Update on Friends & Money

Shortly after I wrote this post I emailed my friend and asked for the money. Obviously in a polite "hey correct me if I am wrong but I thought you were going to give me some money for so and so." After a few back and forth emails, she said she would pay me (less than what I had expected/thought but more than nothing). That was almost a month ago. I still haven't seen the money. Not really sure what to do about it because I have had money issues with this friend in the past (and really should have known better in the first place), and know that I will never see the money if I don't keep on it, but is it really worth it? Should I just drop it and cross it off as a lesson learned? Should I say something again...and again...and again?

Another Episode of the Pro's and Con's of Living By Yourself.

Pro: If, after days of thinking about Krispy Kreme donuts (thoughts spurred by a random conversation with friends), you go out and buy yourself some donuts because you can't get the buttery, glaziness goodness out of your mind.
Con: You have no one to stop you from going out and enjoying the buttery, glaziness goodness of Krispy Kreme donuts.

Pro: You can walk around the house in plaid boxers and a tie die tank top.
Con: Is there one? I get to walk around the house in plaid boxer shorts and a tie die tank top!

Pro: When I am sick, I can watch "Under the Tuscan Sun" 3 times in 1 day.
Con: I have no one to get all cuddly with at the end of the movie when I am feeling all inspired about life and love.

Pro: I can eat whatever I want when I am sick.
Con: I have no-one to go and stand in line at the store or restaurant for all of the random things I feel like eating when I am sick.

(did you guys catch onto the fact that I am sick?)

Pro: When I decide I want to clean out my closet, but insist on trying on every piece of clothing I think I might want to think about possibly thinking about giving way, I can. I can also leave them all over my closet until I make up my mind.
Con: I have no-one to 'distract' me whilst changing in and out of all of those clothes.

I know, it's a short one but come on, give me a break...I am sick!

Another Trip Down Memory Lane

Now that I look back at my teenage years, I think that I had a bit of an obsession with lighting things on fire. I honestly am surprised I didn't burn the house down. A few of my favorite fire related memories...

Appetizer
One night in high school, Misguided Mommy and I were staying the night at our other friends house. We were in her room doing what teenage girls do and somehow or another (funny how we never remember WHY we started doing things like this, just that we did them) we starting lighting pretzels on fire and throwing them out her second story bedroom window (of which we had already thrown the screen down to the ground). We kept doing this until her dad somehow came around the side of the house and saw us tossing burning pretzel sticks out the window. Needless to say he wasn't very impressed.

Salad Course
In middle school I discovered (while burning a picture of some bitch I didn't like I'm sure), I discovered that if you light a photo on fire on the back (the paper park), the photo part will bubble up and form a mini fire bubble until the fire burns through and pops. It really is pretty cool! Which is why one of my favorite teenage activities was to sit in my room and light photos on fire, trying to form little fire bubbles...again, it's a wonder I didn't burn my house down!

The Main Course
In middle school a friend who we will refer to as Teenage Mom? (because she always claimed she had had a kid before I knew her, but I knew from the time we were in 7th grade so I honestly had a hard time believing her). One night we were hanging out at her house. Everyone like to stay the night at her house because her dad worked nights and his girlfriend was normally never home or too plastered to care what the fuck we were doing. Plus she lived in walking distance from my house. So back to that night. We got bored and got the genius idea to spray things with hairspray and then light them on fire. They would burn for a few seconds and then go out. The main thing we were lighting on fire were these roses that had been out on the table. We'd spray them down with some AquaNet and light the match and they would go up in flames for a few seconds and provide us with some entertainment. We repeated this over and over until we ran out of hairspray. We figured the fun was over and went inside to paint our nails....until we realized that nail polish remover is also very much flammable. First we started lighting small drops of it on fire on the dining room table (with the roses we were at least smart enough to do outside). Soon enough we were wiping the table down with nail polish remover and lighting it on fire. It literally would light for a few seconds, burn up or evaporated and go out. It was never hot enough to start the table on fire but (after repeating this several (dozen) times) we ran out of nail polish remover. We got bored of lighting things on fire and watched a movie. Like I said, her dad worked nights so he came in some time during the middle of the night and went straight to bed. When we woke up we went to sit at the dining room table to eat breakfast (her dad sound asleep in his room) and we realized that the nice clear glaze on the table had partially melted and was now all white and cloudy. The entire table looked like this. Like a good friend, I took off before her dad woke up. I heard he wasn't too happy when he woke up.

On a lighter note...episode 2

Reading Misguided Mommy's post about the 7 hour day reminded me of an episode involving one of my other friends and the cops.

We were in 7th grade (maybe 8th...no, I think it was 7th). Like many middle schooler's, my friend and her parents didn't get along too well. One afternoon she decided she wanted to run away and lucky me, I was the one that was going to help her do it. All day at school we schemed and schemed. First, it was Friday and my mom was picking me up after school because she was doing a craft fair in downtown Reno (she has a small store and is a vendor at some craft fairs) and I wanted to hang out there. So perfect, I would just say that my friends parents said it was ok for her to come with us and then sleep over at my house. The next day, after thoroughly scaring her parents into behaving like they should (i.e. letting my friend do whatever she wanted), we would drop her off at home. My parents would be none the wiser, thinking I was just having a friend sleep over, and her parents would be so happy she was home that they would let her do whatever she wanted...because she was totally old enough to make her own decisions.

Yeah, our plan didn't work so well. Somehow her parents found out that she was with me and found out that we were downtown. So as her and I hung out on the corner in downtown Reno, being cool, we see police walking around with a picture and immediately know they are looking for her. We hurry inside, switch clothes (her outfit was so ugly, I don't know how she convinced me to switch outfits!). Thinking we are safe, we head back outside. Somehow we avoided the cops the rest of the evening. That is until we got to my house that evening.

We were hanging out in my room, doing what teenage girls do, and we hear a knock on the door. I peak outside and see a cop car sitting there. She heads for the bathroom thinking she can slip out the window. Only the window in my bathroom is like the size of a loaf of bread (i.e. not big enough for my head to fit out of, especially not my ass...even my teenage ass). So there we are, me talking to the cops, my friend locked in the bathroom and my parents trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Finally the cops get my friend out of the bathroom, THEY HANDCUFF HER, and take her away. I think my parents were disappointed with me for helping, but they had their own opinions about my friends parents and I they understood she was just rebelling against the authority of her parents and let it go.

My friends' parents didn't take it so well. The cops took her the juvenile detention center and made her stay the night there to teach her a lesson. I think it worked because she turned out pretty good!

However to this day my older sister still only remembers this friend as "the one that got arrested from our house." I can be talking about my friend and all the sudden my sister is like, "Wait, is that the one that got arrested from the house?"

Let's get serious for a minute (Seriously this is a serious one).

While I was sitting there reading the newspaper, enjoying a cup of coffee and a sandwich at lunch, I came across the following article.

http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070822/NEWS01/708220404/1321/NEWS

After reading this article I felt shocked and appalled. I have always felt that child molesters to do not get punished strictly enough. In my opinion sex crimes are the worst type of crimes, mainly because the victim has to live with what has happened to them. The fact that someone like this is walking around on the streets just tells me that there is something horribly wrong with our political justice system in this country. A country that puts away tax offenders and pot smokers, can't seem to put people who molest children behind bars for a decent amount of time is beyond my mental capacity. This bastard didn't even get put behind bars for a year for each offense he committed. He got 25 years after being convicted of 69 counts of molesting children!!! Why is his walking our streets? Why is he walking our streets when they class him as someone who 'is deemed a high risk to abuse more children."? I would gladly pay more taxes to keep him in jail and save an innocent child from something like this.

Mind you, I completely feel that some criminals should be given a second chance. Things happen and sometimes people make bad decisions. Molesting a child is not a bad decision; while falling on hard times might drive a normally sane person to rob a gas station, it doesn't cause someone to harm a child in that way. If someone has the mental state to be ok with committing a crime like that against a child, they should never be allowed to interact with society again. Ok, I just had to vent about that because it honestly sickens me that the people who are supposed to protect us or letting bastards like this out on the streets...But hey, thanks for the fucking news article warning us he is moving down the street from the local elementary school...oh wait, never mind, since he is homeless the closest your going to get to finding him is that vacant parking lot on the corner.

Paying my debts...

So apparently I owe Shannon chocolate just for being her friend (I don't exactly see how this benefits me, I mean I have to be her friend AND I have to bring her chocolate every time we hang out...not sure what I'm getting out of the deal, except for a free meal every here and there).

However, I have never been one to leave my debts outstanding (with friends, we need not talk about the mass amount of credit card debt). So I decided to clear my name and pay off my debt.

This is what I delivered tonight to pay off my debt...

Under closer inspection...

This contained the following: (1) carton of Phish Food by Ben & Jerry's (for arguing, whatever!), (1) 24 oz. bottle of Hersey's syrup that Shannon can slather herself down with while she is consuming the remainder of the basket), (1) bar/18 pieces of Lindt Swiss Dark Chocolate with a smooooooth (ok, just smooth) milk chocolate filling (mmm, I love these), (1) package each (9 sticks) of Hersey's Sticks, Caramel filled Milk Chocolate and Mint Milk Chocolate and (1) bag of bite sized Hersey's All Natural extra dark assortment (Pure Dark Chocolate and Pure Dark Chocolate with Cranberries, Blueberries and Almonds. I threw in a cheapy Tigger ball that I found at the store for her son, because well he is cute and people can't help but buy things for cute kids right?

By my counts, I should be paid up...or at least on my way there...

"I so have better things to do"

Money and Recognition

What makes you feel like you are appreciated at your job (even you stay at home mom's because as far as I am concerned, that is just as much of a job as any 8-5 desk job I'll ever work, or more so because you have to wash your husband's underwear and clean up after your poopy children)?

Since I starting working at my current job, my boss has always been big on giving me books on being a better manager (since prior to this position, I had no management experience) and on building teams and on interviewing and on pretty much every topic a person could read about to help them become better at their job. Some of the books were boring, some were just stupid common sense that I honestly can't believe someone made money publishing a book about, but some were really helpful and inspiring. One of the most common themes that I came across in terms of what people want out of a job is money and recognition. Contrary to popular belief, recognition almost always scored higher than money on the list of things people were looking for. Everyone needs money because everyone has needs that have to be taken care of, but given the choice most people said they would have preferred to be recognized for what they did with praise. And not just the big stuff, but the little day to day activities that kept the phones quiet, kept the customers happy and kept the doors open. In other words, they wanted to be recognized for the stuff that no-one actually knew they did. I perform hundreds of these tasks every day. Some days when I leave I feel like I didn't get anything done. Now this isn't because I spent the whole day in front of my computer emailing friends, playing solitaire and picking my nose (while reading blogs of course). It's because the pile of papers and reports and client requests is just as big, if not bigger, than the pile I started off with. One of the biggest goals of my boss when she hired me was to get clients to trust me so when they needed something, they would ask for me, not for her. Goal completed! In fact, most clients don't even realize that my boss (the owner of the business) still works there because they haven't talked to her in months, or in 1 year 9 months (i.e. since I started). I spend most of my days dealing with client requests that no-one else in the office ever realizes exist. Someone calls, asks for something, I take care of it and no-one is the wiser.

I recently went on a vacation for 8 days. My mom used to always joke when I went on vacation "well you don't want to be gone too long otherwise they'll realize they don't need you." I also realize that this comment seems kind of harsh but my mom is the type of woman who is likes to ruffle feathers and likes to asked pointed questions, she jokes about truthful situations because she would rather cause a little uproar than settle for the status quo. She is also good hearted and quite jealous that I now work for a company that pays my while I lounge by a pool for 10 days a years (she has always owned her own business and therefore has no such thing as a paid vacation). However, her comment always got me thinking. Especially since I have had the luck to employ people who were more appreciated (not in a good way) when they were gone than when they were around. I should point out that none of those people still work for me. But I guess, no matter how hard I work my ass off, I always in the back of my mind, wonder what people do when I am on vacation. Do they realize how much I do or do they just assume I sit in front of my computer sending emails and talking on the phone all day? What do they do with those zillions of little client requests that I deal with every day? Do they get ignored (sometimes)? Do they get done half-assed (most of the time)? Do people just wait until I get back from vacation and call me (absolutely)?

When I returned from my vacation one of the first things I did was wait for my boss to tell me how much she missed me...nope, nada, nothing. I should also point out that we were very shorted handed during my vacation because of a few recent vacancies in positions that I manage...i.e. we had about half the staff we normally had while I was on vacation. I finally took the bait and asked how things went while I was gone. "Fine", "Great", "Things were kind of busy the first few days but then slowed down so they weren't that bad", "So and so filled in for so and so, so and so took care of so and so..." and so and and so on. "Ok", I think to myself, "maybe I wasn't missed while I was gone." I just couldn't accept that so all day. And I mean ALL day, I just kept asking, "So things went pretty well while I was gone?" Same response..."Fine", "Great", "Not that busy". I kept pressing the subject because EVERY TIME I answered the phone that day (and for the next 2 weeks) every person I talked to, after realizing they were talking to me, responded with "YOUR BACK FROM VACATION! OH THANK GOD, I CALLED ONCE TO GET SUCH AND SUCH AND TALKED TO SO AND SO AND THEY JUST DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT" (I use CAPS to emphasize the excitement in their voices when I answered the phone. So really, was it hard to believe that I wasn't missed, not one tiny little bit, when every client I talked to seemed to miss me so dearly?

Finally at the end of the day, I was sitting in my office, almost ready to give into the fact that I really wasn't missed all that much during my vacation, when my boss popped in my office to say goodnight and right before leaving my office, says "I'm REALLY glad your back." That's it, that's all I got.

Until this past Friday night...I got invited to a happy hour with some friends of my bosses. Friends she knows through work, many of whom I know through work as well, on top of knowing some of them through school. So we are all hanging out and drinking. Having a good time. Makes sense right? Finally around 7:30 my boss and her husband leave but I stay and have a few more drinks. At this point I have had probably 3 Vodka Tonics and I am talking to a guy I had know through school, who also works for a consulting company that we do work with. As a side note, if he wasn't married with a new baby, I would be all over him. He's had about 6 beers. We start complaining about how many hours we work and how little we get paid and how it's the minions (us) that do all the work and get no recognition. Suddenly he says "It was so funny while you were on vacation, I called there once and so and so tried to help me and I was like 'no, ummm, Ginger knows what it is. Ginger knows what I need. And so and so said you were on vacation and he tried to help me. Ginger, I don't think anyone there knows what's going on except you. How did they get along with out you? (Sidenote: remember he's had like 6 beers and I was soaking in the drunken glory of my praise he was passing on so I just let him talk). Did you get a raise when you got back from vacation?"

"Ummm, no, why would I have gotten a raise when I got back from vacation?"

"Ohhh, I haven't told you this yet...a few days later I called back and got (insert my bosses name). I started talking to her but she seemed all stressed and I asked her what was wrong and she blurted out 'I never realized how much Ginger does. She just does it and I don't even realize everything she does.' and I told her 'well duh!' and then he started to go off about how I should ask for a raise, and not just a tiny raise, a 10 grand a year raise!

Ummm, seriously? Why was it not my boss that told me this? Why couldn't my boss admit to me that she realized how much I do and thank me for it? Why was it that she had given me all these books to read that pointed out how people really just want some recognition for what they do, and yet she couldn't give me that recognition? Was she afraid that I would ask for more money? Had it not even occurred to her to say that to me? Now I love my boss and am truthful in saying I do not hold this against her in any way because she has been great to me in so many other ways, but seriously? Honestly, if my boss had said something to me like "while you were gone I realized how much you do everyday and I really appreciate it" I probably would have been in so much shock I wouldn't have even thought of asking for a raise...but now, now that I get to think about this for 3 months until my annual review, you bet your ass I am going to ask for more money because I know i can demand it, because I know now, that I haven't been working my ass off learning so much more about how the business in run than anyone else that works there, I know it hasn't gone completely unnoticed (admittedly I had to go on vacation for it to be noticed but it was noticed! Maybe I will take another 2 weeks off right before my annual review?).

Do you like it?

I can't decide if I like my new layout and color scheme....let me know what you think.

When your looking for something new...or easy...or hard...

Love Machine: Position Selector

It even has pictures!

A Discussion about Panties...aka, my kind of product review.

Since the beginning of time (ok, maybe more like 8th or 9th grade), I have been a g-string kind of girl. Once I found out they existed, I loved them. I almost exclusively wore only g-strings...I'm sure all of you wanted to know that didn't you? Well whose fault is that, you ARE the one reading my blog. Hmm, yeah, that's what I thought.

Anywho...When the whole boy short craze came about, I didn't get it. I tried them but they never seemed to stay in place. They would go up, they would go down, they would go anywhere except stay on my ass. It annoyed the hell out of me. I ended up wearing them only for lounging around my house. Until I found these...

Old Navy hipster underwear...I LOVE THEM. I HEART THEM. They are so comfortable and I have now bought like 10 pairs of them over the past few weeks.

This is too much info huh? Too bad, I told you, I love them!

Eeeekkkk!

I just got called ma'am by this girl that works in my office. She is like this cute, polite 19 year old who I really like, but I'm not so sure about her now. Are you kidding me? I just turned 25 like a month ago.

Common Sense

If you could barely drag yourself out of bed in the morning, common sense would tell you to go to bed earlier the next night...yet I find myself wide awake, typing random pointless blogs at 11 pm while I wait for my power drill to charge so I can finish hanging a hook in my ceiling.

I have a serious dilema.

While I have yet to visit my old buddy, I hesitate to. I hesitate to not because I have doubts about starting things up with him again, because there is only one thing I want from him. I hesitate because my current obsession lives right across the street. The dog park guy. Damn it.

Seriously what are the chances? What is a girl to do?

Besides of course, just ask the dog park guy out because I really am a fucking chicken when it comes to asking people I actually like out...damn it.

Rantings from Work Ginger

Why is it that some people are so incapable of doing anything above and beyond the bare minimum they need to do? Today, simply put, was a long day at work. At 7:30 when I finally grabbed my purse to leave, I realized that everyone else had gone home. Not really a big surprise since it was 7:30pm, however I thought there were still other people around because when I went to leave, I also realized that every light in the building, including the lights in multiple people offices, as well as some fans and a radio where still on in the back part of the building. I have nothing to do with the back part of the building...I do not work in that part of the building, I barely know where the light switches are. There was also chaos all over the place. I won't go into details but, while it is officially my job to make sure the front part of the office is cleaned up at the end of day, I can't even fathom how people could walk past the chaos, the immense, overbearing chaos, that engulfed my office at the end of the day today, and just walk out the door, to their cars, and take off.

Do they think that magical cleaning fairies turn off their gob (stealing that from Jen) damn office lights and turn off their f-ing radio.

I turn my office lights off, I would turn my radio off if I had a radio in my office, I CLEAN UP MY SHIT. Apparently, I am also EVERYBODY'S OFFICE BITCH because they seem to think that it is my responsibility to clean up their shit and turn off they f-ing lights. It wouldn't be so bad if this hasn't happened at least once a week for the past month.

Some people are going to get some words tomorrow because, seriously, how fucking (I'm pissed now) lazy can everyone else in the world be?!?!

Trouble, Trouble, Trouble...

8:09
Friend: sup

8:35 (I finally realize that I have a text message)
Me: Not much, u?

8:36
Friend: nada, u?

8:45 (I have to keep him waiting just a little bit)
Me: Busy right now, I'm free later.
(I was sitting on my couch, in my pajama's, looking at my unshaven legs...so not busy, but also unwilling to let him know I am available at his beckon call...damnit, especially since he wasn't around when I wanted him)

8:46
Friend: I'll be asleep
(maybe I shouldn't have kept him waiting)

8:47
Me: 915 too late? If not, maybe tomorrow?
(I can't go anywhere with the current hairiness of my legs, especially not somewhere where my legs are most definitely going to be exposed)

8:48
Friend: I'll call tomorrow. night

Hmmm, by the way, since Sat. night he added my as a myspace friend. Trouble, trouble, trouble. A whole lot of trouble.

Friends with Benefits

Thought I would elaborate on this subject a bit...I actually wrote most of this post 2 days ago but forgot I hadn't posted it so I made some changes and this is what I came up with...



I got a comment from one of my secret blog readers (or new blog reader or random person who happened to stumble across my blog, possibly while searching the Internet for, well I don't know because I don't think I am even a bloop on Google's radar). Anywho...It got me thinking.


I've always been under the impression that having a friend with benefits is relatively common in today's day and age. Is this true? Is it just my generation (the 25ish year olds, I have no idea what our generation label is) where this is a common occurrence? Or is it really that I am the odd one out that I had a relationship, a trusting, open relationship (I won't call it a friendship because like I said before , I know very little about this person) that was completely about sex?


Admittedly, at one point in time I wanted to date this person (and I'm pretty sure the feeling was mutual). I knew through mutual acquaintances and because I have grown up with this person that all in all, he was a decent guy. He may come off as many things, but when it got down to the nitty gritty he was a kind hearted, decent guy. However, when it came down to it, we had nothing in common except we wanted to spend some time rolling around in they hay with each other. We tried the whole talking thing, it never worked. We tried the dating thing, it didn't work either. We tried the whole sex thing, it worked. So we stuck with that. We never loved each other (well, I shouldn't speak for both of us because who couldn't love me...but seriously, I'm pretty sure that sentiment was never shared between us). We probably wouldn't even like each other if it weren't for the fact that we slept together for years.


Yes, I said years. I've had one night stands and I've had a few almost relationships, but this went on for a few years. He was someone that I trusted and felt comfortable with. Like I said, we tried the dating thing, for a few weeks the summer before we started college. It never went anywhere and I assumed the whole thing was over and done with until I walked in to my very first class, my very first day of college and saw this person sitting there. he turned around, almost like he was expecting me to walk it, and grinned at me...this silly, stupid grin that he had and all I thought to myself was "Shit, I thought this was over." But it wasn't. One night I got out of a class and had a voice mail asking me if I wanted to come over and study...I did actually bring my books but no studying ever went on. :) The thought of that night makes me smile but I'm keeping the details to myself. Needless to say, after that night I would 'study' with him whenever I felt I needed to 'study'. Eventually I stopped bringing my books! This kept going on, although after our class was over we dropped the whole 'studying' thing because by that time all of his roommates and all of my friends knew that no studying ever went on.

Unlike Misguided Mommy it was never a game for me. It wasn't about the chase, it wasn't about the challenge. It was just about having someone to have a good time with while I waited around for Mr. Right to show up...



...I'm still waiting.

Recipe Time

Since I just finished eating my left over breakfast from yesterday for lunch, I figured I would share the recipe. Warning: my recipes rarely include specifics like 1/2 cup milk, 3/4 tbsp salt...you are more likely to find phrases like "season to your liking" or "add enough flour to get the right consistency" so if you are one of those people who NEEDS specifics, I would look elsewhere for your cooking advise.

Potato Latkes / Potato Pancakes

Similar to hash browns, these can be served as a breakfast item or as a side dish for lunches or dinners.

Makes 15-20 latkes.

3-4 russet potatoes

1 egg

matzo meal or flour

salt

white pepper

EVOO (for frying)

Peel and shred potatoes (the smaller the pieces the better) and place in a medium size bowl. Let sit for a few minutes and drain the starchy water from the bowl. Add the egg and sprinkle with matzo meal or flour, adding just enough (1-2 tbsp.) to help bind the potatoes together. Season with salt and white pepper and mix thoroughly. Cooks note: since this has raw eggs, I normal season until I think it's right, make one and taste it, adjusting the seasoning as needed. In a non-stick frying pan, coat with EVOO over medium heat. Take a spoonful of the mixture and place in the hot pan. Flatten to form a pancake and let cook until golden brown. Turn and repeat for the other side.

I normally serve these with a spicy dill cream made by combining sour cream, a smidgen of salt, dried (or fresh) dill and some Cayenne pepper (to taste of course). These can also be served with applesauce for a sweeter version.

I like them because they are a little more substantial than hash browns and because, seriously, who doesn't like fried potatoes with sour cream?

Memorable moments.

No-one ever tells you how easy it is to get stuck in a rut when you become an adult. Once you start getting tied down with jobs and bills and houses and responsibilities, it takes an incredible amount of energy to make yourself do something fun.

The me of 3 years ago went out of town 2-3 weekends a month, spent almost every weekend in the summer at the lake, went hiking, snowshoeing, to yoga classes, out to breakfast, to the movies or the museum.

The me of now would rather spend most weekends laying on the couch watching movies.

The shift was gradual. It started with me graduating from college; with me starting my 'real' job, that left me too tired and with no time to do those things that I used to love to do...that I still love to do. Last night I found myself thinking that it would be too much work to put my flip flops on, drive 30 minutes and sit on some grass listening to music. Seriously, how hard does that sound? But for a moment, my mind just said "nope, not gonna do it." That's the danger of a rut, you have to overpower your own thoughts, you have to say, 'nope, I am going to get my ass off the couch and go have a good time! Damn it!" I did get off my ass and it was a blast. Good friends, good music, good food and good beer. It is a good night.

Having nights like that inspire me to keep on making the effort to do things out of the norm, to take the road less traveled. The memorable moments in life are hard to find, but their worth it when you do.

Trouble is to close for comfort.

This Post has been rated: R by the writer

Editor's note: If you don't want to hear about my sex life (or past sex life), I would just scroll over this blog.


Last night I found myself pondering something. Pondering something that I knew would just cause me trouble in the end. Pondering something that would probably leaving me feeling satisfied at the end of the night, but I wasn't sure I wanted to head down that road again. I got home late at night and was looking for something (or someone to be exact) to occupy my time. For quite some time I have been infatuated with a certain dog park guy. I am still infatuated with him but am starting to wonder if he feels the same way. I know, that all I really need to do is ask him, but honestly, the opportunity has not arisen lately, otherwise I would have an answer to my question. However, my wandering thoughts last night had nothing to do with him. They had to do with someone else, someone comfortable and someone who hasn't been in my life for quite a few years.

For many years I had a fuck buddy, a booty call, a friend with benefits. It was someone I had gone to school with for years and years and years. Over the years we had always had a mild flirtation (or at times, a not so mild flirtation). However, as the years went on, as we got older and started becoming the adults we are today, we realized that we had nothing in common. If fact, to this day, the only thing that we have in common is that we like to sleep together. For about 2 years, we relished in the fact that all we had in common was that we liked to sleep with each other. I don't know his birthday, I don't know what his middle name is, I don't know what kind of music he listens to. And I am perfectly fine not knowing those things. This worked for us. A late night visit after a date gone bad, an early morning wake up call, a study break (well, let's be honest, no studying ever went on). Mind you, the sex was never great. But it was good. And it was consistent, and satisfying. There's something to be said for consistency. Last night I found my thoughts wandering towards this consistency. Except for the occasional awkward siting at a bar, this person has not been in my thoughts, or my life for a few years, until by accident, I discovered that he bought a house down the street from where I live. Since then I have secretly always hoped I would run into him. Not because I wanted to start things up again, but no matter what, even after all this time, seeing him, and seeing how he acts towards me, always leaves me with a boosted ego and leaves me feeling like a powerful, sexy person. Last night was different though...I didn't just want to run into him.





To bad he was out of town.

Porn and Cooking Magzines

As I sat there reading the newest issue of Gourmet magazine this morning, I found my heart racing just a bit, I found myself getting a little hot and bothered, and I found myself drooling and licking my lips. So much better than watching porn!

Do you think there is something wrong that I get that excited looking at pictures of food? Probaby, but oh well!

Friends & Money

When it comes to friends, they are your confidants, the people you trust with your deepest, darkest and sometimes dirtiest secrets. You trust them to hold onto pieces of information about you that you don't even trust your family with. However, when it comes to friends and money, why is it that it is always a touchy subject? Is it just that when you add the issue of money into any relationship it is a sticky situation or it just with friends?

By the way, I should totally be working right now.

Back to the subject. Currently I am in the situation where a friend owes me money. Now to clarify the situation, she doesn't own my money in the "I lent her $100.00 and she hasn't paid me back" way but she owes me money in the "I paid for something up front that we were both going to use that I would not have gotten except for the fact that she said she would pay for it and now I am out $100.00 because she hasn't offered to give me the money for it." How do you go about asking your friends for money in a situation like this? It's not a straight forward "you owe me money" situation, if that were it I would just ask for the money but it is more something I paid for, that we both used, but that I would not have gotten except she offered to pay for it. It was a few weeks ago and she hasn't made an effort to say she is going to give me money for it. Do I just suck it up and hope she offers to pay? Do I politely say 'hey by the way I thought you said you were going to pay for that thing...where's my money?"

What to do? What to do?

I should probably mention...

...that I have a bit of a shoe addition. At least they are cheap shoes, however at any cost, when you own as many as I do it's not a cheap habit.