We are in the midst of Autumn, here in Minnesota. I'm sitting at the dining room table, looking out the window. My parents are in the kitchen taking out our windows and cleaning them thoroughly and then putting them back up. That means that while they're down, there is no pane in and no screen. I could jump out the window if I so desired. The breeze coming in is nice and cool, and it smells like all Autumns should; crisp, cool, and there is a very subtle hint coming from our neighbor's apple tree.
Autumn isn't my favorite season, but I love the colors, the excuse to wear cute sweaters, the bonfires and Halloween. I feel like I've come to appreciate all seasons, even though I definitely have my favorite, and least favorite season. For instance, winter is my least favorite season because of the cold and such, but I love how the snow is so pretty and how is sparkles in the sunlight. I love Christmas, and I love the excuse for hot chocolate with mint flavoring and cuddling up with a friend or significant other in a warm blanket. I love how the evergreen tree's branches are weighed down by the heavier snow. It looks awesome, and you sometimes get to see the snow fall off, and it leaves a large amount of snow that dances around like a life-size snow globe. Spring isn't my favorite season either, but I love the green, and the new life everywhere in the plants and animals. I love how everyone's spirits are lifted in Spring. It's like an excuse to be happy and relaxed. Summer is my favorite season. I love how warm it is. I love walking to beaches in shorts and tank tops and just jumping in. I love the excuse for having picnics, and eating ice cream in the park. Laying out a blanket at night and star gazing. Camping is much more enjoyable in the summer as well as going to parks and playing on swings and jungle gyms. Yes; I am a little kid at heart.
I'm interested to see what your favorite seasons are and why they're your favorite season?
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Day 0010:
So, this past Saturday (the 24th I believe) I went to the Renaissance Festival with some new-found girl friends. Now something you need to understand about me is that I have the unfortunate habit of not getting along well with most girls. I think we're petty, gossipy, and usually hypocritical. I say 'we' because I either have, or have had in the past, one or more of these traits. The fact that I made four new girl friends since I moved home in March is incredible. They're great girls. The only boy that went with us was my good friend Clayton. He seemed to enjoy the fact that he was the only male...I don't blame him. These new girl friends of mine are very cute on a bad day.
We all decided previously to dress up. I bought a costume three years ago that I re-wear every year. It's a white off-the-shoulder dress with a dark green corset. Clayton went as a ninja (same time period; different continent). Ali (who is the most petite of our group) was going to go dressed as a fairy. The day of our escapade she changed her mind. Chelsey was going to go with a skirt and tank top, but found black pants and a black corset, an awesome cape, and a gothic looking bracelet and necklace. Needless to say, we looked interesting walking into the gas station on our way there.
I noticed a few things about this festival as I got there. First of all, there is a wide array of people. People that get super into it, dress up, speak as if they were from that time period, and never once break character until they leave. On the opposite side, we have the people that are a bit too embarrassed to dress up, so they come in regular clothes, and just have fun gawking at other people. There are, of course, people in the 'grey area'. I like to think that I fit into this category. I dress up and thoroughly enjoy the event, but I don't talk differently, and I don't act like I know everything there is to know about the time period...seeing as I don't, I'd just end up making a fool of myself anyway.
Another thing I noticed, is that for the group of people I first mentioned, events like the Renaissance Festival are some of the only times they can fit into society just the way they are. How sad...that everyone has to go on a smallish vacation just to be accepted. If I had a time machine, I like to think that I would let them use it.
So, my topic of discussion, is which category do you think you belong in? Why do you think that? This should be good...
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
We all decided previously to dress up. I bought a costume three years ago that I re-wear every year. It's a white off-the-shoulder dress with a dark green corset. Clayton went as a ninja (same time period; different continent). Ali (who is the most petite of our group) was going to go dressed as a fairy. The day of our escapade she changed her mind. Chelsey was going to go with a skirt and tank top, but found black pants and a black corset, an awesome cape, and a gothic looking bracelet and necklace. Needless to say, we looked interesting walking into the gas station on our way there.
I noticed a few things about this festival as I got there. First of all, there is a wide array of people. People that get super into it, dress up, speak as if they were from that time period, and never once break character until they leave. On the opposite side, we have the people that are a bit too embarrassed to dress up, so they come in regular clothes, and just have fun gawking at other people. There are, of course, people in the 'grey area'. I like to think that I fit into this category. I dress up and thoroughly enjoy the event, but I don't talk differently, and I don't act like I know everything there is to know about the time period...seeing as I don't, I'd just end up making a fool of myself anyway.
Another thing I noticed, is that for the group of people I first mentioned, events like the Renaissance Festival are some of the only times they can fit into society just the way they are. How sad...that everyone has to go on a smallish vacation just to be accepted. If I had a time machine, I like to think that I would let them use it.
So, my topic of discussion, is which category do you think you belong in? Why do you think that? This should be good...
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
Monday, September 19, 2011
Day 0009:
So, I am having a work dilemma. Over the past two months (at least) I have been applying for jobs. Not only have I been applying for them, but I have been following up in person. I've been calling them and making kick-butt resumes and cover letters for each. I have incredible people to back me up and prove my "worthiness" to work. I've changed my status from job hunting, to job stalking. Why? Because a few days every week I go to businesses and bug the crap out of them about making sure they got my application, and my resume, and making sure they read it. Every week, I get shut down. I have made absolutely no progress in the direction of a job.
However, I am still receiving income. My parents graciously gave me work to do around the house. I cook dinner every night that I'm home. If I have to go somewhere, I set it up so that all my family has to do is pop it in the oven or re-heat it in the microwave. They also gave me plenty of yard work to do. I have to weed around all the trees in our yard and surround each with mulch. I have to yard two "gardens". I use parentheses because they are basically spots in our yard that we dumped black dirt and may have planted a small bush or a few flowers, or very unsuccessful potatoes. Both of these spots are now way past the point of over-grown and basically count as a jungle of weeds. I get to mow the lawn pretty soon and I'm sure there are other things, but I can't think of them at this moment. For doing both of these fairly simple, but time-consuming things, I get an average weekly income of $40. It's nothing to make a living off of, but compared to little kid's allowance, it rocks.
Not only that, but I was talking to a neighbor recently, who doesn't have enough hours in the day to do everything on his plate and play with his humongous German Shepherd. He said to my Dad as I was standing there, that he'd be willing to pay someone to play with his dog for an hour or so a day. I said 'I'd be willing to do that!' and laughed. He looked at me and said 'Are you serious? Because I really will do that.' to which I responded 'Oh-I'm 100% serious.' I intend to walk over to his place today or tomorrow and talk to him more about that.
My discussion piece is as follows:
Have you ever been out of a job for a long period of time? Was it because you didn't look hard enough, or because unemployment is/was up? What did you do to make work for yourself? If all else fails, I hope to derive some ideas from this...
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
However, I am still receiving income. My parents graciously gave me work to do around the house. I cook dinner every night that I'm home. If I have to go somewhere, I set it up so that all my family has to do is pop it in the oven or re-heat it in the microwave. They also gave me plenty of yard work to do. I have to weed around all the trees in our yard and surround each with mulch. I have to yard two "gardens". I use parentheses because they are basically spots in our yard that we dumped black dirt and may have planted a small bush or a few flowers, or very unsuccessful potatoes. Both of these spots are now way past the point of over-grown and basically count as a jungle of weeds. I get to mow the lawn pretty soon and I'm sure there are other things, but I can't think of them at this moment. For doing both of these fairly simple, but time-consuming things, I get an average weekly income of $40. It's nothing to make a living off of, but compared to little kid's allowance, it rocks.
Not only that, but I was talking to a neighbor recently, who doesn't have enough hours in the day to do everything on his plate and play with his humongous German Shepherd. He said to my Dad as I was standing there, that he'd be willing to pay someone to play with his dog for an hour or so a day. I said 'I'd be willing to do that!' and laughed. He looked at me and said 'Are you serious? Because I really will do that.' to which I responded 'Oh-I'm 100% serious.' I intend to walk over to his place today or tomorrow and talk to him more about that.
My discussion piece is as follows:
Have you ever been out of a job for a long period of time? Was it because you didn't look hard enough, or because unemployment is/was up? What did you do to make work for yourself? If all else fails, I hope to derive some ideas from this...
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Day 0008:
Last night, my good friend Clayton invited me to go with him and our friend Jalen (Jalen is a boy) to the races. Apparently Jalen races what people call a Micro. Now, I have never been to any vehicular races before in my entire life. Never. Not once. Why? Because I like to believe that I have spent my time involved in more productive and useful activities. Racing has also appeared to be very uneventful. I enjoy Clayton and Jalen's company though, so I decided to go as 'moral support'.
It was pretty interesting. Any women there are sized up immediately. Racing humor is tossed around the whole time, so someone like myself was left in the dust. The races never took very long. A few races had to be restarted because of collisions with the wall, or smoking engines. The interesting races to watch, were the ones that involved vehicular damage. No one sustained any injuries, so finding it enjoyable is not morbid or cruel (just thought I'd point that out right now so as to avoid any confusion or repulsion).
Trying to find a topic of discussion for this has been a little difficult, but I found one:
When have any of you been introduced to a clique outside of your own? Everything seems different. The way people dress, talk, joke, eat, etc. What cliques have you been introduced to, and what did you notice and think of them? Are you still included by these people today, or have you moved on?
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
It was pretty interesting. Any women there are sized up immediately. Racing humor is tossed around the whole time, so someone like myself was left in the dust. The races never took very long. A few races had to be restarted because of collisions with the wall, or smoking engines. The interesting races to watch, were the ones that involved vehicular damage. No one sustained any injuries, so finding it enjoyable is not morbid or cruel (just thought I'd point that out right now so as to avoid any confusion or repulsion).
Trying to find a topic of discussion for this has been a little difficult, but I found one:
When have any of you been introduced to a clique outside of your own? Everything seems different. The way people dress, talk, joke, eat, etc. What cliques have you been introduced to, and what did you notice and think of them? Are you still included by these people today, or have you moved on?
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Day 0007:
Wow. It has been quite a long time since I last updated this blog...shame on me! Funny how unemployed 20+ year old women can get busy.
Right now, I'm sitting in my Mother's work vehicle while she has lunch with a client (she's a family and marriage counselor). I know; the gut reaction is to get upset and think, 'the injustice of it all!' but it's really not that bad. I like having time to myself. Better yet, I still get internet connection in the car.
I wasn't always this way. I used to hate being alone. I'm still not a fan of sleeping alone, and I'm a very social person, but being alone means I'll get things done. Things I've probably put off for way too long anyway. So, today's discussion piece is going to be short and sweet as I ease back into making this blog a daily or bi-weekly thing again.
How do you feel about being alone? Does it make you sad, or do you appreciate it? Is it a mixture of both? What do you do with yourself when you're alone? I know for myself, especially right after my divorce, I hated being alone. I hated being alone with my thoughts. It was depression and dangerous. I avoided it like the plague. If I was alone, I'd do everything in my power to go somewhere public with friends so I could be distracted. I realized after a little while that even in public, the sorrow was still there. Just not as potent.
Now I don't mind it. I like thinking things through. I like giving my creativity room to breathe. I'm interested to see the feedback I get on this...
Sincerely,
Anonymous Me
Right now, I'm sitting in my Mother's work vehicle while she has lunch with a client (she's a family and marriage counselor). I know; the gut reaction is to get upset and think, 'the injustice of it all!' but it's really not that bad. I like having time to myself. Better yet, I still get internet connection in the car.
I wasn't always this way. I used to hate being alone. I'm still not a fan of sleeping alone, and I'm a very social person, but being alone means I'll get things done. Things I've probably put off for way too long anyway. So, today's discussion piece is going to be short and sweet as I ease back into making this blog a daily or bi-weekly thing again.
How do you feel about being alone? Does it make you sad, or do you appreciate it? Is it a mixture of both? What do you do with yourself when you're alone? I know for myself, especially right after my divorce, I hated being alone. I hated being alone with my thoughts. It was depression and dangerous. I avoided it like the plague. If I was alone, I'd do everything in my power to go somewhere public with friends so I could be distracted. I realized after a little while that even in public, the sorrow was still there. Just not as potent.
Now I don't mind it. I like thinking things through. I like giving my creativity room to breathe. I'm interested to see the feedback I get on this...
Sincerely,
Anonymous Me
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Day 0007:
I went to a pool party yesterday. I showed up a few hours early to help Bradley set up. We cleaned the pool (who knew pools had vacuums?) and got stuff from Wal-Mart for the grill. We swept off the table and chairs that were outside and set up the playlist. It took all the time we had to get ready. I was way excited for the party to start!
A lot of people showed up. There was Chris, Spencer, and Lauren (Lauren planned the party) and Todd (who the party was thrown for). Stacie showed up with a watermelon for pool watermelon football. Joey (a slightly autistic female) and three other people who's names escape me. Later two of Stacie's roommates showed up as well as a couple. I never heard the girl's name, but the guy's name was Greg. Mike and his friend showed up as well as Adam and his girlfriend Jaycee. It was a full house!
We did lots of different things. We swam and ate hamburgers (obviously), and played 21 and jumped on the trampoline. There was lots of socializing in and out of the pool. Finally, we ended the night with a grand finale game of pool watermelon football. I originally didn't want to play, but my friends Adam and Jaycee convinced me to. Bradley explained the rules, and I was on the team of 4 against 5. I am not athletically inclined, to say the least. I was bad at this game. I did happen to grab it and throw it towards Jaycee. Then I swam closer to the side of the pool where our team could score. I turned around just in time for the watermelon (which was thrown by Greg) to hit me in the face and chest.
I immediately started crying and got out of the pool. Every guy present at the party asked if I wanted a glass of water and apologized and asked if I was going to be alright. I said 'yes' dutifully and sat down and focused on breathing. My chest really hurt like it was going to bruise and it hurt to breathe. I got a headache and proceeded to become very confused. According to Adam, I came back in the house after putting my stuff in the car and was looking for my pants. I asked him about 3 minutes later what I was looking for. At that point he decided to drive me home. Before I could leave, Bradley got his Dad who is a doctor to look over me. He checked my heart beat and asked me what I was feeling. Then he told me that if it hurt too bad to breathe later that night to go to the hospital, but for the time being I was alright. I went to the car to try and drive myself home, and realized I couldn't do it. I went back inside and got Adam and Jaycee.
They drove me home and I was fine. We all tried explaining to Katie and Dave what happened as Katie got me some off-brand ibuprofen. When Katie repeated what we told her, I realized how stupid of an idea it was in the first place.
So, my question today is what have you done, that seemed like a good idea at the time, and ended up regretting it? Was it a game, or something that made sense in your head, that when stated out loud sounded ridiculous? Was it said out loud before, or after you tried said idea? This should be good...
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
A lot of people showed up. There was Chris, Spencer, and Lauren (Lauren planned the party) and Todd (who the party was thrown for). Stacie showed up with a watermelon for pool watermelon football. Joey (a slightly autistic female) and three other people who's names escape me. Later two of Stacie's roommates showed up as well as a couple. I never heard the girl's name, but the guy's name was Greg. Mike and his friend showed up as well as Adam and his girlfriend Jaycee. It was a full house!
We did lots of different things. We swam and ate hamburgers (obviously), and played 21 and jumped on the trampoline. There was lots of socializing in and out of the pool. Finally, we ended the night with a grand finale game of pool watermelon football. I originally didn't want to play, but my friends Adam and Jaycee convinced me to. Bradley explained the rules, and I was on the team of 4 against 5. I am not athletically inclined, to say the least. I was bad at this game. I did happen to grab it and throw it towards Jaycee. Then I swam closer to the side of the pool where our team could score. I turned around just in time for the watermelon (which was thrown by Greg) to hit me in the face and chest.
I immediately started crying and got out of the pool. Every guy present at the party asked if I wanted a glass of water and apologized and asked if I was going to be alright. I said 'yes' dutifully and sat down and focused on breathing. My chest really hurt like it was going to bruise and it hurt to breathe. I got a headache and proceeded to become very confused. According to Adam, I came back in the house after putting my stuff in the car and was looking for my pants. I asked him about 3 minutes later what I was looking for. At that point he decided to drive me home. Before I could leave, Bradley got his Dad who is a doctor to look over me. He checked my heart beat and asked me what I was feeling. Then he told me that if it hurt too bad to breathe later that night to go to the hospital, but for the time being I was alright. I went to the car to try and drive myself home, and realized I couldn't do it. I went back inside and got Adam and Jaycee.
They drove me home and I was fine. We all tried explaining to Katie and Dave what happened as Katie got me some off-brand ibuprofen. When Katie repeated what we told her, I realized how stupid of an idea it was in the first place.
So, my question today is what have you done, that seemed like a good idea at the time, and ended up regretting it? Was it a game, or something that made sense in your head, that when stated out loud sounded ridiculous? Was it said out loud before, or after you tried said idea? This should be good...
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
Monday, July 18, 2011
Day 0006:
I feel so out of the loop in Mormon Central over here. Last night I went to FHE (Family Home Evening) and there were dozens of people! Just for a prayer, song, spiritual thought, and another prayer. A few girls and guys got in a water fight. I learned games like Ninja and Lumberjack. Then a small group of us went to Bradley's house where I learned to play scum and to never trust a guy in Twister. He will push you over mercilessly. We had great hot chocolate and listened to music. I learned about EFY (Especially For Youth) and had to teach Mike that flirting with me in front of his girlfriend wasn't a good idea. She was pissed because she thinks I'm pretty and at that point he asked me for my number...that may contribute to the fact that he's hitch hiking to Idaho today...
My discussion piece is as follows; where have you gone on vacation, moved to, or even seen, that's been a huge culture shock for you? Somewhere where you learned a bunch of new things or been a 'novelty item'? My answer is Utah. In Princeton, there's, what? 20 people my age, and I only like about 3 of them. Here there are hundreds of people my age just 10 minutes away. A bunch of Mormons all go to activities to fellowship and because it's the right thing to do. They enjoy the spirituality of church. It feels like back home, only the few people serious about church and the gospel show up. The Granite City Ward is probably 1/4 the size of the ward I'm attending here.
They took a ward photo last Sunday. We had to go to the gym and the photographer had to stand on the other end of the full sized gym to get us all in the picture...we were on bleachers, too. At home, we can all sit in the Relief Society room and occupy half of the chairs and the photographer was maybe 6 feet away.
In Utah, they live so close to each other and church that they could walk if they wanted. In Minnesota, I have to drive 45 minutes to get to church. At least 20 minutes to get to a friend's house (Excluding Maddie, who lives about 5 minutes away).
People in Utah go on dates for fun. People in Minnesota go on dates because they want a relationship. It is rarely just for fun. Not to say people here only date for fun. That's a large part of it, but they want relationships, too. They just focus on having a good time first.
The few people here that I've told about my divorce have a hard time believing me. They think it's so weird that I haven't been to EFY or BYU. They're legitimately confused by my living conditions and religious situation. They're curious, and say they're really gonna miss me...so they intend to party with me until I leave on Saturday. I could get used to this.
Don't hesitate! Please comment on this. I wanna know!
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
My discussion piece is as follows; where have you gone on vacation, moved to, or even seen, that's been a huge culture shock for you? Somewhere where you learned a bunch of new things or been a 'novelty item'? My answer is Utah. In Princeton, there's, what? 20 people my age, and I only like about 3 of them. Here there are hundreds of people my age just 10 minutes away. A bunch of Mormons all go to activities to fellowship and because it's the right thing to do. They enjoy the spirituality of church. It feels like back home, only the few people serious about church and the gospel show up. The Granite City Ward is probably 1/4 the size of the ward I'm attending here.
They took a ward photo last Sunday. We had to go to the gym and the photographer had to stand on the other end of the full sized gym to get us all in the picture...we were on bleachers, too. At home, we can all sit in the Relief Society room and occupy half of the chairs and the photographer was maybe 6 feet away.
In Utah, they live so close to each other and church that they could walk if they wanted. In Minnesota, I have to drive 45 minutes to get to church. At least 20 minutes to get to a friend's house (Excluding Maddie, who lives about 5 minutes away).
People in Utah go on dates for fun. People in Minnesota go on dates because they want a relationship. It is rarely just for fun. Not to say people here only date for fun. That's a large part of it, but they want relationships, too. They just focus on having a good time first.
The few people here that I've told about my divorce have a hard time believing me. They think it's so weird that I haven't been to EFY or BYU. They're legitimately confused by my living conditions and religious situation. They're curious, and say they're really gonna miss me...so they intend to party with me until I leave on Saturday. I could get used to this.
Don't hesitate! Please comment on this. I wanna know!
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Day 0005:
So, the other day after my new friends and I watched the movie Sucker Punch at Bradley's house (I don't recommend that movie to anyone. It's really dark and there is almost one happy part), I dropped off Adam at his house and went home. A block from home I realized that I didn't want to go home yet, so instead of turning onto our road, I went a few blocks down and went to the park. I found this park on a walk I had taken one of the afternoons I was having a hard day and just needed to get out. Anyway, I ended up staying there for an hour, because they had a swing set that could actually accommodate a young adult. At that time of night, the sprinklers were on, so I sat on the only swing that wasn't soaked, and did what anyone else would at midnight in an abandoned park who didn't want to go home; I pushed myself on the swing and thought.
I thought about a lot of things. Most of them menial and unimportant. What would the park be like during the day? Warmer. What if someone I didn't know came up and tried talking to me? Run to the car and lock the doors. I decided it was cold out, but I couldn't make myself go inside. I could see the moon from my swing. It was beautiful. I thought about my swing set experiences. Most of them have been with friends. Once at night, Anne, Clayton and I went to a park and Anne and I were swinging while Clayton had decided to climb to the top of the set and play king of the jungle by himself. I would swing with Tony and he would do flips off of them while I watched on envious. I would swing with Mark and we would talk, and I would absentmindedly watch us swing in perfect harmony with each other. Then there was the most recent experience...my fiance and I took engagement pictures at a park back home. We were swinging in some of them. Unfortunately they never turned out. Either he wasn't looking, or my hair was in my face. It was such a happy day for me. I was completely blissful. Hanging out with the man that I loved while my best friend Anne took our pictures.
As I thought about this, I decided I didn't want to swing anymore. I held onto the chains of the swing and lay out almost flat so the swing would slow down enough for me to gracefully step off. I watched the sky flip upside down on me and slow down. As I walked back to the car, I thought about today's discussion piece.
Why do some of our favorite memories or activities become bittersweet later in life? I still love swinging. I'm going to go back, but it'll never be the same. I think it became bittersweet for me because I loved my fiance enough to let him in. I let him know everything about me. I let him participate in my favorite things to do with me. I thought it was for life, so I held back nothing. If I could go back, would I change things? Probably not. I'm a hopeless romantic...oh well. Anyway, please share you thoughts and stories.
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
I thought about a lot of things. Most of them menial and unimportant. What would the park be like during the day? Warmer. What if someone I didn't know came up and tried talking to me? Run to the car and lock the doors. I decided it was cold out, but I couldn't make myself go inside. I could see the moon from my swing. It was beautiful. I thought about my swing set experiences. Most of them have been with friends. Once at night, Anne, Clayton and I went to a park and Anne and I were swinging while Clayton had decided to climb to the top of the set and play king of the jungle by himself. I would swing with Tony and he would do flips off of them while I watched on envious. I would swing with Mark and we would talk, and I would absentmindedly watch us swing in perfect harmony with each other. Then there was the most recent experience...my fiance and I took engagement pictures at a park back home. We were swinging in some of them. Unfortunately they never turned out. Either he wasn't looking, or my hair was in my face. It was such a happy day for me. I was completely blissful. Hanging out with the man that I loved while my best friend Anne took our pictures.
As I thought about this, I decided I didn't want to swing anymore. I held onto the chains of the swing and lay out almost flat so the swing would slow down enough for me to gracefully step off. I watched the sky flip upside down on me and slow down. As I walked back to the car, I thought about today's discussion piece.
Why do some of our favorite memories or activities become bittersweet later in life? I still love swinging. I'm going to go back, but it'll never be the same. I think it became bittersweet for me because I loved my fiance enough to let him in. I let him know everything about me. I let him participate in my favorite things to do with me. I thought it was for life, so I held back nothing. If I could go back, would I change things? Probably not. I'm a hopeless romantic...oh well. Anyway, please share you thoughts and stories.
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
Friday, July 15, 2011
Day 0004:
I feel the need for a disclaimer. I swear I don't only think or talk about boys. Boys just happen to be acting stupid towards me lately. I guess you could call this perfect timing...
I have a few select guy friends that have dramatic tendencies. They don't go for shock and awe, nothing like that. They're just drama queens when it comes down to it.
Case study #1 - Brandon:
I don't text very often. I'll send one text, then go do something and not answer my phone for at least 15 minutes or so. I text a lot of people, but the frequency of my responses usually unnerve them. I'm especially like this when I'm around other people. I like to focus on the person or activity at hand, and answer my texts later. In my opinion, if it was important, they'd call. If I don't pick up and they leave a message, then I know it's important and excuse myself. But until that point is reached, I leave my cell phone in my purse or pocket. Brandon gets offended when I don't text him first. He'll wait until late afternoon to text me something like, 'Thanks for not texting me. Hope you have a great day...' I would calmly explain that I get busy and that my not texting him frequently is purely habitual and is nothing personal. He less than calmly says, 'This just goes to show that you don't think about me. I'm not important enough to you.'
Case study #2 - Chris:
He is one of those kinds of guys that is flirtatious. I personally don't think there's really anything wrong with that. I myself am very flirtatious without even trying. I'm affectionate with everyone that I'm friends with, whether they be male or female. This tends to get me into trouble. But that is besides the point at hand. Chris will send me affectionate text messages. Call me pet names, and tell me he misses me. He just recently sent me a text saying 'If you were here we could cuddle' I tried to be funny by saying, 'Technically, I could cuddle with anyone; even a stranger.' He didn't find that very funny. He got offended. 'Well, I guess you don't need me.' he responded. I explained that I was trying to be funny and wasn't trying to be mean. Attempts to restore what I had done were in vain. He's still whining about it.
I have found that guys seem to take things more personally than girls. A break up that will affect us as women for weeks, affects them for months. I know a few guys that still look on our dating career together with bitterness. I never understood this.
Discussion piece:
I believe that guys take things more personally than girls when it comes to relationships or the lack thereof. Have you seen this in your life? Do you agree, or disagree? Please share examples...I'm far beyond the point of 'a little curious'.
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
I have a few select guy friends that have dramatic tendencies. They don't go for shock and awe, nothing like that. They're just drama queens when it comes down to it.
Case study #1 - Brandon:
I don't text very often. I'll send one text, then go do something and not answer my phone for at least 15 minutes or so. I text a lot of people, but the frequency of my responses usually unnerve them. I'm especially like this when I'm around other people. I like to focus on the person or activity at hand, and answer my texts later. In my opinion, if it was important, they'd call. If I don't pick up and they leave a message, then I know it's important and excuse myself. But until that point is reached, I leave my cell phone in my purse or pocket. Brandon gets offended when I don't text him first. He'll wait until late afternoon to text me something like, 'Thanks for not texting me. Hope you have a great day...' I would calmly explain that I get busy and that my not texting him frequently is purely habitual and is nothing personal. He less than calmly says, 'This just goes to show that you don't think about me. I'm not important enough to you.'
Case study #2 - Chris:
He is one of those kinds of guys that is flirtatious. I personally don't think there's really anything wrong with that. I myself am very flirtatious without even trying. I'm affectionate with everyone that I'm friends with, whether they be male or female. This tends to get me into trouble. But that is besides the point at hand. Chris will send me affectionate text messages. Call me pet names, and tell me he misses me. He just recently sent me a text saying 'If you were here we could cuddle' I tried to be funny by saying, 'Technically, I could cuddle with anyone; even a stranger.' He didn't find that very funny. He got offended. 'Well, I guess you don't need me.' he responded. I explained that I was trying to be funny and wasn't trying to be mean. Attempts to restore what I had done were in vain. He's still whining about it.
I have found that guys seem to take things more personally than girls. A break up that will affect us as women for weeks, affects them for months. I know a few guys that still look on our dating career together with bitterness. I never understood this.
Discussion piece:
I believe that guys take things more personally than girls when it comes to relationships or the lack thereof. Have you seen this in your life? Do you agree, or disagree? Please share examples...I'm far beyond the point of 'a little curious'.
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Day 0003:
So last night I thought to myself 'You know, you're only here for another week and a half. You should try and make the most of it.' So what did I do? I went to a church activity with a bunch of other young adults. We played running charades and then had root beer floats. All in all a good experience and a fun night. As I finished my root beer float (I don't even like root beer floats, but I always try them anyways, hoping I'll change my mind) I asked a few girls I was on a team with if they wanted to go do something afterwards. Well they had work the next morning and decided to be responsible and go to bed. Kudos for them. Major suck for me.
I saw a group of three guys and one girl talking and did something that usually would make me super nervous. I walked right up and asked them if they wanted to do anything after finishing their root beer floats. One guy, Bradley said yeah.
"We're going swimming at my house. We have a pool and hot tub in my back yard. You're more than welcome to come with us." he said. Driving arrangements were made, and Bradley rode with me to my place of residence to grab my bathing suit (I'm the only Mormon in Utah to own and wear a bikini) and then we drove to his place.
We walked in the back yard and met up with his sister Stephanie and friends Mike, Adam, and Krissy (I think that was her name...). As soon as Brad donned his swim wear, they got out of the hot tub and joined me in the pool. I went off a diving board for the first time. It was a bad idea as I almost lost my top and I jumped in right in front of the the huge flood light...pretty sure every one now knows more about me than they ever wanted to. We all got to talking and it came up as to why I was here in Utah. Everyone sympathized, which was nice, and we talked about relationships. We got cold and decided to hop back in the hot tub. Krissy had work in the morning as well as Mike and Adam. First Krissy left, then Mike a half hour later. It was determined that I would give Adam a ride home since it was on the way and we obviously got along. That was decided when we got in a bubble fight. All I have to say about that, is that I look ridiculous with a bubble mustache and Adam looks equally outrageous. Another Mike (We'll call him Mike #2 for all intensive purposes) and Clay (I don't think that's his name, but it's close) showed up with a dog. They didn't stay long, just long enough to plan something for the following night (tonight) with Brad who had Lasik surgery this morning.
I made Utah friends who are really nice, really fun, and invited me to hang out again tonight. Score one for Monotonous Me!
'Congratulations, you're a big kid now; what's the discussion piece?' you are probably thinking. Don't worry; I've got something.
No matter what age you are, we all like making new friends, but most of us are pretty intimidated by it. Why is that? Are we afraid of making idiots of ourselves? Has past experience taught us that? What do you think keeps you, personally, from making more friends out of strangers?
I, myself, think it's because I talk like I'm fearless. I take dares to go up to beautiful guys and tell them exactly what I think. I do it, and as soon as I get up there, I speak almost as loud as a mouse...almost. I end up having to repeat myself because they can't hear me, and blushing like crazy. Then they're officially freaked out. Then I feel like an idiot. That's my super lame excuse. I now want to hear yours.
If you have any interesting stories, by all means, share. I can't be the only one who has a painfully embarrassing story to share...
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
I saw a group of three guys and one girl talking and did something that usually would make me super nervous. I walked right up and asked them if they wanted to do anything after finishing their root beer floats. One guy, Bradley said yeah.
"We're going swimming at my house. We have a pool and hot tub in my back yard. You're more than welcome to come with us." he said. Driving arrangements were made, and Bradley rode with me to my place of residence to grab my bathing suit (I'm the only Mormon in Utah to own and wear a bikini) and then we drove to his place.
We walked in the back yard and met up with his sister Stephanie and friends Mike, Adam, and Krissy (I think that was her name...). As soon as Brad donned his swim wear, they got out of the hot tub and joined me in the pool. I went off a diving board for the first time. It was a bad idea as I almost lost my top and I jumped in right in front of the the huge flood light...pretty sure every one now knows more about me than they ever wanted to. We all got to talking and it came up as to why I was here in Utah. Everyone sympathized, which was nice, and we talked about relationships. We got cold and decided to hop back in the hot tub. Krissy had work in the morning as well as Mike and Adam. First Krissy left, then Mike a half hour later. It was determined that I would give Adam a ride home since it was on the way and we obviously got along. That was decided when we got in a bubble fight. All I have to say about that, is that I look ridiculous with a bubble mustache and Adam looks equally outrageous. Another Mike (We'll call him Mike #2 for all intensive purposes) and Clay (I don't think that's his name, but it's close) showed up with a dog. They didn't stay long, just long enough to plan something for the following night (tonight) with Brad who had Lasik surgery this morning.
I made Utah friends who are really nice, really fun, and invited me to hang out again tonight. Score one for Monotonous Me!
'Congratulations, you're a big kid now; what's the discussion piece?' you are probably thinking. Don't worry; I've got something.
No matter what age you are, we all like making new friends, but most of us are pretty intimidated by it. Why is that? Are we afraid of making idiots of ourselves? Has past experience taught us that? What do you think keeps you, personally, from making more friends out of strangers?
I, myself, think it's because I talk like I'm fearless. I take dares to go up to beautiful guys and tell them exactly what I think. I do it, and as soon as I get up there, I speak almost as loud as a mouse...almost. I end up having to repeat myself because they can't hear me, and blushing like crazy. Then they're officially freaked out. Then I feel like an idiot. That's my super lame excuse. I now want to hear yours.
If you have any interesting stories, by all means, share. I can't be the only one who has a painfully embarrassing story to share...
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Day 0002:
Does anyone want to hear about my date? No? Good; because it didn't happen. The gentleman bowed out an hour after he was supposed to pick me up. Oh well.
Hence my first discussion piece for guys:
Why do guys ditch dates so often?
Does anyone know? If so, please share with the class. I, for one, am baffled by how often my friends and I are stood up. I mean, they are beautiful, intelligent young women, who are really fun to be around. Granted I'm not a guy, so maybe our ideas of fun are different, but I don't think they're too far off...
My first female discussion piece:
How many of you have been ditched? What was the given reason? Did you believe them, or not?
I'm curious as to see how many crazy excuses us women are given. I've had the following excuses:
* I'm tired, or I fell asleep (all day long?)
* Work is making me stay late (that's usually a decision given to most workers, isn't it?)
* My parents want me to do some work around the house (I thought you said you were 23?!)
* My Mom is sick (and you have to stay home to make sure she doesn't go anywhere???)
and my favorite:
* Something came up (Like what?!)
Please indulge me with your input/stories. This should be interesting...
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
Hence my first discussion piece for guys:
Why do guys ditch dates so often?
Does anyone know? If so, please share with the class. I, for one, am baffled by how often my friends and I are stood up. I mean, they are beautiful, intelligent young women, who are really fun to be around. Granted I'm not a guy, so maybe our ideas of fun are different, but I don't think they're too far off...
My first female discussion piece:
How many of you have been ditched? What was the given reason? Did you believe them, or not?
I'm curious as to see how many crazy excuses us women are given. I've had the following excuses:
* I'm tired, or I fell asleep (all day long?)
* Work is making me stay late (that's usually a decision given to most workers, isn't it?)
* My parents want me to do some work around the house (I thought you said you were 23?!)
* My Mom is sick (and you have to stay home to make sure she doesn't go anywhere???)
and my favorite:
* Something came up (Like what?!)
Please indulge me with your input/stories. This should be interesting...
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
Monday, July 11, 2011
Day 0001:
To honor my first ever post on a blog that is all mine, I am celebrating, by sitting in bed, in my pajamas, un-showered, and reeking of sleep. What an exciting day this should prove to be...
Alright, so my life isn't actually that boring. I'm staying at my friend's house out of state for a month. That month started June 20th, so needless to say, my month is almost up. Staying in Utah isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be (no offense, Katie). I was picturing a lot of hypocritical 'Sunday Christians' with a 'holier than thou' attitude. Don't get me wrong; I'm sure they exist here, just like they do everywhere else, but I have yet to meet anyone like that where I'm staying. I also pictured girls running around trying to get hitched in such a hurry that they ditch all subtlety and sanity. It is not so. I only know one girl here who's engaged, and she is one of the most awesome women I have ever met. Her fiance is pretty awesome, too. I pictured sticking out like a sore thumb, as well on Sunday. New girl without a Utah accent, quiet, not familiar with all the inside jokes, sitting by herself kind of obvious. Surprisingly, I wasn't the only new kid. About 6 people's records were read into the ward that same Sunday.
There were a lot of differences about going to church here than in Minnesota. I have to drive about 45 minutes to an hour to get to church back home. I have to drive 25 minutes to get to church here, and that's with all the construction going on. My ward back home on a good day has about 20 people show up. Here, there are about 20 activity planning committee members. Here in Utah, it's bigger, closer, and always getting new members. Back home, it's small, farther away, and has had the same members since it was formed, who knows how long ago.
Some of you may be wondering why I'm spending a month in Utah of all places. When you get down to it, life is hard. It kicks you around. Sometimes it even leaves you for dead. I went through a divorce. I know I'm not the only one this has happened to, and I'm part of a majority...but when something like that happens, you feel all alone. Suddenly families you never thought twice about seem perfect. After all, they're still together. They have kids and do things together on a regular basis...what do they have, that you didn't? What are they doing right that you must have missed? Why does their love for each other overcome obstacles that yours didn't? These are some of the millions of questions that swim around your head (for those of you lucky enough to never have gone through a divorce). These questions and others are what I'm here looking for answers to. I'm here looking for myself. Since Katie runs a day care, I have a lot of time to myself when I want it. I get to do basically whatever I want between the hours of 8am (I'm usually asleep at this time) and 5pm. Needless to say, I have a lot of time to think about whatever I want. I have made a lot of self-liberating discoveries about myself. I have figured out things that have been bothering me. A lot of profound thoughts for someone not used to having this much time to herself.
Well, I have a date in about an hour, and I don't think he would appreciate showing up to what appears to be a hygienically challenged 20 year old woman.
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)