A Summer Without the Lake

Every summer since I interned there, the summer of 2006, I've returned to the Lake of the Ozarks; except this year. This year, a six-year tradition was broken. It generally doesn't feel like summer unless I've had my lake trip. This summer feels all out of sorts. Schedule-wise the trip just didn't work this summer. Between trying to find someone to go with and working around my intense summer class schedule, it just didn't happen. In all actuality, not much fun happened this summer. This summer, I was a bookworm. So why do I love the lake? Well, lots of reasons:
1) at the lake I feel carefree and like I'm still in college. I have a million memories from my summer interning there. I'm perpetually 22 there.
2) the lake is so peaceful and beautiful
3) the shopping outlets
4) the lakeside restaurants; breath-taking
5) dancing is the best at the lake; I miss Topsider
6) Jet skis make me happy. There's nothing like letting loose on a jet ski and maxing it out at 49mph, freaking out at how fast I'm going, then laughing and doing it again.
7) Everyone is friendly at the lake
8) My favorite moment of the year always happens right there. It's simple, but the highlight of my year; my pool and lakeside frozen strawberry daiquiri and pepperoni pizza moment. I miss that! :(
I guess, I knew my lake tradition wouldn't last forever. Maybe next year...

The Bad Boy Boxer

He was your quintessential boxer; in perfect shape, 6'1", and tatted up. He was half Puerto Rican, half Italian; deadly combo. We kinda caught each other's eye in a twice a week boxing class. He was an actual boxer with fights under his belt. I was just in the class to learn to box; I'd always wanted to learn. It was one date; he cooked dinner (sub par) and a movie (lame, if I remember correctly). We were from two very different worlds. Nothing is his life was steady and for the most part he was a player. We talked about dating, but some habits die hard, I guess. He wanted to remain "friends", but I didn't want to remain in his mixed up world. He moved soon after and that was a good thing, for both of us.

I actually took boxing classes for roughly two years; best shape of my life. Unfortunately, it's not the recommended physical activity for someone with rheumatoid arthritis, so unfortunately I had to hang up my boxing gloves. I miss it sometimes.

Feels like a million years ago...

Profile of Dates

Profile of the types of guys I've gone out with...

I generally go out with guys no more than fours years younger and no more than four years older. It wasn't until I started writing this that I realized that. I guess, I'd be willing to go up to six years older, but really no younger than four years.

I used to take a boxing class for two years, so I went out with two boxers. One was a bad boy and that didn't last long. The other kinda broke my heart. I've gone out with Army and Air Force guys, enlisted and officer. One I met after he backed into my car at a toll plaza. I've gone on dates with two guys from dating sites; fail. I've gone out with farmers; yes, this surprises me too. I've also been set up on blind dates twice; both were really nice guys. The last was the most recent date. I've also been on dates with two guys who I unfortunately later found out had girlfriends. One even looked like the actor Luke Wilson...

So, if I'm remembering correctly; I've been on dates with 13 guys for a total of roughly 21 dates. Small numbers, I know, but all I need is one great guy. I'm still hoping for my last first date. :)

If any of those profiles spark your interest, comment and I'll tell the story. I feel like no one reads this thing, but my viewer count is over 415. It also claims, I have readers from literally all over the world! Welcome to my world!

Staycation...

So, I'm apparently one of these semi-lame people who take time off work for a "staycation." If the person I was in college could see me now...
Nonetheless, the plight of the single person in their late-20s is that all of your friends can't travel for one of the following reasons: they're married, have kids, or are broke. Why am I "staycationing?" It boils down to 3 things: I've got class, I'm broke, and I have no one to travel with. What am I doing on my staycation? I went to the DMV and grocery store, also I'm doing homework. I'm living the high life, people! I am also spending time with a friend who is soon to leave the country for work for several months, so alas, it won't be totally wasted. I also have dreams of sleeping in and staying up late. This is the life, my friends! :)

Something New

Roughly two months ago, I got asked to do something new. It was a really fun, exciting experience. I got to meet new people and add something fresh to my resume. ;) All in all, we ended up filming for parts of 5 days, in 8 locations, and a total of three videos were made; third times the charm! The video hits TV in NE Kansas, including KC starting next week. I was actually sad to see the experience come to a close and I'd love the chance to do something like this again. :) The results are below:


Is anyone reading this blog? Hello? :)

Profile Pictures 101

Here's what annoys me about dating profile pictures: 1)I don't quite get what people are thinking when they post dating profile photos that they're not in. Seeing a picture of your dog, car or motorcycle, or a place you've traveled to isn't going to make me want to date you if you're not also attractive. Get in the picture! 2) Group photos also drive me crazy. Which of the 17 people are you? What's worse is when all of their profile photos are of groups. I feel like I'm playing Where's Waldo?! 3) I get that you want to look manly, but don't frown in your pictures. You look mean and then I have visions of you being a potentially violent person. Then, I click "no!" 4) If I don't think you're attractive already, the picture of your abs, arms, chest, or shoulders aren't going to help. 5)If I realize that in every shot you're in a club, bar, or holding an alcohlic beverage I'm going to think you're still in a partying phase and move on. 6) If in several shots you're with various girls (some even scantily clad) I'm going to wonder how many girls you've gone through and decide to save myself the trouble. Or I'm going to think I wear too much clothing for your taste. Either way, I'm clicking "no."

What do I want to see in a profile picture? Several pictures of your face, full length shots, and also ones of you having fun with friends or doing something you enjoy. If you've got a group shot of you and a FEW friends, caption it, tell me which one is you. If you have pictures of you with ladies, tell me who they are. Oh, it's your sister? Now that makes sense.

Dating Sites..I feel like I've tried them all

I've tried Eharmony, Match.com, Christian Mingle, and Plenty of Fish. What did I think of them?

Well, Plenty of Fish was the disaster of the bunch. I was barraged with guys ranging in age from 20 to 50s. Pretty much inundated with every kind of guy I WASN'T looking for. As an example of how bad it was; the guy from the disasterous, cheese date; met him on Plenty of Fish. They can keep their fish; I'm moving to another pond! I only lasted a week on there anyway.

Match never gives me what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a Christian and my daily matches are an array of agnostics, atheists, and the like. Not impressed. They don't filter well. Older men love me on that site...sigh. Thankfully, my membership expires this week.

Eharmony...it definitely has it's faults, but my matches are way better quality than the two previous sites. The problem? Most of the quality guys live several hours away. Gave up my membership there.

Lastly, Christian Mingle. Let me start out by saying my mom means well, she really does. One day, roughly three years ago, I got a call from her while at work. After some somewhat odd questions, I ask what she's doing. Can you guess? She signed me up for Christian Mingle and even started my profile and added photos for me. I wasn't upset; I just kind of found it well...amusing. So, at that time I was overwhelmed with guys in their 50s trying to talk to me or guys with multiple kids (including babies that were hot out of the oven). As a result, I backed away from the site. What brought me back was the coaxing of several family members. I know they mean well, but I guess they're also worried about my single state. It seems Christian Mingle's advertising was working; on my family. So, I'm back. My complaint about the site; you don't actually have to attend church to use the site. For me, my faith and attending church goes hand-in-hand. The guy from my first blog I met on Mingle. We'll see...

Worst Date Ever

My worst date ever was this last February. I met the guy on the worst dating site ever (hindsight is 20/20). We'd texted for awhile and he asked me to lunch on a weekday. He lived outside of town, so I got to pick the place; Coco Bolos (my favorite). For the record, 66.6% of my first dates that occur there are bad. He called, he didn't know where the restaurant was or where any of the Aggieville landmarks I used as references were (guys, research this stuff). So, he was 10 minutes late.

He walks into the place and it hits me that he looks a bit different than his photos. He also looks like he just got up and grabbed whatever clothing he could find. He wore a Aeropostale hoodie, ski hat (yes, even indoors) with sunglasses propped on his head (which I could see myself in...weird), jeans, and boots.

He spent 15 minutes reading the menu. I tried to give him the cliff notes version of my favorites. Conversation was rough. I did learn some interesting things...he hunts illegally. According to him, it doesn't matter if it's not your land. He also doesn't like kids.

Here's where it gets interesting; our food arrives. He ordered a burrito. I look up from my meal to see him twisting his fork at least a foot in the air over his plate, trying to break the cheese. He must've seen the shocked look on my face, because he said, "I don't know how people eat this properly." I calmly replied, "you could use your knife." The next time I looked up, I couldn't stifle my shock and a small laugh. Why you ask? Well, the fork was still in the air and the knife, well it was in his other hand swiping at the cheese to no avail. No lie, it looked like he was playing a violin. Again, he saw the shock on my face and said, "it's not working." I replied, "one could try cutting it against their plate." Problem solved. Throughout the meal, he mentions that he never goes out to eat; now I know why.

At the end of the meal, the waitress appears and asks if the tickets are together or separate. I wait for him to respond, since he asked me out. DEAD SILENCE. Finally, after an uncomfortably long pause (both for me and the waitress), I respond that it could be separate. Let's just say I was happy to end the "date" and head back to work early.

He texted the next couple of days like nothing weird had happened. I let him know I didn't see us working out. At least I'm not the only one having bad dates...

Intro to Blogging 101

Well, here goes my first blog. I've thought about blogging for quite some time now. My friends told me I should start one to chronicle all my funny stories (mainly dating disasters).

I've entered the desperate state of online dating. I tell you, it's a disaster. While on the phone with a new "match" for the first time, he blurted out that he's missing two teeth. Who says this kind of stuff on a first conversation?! He told me all about his dental work and how I'd never be able to tell which teeth were fake. NEXT!