I enjoyed a long three-day weekend as my work recognizes MLK day. Funny side note, last week I was touching base with a new hire out of Vancouver (who is from France) and he was confused about some of the emails flying around talking about MLK. He thought it was some internal company thing. So just to be clear, I enjoyed taking yesterday, Martin Luther King Jr day, off. I wasn’t going to, but waking up with the beginnings of a cold and seeing the fresh snow storm, I decided to stay in and proceeded to watch a few episodes of LOST while still in bed, snuggling with the boys. I’m almost done with Season Two. I find I’m succumbing to the classic struggle I have with murder mystery books. You think to yourself, “ok, one more chapter, and that’s it” and you get to the end of the chapter and it’s a cliff hanger and you’re compelled to keep reading. Same with LOST, so I’ve started just stopping in the middle of the shows. So I’m in the middle of episode 20/24. Getting there.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t paying attention and one of my boys proceeded to chew through my headphones. I knew Winston was chewing on something but thought it was his chew toy. Nope – it was my non-chew toy. And just as I’m about to go on a trip and absolutely need headphones. Yet another thing to add to the list of things to take care of before I leave town. I really think I’m running out of time to do it all. And I’ve revised the list to be just the important things that need to be taken care of. I don’t want to sacrifice sleep but am just exhausted thinking of everything. In therapy last week, I came to the realization that I’m a worrier. I worry more than normal. I didn’t realize that, but it makes perfect sense. I guess it’s back to the whole needing to live in the moment thing – where there is no worry.
Always the multi-tasker, as I’m writing this, I’m also placing an order with Amazon. It’s funny seeing all the addresses I’ve lived at over the past several years – ok, decade plus, all listed in one place. A little eerie. Amazon doesn’t quite know what to do as my order was a bit random. I have a running list of items I want and usually wait and only order once or twice a year to group them altogether. So the “recommendations based on your order” is a bit weird. This is what I just got, my new finds:
1. Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs, performed by Andrew Bird. I had this title randomly written down on a scrap of paper from my Thanksgiving trip. I think he’s my new favorite artist.
2. American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids, and a Nation’s Drive to End Welfare, by Jason DeParle. I read this book several years ago when visiting my brother in India and find I still reference it. He leant it to someone so figured it was time to get my own copy. Really easy read and follows the path of welfare from the Carter administration on up through the Clinton era.
3. Why the Long Face?, by Ron MacLEan. A friend recommended this book of “different” short stories. Perfect for subway reading. I just finished a collection of short stories that was a quick read, Pulitzer Prize winning, “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri. Many settings in and around Cambridge which was eerie.
4. The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future, by Vali Nasr. Recommended by the new guy as an easy read to understand more about what’s going on in the middle east. I don’t know about you, but I’m an “NPR news while getting ready for work in the morning” girl and it’s become a little hard to follow some of the “characters”. One of the new guys is studying International Relations focusing in the Middle East so I asked for a cliff notes lesson on the Sunni/Shia split.
5. Thrills, performed by Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire. This is Andrew Birds original band. Love this CD.
6. Dying Day, performed by Abbie Barrett. I’ve been meaning to get this CD since it came out. We have friends in common and have seen her perform, just not recently enough to pick up a cd at a gig.
7. The Atheist’s Introduction to the New Testament: How the Bible Undermines the Basic Teachings of Christianity, by Mike Davis. I was actually looking to buy “Good without God” after hearing a review on NPR but it’s still in hardcover which I’m not wild about. Stumbled upon this find. I have limited biblical knowledge, figured this could get me up to speed on some of the debatable issues.
I’m heading out of town this weekend for work. Let’s see if anything comes in time for the trip. Not counting on it though. This last weekend, I got to visit and catch up with some knitting friends. Amanda, Tarsha and I descended on Cece and demanded to be fed. Ok, just me, but it was nice breaking bread and enjoying a good lasagna. The two kiddos are getting cuter and cuter. Of course, I got no knitting done, but got to have a lot of play time with little Hulk. Super cute! Also enjoyed baby movie day at the theater in my town with Cec and her mom. It was weird seeing the theater I usually go to be packed to the gills with moms and babies and a few dads. It was super busy. Busier than the movies I usually go to. Eerie.
On the dating front, I had a second date set up for Thursday – sushi, and another second date for Friday. By mid-week I’d started losing my enthusiasm. I had rallied for the first round and both guys were really nice but it takes work. And I was tired. And it was the end of the week. And I realized I had been excited after the first dates mainly because they were interested. Having a string of semi/not-interested guys does that to you. But I didn’t cancel. Thursday was weird – mainly because of me. I was in a weird funk and tired. The guy was really nice but I just knew I wasn’t that interested. I struggled as the two voices combated each other. On one side, it takes time to get to know someone and like them. On the other, I just don’t see this going anywhere so why spend more time and energy on it. So Thursday night wasn’t that great. The whole night could have been handled better, on my part. Working on that. And I still had Friday. But we hadn’t actually confirmed a time or place and so I didn’t follow up – the ball was in his court. I actually ran into a friend at lunch and they were going out in Cambridge and I said I might go, if my plans fell through, which I was half hoping they would, less exhausting hanging out with old friends versus new friends. I should note here that I had my therapy session Friday morning and realize there is this strange correlation. I’m bad at first dates – had a session, worked on it and the first date goes wonderfully. I’m now bad at second dates – have the Friday session, and you guess it – my second date goes wonderfully. Even had a third date which it turns out I’m bad out – can’t wait until my next session to work on that one. But as my therapist points out - practice.
And this new guy I think will be great practice. That sounds really bad written like that, like I’m using him – not at all. But I realize I’ve been ruined by Hollywood recently. Do you know what I mean? I’ve been conditioned to see romance as black or white – all or nothing. Love at first sight, swept away at first encounters. But that’s rarely the case. That’s why I think I stumbled after our awesome second date. We had met up for drinks in Harvard Square to figure out where to go for dinner and hit it off right away. It was no work what so ever. Very engaging conversation, chemistry – it was like we had known each other longer then we have. Needless to say I was a bit distracted that night and found when I finally got home that I had lost a few things. I had met up after work and had been early so ran to a new favorite store in H. Square and lucked out and got a brand-new, not super cheap, great deal, winter outfit. I lost that bag, one of my scarves, and my favorite hat (just discovered the hat disappearance this morning). I’ve been able to recover the bag of clothes at one of the places (which I still can’t believe and am currently wearing) but still need to work on finding the other two missing items. So second date goes wonderful. Stay up late and everything. And then it’s time for the next move. Except we’re both super busy. He’s cramming for a conference and leaves for it today and is gone all week, gets back Friday. And then I’m out of town Saturday for a week. And yet, I just wanted him to drop everything and prioritize me, even though we still really don’t know each other that well – just enjoyed each other’s company. But that’s how it works in the movies. So I was disappointed and weird on our third date – plus I’m coming down with something and concerned about passing on the cold. Traveling with a cold sucks. I really hope it clears up before I leave. But he’s pretty cool and picked up on it. I think I’m a little off balance too from the last round of guys giving me a lot of mixed messages. This guy, not the case, he means what he says and I just need to readjust and not read things into it. And he’s interested. He’s said he’s interested and has followed through. It’s just scheduling. To be honest, if our schedules were flipped, I would have been the same way. I need to remember that. And this one I’m pretty sure is not “the one” which I see as progress. I’m not automatically jumping to the end game. He’s a nice guy but definitely set in his ways (as am I) – we’ll see. But still I’m excited. It’s fun having that buzz of initial chemistry and enjoying each other’s company and conversation. So much that on Friday night I suddenly realize that as we are eating dinner at the bar of this pub, it had become super packed. Hadn’t even noticed. Fun fun fun.
So that’s me for awhile with the dating scene. I’m focusing on the upcoming trip this week and am out of town next week. Who knows what February will bring though. At least I now have a clean house- which I’m going to desperately try to stay on top of keeping clean this time, and almost all my laundry done- red load is all that remains. Looking good- although I’m more tired then I should be after enjoying a three-day weekend. I guess a good sign that I really really enjoyed the weekend.
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