So Lonely

So BF and I have instituted Happy Hour/ Appetizer Fridays. Don't get too excited- it's just the two of us. You see, we don't have any friends. At least not any within an hour of our podunk town. It really stinks. We both have friends from college (and BF from middle school) in the northeast, but no one close by.

We really love our neighbors as they are all really nice and helpful. However, we don't see inviting any of them over for cocktails any time soon as they are all probably in bed by the time we are just getting the drinking started! We joked about trying to head out to a bar to make "couple friends." BF said that he would have to be the wingman.

I was thinking about putting up an ad on Craigslist to see if there are any other young people in our town or anywhere nearby. BF somewhat scoffed at the idea...but how can it hurt? The Craigslist in our area is pretty sparse, but maybe there are people out there? Otherwise, it's going to get very expensive always traveling to see other people....

Secret eating

Hmmm. The conference is over and I am kind of hungry. It's only 4:30pm and we have dinner already made at home. Maybe I could just stop for a snack since I have an hour drive home. I should go get something healthy. But I am feeling too lazy to get out of my car. Maybe I should just stop at McDonald's.

No, I really shouldn't. McDonald's is really bad. Tons of calories.

But I am hungry. It's kind of hot out....I could just grab a vanilla cone. That can't be TOO many calories, right? Right?

(A few minutes later, I notice a McDonald's.)

I really shouldn't pull in. I really should just keep driving.

(I turn in anyway.)

"May I please get a vanilla cone?" That should be healthier than a double cheeseburger or a small fry.

"I'm sorry but we do not have any ice cream today."

Shit. Well, I might as well go with my staple.

"Okay. Then can I have a double cheeseburger and a small fry?"

"That will be $2.16. Please pull to the first window."

F*ck. Why did I just do that? I should just get out of line and not pick up the food. But then the person at the window might get into trouble.

(Picks up the food and pays.)

I should just throw this out. It was only $2.16. I shouldn't eat this food. Damnit. I really need to stop doing this. I suck.

Ring Watch 2008

Well people...I hate to say it, but I don't think that I will be getting an engagement ring any time soon. I know that I had discussed it here, but I have a bit of an update. This past weekend BF and I were chilling on Friday night, relaxing and drinking after a long week of work. I don't quite remember how it came up, but I joked about getting engaged. BF then said, "what makes you think that we are going to get engaged soon?" When I looked over, he looked completely serious. Ummmm that would be us looking at ENGAGEMENT RINGS back in June.

I am not pressuring BF in any way to get engaged right now. But why go ring shopping almost three months ago if you are not at least thinking about it? Why ask me if you need to ask my parents for my hand in marriage? I'm very confused.

There are two possibilities. 1. That BF really isn't thinking that he is going to propose any time soon. This would mesh with a discussion we had this past spring about BF "not being in any rush" to get engaged.* 2. That BF is trying to throw me off the trail, as he does love surprises. I obviously hope that this is the right one. Maybe I didn't see a statement from one of the jewelers? Only time will tell......

*Which is why I was so surprised that we did go look at rings.

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So continuing on the subject of getting engaged, I have had some funny thoughts lately. As I mentioned before, I really never thought about getting engaged while growing up. But after the bar, I kept thinking that it would happen. Obviously, it hasn't yet.

But the oddest thoughts keep popping in my head. We passed by a bridal festival sign last weekend and I thought, "BF should pop the question before this festival so that I can go." Or thoughts like, "we should get engaged soon because planning a wedding takes about a year. What if we decide on a summer wedding? If he doesn't propose soon then we will have to wait until 2010 to get married."

Ummm where the hell are these crazy thoughts coming from???

Did you know?

Did you know that when there are shoes thrown up on a telephone wire that it is a drug dealer marking his territory? I found that out yesterday. One of my co-workers (who is a mother) wondered why kids would throw away a perfectly good pair of shoes. If they are selling drugs, kids probably don't have to worry about the small cost of a pair of shoes....

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Why do people feel the need to back up after missing an on-ramp? IT IS NOT SAFE. Why don't you just find a place to turn around a little ways up the road and try again?? Sorry. I saw this on my way to work today. It is really lazy and very dangerous. Stupid drivers.

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Sorry for the non sequitur and short post today. I was at a conference all day yesterday and
don't have too much. Plus, I am drafting my fantasy team tonight.

Toppers

I have a friend that I have known since freshman year in college, so over 10 years. She is part of a group of eight from our freshman hall that still email each other all the time in big "reply all" emails. Since we are all over the country, it is the easiest way to keep in contact with my girls- especially since six are married, three have two or more kids, and one is pregnant with her second. This friend, we will call her CS, has the "topper" syndrome. She is the only single girl left in our group which is maybe one of the reasons she does this? As in, for attention?

So anyways, all eight of us regularly send emails with updates on our lives and try to find time to get together. Whenever someone writes something, CS always has to "top" it. I would complain this summer about the long hours that it was putting in the library for the bar, she would then complain about her long work hours and how much more sleep I was getting than her. I would complain about BF having to travel every week last year, she would complain about her travel and how many hotel points she has because of it. One of the mothers in our group was complaining about lack of money because of the economic downturn...CS then complained about her lack of money. Keep in mind that she is a consultant, making about $200,000 a year with no kids or pets to take care of financially. It's ridonkulous.

Her life certainly does not suck, but in addition to the "topping" of others, she just complains a lot. It's like she can't be happy with her life. I actually feel bad for her in that respect. She changed a lot (and not for the better) after getting her MBA. It's always more, more, more. There is definitely more to life than always wanting more...at least in my opinion.

At one point I thought that she would be a bridesmaid in my wedding, but now we just aren't as close. Now that I have more time (not in law school), I am making money (can't WAIT to get my first real paycheck in three years), and BF is not traveling (YAY for time to spend together during the week), I am really happy right now and want my outlook to stay positive. That doesn't mean I will stop talking to her, but hopefully her unhappy rants will not get the best of me.

I'm kind of a big deal

So I'm kind of a big deal at work- it is a nice and welcome change from past jobs. I'm not a huge fan of the almost two hour commute every day as it does cut into the amount of time BF and I spend at night. After we get done making dinner there are only two hours or so to check email, check Google Reader, and play my words on Scrabble Beta/ Wordscraper.* I'm sure that as soon as I get my computer at work that time at night on the computer will decrease as I can do some of these things during the day.

How much of a go-getter are you at work? My boss got into a car accident on Tuesday nights, cracking a couple of her ribs. She still came into work on Weds morning to go to a meeting. I was shocked. I went to the meeting with her...had to drive the company car (felt bad driving over every bump in the road), carry her bag, etc. Although she promised that she would show up, clearly there was no need for her to go. Thankfully she left after the meeting and hasn't been back to the office.

I think that if I was to get into a car accident, I would not come into the office the next day! At my first job after college, I didn't want to lose any vacation time so I came into the office with strep throat three days in a row. I would do a few hours of work, and would then be ordered home by my boss. Strep throat is very different from cracked ribs though- not to mention my ulterior motives in coming into work.

Here's hoping she is feeling better soon as early next week we have a conference at [redacted] casino. Too bad there will be no time to gamble! I wish that I could tell you guys more about my job- what I do, where I do it, the awesome programs that I am involved with, but I don't really want that information all over the internets. Needless to say, I am happy as a clam and feel that I am actually helping people with my work. It's a great feeling. :-)


*I have decided that I don't like either of them and will be deleting both apps on Facebook. Bring back scrabulous!

The issue of divorced parents

I am lucky in that my parents have been married for over 30 years. BF's parents? Divorced when he was in college. It wasn't what you would call the most corgial divorce. Ever since then, BF has had to split time between the parents on holidays.

Recently, BF's dad emailed him and asked if we wanted to host Thanksgiving. I had already made the decision not to fly home for Thanksgiving as BF and I will see my parents earlier in November for a friend's wedding. We agreed to host, but I told BF that he should clear it with his mom first. This Thanksgiving is not just a worry about splitting time...BF's mom is getting married the Saturday after Thanksgiving. What if she wanted a rehearsal-dinner-type event on Thursday with family before the wedding? Not only that, but she will have enough to think about with the wedding on Saturday....making a holiday dinner would just add to the stress.

In the end, BF's dad has to fly out to CA anyway so we will be hosting BF's sister, husband, two kids, BF's mom, fiance, and grandmother. I'm not sure where everyone is going to sit, but I'm sure we will figure out it. Thank goodness BF is going to cook most of the dishes. This will be our first time hosting Thanksgiving dinner- the pressure!!!! I have already put my foot down and said that we MUST make my mom's stuffing. Man that sh*t is good.