The 3 date HIT & RUN

Lately my friends and I have been talking about relationships. This in and of itself constitutes a bad situation, but what I've learned from listening to all of them is that none of them know what they want.

They are walking the fine line between wanting to date and wanting a "semi-permanent" relationship and being happily single. No one really wants to get married and very few are looking for a serious relationship. The problem is where does one go to meet someone who also just wants a part time relationship? I'm not talking a "friends with benefits" type of situation or even a "I need a date to my best friend's 3rd cousin's wedding" situation.

I'm thinking someone you can go out with 2 or 3 times a month for a couple of (consecutive) months. Someone that will inspire a Steve Jobs type reality distortion field, where everything is magical and nothing is impossible before you realize that you're basically single anyway. Then you can go back to being full time single for another 6 or 7 months before you do it all over again. I am going to term this scenario as a "3 date hit & run". You do understand what I am referring to when I say "hit & run", right?

Where does one go to meet like minded people? I suppose you could try an online dating service, but the idea here is to be fair. A lot of folks on Match, et al are marriage minded and will not bend to the whim of a 3 date hit and run-ner. And it's just not right to ask them to. The other party needs to know what they are getting into and since so many people are into this idea why not start a site exclusively for hit & run daters? It could totally catch on.

Sidenote: I am having one of those days where I would kill someone to get my hands on a taco. Or a quesadilla. Or a burrito. Or any combination of meat, cheese and tortilla.

Video of the week

Definetly not retro, but I am on a Kate Nash kick so forgive me. "Made of Bricks" is in heavy rotation at Niles Towers and I can't stop listening to this CD.



Plus, I kind of love how at the end of the video even their toothbrushes can't face each other.

Election '08

Unless you've been living under a rock you may have heard that 2008 is an election year. And for those that are confused (you know who you are) the big election this year is for the President of the United States.

I majored in Political Science in college and I think it would be safe to say that politics are a bit of a hobby for me.

I don't want sound all ominous when I tell you to carefully consider your choice because you will select the person that will rule the country for the next 4 years, because it's much more complicated than that. I'm also not going to tell you my choice because I wouldn't want to take votes away from my candidate, but I do want people to make informed decisions. Inform yourself, learn about the candidates, go to their websites, go to some political rallies in your area, find out which issues will make the greatest impact on your life; even if those decisions don't align with what I think is right. All I want is for you to educate yourself, so I've rounded up a few websites that I think will help.

First, we have a handy chart that tells you how the candidates feel about key issues. This should help you narrow things down.

This site will match you up with a candidate after answering a couple of questions.

This site does basically the same thing, however, I suggest giving both sites a try to see if you get the same candidate.

And when you're all done selecting your candidate you can get out your Trapper Keeper and write both your names on the outside. More than likely prefaced by "Mr. and Mrs." (or however you would like you and your partner to be known).

On a personal note: I'm adding this site because folks are constantly asking me what the big deal is regarding civil unions (versus marriage). Oddly enough only 1 candidate supports same sex marriage.

The Weekend

...which actually started on Wednesday.

I woke up Wednesday morning feeling like I was coming down with the flu. Again. It wasn't a full blown flu but I felt like if I stayed home and slept I could nip it in the bud. I did, and woke up Thursday morning feeling great so I trudged off to the sweatshop...

...only to receive a call mid morning that Mr. Little Man had gotten sick at school. He had swim class that morning and had thrown up in the pool (nice, right?). The teacher just thought he'd swallowed too much water and didn't think too much about it. By the time they got back to their classroom he (according to one of the kids in his class) "puked big time". So, I went to pick him up and we spent the remainder of the day on the couch watching Disney movies and napping.

Friday, the ever nagging flu was back and Mr. Little Man was still not up to eating so we stayed home. Again.

Sunday, during brief moments of coherence, I prayed for a swift death. I'm not sure what came over me but I slept for most of the day. I did not get out of bed at all. I had severe chest pains and, for lack of a better explanation, my kidneys hurt like a mother. It was not a normal kind of pain. It was crippling and I just wanted to lay in bed and cry. But then I repeatedly fell asleep? Passed out? No idea, but a visit to the doctor will be completed before the end of business today.

For those of you keeping score at home I have been sick for almost 5 consecutive weeks. I had the pneumonia for almost 3 weeks but at this stage in the game things are getting a bit ridiculous. I feel like whatever illness I have is sidelining me from my life. And its really beginning to annoy me.

What I am reading: Mistress Ruby Ties It Together - Robin Shamberg
What I am listening to: Feist - I Feel It All. Have you seen this video? This time there are no awesome background dancers, but there are awesome timed fireworks.

Nadine does battle with immaturity. And looses. AGAIN.

I want to grow up. I really do. My immature side is constantly doing battle with my adult side. It doesn't help that I have surrounded myself with people who not only share my sense of humor but, encourage it as well.



When I first saw this at the grocery store my adult side thought, "Apparently male chickens taste different". My immature side giggled and thought, "BLOG POST"!!

I guess you know which side won.

What I am listeneing to: Kate Nash - Foundations. Kate Nash is Lily Allen 2.0
Current favorite commercial:

Just Doing My Civic Duty

A couple of weeks ago a friend sent me a link to this posting on List of the Day which showcases what are essentially other people's bad photos from back in the day. The post made me giggle so I forwarded it to The Gue. The Gue thought it was easily the funniest thing he'd seen this month so he called me and we spent the next 15 minutes making fun on the pictures. Because we are immature 12 year olds (honestly though I think we may be band geeks who probably have no business making fun of anyone).

Anyway, now I see that List of the Day is asking folks to submit their bad photos for inclusion in a book. I am so there. I have CT going through my parents photo albums looking at our pictures from the 70s and 80s. I assure you I already have one that I can not imagine being rejected from the book (I'm wearing HUGE glasses and polka dots. And, yes, my braids are uneven. AGAIN. CT is wearing SMURF shoes.). And no, I did not tell CT why I needed the pictures.

I can not stop watching Project Runway

Bravo TV is currently airing season 4 of Project Runway. I've never really paid much attention to the show although my friends regularly rave about it. They always have heated discussions about who should be "in" and who should be "out". I am now officially addicted. A look at the candidates, according to me:

Christian - "If I were a diva my name would be Ferosh", "OH MY GOD, she is so high fashion", "OH MY GOD, she is so gorgeous", "All he does is costumes", "I'm young and I don't have a lot of press yet". I swear, this man says something to make me laugh out loud at least 3 times every episode. And his facial expressions are awesome! And the hair! And I am going to make all of my friends address me as Ferosh.

Jillian and Victorya; the 2 most boring contestants (Team Monochrome) were able to come up with an amazing coat (It was a black satin trench with a train....and pink plaid backing. Seriously. If my name were Ferosh I could totally pull it off) which they referred to as "80s punk/post apocolyptic". Ummmm, they do get that after the apocalypse no one will care about who is wearing what based solely on the fact that most of us will be dead, right? No matter what this team also brought out the jodphurs (JODPHURS!); and I just can't get mad about that.

Rami - I love your dresses. They're incredibly feminine and they hang beautifully, but every design is a variation of the same dress. Also, your type A personality and need to mentally beat up on people with a weaker personality than your own has outed you as an asshole.

Ricky - Dude, you have GOT to stop crying every episode. You need to go home. Also please note that you have to stop making your dresses look like lingerie and most importantly, NOT EVERY WOMAN IS A SIZE 2.

Sweet P - Your ready-to-wear dress this week was super cute and appropriate for women of different ages and sizes. Which is something that I appreciate immensely. Plus, I want us to discuss your tattoos and our boy problems while we drink coffee.

Chris - You got kicked off and them they brought you back. You are the lesson that 1 bad dress will banish you.

Also, I will never get tired of telling Michael Kors to shut up. I thought it would get old, but it has not. Has he done anything of significance lately?

bonus reason - my love for Tim Gunn and his christening of the team of Chris/tian as "TEAM FIERCE".

What I am listening to: Best For Me - Tyler James and Amy Winehouse. OK, here is another example of brilliant (blue eyed soul) music you can only get in the UK. What gives?

Retro Video of the Week

Everyone that knows me knows I distrust anyone who does not love funk music. I am suspicious of those people....how can you not like funk? My parents were huge proponents of funk and thats what I grew up listening to.

I am about to introduce you to a band called Rufus. They formed in the 1970s and they were multi-racial.....a big thing in the 70s (and some would argue its still a big thing today. Most of you are familiar with Chaka Khan; or at least Chaka's voice.

I present to you a medley of Rufus songs:

Pasted on a tollbooth right by Giants Stadium

This weekend's playoff game is in Green Bay, but you just know the Giants fans are gonna be pissed off when they see this.



P.S. No, that isn't my handwriting.

Long Time Coming

All of us are freaks in one way or another. Try being born a male Russian Countess into a white, middle class, Baptist family in Mississippi, and you'll see what I mean. - The Countess, Even Cowgirls Get The Blues

So, some of you may have noticed that I haven't blogged a great deal lately. I have a big old case of writer's block. There are 2 reasons for this:

1. I have things that I do want to write about but I have come to the conclusion that maybe my blog isn't the place for it (see post about second, super secret blog). I have suddenly become a private person. Its almost like I've developed a sense of decorum and don't want to hurt other people's feelings.
2. I'm still trying to come to terms with all these developments myself.

The good news is that I'm over all of the above. I really need to vent and I just don't have the time to devote to therapy. And yes, I totally realize that I may regret this, but again, I think I'm over it.

What to do when the object of your affection cancels a date. 2 nights in a row.

The Irish Roommate and I had plans for a hot date yesterday, but there was an emergency at work and he had to go in. We rescheduled our (now even hotter date) for today. Work committments again made the scenario impossible. I need to point out that I am not mad about this at all because it could just as easily have been me with the work emergency. Life happens.

Initially I was bummed, but then I remembered that I had:

1. a babysitter
2. manicured nails
3. a really good hair day
4. shaved legs
5. taken the time to actually iron clothes

Do you know the sheer number of things in the universe that have to converge in order to make all 5 of those things happen? I couldn't let it go to waste so I called up some of my girlfriends. Surely we could think of several ways to entertain ourselves for a couple of hours. We (naturally) decided that shoe shopping and margaritas were the way to go.

The margaritas were tasty, the company was great, but the shoe shopping was unsuccessful. Not to toot my own horn or anything but I did manage to pick up a dress that looks so good on me that the object of my affection will yearn to see it crumpled up at the foot of his bed.

I'm just saying.

Current shoe obsession:

What I am listening to: Landslide - Fleetwood Mac

Retro Video of the Week? I don't think so.

I know I haven't posted a retro video in about 2 weeks; I apologize for being otherwise detained (DRAMA!). Anyway, I figured why post a retro video when these PSAs (all the way from Canada) are clearly superior?

Please note that these are not for the squeamish.