Cindy's Adventures

I haven’t mentioned my friend Cindy yet, but so much has happened to her this month that I feel her exploits deserve their own post. Cindy is 22 and currently in school. She has a few part time jobs and goes to as many bars per week as I did when I was selling beer. She recently ended a long-term relationship and has been on the rebound ever since. To help you beat the Monday Blues, here is a quick rundown of her love life since Halloween.

Crowning the King

For the first night of Halloween Cindy dresses up as a contestant from “Legends of the Hidden Temple,” the Nickelodeon game show that was big when we were younger. Fairly early in the night her group of friends ends up at a strip club (not unusual for them) but has to leave when she gets in a fight with a stripper who started out the dance dressed as Snookie. The night continues to spiral, and she remembers less and less as not only was it Halloween, but everyone was celebrating her birthday. That’s just a bad mix, let’s be honest. So eventually she wakes up and is in bed next to her friend’s roommate.

Bad Sign #1: Her lip feels swollen. No no, not from the fight with Snookie stripper, but from the lip biter she spent the night with. She had spent the night there once before and it turns out he has some sort of vampire biting fetish.

Bad Sign #2: A crown is hanging from the lamp next to his bed. Now where did that come from? She wakes up the guy and asks him. He gives her a strange look, “You don’t remember?” She shakes her head. He cracks a smile and says, “ You made me wear it last night.”

Yes – during.

She made the habitual lip biter wear the crown DURING.

He ended up giving her a tiara for her birthday.

How Much Can An Elephant Drink Before Calling 911?

The night after Halloween I jump in the car to work with Cindy and notice she looks exhausted.

“Long night?” I ask. Yay, I can feel a story coming on! The shift just got that much better. The group of friends went on another unplanned bar crawl and somehow Cindy was stuck with the most annoying guy ever, someone I’ll call Dumbo. Apparently he isn’t terribly annoying sober, but unfortunately on this night he became appallingly belligerent. At one point he was being really mean to her and she wanted to leave. Her friends were equally as drunk though, and nobody seemed to realize the extent of the situation. Of course they ended up at a strip club. He is becoming more and more argumentative and people are dropping like flies from the club. Next thing she knows it’s 4am and she is stuck getting the few remaining people home. Guess who needs a ride? Dumbo. Because she is a nice person, she wrestles him into the back seat where he continues to be completely ridiculous and extraordinarily rude. I’m just going to skip to the Pièce de résistance here. She is yelling at him to tell her where she should drop him off and all he seems to realize is that she is angry with him. So he says something along the lines of, “You don’t want me here, fine!” Then he grabs her phone, calls 911 and talks to the operator as if he is Cindy. He says that there is a belligerent white man in the back seat of her car – he stops to give an accurate description of himself here – and she needs the cops to come and get him.

Yes, he called the police ON HIMSELF.

Well, we all know that 911 does not look kindly on pranks or drunken phone calls and they quickly call her number back. Cindy answers the phone and apologizes over and over for Dumbo’s behavior and begs them to please not send any police. Finally she gets off the phone, turns around to yell at him again, but before she can say anything he opens the back door and sprints off into the night.

In his Halloween costume.

The Few, The Proud … and The Scary Guy

So after these last two encounters Cindy is very happy to meet Willy. She met him through a mutual friend and he seemed normal. Willy’s story is entwined with that of Andy, her neighbor who she met at a bar a few weeks ago.

Let me recap these stories in chronological order:

Willy Meeting #1: Mutual Friend introduces them and they both tell mutual friend they thought each other is cute. Mutual Friend decides they should all go out in a group setting later

Willy Meeting #2: Group setting meeting goes well. He is very nice, charming, mature and yay, he has a job! A real job! She ends up going home with him.

Willy Meeting #3: He visits her at one of her part time jobs. Just drops in to say hi and she thinks this is very nice of him. He mentions he wants to go to a hockey game next weekend and they make tentative plans to see each other again later in the week.

Willy Meeting #4: The two of them meet up at a bar, just the two of them this time. He proceeds to tell her that he has a crush on Mutual Friend. Hmmmmm….this seems weird. But the drinks take over and she ends up going home with him again.

Andy Meeting #1: Cindy sees him at a bar and is instantly attracted to him. She decides to use her favorite pick up line, “I have Beatles Rock Band in my room.” Long story short, they go home together. They go to his apartment and never actually get to play Beatles Rock Band. She has to leave early the next morning to go to work and is totally bummed to leave him.

Due to meeting Andy, suddenly Willy’s incessant text messaging and offers to buy her a microwave seem incredibly annoying. I had told her he was just being nice, but then he crosses the line into scary. Turns out his cousin used to date one of Cindy’s good friends. This Good Friend calls Cindy and asks why Cindy hadn’t told her she was dating Willy. Cindy clarifies everything here, stating they’ve just hung out a few times. Silence on the other end of the phone. Good Friend then tells Cindy that Willy told his mom about Cindy, who then told her sister, who asked her son about it, who then called his ex-girlfriend (the Good Friend) and told her the two were dating. WHAT?! No they were NOT dating, they had hung out FOUR times and hello, he had told her about his crush on Mutual Friend. So why was he telling his mom about her???? She decides to confront the situation and immediately calls him. 
Willy Conversation #5: He is hanging out with Mutual Friend (bad sign #25 here) and the first thing he says to Cindy is, “I miss you.” Cindy replies, “Are you drunk? I saw you a few days ago!” Of course this is not what he is expecting and he goes quiet. Cindy then asks why he told his mom about them and of course, he cannot give any type of normal explanation since in reality, they weren’t dating. The conversation gets more and more awkward until finally they hang up. 
She never heard from Willy again.

Andy however, plays prominently in her weekly recaps to me. Here’s my favorite story:

They decided to go out one night and he said he would pick her up at her parent’s house. Unfortunately for her, her dad was having a dinner party gone wild and all the guests were quite intoxicated. Word gets out that a boy is going to pick her up at the end of the driveway (she had asked him to meet her there instead of coming in to meet the Walking Bottles of Vodka that are the dinner guests). One woman gets so excited that she takes off out the front door, sprints down the driveway, and hides behind a bush. When Andy walks up she jumps out and scares the bejesus out of him. Cindy eventually has to ask him inside, where the adults proceed to corner him and ask him lots and lots and lots of questions. This is how sexy he is though – he completely rolls with it. He answers questions, has conversations without Cindy babysitting, and doesn’t let any of the drunkies phase him. It’s every girl’s dream! The next day he even stops by her family’s shop and goes in to say hi to her father. Last week he and her dad helped move her into her new apartment. A keeper? Maybe so!

But for the record – he told her she was the funniest sex he’s ever had.

I don’t even know what that means. 

A Quote And Links - Fun Stuff To Check Out

I came across two things that I really wanted to share with you. The first is an excerpt from the book I am reading, David Nicholls' One Day:

She didn't feel like an adult. She was in no way prepared. It was as if a fire alarm had gone off in the middle of the night and she was standing on the street with her clothes bundled up in her arms. If she wasn't learning, what was she doing? How would she fill the days? She had no idea. The trick of it, she told herself, is to be courageous and bold and make a difference. Not change the world exactly, just the bit around you. Go out there...and work hard at...something. 

Nicholls, David. One Day. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 2009: 12-13. 


I found this to be a funny, yet accurate, explanation of how we all felt those first few days out in the real world. 

The other item I had to bring to everyone's attention is a post from a blog called "Avoid This Job." Unfortunately the blog hasn't been updated for months, but I stumbled upon a hilarious post that you will undoubtedly giggle while reading. It tears apart a craigslist ad, which for my international friends, is a website where people post job openings amongst other things. Definitely take the time to read this:
Shake it Like a Polaroid Picture - Avoid this Job

Also, take the Color Quiz! It is scarily accurate and it takes about one minute to complete. You will be amazed: Color Quiz

Challenge of the Week

I hope all my American friends had a wonderful holiday weekend! This week's challenge was inspired by the fact that a lot of people ate way too much this weekend (and probably drank too much), and that it is getting colder and more depressing outside. Well, my Costa Rican and Aussie friends are enjoying some nice weather, but everyone else is starting to bundle up and the thought of even running errands is weighed against how terrible it will be to actually go outside. So here is the challenge of the week:

Workout for 20 minutes at least three times this week.


Some of my friends will find this incredibly easy to accomplish - but I know there are a few of you out there who haven't used that gym membership you're paying for in months. If you don't have a membership that doesn't let you off the hook though. Search Google or Youtube for some workouts and you'll find ones you can do around your apartment or house. Even just taking your dog for a longer stroll is healthy for both you and your pet. Those of you who say you don't work out for lack of time, think about 20 minutes you spend in front of your computer checking Facebook each day, or watching a TV show you don't even really like. Honestly, you will feel really good if you keep active, and this is a great time to get into the routine with winter just around the corner.


If you are already a gym rat then make sure you commit to the schedule you envision this week. Today I told myself that I am going to go to 4 workout classes this week. I know which ones they will be and I'm already a little afraid - but I'm going to do it! I'll even post about it because seriously, these classes kick my butt. If I, Miss Procrastinator Extraordinaire, can commit to a workout schedule, then everyone else can too! Get those feet moving and the endorphins flowing :)

An Untraditional Thanksgiving

For all of my international friends, Thanksgiving is a wonderful American holiday that consists of friends and family getting together and eating copious amounts of very good food. The traditional Thanksgiving, the one only a few of my friends actually have, is the whole family at one house eating turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. There are variations of these foods, and at some houses children get to sit at their own kid’s table, but pretty much everyone serves the same thing and the family gathers to give thanks for all their blessings this year. Other traditional traditions are: people watching the Macy’s Day parade on television (or in person if they live in New York), men watching the Cowboys and Lions play (not each other) while women wrestle with turkeys in the kitchen, friends playing American football in the afternoon (I am glad we don’t have that tradition as it was the season’s first snow), families playing board games after dinner, and everyone drinking quite a bit.

Before I tell you about my untraditional Thanksgiving, I should also elaborate on the night before, and the morning after Thanksgiving. The holiday is always held on the 4^th Thursday of the November, making the 4^th Wednesday the biggest drinking night of the year. This is because everyone knows they have the next day off work, so they meet up with their buddies at the local tavern and drink more beers than you can imagine. Unfortunately, this also makes it one of the most dangerous nights of the year, as there are drunk drivers left and right. Then everyone fights a hangover with fattening foods and more alcohol, before passing out in front of the fireplace. Well, perhaps the people who live down in Florida pass out in front of palm trees, I don’t know. We have snow here so we have fireplaces. Then crazy people wake up insanely early to participate in Black Friday.

Black Friday is always the Friday after Thanksgiving. This year it was also my 25^th birthday woohoo! Different story though. Getting back on track, Black Friday is one of the best – and scariest – days of the year. Stores open anywhere between 3-5am (yes, as in when all the Europeans are still out clubbing) and people literally trample others to get to TVs, IPads, and digital cameras first. There are amazing deals on everything from electronics to furniture, and people can save a lot of money if they are very invested in the Black Friday experience. I used to shop for clothes on Black Friday, but those deals aren’t nearly as good as ones on flat screen TVS and new cars. And I’m not kidding – people actually stampede into stores for these deals. See the video below that someone shot at Best Buy (an electronics store) this morning:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZJVZ2p223o&feature=fvwk

So that pretty much sums up a traditional Thanksgiving in the U.S. I got a bit off track though, as I was planning to write about my own, untraditional Thanksgiving. I live with my mom and we are the only two people in our family who live in the Midwest (aka we live about a 3 hour plane ride form anyone else in the family). We celebrate Thanksgiving with our neighbors and the rest of the guest list changes each year. This time it was us, our neighbors, another set of family friends, and our neighbors’ daughter and son-in-law. So unlike everyone who relies on their giant families for a huge Thanksgiving dinner, we always have a nice mixture of friends and family. It’s been like this as long as I can remember; the friends change with who is available each year, but it always a wonderful group and everyone has a great time. Let’s move on to the food. Unlike the turkey and stuffing of the traditional holiday, we serve lobster tails and steak cuts instead. This year we had grilled lobster tails, a huge beef roast, homemade squash biscuits (my favorite), and multiple salads. For dessert we had champagne with homemade pumpkin pie (made from a real roasted pumpkin!), walnut pie, and homemade apple cake. Oh, and homemade whipped cream! As in she said, hang on let me get the whipped cream, and 5 minutes later, instead of her returning with a spray can of it, we hear the mixer whirring. She literally disappeared into the next room and made her own whipped cream. Then she served coffee, which everyone promptly added Crown, Baileys, or Frangelico to. All in all, it was fantastic! Here are some photos from the day:

The Dinner Table

Grilled Lobster Tails

Our house with a dusting of snow

I hope all my American and Canadian (but yours was earlier, right?) Thanksgivings were as wonderful as mine was. We were blessed with a beautiful snow, the first of the season, and as we live next door, we were also blessed with being able to totter home after all the food and drinks. To my international friends, I think you should all spend a day having a Friendsgiving. This is when you invite all of your friends over and everyone brings a dish to share. You could keep to our traditional foods if you want, but you could also make it whatever theme you would like. Thanksgiving is all about spending time with loved ones – while consuming mass quantities of delicious food. So make a guest list, tell everyone to bring something whether it be wine or dessert, and have a fabulous day remembering how lucky you are to have friends and family in your life. 

Sneak Peak! Watch "Hey Soul Sister" from the upcoming Glee episode

Best news ever - Dalton's Warblers are going to perform "Hey Soul Sister" at Sectionals next week on Glee!

Even better news?

You can watch the performance early on Entertainment Weekly's site:
http://insidetv.ew.com/2010/11/24/glee-darren-criss-train-hey-soul-sister/

As Tim Stack, the guy who writes Glee recaps for EW, and the great Bebe Bryans says, "You're welcome!"

The Best Margarita

For my American friends it's that holiday time of year when family get togethers seem to be every weekend. Since it doesn't quite seem to be eggnog season, I'm going to give you my favorite margarita recipe. Use it if you need an escape from the family, or if you need a little liquid courage to meet your future in-laws. And don't forget to share with that booze hound relative you have ... you know who I am talking about! It's usually a grandma or sister-in-law....

Topolo Margarita  - Rick Bayless' recipe from Mexico: One Plate at a Time
makes about 6 servings

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 large limes)
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons tequila
• 1/4 cup orange liqueur
• lime wedges
• coarse salt
• about 1 1/2 cups small ice cubs

Directions

• Combine the lime juice, sugar and 1 cup water in a glass or plastic pitcher (making limeade)
• Cover and refrigerate if not using right away (but no longer than 24 hours)
• Add the tequila and orange liqueur to the pitcher of limeade
• Rub the rims of 6 martini glasses with a lime wedge, then dip them in a dish of coarse salt
• In a large shaker, combine the half of the margarita mixture with half of the ice and shake 10 to 15 seconds, then strain into the prepared glass. Repeat with rest of mixture
• You can actually just stir this together in the pitcher if you don't have the time (or the shaker) to do the last step

You can find the hard copy of this recipe at: Topolo Margarita

Another margarita that I have not tried, but My Husband claims is fantastic, can be found at: Watermelon Margarita

¡Salud!

Mirror, Mirror

In July 2009 I was moving into an apartment with Kay and Kate, which of course meant lots of boxes and stuff strewn all over the apartment. Kay and I are similar in that we like common areas very neat, while our rooms look like a clothes bomb exploded. Kate on the other hand is organized and neat everywhere. Her room is only messy on Sunday mornings while she nurses her hangover and puts off hanging up the discarded outfits from the weekend. I should also tell you that anyone who has ever lived with me knows that I don’t care AT ALL how the apartment is decorated. Kay and Kate used to call me with questions like, “Should the dining room tablecloth be dark red or just red?” and I would promptly respond that I really did not care, pick whatever they wanted.  My room for the last two years has remained undecorated, and because of the 2009 Dresser Fiasco, I left most of my clothes in stacks on the floor. Basically, I do not care as long as I know where everything is and the kitchen is clean.

So we are moving in and the girls want to decorate with dark red and black in the kitchen, living room and dining room. I should say dining area – but really, it is the nicest apartment ever and I have to say they decorated the crap out of it. A year and a half later and it is still gorgeous. The only thing that looks awry in the whole darn space is the mirror I propped against the wall on moving day. It’s one of those long skinny mirrors that girls hang on the back of their closet doors so they can see your whole outfit. Except that before I could move it to my room, we noticed that it had magical powers.

Everyone knows, well at least all girls know, that there are some mirrors that make you look fat, and others than make you look like a supermodel. Most dressing rooms utilize the latter, which makes almost all home mirrors the former. You think you have this amazing dress and you can’t wait to wear it to the bar on Friday but then Friday rolls around, you throw it on, and gasp in horror. What happened to the outfit you bought at the store? Who is this girl? What is going on?!

Enter the magic mirror. The mirror I left standing against the wall that divides the living room from the dining area is one of those magic mirrors that makes anyone and everyone look phenomenal. Your legs look longer, your tummy is tighter, and don’t get me started on how good your butt will look. Throw on some heels and your reflection gets even better. Coupled with the extraordinary lighting in the apartment and I guarantee you will think your hair, make up, and outfit will stop traffic. I’m not sure how we first noticed this mirror’s magical powers – but the point is that we did. Every person who comes to the apartment stops to look in it. Kate’s mom even spends a few moments checking herself out when she comes to visit. This has led to the unspoken rule that no one can ever – ever – move this mirror. We had parties where we moved the couches and tables, but nope – never the mirror. We have a (perhaps rational?) fear that if we change the angle it will forever lose its powers. It just leans against the wall, day after day, telling us how wonderful we look.

Don’t jump to conclusions here; I don’t want you to think we are extremely vain. Just imagine all those times when you needed extra confidence before walking into a presentation, grabbing a drink with that special someone, or meeting up with an ex. This mirror tells you how great you look and that you’ll knock them dead. I know it seems crazy that I just dedicated an entire post to this mirror, but the fact is that I recently visited my old apartment and therefore, visited the mirror. Kay and Kate have left it exactly as I did all those months ago, and each new roommate they get also falls in love. The point of the story is that everyone should find a magic mirror. Fat days dissolve into happiness, and that dress you bought for New Years actually does look as good as it did in the store. I feel like if life were an adventure story, this mirror would be something your mentor wizard gives you before you set off to destroy a ring or save the world from evil. Forget that sword or deluminator, girls need a magic mirror in their arsenal come the QLC. 

The magic mirror in action.

Challenge of the Week

After watching "Hot Tub Time Machine" for the 50th time, I got an itch to watch my favorite 80's movie - "Adventures in Babysitting." There's nothing like neon colors, big hair, tight jeans, and John Hughes' humor to put you in a better mood. So this week, if you ever need a break from the holiday hangover, take on this challenge:


Make some popcorn and watch your favorite 80's movie.


For my international friends - some good 80's movies to check out are:
Airplane
The Princess Bride (one of my personal favorites)
Back to the Future
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
When Harry Met Sally
Bull Durham (about baseball)
E.T.
Big (Tom Hanks)
The Breakfast Club
Ghostbusters
What About Bob (really this is 1991 but I love Bill Murray)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (put this on a list of movies to watch before you die)

25 New Things To Do Before Turning 25 - Updated with Clarifications

Here is my friend's list of 25 New Things To Do Before Turning 25 updated with clarifications. All her tasks are explained. The list ranges from funny, to meaningful, to embarrassing, to silly. 
On a related note, I am currently reading "The Next Thing on My List" by Jill Smolinski. The main character is undertaking a similar list - but she is completing it for someone else. I won't give anything away, but it is completely hilarious, heartwarming and a book anyone in their QLC won't be able to put down. 


25 New Things To Do Before Turning 25


December 1st
First of Summer Backyard BBQ
*She has eaten at a bbq, and prepared food one. She just never has hosted a bbq before. 


December 2nd
Busking in public…all money will be donated to National Breast Cancer Foundation
*Busking means singing for money in Australian.


December 3rd
Go stargazing.


December 4th
Invent a cocktail.
*She is going to name it the Candi Striper. It's a red and white layered drink and as soon as she gets it just right I will post the recipe here for all of you!


December 5th
Farming Firsts
*She moved from Sydney out to the country recently, so she is going to do all the things kids who grew up on a farm would do. This includes everything from mustering cattle on a horse, putting in a fence post and swinging on a rope into the river. Then she is going to cook dinner using hot coals in a hole covered with dirt.


December 6th
Spend the afternoon with someone over 100 years old.
*I also like this one a lot. I’m not sure where she is going to find this individual but I think this will be a great day.


December 7th
Dress and act like a Bogan Man
*Apparently this means they will wear flannel shirts, sit on crates and drink beer. They will also have a "we are so powerful" attitude. This will be completed on a school day lol


December 8th
Swim in a waterfall.


December 9th
Inaugural Joggling Race
*This was my idea….I am SO excited to see her videos. Joggling is when you jog and juggle at the same time!
Check out joggling at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s61H643nL5I


December 10th
Enjoy a 5 course backwards dinner
*That just sounds like fun. Who doesn’t want to eat dessert first?


December 11th
Go to Imperial in Coonabarabran
*Coonabarabran is an Aboriginal town where her boyfriend is from originally.


December 12th
Have wilderness sex in Coonabarabran
*Good thing it is summer down there.


December 13th
Learn a magic trick.


December 14th
Get a Brazilian wax.


December 15th
Go yabbying.
*I needed the Australian translation here. She said to check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D69D3R52_L8


December 16th
Sing karaoke at the staff Christmas party.
*I still think this is one of the scariest ones.


December 17th
Take a pole dancing lesson.
*I wish Eadie could give her the lesson. She tried to teach me in Croatia this summer and it was hilarious.


December 18th
Go to Sydney for high tea at the Cupcakery.
*Check out the website at: http://www.sparklecupcakery.com.au/


December 19th
Have a girls only princess lunch at a winery in Sydney.
*I really need to have a princess lunch at some point in my own life. Check out the website at: http://thegazebos.com.au/winery/


December 20th
Take a surf lesson.
*I would do this just to look at the other surfers.


December 21st
Have a highlighter bowling party at Starlight Bowling Bar.
*A highlighter party means wearing highlighter colors.


December 22nd
Walk from Cogee Beach to Bondi Beach.
*I looked this up…apparently it takes about 2 hours. I would like to point out here how jealous I am that she gets to be at a beach and we are getting ready for winter.


December 23rd
Introduce her boyfriend to Davo.
*Davo was one of her best friends who died while rock climbing in Jordan a few years ago. In December she visits his grave in Sydney as his birthday is December 3rd, and she has a beer with him. She has been dating her boyfriend for 1.5 years and she wishes they had met before Davo died. So this year he is going to go with her to visit him. 


December 24th
Have a Final Countdown Party.
*I think this is just an excuse for a party. Which I applaud.


December 25th
Volunteer at a soup kitchen.

Eadie's Adventures

I’ve mentioned my friend Eadie a few times and I feel it is time she got a bit more airtime. I met her this summer while we were both working at Life Club in Rimini, Italy. She is 20 years old, drinks a minimum of two cups of tea a day, reads all the time (including when she is drunk), has traveled to something like 25 countries and is completely hilarious. Throw in the fact that she has a British accent, therefore she sounds polite even if she is yelling “WANKER!” and you can imagine why I keep in touch. On a side note, I am going to help ring in her 21^st birthday American style – aka marking drinks on the arm and drinking all day – even though in the UK she has been able to drink legally for 3 years now. Everybody needs a good American 21^st right? I’ll recap that story beginning of January :) 

But this post is about her first few months as a sophomore at Uni (that’s what the Brits call college). I will include some of her own words so you can get the British tone that I just cannot replicate. For all of you who are recent college grads, I think these stories will make you smile and remember the good ole days. You know, the ones when tequila shots didn’t guarantee a two-day hangover.

Let’s start at the beginning. She lives in a house with something like 4 or 5 roommates, including gasp her ex-boyfriend. I’ll call him Rupert because that sounds distinctly British. The group of friends signed the house lease before the break up, and because Eadie is so mature and over Rupert, nobody bothered to deal with a change of address. I asked her a few times this summer how she felt about the situation, and she was fairly confident everything would be fine. He is dating a new girl now (well there is a story behind that as well which is completely worthy of a Gossip Girl episode if Gossip Girl was about broke college kids) and she has made out with an American soldier, so obviously she realizes how mediocre Rupert really is. Point of all this is that they live together and the semester began totally normal, albeit with a little less conversation between those two roommates. This is a long intro for the short anecdote I’ll share here, but I’m sure there will be more to come as they are going to live together for a solid year.

She came home from class and was starving. For everyone who has met Eadie, this is not shocking. The only time I saw her stop eating was when she was stuck with all us Americans and she decided that our food was terrible. For those of you who don’t know, Brits eat beans on toast for breakfast – I’d rather eat my Cheerios, but whatever. So she is starving and makes some pasta and a piece of garlic bread. But the garlic bread is actually Rupert’s. For those of you who have had roommates, let me explain it that it was not his last piece and she did leave a note that she took it. That is good stealing food etiquette, is it not? Well anyway, the next day she comes home from class and is met with a nice surprise. He has opened one of her tins of pineapple chunks and dumped the contents into the sink. Retribution for the piece of garlic bread. Completely normal reaction right? NOT. Welcome to living with a 20 year old ex-boyfriend. They are bad enough at 25, but I think they have the emotional age of 14 at age 20.

So moving on to her next escapade. I’ll post this in her own words because I want to do it justice:

So I went out last night with everyone I know and got wasted (on the club on a boat that u might have seen on the original Skins!) and somehow (memory hazy) hooked up with a FRESHER- young meat! It gets funnier. So we went back to his and did the deed- but beforehand the two guys I live with who aren’t Rupert both called, one after another, to check that I was ok! Anyhoo, after that all this guys fresher friends came in and we watched loads of peep shows and his friend slept on the floor! Weirdest one night stand ever right?

The next morning is where the true hilarity lies. So I woke up like an hour before him and couldn’t remember his name! So I looked for clues. I think it might be Paul? Anyway, in the end I had to wake up Possible Paul and ask where we were so that I could get home! I spent the hour up to that really hoping it was the halls in the town centre- and it was! Unfortunately this meant that although I knew where I was, I had to do my walk of shame through 10am Saturday shopping rush hour across the city centre. And oh yeah, I couldn’t find my tights, so I was wearing quite literally the smallest dress ever and high heels! Cars kept honking and people leaned out the windows asking how my night was! LOLTASTIC.

I must point out that Marisa had an adventure like this in college. Only she did remember his name, but had no clue to where she was. Eventually she found an address on a piece of the guy’s mail and called Paige for a ride to avoid the walk of shame. I also had a friend – could it be Marisa again? my memory is hazy from those sorority days – who woke up from a one night stand to discover the guy’s mom had decided to surprise him and take him out to breakfast. But let’s not get started on those stories – they could fill a book on their own.

One last Eadie story to leave with you tonight. She met a guy at a Halloween party and went on a date with him last week. She wore a Batman outfit that she described as, “think Lindsay Lohan at that party in Mean Girls in terms of how sexy I was looking,” and he was dressed as the Incredible Hulk. I thought it was very cute that the two superheroes met each other, but when I consulted my resident Batman expert he said that in real life that would never ever happen. Of course in real life Batman and the Incredible Hulk don’t exist, but whatever, we’ll let that one go right now. They had a great date; they met up at a bar and ended up chatting for 5 hours! Guess what one of his perks is? He is 25 and therefore does not live in abject student poverty. Too bad that in the U.S. 25 year olds are still living in abject poverty due to student loans.  

I hope these stories got everyone out of their Monday funk. Oh, to be 20 again. When I was 20 I was living in my sorority house and my biggest worry was if I could register for the courses I wanted. I didn’t know that the guy I was dating would break my heart, or that I would never use my major. I took those tequila shots and ate Qdoba at 3am. Remember the days before you knew what “slow metabolism” really meant? I love listening to Eadie’s stories as they bring me back to those carefree years and I thought it was only fair that I share them with all of you.

Challenge of the Week

I spent this weekend making favorite recipes and learning some new ones from my mom. I currently have a beef stew on the stove and some loaves of oatmeal pumpkin bread just came out of the oven. I'm sipping on a homemade smoothie while staring at the bread, willing it to cool faster so I can cut off a piece, slather on some butter, and enjoy the resulting ecstasy.


This leads to my challenge of the week:

Try out a new recipe and share the results with a good friend. Throw in some wine (or a non-alcoholic drink) and make it a reason to get together with someone you care about.


If you need some ideas check out www.food.com and search for anything and everything you could want to make. If you really want a challenge ditch the recipes on the back of boxes and cook it from scratch. Even if it is a disaster it will be a funny story to tell later! If you need help give your mom or grandma a call....they will certainly love to hear from you and give you some good tips. 

Look Both Ways

Today I was wasting time on Facebook when I wandered across an interesting photo album. One of my ex-boyfriends recently had a baby with his girlfriend and it was all the photos from the hospital and the first few days of the baby at home. I have to say he is one of the cutest babies I have ever seen and I couldn’t help but smile at the pictures. However, while I was smiling at the adorable baby, I couldn't help but think I am happy my life took a different direction. If I had stayed with him, would I be the new mother? Obviously no one can answer that question, but it got me thinking about life decisions and how different two paths can be when you are at a crossroads.

Nearly a year ago I was at one of these crossroads. On one hand I had good friends where I lived and a great job with a lot of future opportunities. But I was unhappy and that great job was not nearly as fulfilling as it was two years ago. I had two options – continue with my life as usual, or make a change. I decided to leave the job, and my amazing girlfriends, and take off to explore the world. Along with choosing to attend UW-Madison, this is one of the best life decisions I have ever made. I experienced so many wonderful things and met so many great people!

Today I am at another crossroads. On one side is the life I’ll have if I decide to stay here in the states. On the other is the life I’ll have if I decide to continue my travels and live abroad. I think about this decision a lot, as both have their own advantages and disadvantages. If I stay here I can marry a guy I love and do the whole family in the suburbs thing. Some days this seems so attractive – I already know what sports the kids would play and which schools they would go to. On occasion I can actually see this future ahead of me, and it is a perfectly wonderful option. Dinners with a husband who adores me, tailgating with fabulous friends, attending weddings and birthday parties – how nice does that look? There are drawbacks with this option though; mostly that it doesn’t allow me to continue doing what I love. I think if I chose this option I would be happy, but I would also be unhappy because I couldn’t continue to experience new cultures and see new countries.

The other option gives all of the great parts of that other plan up in exchange for exciting travel and unique experiences. I don’t know if that future holds a husband or kids, and I have no idea where I’ll be living in 5 years. I know there will be love and happiness, but will I look back in 20 years and wish I had chosen a secure and happy life at home? Again, no one can answer the question. There’s no way to know you are making the right decision, and perhaps it’s because you can make each decision into a right decision. Excluding decisions to rob a bank or race a train, the decisions we make don’t ultimately decide everything for us. If I decide to become a permanent ex-pat, maybe I still can have the husband and kids and we’ll just have a different family experience from what most Americans have. I met a cool family like that in Thailand and they gave me a lot of hope.

I know a lot of my friends are at other crossroads in their own lives. Stay with the boyfriend or try life on your own for a while? Stay at that job or go back to school and be broke again? I want everyone to remember that although you can never change a decision, bad ones don’t have to ruin your life. When something seems wrong there usually is some light at the end of the tunnel. Good decisions don't take care of themselves either. If you take the fabulous job or marry your boyfriend you still have to work at maintaining happiness. I believe that everything happens for a reason and I try to stay positive and remember that my life is my own. I’ll make what I can of it and hope to God that my loved ones are there to support me if it all goes awry. As the saying goes, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

Wear Sunscreen

A friend of mine reminded me of this great speech tonight. I found it online and had to post it here. It can be found at http://www.planetgary.com/sunscreen.htm

Wear Sunscreen

By Mary Schmich of the Chicago Tribune

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '98: Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blind side you at 4 PM on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.

Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

25 New Things To Do Before Turning 25

In Italy this summer I met an Australian girl and we had a blast partying for a few days.  Thanks to Facebook we’ve been able to stay in touch. This year is her Golden Birthday (when your age is the same as the day you were born) when she turns 25 on December 25th. In honor of living a quarter of a century, she is either going to do something she has never done, or go somewhere she has never been before, on each day leading up to her birthday. I wish I had come up with this idea (I turn 25 on November 26th) but as a lifetime procrastinator I’ll just steal the idea and make a “26 New Things To Do Before Turning 26” list. I commend her for committing to do so many new things, and so I decided to share her list with all of you.

25 New Things To Do Before Turning 25

December 1^st

First of Summer Backyard BBQ

*Remember, it is the beginning of summer in Australia! They are so lucky! I am also a little sad that she has never had a BBQ…she has obviously never lived in Wisconsin.

December 2^nd

Busking in public…all money will be donated to National Breast Cancer Foundation

*Busking means singing for money in Australian.

December 3^rd

Go stargazing.

December 4^th

Invent a cocktail.

*This is one of my favorites. I invented a shot once called The Green Monkey with equal parts Goldschlager and Apple Pucker. It was alright.

December 5^th

Farming Firsts

*Not totally sure what this means….I’ll get back to you with clarification. I’m guessing it means working on a farm?

December 6^th

Spend the afternoon with someone over 100 years old.

*I also like this one a lot. I’m not sure where she is going to find this individual but I think this will be a great day.

December 7^th

Dress and act like a Bogan Man

*I looked this term up….I think it is the equivalent of an American Red Neck minus the country music.

December 8^th

Swim in a waterfall.

December 9^th

 Inaugural Joggling Race

*This was my idea….I am SO excited to see her videos. Joggling is when you jog and juggle at the same time!

Check out joggling at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s61H643nL5I

December 10^th

Enjoy a 5 course backwards dinner

*That just sounds like fun. Who doesn’t want to eat dessert first?

December 11^th

Go to Imperial in Coonabarabran

*Coonabarabran is an Aboriginal town where her boyfriend is from originally.

December 12^th

Have wilderness sex in Coonabarabran

*Good thing it is summer down there.

December 13^th

Learn a magic trick.

December 14^th

Get a Brazilian wax.

December 15^th

Go yabbying.

*I needed the Australian translation here. She said to check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D69D3R52_L8

December 16^th

Sing karaoke at the staff Christmas party.

*This one is a bold move. Who remembers me being banned from doing karaoke at Stadium Bar?

December 17^th

Take a pole dancing lesson.

*I wish Eadie could give her the lesson. She tried to teach me in Croatia this summer and it was hilarious.

December 18^th

Go to Sydney for high tea at the Cupcakery.

*Paige would love to do this. Check out the website at: http://www.sparklecupcakery.com.au/

December 19^th

Have a girls only princess lunch at a winery in Sydney.

*I really need to have a princess lunch at some point in my own life. Check out the website at: http://thegazebos.com.au/winery/

December 20^th

Take a surf lesson.

*I would do this just to look at the other surfers.

December 21^st

Have a highlighter bowling party at Starlight Bowling Bar.

*A highlighter party means wearing highlighter colors.

December 22^nd

Walk from Cogee Beach to Bondi Beach.

*I looked this up…apparently it takes about 2 hours. I would like to point out here how jealous I am that she gets to be at a beach and we are getting ready for winter.

December 23^rd

Introduce her boyfriend to someone named Davo.

*This one doesn’t mean a lot to me….I’ll have to get clarification on who Davo is. Or maybe it is a food? A sex move? A childhood pet?

December 24^th

Have a Final Countdown Party.

*I think this is just an excuse for a party. Which I applaud.

December 25^th

Volunteer at a soup kitchen.

So there it is. Her list of 25 New Things To Do Before Turning 25. I wish I was Down Under to help her celebrate, but I guess I'll just look at the photos and laugh at videos. Gives you something to think about though right? What sort of stuff do you wish you would do before your next birthday? When you are bored at work, or needing a distraction from calling that boy who is blowing you off, make one of your own lists! Use it as an excuse to get out there and try something new!

Challenge of the Week

I was looking through my glove compartment yesterday when I randomly pulled out Risen, the second album from O.A.R. This was my absolute favorite CD during sophomore year of high school and I still can't hear "Hey Girl" without thinking of one of my best friends from back then. I popped it in my car stereo and was soon driving down the highway, singing at the top of my lungs and smiling. So that's where this week's challenge comes from:

Find a favorite old CD (or find it on your iTunes) and listen to it all the way through. 


You can do this while driving, cooking, working out, whatever - but I guarantee that you will be in a great mood for at least the duration of that CD. Happy Listening!

Losing Myself in a Man ... My Own QLC

I realized this morning how incredibly needy and stupid I had been acting recently. After a conversation with My Husband that ended with me begging for him to respond to my texts and emails, I sat back in complete horror. I hadn’t learned a freaking lesson in the last 3 years.

This time 3 years ago would find me locked in my room, watching endless Friends reruns, and subsisting solely on saltine crackers. My college boyfriend had broken up with me a few weeks before, and I literally stopped functioning as a normal person. I was always sad, had stopped eating, and continually cancelled plans with friends. For the first week or two after the break up, I was delusional enough to believe he would call and tell me he made a mistake. I left voicemails and sent text messages. Then I woke up one day and thought to myself, “He would have called if he missed me.” I went cold turkey – not an email, text, or call for at least a year. I didn’t even open a Facebook message he sent me, deciding I’d rather not know what he had to say because it definitely wasn’t going to be what I wanted to hear. I eventually recovered, as all broken hearts do, and moved on to new relationships and new adventures. I was always proud of myself for that day, when I acted on the decision to stop being a needy, annoying girl.

Three years went by and I did a great job quickly moving on from the guys who didn’t call and breaking up with the ones who were making me unhappy. When I found my friends stalking Facebook walls I would always silently congratulate myself for not having Facebook stalked an ex in years. Karma’s a bitch though, and all that self-congratulating caught up with me yesterday. I realized I had fallen back into old habits. You know the ones, like checking your phone even when it didn’t beep, looking at time stamps on Facebook to see if he was online, therefore maybe checking his email and possibly reading what you sent, and of course the biggie – pleading with him to respond to your messages. I am so unbelievably embarrassed that I would fall into the trap and become that clingy person again.

So this morning I made that conscious decision again and am setting myself free. For those of you who have never done this – it does NOT come easy and you have to be committed. I took some important steps to becoming independent again; I logged out of Mobile Skype so I would stop checking to see if he had messaged me (the ratio of my messages to his over the last week was embarrassing) and called a friend about a life development instead of emailing him. Now I should be clear that this is a completely different situation from the break up in college – I have no plans to end communication with My Husband! I just need to rescue myself from Got-Stupid-Because-Of-A-Man Limbo. I did it once before and I can do it again. Becoming aware of the situation was definitely the important first step.

One of the toughest parts about becoming independent again is finding people to vent to and ones to listen when you are excited over silly things. You can’t overburden one or two people here – that’s probably why guys get annoyed in the first place. Looking back, I know where I went wrong with My Husband. I complained too much about being lonely here without my girlfriends and he tired of hearing all my different life plans. Since I know this now, I can change what our conversations are about and talk to other friends about that bad day at work or my attempt at a new recipe. I traveled alone through Thailand for goodness sakes; I don’t need a man to text me to have a good day. Of course it is nice to feel like someone is thinking of you, but I was fine without it before. And why does his opinion make or break a decision? I have no idea, and I hate when I feel like this. It's time for me to make myself happy and do my own thing. Hopefully My Husband will make me smile once in awhile, but if not, this time I won't let it get to me. 

Ideas for 2011 ... My Own QLC

If I'm on the Game of Life, QLC Edition game board, this week would have me stalled on the square "Denied work visa, reconsider life plan. Lose a turn."

Here's what happened.

Last week I applied to be a tour guide with some companies that do European tours. I was so excited; this was going to be perfect! The companies are based in the UK and told me I would have to get a work visa before they could hire me. No problem, I’ve gotten visas abroad before, how hard can it be? Plus it’s not like I have a criminal record or am a burden on the state – I am an upstanding US citizen with money in the bank. Cue the application process. All is going great, I’m typing in my travel experience, listing friends in the UK I’ll stay with upon arrival, providing references, etc when BAM – it asks for my points. Uh oh, what points? Cue me realizing I forgot an important step, making sure I had enough points to even apply for the work visa. Again I’m thinking, no problem, I’m young, I have an education, and friends to stay with so I won’t live on the streets of London. I’m going through the point assessment when I get to a part that asks how much money I have made in a consecutive 12 month period within the last 15 months. It’s all in British pounds so I go to www.xe.com, convert my salary, then type it into the assessment. I click “Calculate” and wait a few seconds. Then I read, “I’m sorry, you are not qualified to apply for this visa.”  

WHAT?! I am 24, have a college degree, speak fluent English and made a decent amount of money at my last job. So I look at all the details of point assessment and learn that my fate was decided because I didn’t make at least 50,000 pounds – or $80,000 last year.  I thought about that for a moment; I mean it seems a bit unrealistic to be the minimum I would need. If I had a PhD and studied in England for a few years the minimum would have been attainable with my last salary. Of course if I had my PhD and had studied in England for a few years I wouldn’t have had the job with that salary. Is this what they call a Catch 22? Besides, if in my current situation I was making $80,000 a year, I doubt I would leave that behind to pursue a temporary work visa abroad. It doesn’t really matter what I think though, because in the end I just am not qualified to apply for the visa. Snooty English! 

So I return to the drawing board, yes for the second time in one week, and consider the bare minimums for what I want out of 2011. I came up with:

• See My Husband before he deploys
• Live abroad
• Travel to new countries
• Become somewhat conversant in a new language (at this point, I’m leaning towards Italian)
• Find a job I enjoy that allows me to travel
• Keep up with my blog (aka don’t live in the jungle with no internet access)
• Learn to cook really well
• Visit my international friends
• Keep in touch with my American friends
• Make enough money to live happily and travel to see friends 

After consulting this list I made a new list of possible short-term life plans for 2011. Some can extend into full-blown life plans, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Here it goes:

• Get TESL certification and teach English abroad…pretty much anywhere
• Work in Costa Rica for 6 months, learning Spanish, meeting new people, visiting friends and it would be close enough that American friends could easily visit!
• Work in Tokyo this summer
• Move to Thailand and find a job in Bangkok or Chiang Mai (this can be linked with teaching English if I want)
• Work on an international cruise ship
• Continue to look for international tour guide positions, but this time American companies!

As you can see, I am still working on big decisions before I can hammer out details. To those of you who keep telling me to get a real job, No! I don’t want one.  I am determined to find a way to work and travel and I know there are other people out there like me. I’ve even met people who are crazier than I am about this. I met one man in Chiang Mai who had been a professor in Australia before he went on holiday to northern Thailand. He loved it so much that he rented an apartment, found a teaching job at Chiang Mai University and never returned to Australia. He’s been in Chiang Mai now for 5 years. That could be me! Of course if I had my PhD and was teaching at an American University maybe I could also land that UK work visa and be a tour guide….