Places to meet men...supposedly

Alright, so I'm finally getting my life together (kind of).  I know what types of careers I'd love to do, I'm applying to jobs nonstop (so I can get out of retail and into a regular career), and I'm puttering away at writing my novel.  The novel part has proven to be a lot more difficult than I expected.  It's based on things that happened in my life, so I thought it'd be easy.  However, I'm adding some fiction to it and changing names alone can be pretty exhausting.  Maybe I'm making too much of it.  I mean, instead of just changing a guy's name to something easy like, "Pete," I think, Well, he doesn't look or act like a Pete.  I'm not totally sure what a "Pete" might look or act like, though.  Anyway, at least I"m putting a ton of thought into it, right?

So, I think I'm finally ready to meet a guy and have a real relationship.  When I started this blog, I intended on dating a lot more than I ended up doing.  I just got busy, and to be totally honest, I wasn't actually ready for a relationship.  I think I am now, and the only way to actually find out is to go for it!  But where do I meet guys?   I'm not the type of girl to just strike up a conversation with a stranger unless I have a question about something and a cute guy just so happens to be around. So, I've been doing a little research (it really only consisted of a Google search "where to meet men" and I read a Cosmo article, which is listed at the end of this post). 

I've discovered that I can find at least one reason, that I think is valid, why I most likely won't meet a guy in any of these places.  But, here goes, places to meet men!

1. The Apple store - Because guys love gadgets and technology and you can easily meet a man there.  OK,  I see what you're saying, and it makes perfect sense.  However, I don't know about everyone else, but the only Apple store near me is terrible.  It always feels like it's 10 million degrees in the store, and it smells kind of funny.  Not like B.O. or anything, but as if every single person that has come in and out of the store has been wearing clothes that haven't been washed.  I don't want to spend time in there if I don't have to.
2. The gym, more specifically, the weight room - I actually think this is a good place, but not for me.  I work out with a trainer at the gym, because Lord knows there is no way I'm just going to voluntarily lift weights and push myself to the extent I need to be pushed.  Cardio is one thing, I like testing my limits, but weights?  No way.  Anyway, when I work out with the trainer, I sometimes see this really, really cute guy.  But I'd probably never talk to him.  What do I say?  You might be thinking, "Start by telling him your name!"  Then what?  If some guy just came up to me and told me his name I'd probably say, "Um, ok," and get back to working out.  When I work out, I don't want to be disturbed or interrupted.
3. A Fortune 500 or tech company - Um, ok.  Who's going to give me a job there???

I know there are plenty of more resources and articles about where to meet men.  A lot suggest online dating, but its just not my thing.  It's really hard to sweep me off my feet on the Internet, especially if you have poor grammar.  Other articles have suggested meeting guys through friends, but that's awkward if it doesn't work out. 

Anyway, I know I'll figure it out, and not in some cheesy way.  It'll happen when it's supposed to happen (at least, that's what I keep telling myself)!

Cosmo article:
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/dating-advice/best-places-to-meet-men

Not enough time in the day...

Hey everyone!  I constantly say I'm going to post more, and sometime soon I'm going to actually do so.  I do have time to post, but sometimes I just don't know what to write about.  I'm going to try this new thing where I just write about what's actually on my mind other than trying to find a specific topic!

So, today, right now, I can't stop thinking about time.  I never seem to have enough time to do everything I want.  I have a lot to do, such as, work, job searching, writing my novel, working out, and random things I usually do throughout the day.  However, no one ever seems to understand that I'm actually busy!  Or, people seem to trivialize my to-do lists, so I really dislike telling people why I'm busy.  I'll outline exactly why each of these things are important to me and I think you'll understand why I'm so busy and can't go out for drinks/dinner/lunch/coffee/etc.

1. Job searching - More like career searching.  I actually pretty much enjoy my job, but let's be totally honest: I do NOT want to do this the rest of my life.  Hell, I don't even want to do this another year.  I'd love a real job, a career, full time, and then work part time at my retail job maybe 10-15 hours per week.  That's the dream.  However, it's so difficult to even get an interview for a career I'm interested in, considering I don't have any "experience."  I have not one, but two bachelor's degrees, and seven years of customer service experience.  Thrown in my work history is an internship and supervisory and manegerial experience.  This isn't enough.  I know that if I just get an interview I'll be able to "wow" them and get a damn career!  I'm motivated, and I'm applying to jobs like crazy.  I devote hours almost every day to this endeavor.  First, it takes me a while to find the jobs.  So, yesterday I had off of work.  I searched for a long time, until I found 25 jobs I feel I would be really good at.  Then I made a list of them and tomorrow I'll apply to almost all of them.  Also, tomorrow I'm doing follow-up calls for jobs I applied for last week.  So...this is time consuming and I don't know why people don't understand that.
2. Writing my novel - This is so important to me.  People constantly think I'm not actually working toward this or something.  People probably think I'm not totally serious about it, maybe that I'll never finish, or whatever.  Here's the truth: I'm going to finish this damn novel and I'm going to send it off to publishers and literary agents.  This is going to happen soon.  I'm not accepting failure.  If my novel gets rejected, I'm going to rewrite it and try again.  This is my dream, so if I set aside an hour or two for myself to write after work, then I'm going to go home and write for an hour or two.  Maybe I won't actually write, maybe I'll sit there and stare at the computer, maybe I'll do random searches for random things, maybe I'll make new playlists on iTunes, who knows.  But it's my writing time, and that's not negotiable.  I'm not hanging out with you if I plan on writing, and when I decline an invitation for drinks, I don't understand why you have to ask me, "Why not?"  Every time someone asks, I say, "I'm writing," and they say, "Do that another time!"  That's like telling me to call in sick for work to go out drinking.  I want to be a novelist, I want to be an author, I want to actually make a living with this, so it's kind of like a job.  A job I love.  So, yes, I'm staying home so I can write, because we can go out for drinks later, to celebrate, when I'm published! :)
3. Working out - I've gained 10lbs since I quit smoking (it's been a month, yay me!).  I have body image issues, I felt really good when I was 10lbs lighter, but still had to work out a lot to maintain that.  So, I'm busting my ass to get back down to that weight.  I really dont like going out when I feel crappy about myself, because it makes me feel crappier to see other people who look better and blah blah blah.  I won't skip a workout to hang out with someone.  I have to look out for me, right?

Maybe some of this is selfish, but I think I've come to a point in my life where I need to work on myself.  I'm getting annoyed with people telling me I've been anti-social.  I think working on yourself and being content and happy in your every day life is such an important thing, and I don't think it's right if I continue putting things off.  I need a change in my life, and I need it now.  I can't give myself the job of my dreams, but I can certainly continue to apply for as many jobs as I can find so I can hopefully land an interview.  I can make my dreams come true. 

Walt Disney said, "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them," and I truly believe that.  Anyway, if these friends are actually good friends, then they'll still be around when I'm done with all my to-do lists, right?

Valentine's Day

For once, I didn't let my big imagination let me get extremely disappointed!

As I'm sure all of you know, yesterday was Valentine's Day.  Since I'm not currently dating anyone, I expected to have a terrible day.  However, as it got closer and closer to the day, I realized, there's absolutely no reason to have a terrible day on Valentine's Day!  In the past, it would have totally bothered me being alone.  I found it a little disgusting when I worked at a bridal store and bunches of flowers and chocolates would be delivered to girls at work.  Um, hello, some of you live with your Valentine, is that really necessary?  No, it's not, unless you just want to have some competition to see who gets the biggest bouquet, as if that means your boyfriend/fiance/husband loves you more or less than your friend with the bigger or smaller bouquet.  I just don't need all that.

Anyway, every year when I was working in a big store like that, I'd watch girls get these bouquets and cards and chocolates and whatever.  One of the years I had a boyfriend, but we broke up just over a week before Valentine's Day.  So, of course, I had this whole idea in my head that he was going to send me flowers at work and ask me to take him back.  I'd tell him it was a kind gesture, and then maybe we could go on a date after work or something, and then we wouldn't date again and I'd say, "We broke up for a reason!"  None of that ever happened.  But, every single year I'd let my imagination get the best of me and I'd think of some guy that I went out with once or twice that might have flowers sent to my work.  To this day, only one boyfriend has ever actually given me flowers at work.  He delivered the flowers himself, when he picked me up from work to take me on a date.  That was our 4th or 5th date.  We were 19.  I never received flowers at work again.

So, yes, when I was working in that type of environment I'd feel bad.  However, now I'm working in a smaller store, and today it was just me and one other girl.  I'm not going to lie, I had a pretty bomb ass day.  I got sooo much stuff done it was kind of ridiculous.  I was feeling really great about how productive we were, and the stuff we accomplished today was not only good for business today, but good for business in the future.  Sure, I've said in the past that I enjoy this job but it's not what I want to do for the rest of my life, but while I apply for careers I'm going to stay at this job and do the best I can and try to excel at it.  Anyway, it was a good day at work.

All day it was just another day to me.  There was absolutely no feeling bad about being single and there was no jealousy over someone else getting flowers.  Don't get me wrong, I'm a total romantic (even though sometimes I try to deny it and claim, "I'm not some cheesy girl," I really am).  I thought of 5-10 guys that might possibly be interested in sending me flowers at work today.  Of course, none of them did.  It's not a huge deal.  For once, I didn't allow myself to get disappointed from my imagination.  If any of those guys had gotten me flowers it would have been weird anyway, especially since I don't really want to date any of them!

I had this great day yesterday, and Monday was really great.  I have a feeling the week is going to continue this way, and there's just something inside me that is excited.  I have no idea what I'm excited for, and I don't really have anything specific to be excited about...I'm just excited!  Maybe it's because I'm not so stressed out, which is probably because I've been spending a lot of time alone, working out, writing, reading, or sometimes just watching a movie with some wine.  I'm so much more relaxed not dealing with everyone's problems all the time, which in turn creates more problems for me.  I'm almost to a point in my life where I'm ready to go out and start meeting guys again.  A few months ago, any guy I would have met or considered dating would have probably been totally horrible for me, but now I think I can choose someone better.  I think I can choose a guy that's not going to annoy me or break my heart (but I'm attempting to knock on wood as I type this).

I know it's been quite a while since I last posted, and I constantly say I'm going to post more, then I bail again.  The fact is, I have plenty of time to write and post blogs, I just thought I ran out of interesting topics since my search for a guy ended for a while.  But, I think now I'm going to just write about whatever I want and feel like writing in the meantime.  After all, this blog is about my whole life!

Oh, and Monday was my one month anniversary for being smoke-free.  I've been nicotine and cigarette free for a whole month!  I'm so proud of myself...and also craving a cigarette...but I've started to get disgusted by the smell of cigarettes so I don't actually want one bad enough to give into my cravings.  Yay me!

Uhhh...what about ME?

So, here's the deal:  I'm getting really, really fed up with people.  So much for the part of my New Year's Resolutions where I claim I'm going to do more for myself!  I've come to discover it's pretty difficult to do more for yourself when no one thinks of you.

That's right, I said it...no one thinks of me.  And I'm not just talking about guys don't think about dating me, or whatever.  I mean that everyone this week has been a giant disappointment.  No one thinks of what may or may not be convenient for me.  No one thinks about what I have to do today, tomorrow, or next week.  I don't want to go into a ton of detail because I need to just put it all behind me and move on, but here are the basics:

Part of my family has changed plans and can no longer take care of something for the original time they offered to do so.  I understand that they're doing a favor, and when it turns out they aren't able to do the favor as intended, the responsibility has to fall on me.  I just wish it didn't turn out that way.  I ended up figuring everything out and the whole situation is going to be totally fine, but I'm really, really bad at last minute things.  I don't do last minute very well and I get extremely stressed out with these situations.

So, I thought I was de-stressed about that, until I got to work.  I arrive at work to find out another manager has scheduled me to work at a different location this weekend.  Nothing like a little short notice.  If they'd have asked me they'd know I can't work anywhere else on Saturday because my manager is on vacation and we're short-staffed.  Sunday was my only scheduled day off next week, so now I have to change that schedule around because someone else was irresponsible.

Do people think I don't have a life?  What is it that makes it seem like I have nothing better to do than change around my schedule, my life, to meet everyone else's needs and shortcomings?  I'm so sick of being punished for everyone else's lack of consideration.

You may be wondering why I don't just say "no" when some of this happens.  Well, when I don't say "no" it's usually because I know it will be inconvenient or negatively affect someone else, so I actually consider other people.

It feels extremely shitty to know no one thinks of you.  Ugh.

No nicotine and plenty of hormones...

This may look like nothing to you, but it is actually making my mouth water!  I want.

Before I decided to quit smoking I made sure to mentally prepare myself by looking up the withdrawl symptoms.  I know what you're thinking, they're just cigarettes, people don't get withdrawl symptoms!  I thought the same.  I'm here to tell you it can happen.  I know everyone is built differently, so maybe my symptoms aren't as bad as someone else's (they're pretty manageable), and maybe someone else won't get any symptoms at all, but the list of possible things that could happen because you quit smoking is almost as daunting as what could happen because you started smoking.  Well, not really.  But it's a long list.

First, I've read that it takes 8-12 weeks for a person to become comfortable of their new lifestyle sans cigarettes.  Excuuuuuse me?  That's a long ass time.  Today it has been officially one week, and, mind you, the longest week of my entire life.  Also, the first two weeks are the most important in quitting.  If someone is going to fail at quitting smoking, it's likely they'll fail within the first two weeks.  So, I'm halfway there.  However, last night's rant about dating/love/relationships/Grey's Anatomy was almost a breaking point (I'll get there).

So here are the mental, physical, and emotional symptoms, and the highlighted ones are what I experience the most...

• Tingling in the hands and feet (none for me!)
• Cravings to smoke (always)
• Fatigue (I wouldn't say so, I think I'm just tired from regular things)
• Insomnia (I frequently stay up until 2 or 3am anyway...wait until Grey's Anatomy rant for explanation)
• Inability to concentrate (no)
• Dry mouth (yes)
• Gas/stomach pain (no)
• Sore throat, cough and cold-like symptoms (this just began yesterday, but it might be a real cold)
• Postnasal drip (no)
• Tightness in the chest (sometimes)
• Vagueness (I think this in itself is vague...)
• Irritability (absolutely)
• Mental confusion (no)
• Anxiety (no)
• Depression (no)
• Increased appetite & weight gain (yes...and it makes me sad)

Alright, so now that we know I'm completely irritable almost all the time, and I get irritated extremely easily with any little thing (the other day I came home to realize I left a folder on my desk in the morning instead of putting it away, I then scolded myself for leaving a mess), we can continue on to the recent incident.

Yikes...

If you haven't seen Grey's Anatomy and intend on it, or you're not in-the-know about what has happened seasons 1-4, stop reading.  SPOILER ALERT!

I usually stay up pretty late.  I have no regular sleeping habit.  I used to go to bed early, then college came along and I was consistently up until 2-4am.  Fairly recently, I got in a habit of going to bed before midnight every night, and then I would wake up nice and early and get plenty done during the day.  Well, not anymore!  Now I go to bed any time from 11pm-3am and it's pretty annoying.  So, what do I do that whole time?  I read or watch movies.  Grey's Anatomy has been a show I've liked from the beginning, and I still keep up with it.  Typically, when I'm up late, I start watching a TV series if it's on Netflix, and I continue until I'm done with the series or caught up to the current episode.  I started Grey's Anatomy from season one almost two months ago and now I'm on season four.

Sometimes Meredith Grey can be really annoying.  I'll hand it to her, I certainly don't have problems like she does with the overbearing mother and abandonment issues from her father and blah blah blah.  Right, I don't blame the girl for not trusting Derek, aka McDreamy.  But he's hot, and he loves her, and even someone with the biggest trust issues in the entire world could probably see that he actually loves her and isn't just being a jerk.  And I don't think Meredith needs to constantly tell herself she's "dark and twisty," because we don't encourage people to tell themselves they're fat.  It's just not good for you to think that way all the time.  Well, then Derek goes and kisses Rose.  Rose is cute.  She's nice, funny, and seems like she really deserves a great guy like Derek.  But Derek can't get over Meredith.  Now, we're supposed to feel oh so bad for Meredith Grey who can't trust a dude who kissed some chick when THEY WEREN'T TOGETHER in the first place because of her own insecurities and issues.  Give me a break!  PS - Meredith's sister, Lexi, just came into the show this season.

I know, it's just a TV show.  I promise I only think about it while watching the show, once while extremely hormonal in the car, and while writing this blog.  : )

Anyway, I'm driving home from work.  It's about to be that time of the month (if you're a guy and you're reading this and you cringed a little, get over it and grow up.  Girls get periods.  Get over it) and I was a little frustrated with work happenings, not anything that was a big deal though.  I was trying to talk myself out of buying cigarettes on my way home and then I started actually talking to myself.  Talking out loud.  Alone.  In my car.  Like a total weirdo.

"I just don't get it!  I want a cigarette so bad, I don't need one, so why can't I convince myself I don't want one?  Now I can't ever date a smoker because then I'll just fall right back into the habit.  That narrows down the whole dating pool now, doesn't it?  Well, it might actually open up the dating pool because a guy might be more inclined to talk to me knowing I don't smoke.  Or something.  Let's face it, Emma, you're not going to be meeting a guy any time soon.  Mainly because you're afraid to go out of the house for any reason other than working or the gym because you don't trust yourself not to buy cigarettes!  Emma!  You idiot!  You don't even trust yourself!

What's wrong with me?  I don't trust myself?  Obviously, they say shit like 'if you don't like yourself, you can't expect someone else to like you,' and I'm sure it's the exact same way with trust.  F**k.  This is just f***ing great.  I hate this song.  I hate Meredith Grey.  Seriously, what a b****!  Derek loves her, and she won't just love him back and be a normal human being.  Then she's going to be all sulky and sad because he's with Rose, when she had about a million chances to be with the perfect guy while there are some girls out there, like me, that doesn't have even one chance with a great guy!  NOT EVEN ONE!  F**k Meredith Grey!"

I then drove in silence for about two minutes, and then I replayed my entire conversation with myself inside my head and started laughing.  It was pretty hilarious how absurd I was.  But, I guess it makes for a good story for very close friends and strangers, right?

Well, I'm off to work out because I keep eating.  On the bright side, breathing during workouts is getting much easier, and working out is the only thing that makes me hate cigarettes!

Resolutions

I'll admit it...I'm one of those people who makes resolutions on January 1 every year and I rarely follow through.  I don't just quit after a week or a month, I never even start.  My New Year's resolutions would be lucky to be more than a mere thought!  However, my 2011 wasn't the best year of my life or anything.  Sure, I did some pretty cool things and spent a lot of time with my family, but I really think 2012 has potential to be spectacular.  The only way 2012 will actually be spectacular is if I will actually follow through.  I'm the creator of my own destiny, or whatever.  It's about time some good things start happening in my life, damn it!

So, here's a list of my resolutions.  I couldn't pick just one, that seemed even more daunting than even following through with just one!  I have so much on my mind and so many things I want to do and accomplish, so I figure it's best to just jump in and get it all done...that'll work, right?

• Get back into the diet and work out thing:  Yeah, my diet and work out routine was definitely plagued by the holidays.  I would constantly say, while holding a few cookies, "Yeah, but I was walking tons around the mall and now it's too late to even consider going for a run!"  Not to mention, I had all those stupid parties I had to go drink and eat at (no, they weren't really stupid, I just call them stupid so I trick myself into thinking that I would have worked out instead).  Anyway, 2012 means no more excuses for dieting and working out.  Although, on January 1 my healthy plans were really ruined by some friends (see next point).  I am, however, happy to report that I've been doing well the other three days of the year so far!

• Do more for myself:  You may think this is selfish, but you really don't know just how much I do for other people.  Sometimes it's really unnecessary, sometimes it's being a good friend, and it's just who I am.  However, by "do more for myself" I mean that it's OK to skip out on some friend activity if I'm going to be otherwise productive, and I can't let my friends guilt me into things.  EXAMPLE:
  January 1, 2012.  The new season of Mob Wives on VH1 was premiering at 7:00pm.  I decided to go for a run/lift weights while watching the show.  That's what I wanted to do, I had my mind on it, and I was excited for it.  I received a phone call around noon from a friend, who had a Groupon deal to a movie that would cover a bunch of our friends basically getting in for free (since he already paid for the Groupon).  I declined.  I got a guilt trip.  The Groupon accommodated up to eight people, and they wanted to get as close to the eight as possible so they didn't waste money.  I declined, I said there were other things I wanted to do.  He asked, "Like what?" as if I'm not busy.  "Well," I replied, "I want to work out and watch Mob Wives at 7, don't bother saying anything about the show because it's what I want to do.  Besides, I'm just about to go buy a new computer and so I'll need to set that up today, too."  He said, "Record Mob Wives and then leave your files transferring over to the new computer while you're at the movie."  Um, yeah, sounds great except for the simple fact that I DON'T F***ING WANT TO GO!  But it was proven to me that I don't have solid plans, and I was guilt tripped because they didn't want to waste their money.  I neglected to mention I had a Groupon for a movie once that no one ever wanted to go to, and I never (not once) begged anyone to come with me and the money went wasted and the tickets never used.  Situations like this are no longer going to happen.  I wish my friends didn't feel the need to talk me into stuff.  I'm 25 and getting peer-pressured into going to movies.  Sheesh.

• End contact with "toxic friends":  What's a "toxic friend" you may ask?  Well, I don't really know what everyone thinks about them, but the Emma definition is: People who were at one time great friends, but are now people who pretend to care but really don't.  People who only call when they need something.  People who only call because they're bored and no one else is available.  If any of my friends are reading this, and it even sounds remotely like you, you're either already a toxic friend or you're well on your way to being one.  Hey, this isn't anyone's fault, so let's not get all beat up over it.  It's simply one more annoying thing I can remove from my life.  I'm not being bitter or anything, but I'm no longer wasting time and emotions on people who find me dispensible.  I'm done reaching out to people who obviously don't care, so these people haven't heard from me so far in 2012, and they probably won't unless they contact me first.  Maybe that seems a little childish, but, I've already started falling out of touch with some of these people.  I don't hear from them, so they obviously no longer need me in their lives.  Like I said, that's fine, no one's at fault.  People simply grow apart!

• Quit smoking:  Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've said it before.  Some people say, "I don't get it, why don't you just quit?"  Well, you don't get it because you're an idiot...and I feel at liberty to say that because I haven't had a cigarette in 40.5 hours (yes, it's that precise) and I'm crabby about it because I've fallen victim to the whole eat-when-you-want-a-cigarette thing, which doesn't help Resolution #1.  Also, I was an idiot to even start smoking.  Yes, I regret that day I started smoking.  I regret that some day I might get cancer that could have been prevented.  I regret that I let this habit and addiction go on for just over 10 years.  I regret liking smoking.  You heard me, I like smoking.  I like the way it feels, the way it tastes, I like watching the paper burn down the cigarette, I like the way it comforts me, etc.  I like it all.  That's why I haven't quit sooner.  However, now I have the perfect opportunity: it's super cold so I don't want to be outside (I never smoke indoors) and I think I'm starting to get a cold or something (either that, or I've smoked too many 2011 cigarettes).  I hope I can actually quit and never smoke a cigarette again!
• Finish my novel and get it published:  I just have to keep motivating myself.  After all, I'm the only one that can make this happen!
• Do something spectacular:  I don't even know what this means, but I'll know it when it happens!  Maybe I'll find a boyfriend and he'll be spectacular...hmm...
   
• Travel more:  I don't know where I'm going or who I'm going with, but I'll definitely get somewhere!  I recently had a dream I was in Hawaii, so maybe that's next on my list!
• Find a career:  I do enjoy my job.  I get extremely frustrated sometimes, but that's just how it is, I guess.  I can't wait to find a career, something I love, and something I'll stick with and be able to move up in.  Let's face it, they always tell you there's opportunity for advancement in retail, but that's just how they hook you.  In reality, there's only opportunity for advancement until someone quits or is fired, which isn't really happening and I don't think will be any time soon.  So, onward and upward!  Or something...
• This blog:  I promise to be more dedicated to it!

I know that may seem like a lot of things, but if I can even just get my book published, get back into the diet/exercise mode, and quit smoking, I'll consider it an extremely successful 2012!  I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year's Eve, and I hope you make the most of 2012!!!

Welcome to the pity party...

Yep, here we are again feeling sorry for ourselves.  I hate it.  I feel so unbelievably pathetic when I feel so sorry for myself that I can't muster up actual feelings of joy for a big moment in a friend's life.  I've spent the entire weekend in this mode of self-pity, and doing a lot of drinking.  In fact, I returned home from a very fun engagement party only to open another bottle of wine and be so bored that I drunkenly played Wii table tennis for over an hour.  Pathetic?  Yes.  What's even more pathetic (and a little humorous) is the fact that I woke up the next morning with a hangover and a sore arm.  Seriously?  I lift weights, how is swinging around a Wii remote even comparable???

Anyway, it's not the engagement party that got to me, it was so much fun and I'm so happy for the couple and I'm excited to see their beautiful wedding...they put together an awesome intimate party, I can't even imagine the wonderfulness of their wedding!  What got to me is the same thing I've posted about before: jobs.  I like my job, but sometimes I get really frustrated with things.  I had a very welcome weekend off, in which I relaxed and intended on writing more of my novel (but only pushed out a couple hundred more words). 

It's that catch-22 so many people complain about.  I have a degree, but no experience in any of the fields I'm looking to work in, which include, but are not limited to: Marketing, Communications, Event Planning, Corporate Travel Coordinating, etc.  How do I get experience when no one will hire me?  Do people even read my compelling cover letter and resume?  Did I waste my time in college?  Do I go to grad school and risk being overqualified for an entry-level position?  Where the hell are all these entry-level positions?  Oh, that's right, they're for internships, which I may be willing to bite the bullet and do unpaid if it would lead to a promising future with a company.  But most internships are for those still in college.  I wish I lived back in the days before you applied online.  When a Human Resources manager, or whomever, had to sit and physically look at all the applicants rather than having some filtering system done for them via computer or other technology.  But, the situation probably won't be changing soon, so I digress.

So I spent the weekend hating my financial situation and how little I get paid considering I'm a college graduate and hating the work situation.  Then, this morning, I wake up thinking, "Ok, Emma, it's a brand new day and only the second day of the week, you have another day off and you're going to be extremely productive and happy."  I wandered around the house and wrote a little, then I started getting ready to go to the gym, when my phone rang.  I needed to go to work for a little bit because someone was having an emergency and couldn't get there on time.  Fine.

I go to work, I'm not there long, but it definitely hindered my productivity plans for the morning.  It was alright because that could all be made up for with my wicked time management skills.  I will admit, even though everything was fine here, I'm a planner and I get frustrated if I make a to-do list and everything doesn't get done.  I had a little freak out while driving to work trying to sort out everything in my mind and how to get it all done.  Just as I sorted it all out, then came the other blow.

I arrived at work and got everything ready for the day.  I received a text message from one of my closest guy friends saying, "I'm getting engaged today."  I replied, "Are you joking?" because it really is something he'd joke about.  These guys sometimes enjoy playing such pranks on me via text messages because I'm rather gullible with them and if I can't see your face or at least hear your voice, I can't usually tell if you're joking or lying.  He said he wasn't joking.  My heart sank into my stomach.

I suppose it makes no difference, they've been together a few years and the situation probably won't change much from what it is now...and by that I mean I rarely see him, but we still talk pretty often.  Our schedules constantly conflict.  I don't even know this girl.  Years have gone by and I swear to you, dear readers, that I've only met her three times, five at the most.  For the first year or so most of the things I've heard about her, from him, were complaints.  Therefore, I, and most of our other friends, never thought it would last this long or get this serious.

We can also rewind this whole scenario about a decade and state the fact that I dated this friend for a few weeks in high school and we broke up deciding we were better off as friends, which I'd love to say proved to be true because we became very good friends after the awkwardness went away.  Somehow, I always retained these feelings like I wish I would have hung on in the relationship a little longer, just to see what might have come of it.  Can two people really be so similar and not be meant to date?  At this point in my life, I couldn't imagine even kissing him and getting fluttery feelings, so it's not that kind of jealousy.

I'm happy he's happy, and I'm happy he's found someone to spend the rest of his life with, and I'd never, ever express anything else to him.  I don't know her, so I just hope she's the right fit for him, and I trust his judgment on the matter.  After all, no one knows him better than himself, right?

So, once again, it's time to move on with my life.  People can say all they want that I'll have my time or I'll meet a guy that will sweep  me off my feet some day, but I'm really losing faith in all the Prince Charmings out there because none have come my way in a long, long time.  I only end up with frogs that remain frogs, and I'm not willing to settle so I think I probably have a lot of waiting ahead of me.

High Maintenance Women

High maintenance women seem to be a category of women I love to hate.  I guess I just don't understand these types of women.  One of my friends (a girl) once accused me of being high maintenance for having Coach handbags.  She also said that her boyfriend is lucky he'll never have to buy her one, implying that my boyfriend at the time felt he needed to purchase expensive things for me to keep me happy.  Excuuuuse me?  This is far from the truth.  All my expensive purses have been purchased by no one other than myself and I was really offended that she'd assume something like that about me.  I don't want a boyfriend to buy me expensive things, I don't want anyone to buy me expensive things.  I like getting these things for myself, its kind of like an accomplishment or a reward to myself for something.  Everyone buys themselves designer birthday and Christmas gifts, right?  Even when they really shouldn't spend the money on it?  That's all beside the point. 

High maintenance women confuse me because I don't understand at what point in their lives they became so demanding.  I've heard countless stories from my guy friends about these women, and am thankful that I've never been inclined to do such outlandish things like them.  One of my ex-boyfriends could probably tell you I'm high maintenance, but I really think a simple phone call or a text at some point in a day or two isn't too much to ask for a committed relationship.  Hell, I don't even want to see a boyfriend every day.  Maybe 2-3 times a week, maximum.  But you could at least get in touch with me so I know you still exist!

What baffles me more than the demanding women are the men that actually put up with it.  I don't understand these people.  When a guy friend bitches endlessly about his girlfriend, I think it's probably time to part ways.  I understand, you have feelings for them, maybe you love them, but if you have to complain about their actions behind their backs and can't bring these problems to their attention, then what's the point?  Isn't communication supposed to be the most important part in successful relationships?

Obviously, I'm not one to go around touting relationship advice, since I've never even been in one for an entire year, but I still like to think I have at least a tiny bit of common sense on the topic. 

Example:  One of my friends has this girlfriend, who has, "gotten better," with her demands.  It's a distance thing, and he used to have to lie to her when he was going out with his friends sometimes because (it seemed) she wanted him to stay home if she was staying home a few hours away.  That doesn't make sense to me.  Just go out, do your thing, and text me when you get home to say goodnight or something.  She also doesn't seem to like us very much, she thinks we're mean.  I'll give that one to her, we tease each other nonstop and sometimes it can get a little draining.  But in the end, it's just teasing and she can't take the heat.  There was one time that she was his date to a wedding and we were completely turned off by something she did...every time he said something she found to be a little unacceptable, she'd literally put her hand over his mouth to stop him from talking.  I have a feeling he's himself around us, and someone else around her.  I can promise you that any boyfriend I've ever had in my life thus far would dump me if I pulled something like that.

I guess I'll just have to accept that some guys prefer being bossed around and like giving in to every demand some of these chicks make, but I hope that I never meet such a pushover guy like that.  Shouldn't everything be 50/50?  Equal amounts of give and take on both sides? 

Engagements, Babies, and Houses...Oh My!!!

The past few weeks have been pretty exciting!  They've been filled with exciting news left and right.  First, my brother and his wife are going to have a baby!  This will be my first little niece or nephew, and I'm ready to spoil the baby ASAP, I just wish I didn't have to wait 8 more months!  It's weird for me to think of my brother being a father, but I know he's going to be a good one.  Maybe not as good as our dad, because we have the best dad in the whole world, but he'll be a close second!

Also, two of my friends just got engaged!  I'm really happy for both of them, and I'm excited to celebrate their big days when the time rolls around to it.  However, me being me, I'm a little jealous.  It's strange because one friend I'm more jealous of than the other.

The first friend that got engaged I knew it was coming, but the second kind of blind sided me.  It's the second friend I'm a little more jealous of.  I've known that friend for most of my life, and she's my best friend.  We're really similar as far as our sense of humor, we can tell each other anything and everything and expect no judgment.  I can ask her something and get an honest opinion or advice, and I do the same for her.  She's been with her now-fiance for a few years and they've talked about marriage before.  She's always wanted to wait until she's finished with all her school endeavors, and she recently applied to grad school.

I guess my jealousy lies in the part of life that makes me feel like I'm being left behind.  While everyone has been out meeting their boyfriends/girlfriends/fiances/husbands/wives, I've been saving all my money to travel around Europe.  Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade in those travel experiences for being a wife and stuff, but I guess I wish I had focused more in the past on finding a guy that is as in love with traveling as I am.

I've been criticized in the past by a few friends for spending my money on traveling, and an ex of mine told me it was a total waste of time and money, but I just feel that there has to be a guy out there that wants to take a yearly trip to Europe, and after we've seen all those countries we'll take yearly trips to South America.  Someone that doesn't think it's a waste of time to volunteer in Tanzania and go on a safari in Kenya.  Someone who wants to go to Asia and Australia and just let go and learn about another culture.  That's the part that is so attractive to me about traveling: learning about other cultures, seeing the historical sites of places I've only read about, imagining what it must have been like to see gladiators in the Colosseum in Rome, etc.  I've been to 10 countries and I don't want to stop there!  I want to see 50 countries and all 50 states in my lifetime...and I want to do all that with someone equally passionate about it.

I guess the jealousy is mostly that she's found a guy that wants to be with her the rest of her life.  She likes traveling, too, and he's into it.  He probably knows all her ups and downs as well as I do by now, and he still wants to spend the rest of his life with her and whatever quirky habits she may bring into the situation.  I just wish I could meet someone who makes me happy like he makes her happy.  I'm so glad she's found someone like that, and I hope that my guy is just around the corner.

I've been looking at buying a house or a condo lately, and I'd really love to make such an investment.  Most days I'm really excited about it.  Then there's days like today, when I realize that making such a big investment might mean I can't travel for a while.  It's the thought of finally settling down that freaks me out.  I just don't make enough money to pay a mortgage, utilities, save money for the future, and save money to travel.  I'm hoping things will change so I can have it all, but that's a pretty famous saying, right?  "You can't have it all!"  Well, watch me, because settling down doesn't mean settling on the life you have right now.  Right? 

So, here's an early New Year's toast, or maybe a Thanksgiving toast:

I'm thankful for all the amazing people in my life, my family, friends, and the new addition I'm impatiently waiting to meet.  I'm thankful for everyone who has ever been there for me through my toughest times.  I'm thankful my two friends have found guys that treat them well and want to share the rest of their lives with.  I'm thankful for having the chance to have seen 10 countries and have amazing stories and pictures to bring home with each one.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

So, with that said, here's to moving forward!

I bet 10 minutes after writing this I'll be sulking around trying to figure out how to afford everything and my next vacation.  :)

Shoutout to my readers!!!

I'd just like to say, you guys are fantastic!  I just took a look at my blog stats and I was totally shocked to see the list of countries I've had readers from!

Argentina
Australia
Canada
Germany
Hong Kong
Latvia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Romania
United Kingdom
USA
U.S. Virgin Islands

I really do love reading about other people's lives, especially from other cultures, so if you have a blog you'd like to share please e-mail it to me at: emmaville42786@gmail.com

You can also e-mail me any stories, topics you'd like me to write about, or any questions or comments you may have!  I hope to hear from you soon!

xoxo
Emma