I Can't Stand The Rain

Hello world. I'm hungover today. You know you've overdone it the night before when you wake up and your head hurts so bad that you would not be surprised to see the other half of your skull on the pillow still. Advil was required this morning. Oh yes, indeed.

Personal news: I bought a new car! a 2011 Hyundai Elantra. It looks exactly like this:




California has been too wet recently. I mean, yes, it's lovely to see grass lush and plants prospering, but I'm tired of being soggy. As someone who needs to walk a dog several times a day, I am tired of hopping puddles and carrying my dog over huge lakes in the middle of the road because she cannot get though them without soaking her body.

I did break down and get "The Beags" a rain coat. I'm really not the type of doggie parent who believes in dressing up a pooch on a regular basis, however, after the last rain, when Sheila became undeniably drenched and spent the subsequent couple of hours shivering (she hates the blow drier, so we can't do that), I felt like enough of a horrible person that I broke down and bought a cheap little $10 raincoat on Amazon.com. It arrived this week and we used it for the first time this morning. We both felt a little bit stupid, but it worked.

I have no doubt that Coachella will have the same instances of downpour this year that it usually does. April showers, no doubt. I still am debating on whether or not I want to try to find tickets online.

Why did I leave London again?

Thought of the Morning 31

Unlike green clover leaves, letters strung together in clusters of four do not bring good fortune to anyone.

Thought of the Morning 30

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I'm very fond of sleep today. ZzzzzZzzz

Digital Dating: Going out on dat-a(s)?

So, in recent months, I finally broke down and decided to give the old online dating thing a shot. I mean, "everyone's doing it" (and no, if everyone jumped off of a bridge, I would not be flinging my body on top of the rest of them). It's not because I'm even particularly lonely, but I feel as though I'm good and solid and whole, and ready to have someone else in my life, even as a casual, see you every once in a while thing. However, dating, even online, is not as easy as it looks.

I joined up on OkCupid!, you know, that free online dating site that everyone's joining, because 1) It's free, and 2) it's the first non-pay site that actually kind of behaves like the pay sites. What I liked best about this site was that you could rate people's profiles 1-5 stars and, if that person rated you the same, you'd get a message saying that it was a mutual match. That way, no harm done, you could secretly and slyly find out whether someone you dug, dug you as well.

After the past several months of getting mutual like messages, and follow-ups from eager men fresh on the scent of the chase, and having a few interesting phone calls, a date or two here or there, or an endless volley of emails that led to a dead-end, where conversations dropped like lead weights into a boundless ocean, I became increasingly aware that maybe the free and boundless nature of online dating offered too much choice.

Case in point, I was talking to a guy who seemed absolutely enamored with me. Every letter, he'd go on about how attractive he found me. We had many, many things in common. I mean, so many things, it was almost uncanny. We chattered on back and forth for about 5 or 6 rounds of emails when I decided to round up an email casually offering my phone number to invite him to take our conversation to the next *gasp* level. He replied enthusiastically and offered his number as well, and said that he didn't know WHEN he would call, but that he'd stored my number. I replied back casually, but I knew that, after the number exchange, there were only two choices: A phone call or drop the conversation altogether. What did he do? You're right if you guessed that I haven't heard a squeak from him since.

On the one hand, I guess it's better to know right off the bat if a guy is a coward or emotionally immature, or even if he's "just not that into you." However, I mean to say that, with the advent of Internet dating, people are able to peruse online profiles of potential mates at will. For many men, who, biologically have more of an inclination to be visually attracted to a mate, the variety could be mind-blowing, and, therefore, making a decision on one woman could prove nearly impossible. To further elucidate on this idea, say I need a new raincoat. I could go to the store and find a raincoat, and likely will settle on one I find that fits well and is the right style and price. However, if I go online, I may wind up with several choices, making the final purchase incredibly difficult to decide on, with such a vast selection at my fingertips.

Of course, it's not all black-and-white as that, but I think that the detached browsing functionality of sites makes the whole dating process a bit more difficult. I find myself falling victim to that "plenty of fish in the sea" mentality also. Yes, there are plenty of fish in the sea, but you shouldn't look a good guppy in the mouth...er...you know what I mean.

A Break in the Clouds

This blog's a personal one. Although I have many issues on the dinner table at the moment, which I am more than happy to dig into at some point soon, I should update the people who actually care about my actual life. They're out there, I think. At least, I'm pretty sure that they are. Humor me if I'm wrong.

Bunches of items on the proverbial plate at the moment. Life in general is getting exponentially better.

Career life: I've hit a major milestone at work, gaining us 10,000 Facebook followers in 3 months--yayy! Also, I got a company credit card, which kind of means that an employer both likes you and trusts you, both of which are good signs of a great working rapport ahead. Seriously, when things start to go right, the mornings open up and seem a little bit brighter.

Health life: I've started cutting out carbs from my diet and have started to see some changes, finally. Actually, I began the diet over three weeks ago and then realized that I really wasn't seeing much weight change. The great Google gods told me that, *gasp* I needed to cut out the caffeine as well. Cutting out caffeine is like slicing off a finger for me. But, it's either do that or be fat forever. So, out went the coffee, beginning Thursday. It's now Sunday and I haven't died or landed face-first into my keyboard, so I think I can handle this. Plus, with my workout schedule getting more intense, I FINALLY feel like I could get fit again. The strength is slowly returning. I seriously owe it all to Pilates Platinum, my pilates gym, where I've been taking pilates and spinning classes once or twice a week since mid-January. This is the first week where I haven't felt like a giant, wheezing heffalump among the thin, steel-limbed long-timers. One less wheeze, one more notch on the belt for me.

Speaking of wheezing, I've also given up that occasional smokey treat (cigarettes, people, come on). I think that sometimes it's almost worse for you if you are an occasional or "social" smoker. At that point, you don't classify yourself as a smoker, and you think, "I am not addicted, I can quit whenever I want." Or you have that thought in your head, "I really like smoking, I'll quit some day, but not now. Later, I will." If not now, a wise person once said, then when? That's why I put my foot down and squashed that butt. I nipped the butt right in the bud, you could say!

Music life: Rec'd recs for you:
Mellow days: The Decemberists "The King is Dead." Very much the best Decemberists album yet. I don't know how a band so great keeps getting better, but whatever they're on, they need to keep taking it. This album makes me not want to be human. Or at least I want to find the source of where this album came from and take a big, long drink. Get this one. Forreal

Fun times: Ed Banger "Let the Children Techno" Great, weird, experimental tracks on this new electro bundle of joy from the lovely French Ed Banger Records. They've released decent compilations before, but this one's exceptional. A must-have for any party. Get down with your bad self (available in April).

Home life: Finally, the apartment's starting to come together. Slowly, organization is happening. My energy level is up and shelves are being hung. Oh yes. Except a plastic screw thing broke off in the wall. Not sure how I'm going to manage to get it out. Note to self: plaster and plastic are not friends.

So, that's it for now. Should be enough, unless you're craving more. Then, I'd say, you're too obsessed with my life and should probably find one of your own. Ta! :)

The Beauty of a Beat

Could music be the one thing that brings peace to the Middle East?

The concept sounds a little, well, frankly, a little "hippie," but, maybe we haven't given those guitar-strumming flower children enough credit. In the immortal words of Madonna, "Music makes the people come together," even if it is for just two fleeting minutes at a time.

A YouTube sensation in the Arab world, the hip-hop dance remix of an incensed speech by Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi thrown over Pitbull & T-Pain's "Hey Baby", "Zenga Zenga Song" has accomplished the nearly impossible. It has brought an ever-so-slight breeze of humanity through the strangled air of the Israeli-Arab socio-political relationship. The track, of course, appreciated by both Arab and Israeli folk alike, was crafted and remixed by Israeli, Noy Alooshe.

In an interview for public radio, Alooshe admitted that he received death threats at first, after Arab fans of the video found out that he was an Israeli, but eventually, they came around and admitted to him that, although they did not like HIM, they appreciated his music.

And, oh that rhythm did never sound sweeter...