and that's definitely something I don't want with him because he's too young for me (21) and I know we wouldn't make it long term. But when I asked a couple of my guy friends what I should do, they said I should say yes and then cancel on him at the last minute so "he knows he's not important." I personally thought that was mean. I'd rather be honest.

What I ended up doing was saying yes via Facebook, but secretly hoping he wouldn't follow up. And he didn't. Which makes me relieved. And if he does end up apologizing and asking me out again, this time I'm going to invite him to one of my many summer festival plans I have with my friends or I won't respond at all. I figure if he really just wants to be my friend, he'll be fine hanging out with my friends, and if he says no, then I know he really wasn't looking for friendship after all.

So, make me feel better. Tell me the good guys do exist. Or that you can relate. Or pretty much anything.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Happy happy joy joy

Things that make me happy today:

  • Getting an extra egg roll at lunch without asking for it (I hate those cream cheese wontons)
  • Having Bethanny from the Real Housewives RT and answer my question on Twitter
  • Staring at my beautiful manicure and pedicure from last night
  • Having my sunburn start to turn into a tan

What are you happy about today?

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Wordless Wednesdays: NYC


Shopping in Chinatown

At the park

A wedding

Eating

Oh pigeons