It's a Wrap-Up

Hmm, this is becoming more of a weekly thing, and I don't like that. 

Let's talk about last weekend!  Well, it was mostly uneventful.  I had a very aggravating day at work on Friday as I was trying to teach work stuff to the new receptionist and it wasn't going well.  I usually consider myself a clear communicator, but I guess I have expectations of general intelligence that are off-base in this case.  At least write down what I'm saying so you don't have to ask me 10 times, amiright?  Anyway, Schmillie thankfully talked me into getting a drink after work, which turned into like six drinks and I took a cab home after midnight.  Or rather, to McCafferty's in Astoria to meet Schmannon, her date Flick, and that guy I'd taken home two weeks ago, Pal.  I mean, he works there, so he was there.  She'd warned me before I arrived that he had talked to her about me, and how he didn't think I liked him very much.  Aww, but true.  Anyway, I was way too drunk, so I got sick on the sidewalk around the corner (I know.  I'm 17.) and then got gum, then went inside to see the gang and drink water.  It was nice and chill, but unnecessary probably.  More on this in a minute.  Oh, and Pal was very attentive and nice, so it wasn't awkward (I don't think), but I felt a little bad.  I don't mean to be a jerk, but he was sort of puppy-ish about me, like keeping an eye on me and touching me unnecessarily and bringing me a chair and stuff.  He texted me after I got home (um, at 4 am) to say it was good to see me, and I said likewise.  I mean, he's a nice guy, so we can be friends.

Anyway, that meant Saturday was a bust -- or should I say, a nice lazy day of Mad Men and delivery greasy food and catching up on DVR.  (I'm overwhelmed by my DVR right now.  So many shows.)  Sunday was similar, but I did get out to run some errands and get a mani/pedi/back massage AND I finally decided to go back to eyebrow waxing.  I'd decided like six years ago that I'd just tweeze and it'd be cheaper, but I think that was before I realized how cheap it was in NYC and also before I realized I can't get them even on my own.  So I've turned over the eyebrow reigns, and it feels GOOD.  They're a little thinner than I had them, but I think it looks OK.  She chastised me for tweezing too much in the middle -- I guess you're only supposed to have a two-finger width there and I have three.  But I also have bald patches in my brows, so I'm going to try to let the middle grow but it may look insane.  Fun!  Oops, I digress...

Sunday night I set up my OKCupid profile so I can begin internet dating again.  I'm e-mailing a couple of boys now, and I'm still pretty hopeful about the thing.  I'm mostly reaching out to guys in Astoria, too, unless I see someone I really like in Manhattan.  I probably will expand, but I'm just starting with my neighbors -- I really like dating someone close by.  I'm eager for the actual dating to start, but I have to be patient.

And last night was our first dodgeball game of the season.  It was really fun!  Well, I got a little frustrated at some of my teammates, mostly the ditziest of girls who sassed me when I tried to help her understand the gd rules...but we know I can be competitive.  Then the after-game drinking at the bar was awesome.  It's at The Irish Rover, which is kind of far from me, Astoria-wise, but they give you your third drink as a buyback, and everybody in the league is really friendly and social.  I like a few of my teammates a lot, too, and I made best friends with a guy Snick who I'd met once before a couple weeks ago but who I talked to the most last night.  I would think we had something going on except that he's ENGAGED.  It's a bit confusing as to why he'd be so friendly, but I'm not going to worry about it.  He bought all my beers and insisted on walking me home at 1 in the morning, as he and I were the last ones to stay from our team, and we ended up hanging out and doing whiskey shots with the yellow team.  (Their toast before drinking?  "Yellow snow.")  Oh, and our team is blue -- actually baby blue.  And named Shaved by the Ball.  Anyway, Snick didn't do anything inappropriate but is vaguely flirtatious and very nice.  I made a point to talk to him about the boys I was checking out at the bar though, to be very clear on the friendship line.

Oh, so yes, there are a few cute options in my league, and two of them approached me last night, so the seeds have been planted.  We'll see.  There's also a few flirtatious boys who are not so cute, but it's still fun.  I think this league is all about flirting, really.  And balls.

Right, I was going to talk about my drinking problem.  Mainly the problem is that once I get going, I'm not good at stopping -- I so don't care that it's late or that I'll be hungover, I just want to stay out, have fun, and not miss anything.  But then the next day I feel miserable and a bit depressed at my worthlessness.  I realize this behavior is silly and a bit harmful, so I need to try to be more disciplined even through my 3-drink haze.  I don't know how to accomplish this yet, but the first step is recognition, right?

And Sleeve is still texting me.  Last Wednesday after a bottle of wine, I'd said something to him about how he wasn't going to say goodbye, just go silent, and he said I was the one walking away.  Which is not true, and what?  Crazy.  So I clarified and then it was quiet again until Saturday, when I got a "What's up babe?" text, and I ignored it.  Then I got another one last night and he asked if he was on the ignore list, so I said no, I tried to talk about what I want and you weren't having it, and he said he was having it, so I said well, do something about it.  And he made a sexual comment and I Shut.It.Down.  I told him no sexting.  Obviously I shouldn't talk to him at all, but I miss the communication, so whatever.  I also like speaking so plainly about how this is his fault.  I don't know, I'm back to finding it vaguely entertaining.

So that's the haps!  Tonight is book club for The Help, which should be a good one, AND we're meeting at this rooftop bar near my office that I've been wanting to try forever, so I'm pumped.  Also really tired, as I went to sleep at 2 am, but I'll make it and then go to bed early tonight.

Thump Day

Well, it's only Wednesday...I've done worse.

I had a lovely outdoor lunch of pizza and gelato in the sun, and now I'm ready for a nap.  But at least my to-do list at work has eased up a bit, so I have had time to catch up on some internet fun today.  I'm going to write this and then proceed with some heavy lifting, as I'm packing up boxes to send to storage before our big office move this winter.  I'm stressed about the scheduling and the work required, which is still kind of vague, but once we get a handle on the details and get the thing locked down, I'll be able to relax and git 'er done, so to speak.

This week has been quiet.  I've worked late the past two evenings, and on Monday just relaxed with more Veronica Mars, and then last night I made a Cream of Zucchini soup in order to make use of some of the five pounds of zucchini we have from our CSA.  I haven't really eaten it yet, but I tasted it and it's delicious.  It has milk, broth, brown rice, zucchini, and onion, and that all gets blended until smooth, and then you add more shredded zuc for texture, sour cream, and chopped fresh dill.  I also added some diced turkey bacon so it would have more protein and be a satisfying and healthy lunch.  I'm pretty excited about it, especially as though I'm not officially doing Weight Watchers, I try to keep an eye on my "points" eaten during the week, as that's how I've learned to judge the appropriate meal options.  It's basically a balancing act right now between my healthy work-week eating and my terrible weekend eating...unfortunately, I need to cut back more on the weekend, so I can lose these DAMN FIVE POUNDS.  Ok, or ten or fifteen.  Whatever.

I was worried things would be awkward with Smee, but on Monday he stopped by my cube first thing and smiled and started to say something but I was on the phone (I'm so busy and popular), so then I went to say hi when I was free.  I just asked how the rest of his weekend was, and we said how hungover we both were on Saturday, and he said something like "which may explain why I said..." and I just said don't worry about it, and it's been fine and smiley since.  (And I'm not sure which thing he was referencing exactly, as he may have wanted to just reject me further, but maybe not.  He seems to just generally feel guilty for certain admissions. (God, now I want to make an emissions joke, but I'll refrain.))  Which is good, because we had to spend Monday and Tuesday afternoon together in the conference room hunched over a project together.  Our arms would brush occasionally...oh butterflies.  But in a nice way, like in a "I'm confident in where I stand here, and I don't really know that I want more and can't have it anyway, so I will enjoy your giant crush on me" way.  (Ok, fine, a mutual crush that ebbs and flows.)

Remember I told you that I texted Sleeve about wanting more on Sunday?  He didn't respond to that, but texted me the usual "What's up babe?" on Monday.  So I asked if he'd gotten that text, and he said yeah, I'm sorry.  And I said "Don't be, I just want this to move one way or the other, and I don't think that's crazy, do you?"  He replied, "No, I agree."  And only that...but I haven't heard more from him, so I guess that means no actual hanging out.  What a strange bird. 

So now I'm free and clear of dumb man distractions, which is mostly good.  I did realize that I get more sad about the past when there's no boy to daydream about, but hey, sometimes I also get excited about who I'm going to meet.  I've got my photo selection ready for my online dating profile, now I just have to find the time to write the thing, preferably when I'm in a witty and clever mood.  Hopefully the stars will align this weekend.

But for now, I am looking forward to drinks tonight with Schmess (and maybe Schmannon) at Il Bambino in Astoria.  And panini (panino?)  And then tomorrow evening is Harpie dinner at Schmags' new Brooklyn digs, which I haven't seen yet.  It'll be great, and I won't worry about getting home late.  (Though the theme is celebrating the aged, so maybe being crotchety about that would be appropriate?)  I'm making

[SPOILER ALERT, HARPIES]

the appetizers, and I sort of forced it to fit the theme, but I'm using crescent roll dough (the waning moon represents old age) as a shell in mini-muffin tins with smoked gouda (like old people are smoked?) and pancetta (aged?) baked with garlic powder (old people smell like garlic?)  We'll see how it turns out. 

Enjoy the remainder of your fall-tinged week, darlings!

As the Caterpillar Emerges from Her Cocoon...

Thighs is right, no text.  I let the temptation pass, my friends.  Besides, Summer Intern (who is 25 years old) wants to come drinking tonight, and though I have a girls' foursome planned, if things get silly I may let him come by later.  IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.  I mean, just to be friendsies.

That reminds me -- something's going on lately with me and the word "Pants."  It makes me laugh out loud.  Is this a degeneration of my amusement at "Panties"?  Yesterday when eating lunch with the co-workers in the conference room, my female lawyer friend said her new Ikea wardrobe (furniture, not clothing) came with a pants rack.  HAAAAA.  Just say it to yourselves.  PANTS RACK.  Also, our firm has a client called "Sid's Pants."  (That might be confidential.  Shh.)  I can't help it.

So last night was veggie pick up, grocery shopping, then a loooong time cooking dinner.  I boiled corn on the cob, roasted zucchini and squash and eggplant and beets, then sauteed/simmered it all with two large cans of diced tomatoes and some greens, the cut-off-the-cob corn, and fresh basil.  Then I stirred in ziti, put it all in a baking dish with some fresh mozz on top (and some Kraft parmesan) and baked it.  It was labor-intensive but mostly local and fresh and I'm sure I'll get 2-3 weeks of dinners out of it!  I froze some and put the rest in the fridge, after eating, of course.  The best/worst part is that the beets turned the pasta pink, so it looks like a girly-themed dish.  But so what, who cares.  I also ate some baby watermelon out of the shell, sliced in half, and felt like a hippy queen.  Then into bed for Top Chef!  Right, so I bailed on my upstairs neighbor, but I was cooking then eating till 8:30, then showered, then was exhausted and climbed into bed for TV.  Do I want to be friends?  Not that badly that I'd force myself to go up there.  Honestly, I'm in a bit of hermit mode this week anyway.  I don't know why but I'm sure it'll pass.

Besides, I'm not being a hermit tonight!  I'm meeting the Harpie girls for drinks and it's been awhile since such an event has occurred.  It should be fun, and still might be an early night, though this is to be determined.  I'll be happy either way.

P.S. I was just adding Labels to this post, and apparently I've used the label Pants before...now I'm very curious.