Updates!

Snipits from my life this summer since I've basically been MIA. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this wasn't my best summer. I know, Debbie Downer over here, but things have definitely turned around over the past couple weeks so fall is looking to be awesome!

-If you haven't heard- summer barely made it to Chicago

-BUT I did manage to make it to the beach twice this weekend to make up for not going earlier this summer

-Work has been pretty busy for the past few months which is good

-I'm extremely happy that Flipping out and Rachel Zoe are back on! And coming up Sept. 20th Curb Your Enthusiasm starts new episodes.

-I attempted to train for this Urbanathalon coming up in October but my stress fractures are back and I'm basically an old woman.

-The pepaw and I broke up a couple months ago

-BUT I am seeing someone new and its going great! (More updates on this situation at a later date ;)

-I had to put my childhood puppy, Tori, down :( I plan on writing a sappy post but I can't talk about it yet without losing my shit.

-BUT Bruiser is on top of his game pooping everywhere. Although, he did swim for the very first time a few weeks ago which was exciting.

-I'm going to see Britney in concert tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I owe Eileen my life for this one.

-I will be heading to NYC late October for a conference and hopefully meeting up with a few friends while I'm out there. I've never been (I know) so it should be exciting.

-Summer Heights High is hilarious. I posted this video a while back and I now have it memorized. We've been going through You Tube videos of Jonah and I'm now obsessed. SORRY HOMO.

More to come later...

It must be true love

I sent this to the BF today:

I received this one back:

This is normal, right?

A post where I actually talk about dating

Remember "dating" in college? Well in the metropolitan glam of Iowa City, Iowa dating was basically: meet a guy at a frat party... maybe you would run into him Tuesday at dollar wine night, or the next weekend at a bar crawl and suddenly you are dating. I'm not sure that I remember being asked out on an actual "out to dinner" date in college. Either way, those were the good old days. No real worries aside from maybe a midterm or two, 100% freedom, and everyone was always drunk.
Apparently I'm in the real world now.
I have been in the real world dating market for over a year now.

You know how there are five stages to grief?.. Well I think that there are five stages to dating.

1) When you first break up with someone, you want to get right back on the wagon. For various reasons, really. You're used to having a boyfriend so you want to transition right back into that. Or maybe you think it will distract you from feeling depressed or lonely. And perhaps in the back of your head, you think it might make him jealous and realize what he just lost.

2) The second stage is when you realize that its actually not that easy to meet people in the real world. Meet someone through a friend of a friend? Ok that works, but the older you get- the less single friends people have. At a bar? Alright that also can work, but how do you weed out the decent guys from the douche bags? And even then, how long does it take for you to fully trust someone who you can't really do your homework on. You know what I mean by this- when you date a friend of a friend you have the perk of getting their background information.

3) Stage three is maybe when you cave, and join a dating site. Ok don't judge... But I did join Match last year. I looked at it as just one more resource for meeting people. I wasn't "desperate" as some people still think online dating people are. But surfing through profiles did give me something to do with my day. Alas, I didn't find my Match as they advertise on the commercials...obvi.4) Stage 4 is when you've gone on too many dates and you're basically over it. In my case, that was like after two dates. Dating basically turns into no one having a real name, only nicknames.
Typical conversations throughout the year with Michael:

"What did you do this weekend? Did you go out with Bus Boy? (I met him on a bus). No? That kid with two first names as a name? (You know the type). Girthy lou? (Don't ask). Restraining order/gay face? (had multiple crazy ex girlfriends...never a good sign). The poker? (too long of a story). The one with "bacne"? (ha) The Irish guy? "CHAR CHAR CHAR" (Coworker, Ramon, thinks all Irish people laugh like CHAR CHAR CHAR). Keep in mind that most of these Michael came up with, not me.

5) Then finally you get to where I think I'm at today. Stage 5 is when you are finally at ease and/or don't really care anymore. You know what you're looking for in a guy, and what you're attracted to. But you also have come to the realization that you need to give people a chance. You get to a point where you're not looking for a "boyfriend" but someone who is worth spending time with.

I actually have a date tonight which brought this whole idea into my head.

All my single ladies, how much do you love dating?

If you're looking for real love...

Check out this little gem of an online dating site. If you haven't had luck with Match or eHarmony, this one is sure to prevail! Head on over to Meet-an-Inmate, and start searching!

I've already found a few pen pals!:

*I like Johnathan (yes, that's how he spells it) because it seems like he spent some decent time photoshopping his picture to include "clocks" aka "doin' time" into his picture.

*I like Dave because he looks like an overweight Jesus.

*Diego is wonderful because he is a "Spanish man with blue eyes".

* Ankhuser just seems so handsome and educated because "During my incarceration, I have taught myself to speak, read and write Kiswahili and also I have taught myself T'ai C'hi, Yoga and also how to read, write and play music."

*Merle is just a sweeheart because he "met 5 U.S. presidents, but it was nothing compared to the day I met Jesus Christ." Awwww..

*And last but not least, I love Robert because he looks so sexy in those shorts and he's honest and eloquent: "I'm a convicted Bank Robber seven times over. I'll probably never see the light of day again in this lifetime, for all intent and purposes. I'm what many may consider as a personified poster child for bad guys. And so it goes...I'm not everybody's cup of tea."