The Time I Went Speed Dating

Mundane Monday. The weekend flew by way too fast as usual but I had a really great weekend complete with spoiled movie watching and speed dating...

So I'm sure you want to know all about speed dating but you'll have to wait (or cheat and scroll down...I can't really stop you I guess! haha!)

Friday night I had the best movie and dining experience ever! We went to CineBistro. Its one of those swanky movie theatres where they serve you real food in these huge comfy chairs that recline. TO DIE FOR!!! I never want to watch a movie the regular way again! #princessproblems

We saw the movie "This Mean War" with Reese Witherspoon. I won't give it away because its definitely worth seeing. Its got action for the guys and love, eye candy, and awesome fashion for the ladies. It's also very funny! I was pleasantly surprised! Reese looked AWESOME! All of her outfits were killer and the SHOES...OH THE SHOES! I counted at least 2 pair of Louboutins and one pair of Manolo Blahniks (yes I'm shoe obsessed...designer shoe obsessed to be more specific)

I couldn't find any good photos with the shoes but kudos to the costume designer on this movie. She looked awesome and it all translated really well.

So Saturday I was planning on hanging out at home and catching up on laundry and Lifetime movies with my Tagalong Girl Scout Cookies (I support ALL of our "troops") But one of my friends from my networking group called and asked if I wanted to go speed dating. I've always joked about doing it but never really took it seriously until I heard another friend talk about how she had met her current boyfriend (of 5 months!) speed dating. Why the heck not?

It started at 3 which made choosing an outfit tricky. After ravaging my closet much like I'd imagine the Tasmanian devil would, I finally came up with an outfit. I wanted to look put together, fun, while still feeling comfortable.

I met my friend at the bar where we had a drink before heading to the event. It was exactly what you would expect. The ladies sit at numbered tables and are given a name tag and the men move from table to table every five minutes to the sound of a bell. (Kind of like in Hitch)

The first "round" I didn't have anyone sitting at my table so I used the time to plan my questions. The weather was nice so that was a great go-to. I also stuck to the typical "what do you do/where are you from"

So let's face it. Dating in Atlanta is NO easy task. After about the third guy, they all started to look alike because NONE of them were my type. They were mostly socially awkward and a little dorky. Which is fine...for some...I'm pretty sure one guy (who had hands the size of an 8 year old) was the son of Norman Bates (you know from that scary movie...). I tried to be nice. I smiled, laughed, asked questions...but most of these guys were SO awkward. And the thing is, the majority of the women there seemed absolutely normal. Needless to say I didn't check yes to any of them.

Where are the men?

My friend and I came to the conclusion that women speed date because we have a hard time meeting quality men, however men speed date because they aren't comfortable approaching women in other settings...hence the normal girl/socially awkward guy scenario that we ran across.

So I think that men are in one of three places: Sports Bars, The Gym, or The Grocery Store. I haven't really been to any sports bars to find out (which is why I think that's where they are hiding). I do have a gym crush so there is at least ONE there, and I haven't proven or disproven my grocery store  theory.

All in all, I will not be speed dating again. I'm going to back to the drawing board for ideas to meet my future hubs.

GF Material

I strongly believe that the only thing a girls should chase is a shot, however I often find myself thinking about the things that I would have to offer in a relationship and the qualities that I possess that should make any man want to change this girl's single status. So here are some of the top reasons to why I'm wifey material.

Khole and Lamar are such a cool couple. I wanna be like them!

7. Sports, Beer, and Burgers: I make no secret of the fact that there are few things that I care about more than football. There is nothing that I love better than a fall Saturday filled with college football (Go Gamecocks!), sipping a cold beer, and eating a big juicy cheeseburger. I'm sure most guys would rather spend their weekends doing that then hanging out at the mall. I also work in sports so I'm required to keep up with current events in sports...translation: I watch SportsCenter every day.

6. I totally approve of man-caves: I love big-screen tv's, pool tables, mini-bars, poker tables..all of the above. I will never turn his man cave into a scrapbooking room because I've never made a scrapbook in my life.

5. While I spend hours a week in the gym, I still can't open jars. I can't fix anything to save my life. I know nothing about cars. And I'm 5'2" so I can't reach anything up high. With that said, my boyfriend will always feel like a man. (Don't get me wrong I'm an I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T woman, but I can play the damsel in distress game quite well!)

4. I have great cleavage and men like that. Enough said.

3. I don't like to cuddle [while sleeping or while my body temperature is at all elevated]. I don't need to spoon all night, in fact, I would prefer that we don't even touch while we are asleep. That is not to say that we can't cuddle infront of a fire on a cold night...jussayin.

2. I'll let you guess this one by the photo...haha

1. And finally...my kick ass personality.

[Sooo...if any of you know any bachelors feel free to pass this list on...jussayin]



Friday Funny

Had to share...especially with all the single girls out there...

HAPPY FRIDAY Y'ALL!!!

photo credit: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/what-people-think-i-do-what-i-really-do

The Love Cynic

Secret: I'm currently sitting in my office avoiding anything that closely resembles work. I almost played hooky today but couldn't think up a good excuse. Luckily my boss (and all the other company big-wigs) are out of the office for a meeting...so maybe tomorrow will be hooky day!

(this is my actual to-do list from Monday...it's all crossed off now. I just didn't bother to make one today...)

Over the weekend, I went up to my old stomping grounds, Charlotte, NC. I spent one amazing year after college living in Charlotte. While I'm absolutely in love with the city and 3 of my best friends live there, I hated my job...which is how I got back to ATL last April. Anyway, I went up because one of my best friends is getting married next year and needed help wedding dress shopping. No brainer...of course I went!

It got me thinking about marriage. I used to think that by 25 I'd be well on the road to "until death do us part"...HA. I'm not even on the road to Valentine's Day being something other than Singles Awareness Day. After some bad breakups, bad dates, and bad examples...I'm not sure what I think about marriage. My love gene has been replaced with the cynicism gene.

(even after Miranda got married her love cynicism never failed)

I wonder where I lost my faith in marriage? Was it when I found out that the person that had me sending him pictures of engagement rings was living a double [possibly triple] life and seeing 2 other women? Was it when Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries ended their marriage after a mere 72 days? Was it when I looked at my parents, who are polar opposites, and wondered how the heck they ever got together in the first place?

Is it possible to be happily single? I mean right now, I'm [technically] single and I'm happy. I've decided that my future boyfriend is out there right now, hopefully getting richer by the minute, and one day our paths will cross. But that's the thing...I'm happy, yet I'm still hoping that he's out there. Could I be happy knowing that he may not be? and that its going to be me, London and Kinglsey (the pups) forever and ever amen?

(Please tell me you remember that crazy stunt when Dennis Rodman married himself)

I guess the truth is that I'm not THAT cynical. I do believe in finding your other half and spending the rest of your life walking hand in hand on the beach. I just don't believe that its as easy as it sounds. Dating is hard, relationships take work, and marriage can be rough. I guess the secret is that you have to find someone that you love enough, that always gives you butterflies, and that you can imagine waking up next to every morning whether you are happy, sad, or indifferent. Maybe I can learn from the mistakes of those that I feel made me cynical so that when I run in to Mr. Wonderful I will recognize him, appreciate him, and be with him...for better or worse, until death do us part. 

Happy early Singles Awareness Day to all you Bachelorettes! (I wonder what my future Valentine will be doing with his day?)

Flirting 101

While my relationship status at this moment should read "More confusing than Chinese arithmetic", one thing that I have established is that at the very least I will be shopping for someone to change it. With that said, I look for guys in two places....the gym and the grocery store (mostly because other than work, those are the only places I go and there isn't anyone at work...). Nothing has worked out for me at the grocery store yet but the gym is filled with lookers.

I definitely have a gym crush. If nothing else its motivation to go to the gym. We've never spoken anything other than "hey! how are you" but its mostly because I turn into a giddy little school girl and laugh awkwardly whenever he looks at me. I never know what to say or do. I have no idea how to flirt. So, like any modern young-fab-free girl, I googled "How to Flirt". I still don't know how to flirt BUT I did get a really good laugh from some of the advice that's out there. I thought I would share...

1. Lower your expectations: So what you're saying is, the cute guy I want to flirt with doesn't want me so I should flirt with someone less attractive? Okay so new standards: breathing. Got it.



2. Flirting is not appropriate everywhere, like at funerals: Thank you Captain Obvious.

3. Use body language to hint at your romantic intentions: All I can think is this....

Creepy much?

4. If you think you look like an idiot just laugh at yourself: I've already been doing that and its not working...

5. Make consistent eye contact: Cue death stare.

6. What you say is not important: So mention that I've already planned our wedding on Pinterest and

that I've already named our 2 children. Check!

7. If the person seems unresponsive they are possibly on the autism spectrum: WTF? No comment.

8. If they say something nerdy say, "You usually hang out at the library don't you": How does this qualify as flirting?

9. Trip, fall into his arms and say "Man, I thought I was falling into a wall because your pecs are so hard": hahaha...actually...that might work...
 
10. Grab his butt: I guess that would get his attention...



So while I won't be trying these the next time I run into my gym crush...there is someone out there right now that might be and that worries me!!

What are your best (or worst!) flirting tips??

When I Grow Up

I had the privelege over the weekend to see a women's college basketball game. Now, as you may know I work in a sports-centric industry and am somewhat of a sports nut. However, basketball has never been at the top of my list...maybe I secretly resent it because I've never been tall enough to play. But basketball runs in my genes. You see my dad was a star bball player back in the day. He was one of the best players in South Carolina and even went to college on a basketball scholarship.

(this picture is from his Senior year of High School....wasn't he a looker?!) Look at those shorts and socks! haha!!

Anyway, basketball played a major part in my dads life so in his honor I have his basketball number, 24, inked on me.

But yesterday, during the game, I noticed real athleticism. Did I mention that these were WOMEN playing. They were hustling up and down the court (full sprints!), they were coordinated, aggressive, and incredibly skilled. It was really inspiring. These girls were as good as any mens team and the game was incredibly exciting to watch! I was jealous [and I mean that in the best way possible].

When I grow up...I want to be a basketball player! There are so many benefits...

First of all they are in INSANE shape. I read that on average in a game they can run about 10 miles...seriously...I knew they were doing a ton of running but TEN miles while dribbling and basically fighting other basketball chicks off you is no joke.

There is also the possibility that your life will turn out a lot like Sanaa Lathan's character (Sydney) in Love and Baskeball (aka my favorite movie ever...)

Because obviously as a women's player you get to hang out with the boys team all the time too right? Who doesn't want to fall in love and play basketball with a hot player like my "not-so-secret" crush D-Wade.

I usually go for football players but for Mr. Wade I will definitely make an exception...look at those arms...mmmmm.

OK back to reality.

The fact of the matter is that watching women's basketball made me realize that being a young, fab, free, and fit girl is pretty cool and definitely something that I aspire to be. All female athletes are inspiring to me. I want to be one and I'm definitely working on it.

Have a good week :-)

Grocery Store Matchmaking

Part of my life YFF means that I am single (well its complicated but that's a whole different blog post). Atlanta is an interesting place to date. Apparently the ratio of (elligible...you know single and straight) men to women is 12:1...so that makes finding eligible prospects a daunting task to say the least. In college dating was easy. Step 1: Go to a bar and find hot guy Step 2: Take shots with said hot guy and commence make out sesh Step 3: Hang out with hot guy sober and realize he's immature Step 4: Repeat step 1 through 3 with new hot guy. [note: I have never done this, I just heard that's how it works]

Anyway, now that the college days are over and done with, there are new ways to meet elligible (more likeable) bachelor's. I applaud my best friend, who recently met a guy while she was out to lunch with her sister. Their waiter was a certified hottie so she hit on him, got his number, and they've been texting ever since. Talk about taking charge!

For some reason, I have this grand idea that the grocery store is the perfect place to meet men. I have even gone so far as to strategically plan which store I go to to find a man in the produce aisle. I've been close to having this almost happen. The first time I found a bachelor type in the bread aisle. I decided that I was going to secretly follow him and start up a conversation about Mrs. Butterworth vs. Aunt Jemima. When I got to the end of the aisle behind him, he was greeted by Ms. Perky Girlfriend, who had gone to grab tampons. FAIL. The second time, I was picking up a few quick items for a work pot-luck and a group of firefighters were grabbing dinner subs from the sandwich counter. There was one in particular who naturally was a hunk of burning love. I kept running into him in every aisle but never got up the nerve to say anything. NOT WINNING. 

But there is an art to finding a single man perusing the cartons with the unbroken eggs.

1. Check out his grocery cart. A single man has basics and basics only. Steak, milk, cheese, toilet paper, and beer (brownie points for dog treats). A taken man has an identical cart to yours...fruit at the bottom yogurt, Lean Cuisines, and Kashi Granola bars all mean that girlfriend sent him to the store with a list.
2. He looks clueless. A poor single guy looks like one of those little lab rats in a maze trying to find the end so he can get his prize. He's reading the aisle directories and beating a path up and down every other aisle in search of beef jerky.
3. Nab him in the beer aisle. Somehow, all men know everything there is to know about every kind of beer there is (I guess its the same way women have infinite knowledge of designer handbags). Ask him what he reccomends since you are watching the (insert current sporting even here...NFL playoffs right not for my non-sports savvy readers) with a few friends and martinis and sports don't mix.

See, this perfect scenario is bound to happen. Okay so what's the secret? Where is the best place to meet men?