The Girlfriend before the GIRLFRIEND

So I've noticed this before, but today it really hit me.  I'm the girl people date before they date the person they want to spend the rest of their life with (or enter a serious relationship with).  I don't know if dating me helps them figure out exactly what they don't want in a life partner (by the way, eff that, I'm a catch) or what, but it's happened three times and the third is now engaged.  

I dated a guy on an off since I was 15, after our last attempt (when I was 19) he met a girl who he's been dating for the last 5+ years, that happens to look like me which is kind of creepy, by the way.  Then I casually dated a really good friend from elementary school, only for him to kind of vanish...but Facebook told me that he met a girl that he dated for 2+ years (they've since broken up).  AND I re-dated my first boyfriend (from Pre-K) and that lasted for a few months.  I think I was more in love with the idea of reuniting with the kid I used to play house with than I could ever be with the guy....he owned a pair of Dallas Cowboy Crocs for Christ's sake (I know, what was I thinking?!).  But he was by far the most immature person I've ever dated and is now engaged to the girl he started dating after me.  Let's not even mention the political savvy guy I dated in Feb 2012 (the story never made it onto the blog because he was SO nice and I broke his heart right before Valentine's Day and then he unfriended me on Facebook because I posted a picture of a heart shaped cookie my boss gave me)..Because he's getting married to the girl he met on Match.com right after me.  

Don't get me wrong, I don't wish that I ended up with any of these guys...looking back at it now, they were all wrong for me for so many reasons.  Not to mention, I really do believe I'm with exactly who I'm supposed to be with, it's just an interesting pattern and it got me thinking...

Puppy "Love"

Well we got a puppy.  Against my better judgement, I agreed to adopt a dog, an 8 month old "labradoodle" to be exact.  First of all, he's not a labradoodle, he's 16 lbs and is only going to get to 25 lbs MAX...that's not a labradoodle and it's even to small to be a mini. Second of all, we were promised he was crate trained and he's not even house broken. As much as I admire the mission of the rescue we adopted him from, I am more than irritated that we were mislead. Talk about stress and frustration.  The only thing we've taught him so far (it's been 6 days) is "Sit" and he only listens when he wants to.  Sometimes he answers to his name "Chief", but it's normally only if you add a "Y" to the end...so it's "Chiefy". 

Needless to say, he's been signed up for puppy school and it starts on Tuesday, I can't wait to see what they tell us.  Hopefully they'll have a suggestion for his barking (at shadows, TV commercials, other dogs, people, etc), his lack of potty training, ways to crate train him (being that we now have TWO crates) and his 'play biting' as the vet so affectionately called it.  

I keep thinking about the 15+ years that I begged my mom for a puppy and she kept asking "Who's going to take care of it?" and she only gave in when my brother found a gorgeous show quality Wheaten Terrier that needed a home and he was TRAINED (really) did she give in.  Once again, she knew what she was talking about...

Literally a One (Wo)Man Show

Golfer left this afternoon for a certification class in Port St. Lucie, FL which means I'm by myself until Thursday.  I've already dumped all of his clothes out of the bins he's been living out of and folded all of the 'whites'.  Tomorrow I'm hanging all of the 'hang-ables' and then Wednesday I'll fold the rest of it.  It's amazing how much bigger this place looks with clothes in their proper homes.  

I know I've said time and time again that I'm not his maid, but It's been 9 hours and I'm already losing my mind and the laundry has been done for two days and the apartment is spotless.  I also can't shop, because I have no job, so the only thing I can do that makes me happy is workout and organize.  I already worked out today, and don't want to become a gym-rat psycho, so I'm not going back today...so organize I will. 

The kitchen could use some organizational work...maybe I'll do that tomorrow...after I do my daily job searching and applying, because for Christmas' sake, I need a life! 

"Lonely, I'm so lonely" - Akon

I have been living in Miami for 19 days and I think I've cried 50% of those days.  Not because I'm sad, or I don't want to be here...I love my boyfriend and I think this is what I needed to do to make sure this is the relationship I want to be in for the rest of my life.  But I cry because I'm lonely;  I miss my mom, I miss my dog and I miss having friends and neighbors.  I go to the food store and Target once a day just to talk to the deli clerk and the checkout people (well I talk to the ones who understand English, which actually only encompasses 1/3 of the employees in these stores).  I even got a library card, just so I can go sit at the Kendall public library and hopefully meet a friend in the fiction section.  

I knew this would be a difficult experience for me, I just don't think I realized how difficult.  I feel like my support system that I've had for the last 26 years is so far away and the people I would vent to over a drink are non-existent anymore, the people who would tell me that these feelings are normal, and I'll find a job soon are MIA. There are people that were at my going away party who I haven't talked to in 3 weeks since the party.  And I don't know how to "build" a new support system and it's becoming extremely frustrating. I feel like it's only going to get worse when Ryan goes for his certification tests next week...then I'll really be alone. And it's hurricane season...this is a recipe for disaster.

Hope you're all having a fantastic Friday...since the sun is out, I might run over to the pool...by run I mean take a 1/2 hour to put on sunscreen, put on a bathing suit, grab a towel and grab a book just in time for one of the many daily FL downpours (can you tell this happens often?)

Messy Marvin

Let me start out by saying I love my boyfriend...I really really do.  He's just not the neatest person on the planet...it has nothing to do with food or dishes or anything like that (thank the Lord)...but for the love of God this guy has clothes everywhere. I know any of you that saw my room in my mom's house are dying laughing right now and my mom is probably saying 'that's karma'...but golfer has clothes all over the place and 7 things hanging in the closet. We have his and hers walk-in closets...mine is FILLED to capacity and his has 7 things hanging up, two (filled) GIANT Rubbermaid bins on the floor and (clean) clothes on top of the hamper.  Not to mention he has three empty dresser drawers and two empty nightstand drawers just waiting to be put to use.  If I had my clothes when I moved in, the first thing I would've done was unpack them!  I was so excited about this closet!  The second I picked up thirteen my few boxes from the post office I starting hanging away! 

Maybe I'm crazy, but living out of a suitcase/bin doesn't feel like home to me...it feels like a temporary arrangement...maybe he's getting ready to move back to the Keys...HMMM, that's food for thought.

Sunday night he asked, "How long is it socially acceptable for me to be living out of bins?" My response was "I think you have about 48 more hours...it's been a week"....we'll see how many articles of clothing meet a hanger and find their rightful place in the closet tonight.  

Don't get me wrong, if living out of plastic containers is the only thing he does that boggles my mind, that's okay with me...but I have a feeling this isn't over. 

Hello from FL!

Hi!  Before I get any grief for being MIA for the last few months, cut me some slack...I've been busy quitting my job, moving to FL and MOVING IN WITH GOLFER.  Yes, the 'golfer' I've been dating for over a year and met on Match.com. (Seriously, who would've thought when I started that nightmare adventure...this is where I'd be?) It's been a HUGE adjustment period for me the last couple of months, so I'm glad to be back doing something I enjoy (yes, blogging).  

First of all, the house I grew up in went up for sale on Valentine's Day, talk about heartbreak!  I knew it was coming, my parents divorce was almost final and that was the last thing they had to do before they could go their separate ways, but that didn't make it hurt any less.  Then after 8 years of being 'separated' (I use the term loosely because they lived together)...so the end of February closed that chapter in my life.  

In March a great opportunity seemed to find me, it was an entry level position on a client services team in a private wealth management company IN MIAMI (perfect, golfer was moving off of Key Largo in May, so we'd be closer together) I had multiple interviews and at the end of April went down for a 4 1/2 hour interview with the entire team. (Meanwhile, golfer and I had decided it would make sense to live together when I moved, so this trip was not only the final interview, but our anniversary trip AND our apartment hunting trip).  We found the perfect apartment for us and left Miami each feeling hopeful.  

A week later, I quit my job.  My boss had hired a temp to prove a point and even though she was completely incompetent (and I'm being generous with that) he continued to give her my work and I continued to sit there and do nothing, and this Miami gig seemed like it was all but official, so I quit.  Two days after I quit, I found out the Miami company went with another candidate (which is an entirely different story, because I was told by multiple people there were no other candidates).  I was crushed to say the least.  I had never been so excited for the possibility of change in my entire life and everything seemed to be going SO well and next thing I know there is a slight glitch in my plan.  Of course panic set in (I had just signed my first lease and found myself unemployed) but I still kind of felt a sense of relief, if that makes any sense at all;  the stress of my family and my job were gone and for the first time in 14 years, I was able to focus on me. 

Well, I'm now a 'stay-at-home' girlfriend in Miami and have A LOT of "me time"....maybe a little too much. But it's being spent making the apartment feel like home, going to the gym, looking for a job and laying by the pool (not necessarily in that order).

Tomorrow I'll fill you in on what life is like once you go from long distance relationship to roommates...

Klout or Krap?

23 people looked at my blog yesterday!  I'm so sorry there's no new material for you!  On Saturday I was introduced to Klout by a friend from college.  She's a social media/telecommunications professional, so when she suggests an app, or something else for me/the rest of Facebook to try, I normally do as I'm told.  I downloaded Klout, I read the instructions and it basically said once you enter in your information, Klout will give you a score from 1-100 to rate the 'influence your social media presence has'.  After quickly inserting ALL of my social media information (think names and passwords for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Blogspot, Linked In etc) Klout rated me a 22! A 22 out of 100!? How is that even possible!?  I have an inactive Twitter, an out of date blog with three followers, a Facebook account that I try not to post on because most things I post tend to start a political debate and an Instagram account with 4 pictures....not to mention my LinkedIn account which I use solely for job searches.  Okay, so maybe I'm not the most influential person via social media, but that's going to change.  I've set a new goal for myself to have a Klout rating of 50 by Friday.  Game on.

But on the bright side, it means more reading material for you! But I guess that depends on how you look at it..

Foto Friday - Birthday List Edition!

Jesus and I have something in common, other than our belief in God....We share the same birthday (don't get into the whole, Jesus was actually born in June crap, because for all intensive purposes, his birthday is celebrated the same day mine is, on December 25).  Since this 'special' day is only 25 days away, I've decided to share my Birthday (Christmas) List with you! This has NOTHING to do with the fact that my mom can't click a link and find the correct product online, nothing at all....


Pink Leopard iPad 2 Cover $65





Abigail Buffalo Plaid Apron $40





LeSportsac Weekender $108





Kate Spade Wallet





Sperry Rain Boot Socks $35























Of course anything Kate Spade or sparkly will work and gift cards are always an option...J.Crew, Starbucks, Sephora, Amazon, you get the idea...Happy shopping!

LDR's SUCK

Being in a long distance relationship is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done.  It’s about a thousand times harder than I ever thought it would be, and it is emotionally draining to the point of physical exhaustion.  I spontaneously burst into tears, to the point where I took 3 quizzes all entitled along the lines of  “Am I depressed?” (for the record, no I’m not, WebMD, DepressedTest and Health.com told me so)…apparently I’m just sad.

What makes this even harder is that I find myself getting angry with golfer and none of this is really his fault. He is in Florida working, it’s his job and I get that…but it’s sunny and beautiful and he’s starting a new chapter in his life, one that is going to basically skyrocket his career…he’ll be able to work/play anywhere he wants after he puts in his two years in Florida.  So why am I mad at him?  I wish I had the answer.  I feel like everything I come up with, points to me.

I don’t call him often, because A. I don’t like talking on the phone and B. He doesn’t really have a schedule, and I’m trying so hard not to be the girlfriend who calls/texts all the time when he’s out on the golf course or hanging out with his roommates. So I just don’t call.  Then I think about the fact that I’m not calling and think that he’s going to think I don’t care by not reaching out and I make myself so conflicted that I cry. Yes, I know he can call me, but in all the time we’ve been together, I think he’s called me twice, once was to ask me if I wanted to go to a UFC fight and the other was to find out if I was actually having a heart attack on the side of the road  after texting him about almost hitting a deer.  We’re just not phone people and I don’t know how to fix that.

It doesn’t help that I really don’t know what I want to be doing with my life.  I know what I enjoy doing, but I don’t know how to turn all of those things into a career.  What I do know, is that I’m not going to be an indentured servant forever and I need to figure a way out. Preferably a way that leads to the Miami area so I can stop being a lunatic who cries whenever she’s not in front of people. (Does it make me any less crazy, acknowledging that I’m crazy?)I can’t even begin to type out the conversations I’ve had with my best friend K about the issue.  I would surely be committed.

I guess it’s time for me to do what I do best, and start making a spreadsheet and a plan.

The "Talk"

This is Golfers last week in NJ (it's actually his last three days since he leaves Friday, but I may still slightly be in denial).  I went over Monday night after work and was intercepted as I was changing into sweatpants by his mother, who started her conversation with, "Everyone at work is asking how you're doing with this whole thing...and I just start crying before I tell them I don't really know.  Are you okay?" (mind you she's sobbing me telling me the story about sobbing) of course, me being me, burst into tears as well and the two of us stood in Golfer's room hugging and crying for a solid three minutes.  This was a the first time anyone in his immediate family brought up the move to me and what it meant and what was going to happen...which kind of threw me for a loop, I honestly didn't think anyone was ever going to talk about it and it was going to be my responsibility to bring it up.

Golfer knowing me as well as he does, was prepared with white wine on hand and had a glass waiting for me as I sobbed with my head on his chest while watching Dancing With The Stars and the debate (it's amazing what a boyfriend will do for you once you start to cry, I must remember this).  After the crying subsided, and much more wine was consumed (Golfer's sister made me the 'bottle straw' seen below) I decided to have 'the talk'.  You know the one, what are we doing? What do you want? Etc.


Not sure why this is sideways



It went something to this effect:

"Babe, what are we doing?  What do you want for us?"
"I want you in FL, I think we have something really good here, but I realize how unfair it is to ask you to move."
"But you telling me what your ideal situation is, isn't asking me to move, if I move, it will be my decision..."
"Okay, then ideally I would want you in FL next year."
"Okay, then I should probably start looking for jobs and a roommate"
"A roommate?  Are you serious?"
"Well [my little brother] lives down there and he's in a 3 bedroom condo, so maybe I can live with him for a little while...."
"Why wouldn't you live with me?"
(cue uncomfortable laughter)
"Because I don't really think I want to live with someone before I'm engaged...there's a higher divorce rate and I only plan on being married once, so...."
"Seriously?"
"Kind of"
"Well at least we have some time to figure this one out"
"Also, eventually I want kids, and I'm not starting a family in FL"
"Because it's not NJ, or because it's FL?"
"I don't have to 'settle' in NJ, but I need seasons, so I'm sure as hell not settling in FL"
"Okay"
"But I'm also not living in FL for years, and then having kids when I'm 45"
"Baby, when you're 45, I'll be in  my 50's"

......does this mean I'm moving to FL and need to find a job and a roommate?

Furthermore, in yet another teary eyed conversation, his mother asked what we were doing...I said we're trying to figure that out, we just talked about it the night before.  His grandmother was confused as to why we didn't get married before we left...and his mother kept telling me she keeps praying we end up together despite FL...and then she slid in that we needed a two bedroom condo in FL, so she had somewhere to stay when she visited. Tomorrow and Friday should be very interesting days with the whole family saying their goodbyes...I'm still not sure how I'm going to fair. But I packed a personal wine supply for the next two days...and on my lunch break I'm going to try to find a long curly straw.

Psychic Saturday

Sometimes you need a psychic to tell you what you already know.  Sometimes she gives you the closure you need or the answer you were looking for.  Sometimes she even cracks you up in the process.  My experience with Sara on Saturday was all of those things.  My ½ hour reading turned into an hour and fifteen minute reading because my “spirits were cracking her up” and “they love you a lot, they’re telling me not to stop”, which was of course fine by me. 

She knew my boyfriend was ½ Irish with an “Irish Catholic mother” and that he was a great guy because of “how he treats his sister, his dogs and the cat that he doesn’t even really like”.  She was also convinced that she and I were the same person in another life.  A first?  Definitely.   She knew about FL and asked “What the hell is going on with you and Florida?” and then she said “Wait, you need to calm down, everything is going to be fine.  He’s going to miss you, not forget you and even though he knows he loves you, he needs this to realize you’re the one.  Men are a little slower figuring these things out.”  She confirmed that I will not be getting engaged before he leaves, but I will be married in three years, which still is before my 30^th birthday, so I’m okay with that.  She knew some other crazy stuff, for instance she said “What did you say to your boyfriend after your first date?  The spirits are laughing and told me I would think it was funny.”  (The answer of course was me saying “Thank you for being normal” to him). 

I love my psychic Sara, and if any of you are considering going to a psychic, or have had bad experiences in the past, I encourage you to give it another shot, you have to find a psychic that you ‘click’ with and put your faith into the reading in order for it to be successful.

Foto Friday - Psychic Convo Edition

Since today is "Evaluate Your Life Day" (no, I didn't make that up) I decided I was going to observe the holiday by visiting my psychic tomorrow.  Here's what happened when I told golfer about the psychic (in photos):

Trust me when I tell you, he will be the FIRST person to ask me how it went.

It's been forever

It's been forever since I've written in here and trust me when I say I have a lot to write about.  Golfer leaves in exactly 9 days for Florida, basically permanently. The question everyone keeps asking me is "What does that mean for you?" Well that's a touchy subject, since when I brought it up 2 weeks ago, I got out a few words "I'm a selfish b*tch and don't want you to go" and he got out a few coherent thoughts "I don't want to lose you" "I hate that I'm making you this upset" and "Is there anything in Florida for you".  I then tried to be an eight grader and bring it up via text message, thinking if he doesn't see me cry, maybe he'll be more open and that was an epic fail.  Now we're at a stalemate and no one will bring it up and I'm in crisis mode because he's leaving in a week and I still don't know what that means for me. End rant.  But seriously...What does it mean for me?  I hate being hot, I hate summer and I hate sweating if I'm not working out.  But I'm also in an awful living situation up here, I hate my job and I'm totally head over heels in love with him.  I know he loves me, but will he love me when I'm extra freckled from too much sun exposure, have gross nappy, frizzy, semi blonde hair from the sun and sand AND am poor because I'd be taking a 55% pay cut to move down there AND have to pay rent.   I check my horoscope daily and on Monday, this was my weekly horoscope:

Okay, I gave matters a rest on Monday.  My "hopes" are that he proposes and the decision is basically made for me...If we're getting married, I would have to go!  But that's delusional me talking and I'm trying to approach this as a rational version of myself, which is actually a lot more difficult than it sounds.  I actually wrote a ridiculous email to a friend from college, who I haven't seen since I graduated, but she is one of the smartest, wittiest people I know AND she's head over heels in love, married to one of our mutual friends and wouldn't steer me in the wrong direction.   Here's a tidbit of our conversation:

Me: Hey, [name]! This is probably the most random Facebook message you'll receive all day, but you're on a long car ride and I appreciate your POV, which I seem to need. My boyfriend (of 7 months) was supposed to go to Key Largo for 6 months for work (he's a golfer and works out of a really exclusive club down there for the winter). We had it figured out that I would go down 2 or 3 times, because he can't take time off and when he found a "home club" in the DC area, I would move down there and finally get into political consulting/PR.

Well of course nothing is easy, and his boss now wants to keep him on year round and with a two year commitment. He wants me down there (he stressed not right away) and asked "if there was anything job wise down there for me"...since I hate my job up here, I can't imagine anything worse is waiting for me in the Miami area. The real problem I'm having is that if one of my friends was in my place, I would be telling them they are out of their mind for moving for a guy...and if a ring isn't involved, he's not serious about them, but I'm also not one to demand a ring. I love him....but HATE the heat, frizzy hair and sweating, at the same time, I'm not ready to lose him over frizzy hair. I wouldn't be moving until next summer, but I don't think I'll be okay with him leaving without a plan in place. Help please?
Hope you and [husband] are having a safe and incident free trip so far!

Her: OK well some random from elementary school I boxed me to inquire about my skincare regiment three days ago so sorry, she's got you beat!

You should first know that [husband] and I had our first date Apr 16,2009 and I moved to Charlotte (alone) on Aug 15, 2009 and so we were long distance almost from the jump. We didn't move in together until a few months after we got engaged but we dated 1 year, got engaged for a year and were married 2 years on the anniversary of our first date...so my perspective is skewed toward love is quick and you either know as in "know" that its there or its not. We hate Charlotte and being away but we love each other and it was best for my career and David can work anywhere.

It seems the same situation kind of. I wouldn't move your life for a guy u like...they're a dime a dozen...but for a guy you love I would 5 mins ago, its once in a lifetime. I'm not a believer in ultimatum like, "I'll only do this for a ring..." but bc the ring conversation shouldn't hinge on anything... at the same time I'm saying only move for LOVE like in ur gut love, once in a lifetime love, and honey when there's that kind of love..there of course will be a ring.

The bottom line is that this weekend one of us has to say something and I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's going to be me :- /

In other news, I'm seeing my psychic on Saturday and she said "Come prepared, we have a lot to discuss"....God help me.

Foto Friday!

I recently found myself reading Cosmo magazine (okay, who am I kidding, I subscribe to that sh*t and I read it monthly, sometimes bi-monthly) and they had an article about "average numbers" in love and relationships. These were a few that caught my eye:



I actually think it should be more than that,

and I did in fact wait longer than that

before Golfer met anyone!





Umm..I guess I'm 'above average'





And now I KNOW I'm above average...
I wish I only had 6 awful dates!



Happy Friday!! 

Chicago Man be gone!

I realized yesterday that I never wrote about the ending of the Chicago Man story!  I thought of a response for him! Aand what's better than the truth?  Nothing. 

Our final conversation went exactly like this:

And that's it...what's better than being able to tell someone who f'ed you over that you're doing better without them than you were with them?  Nothing.

Another Hump Day

Good morning all!  I'm back from vacation and would do just about anything to be back in the big comfy bed in D.C., but I'm at my desk, worrying about all the stuff I have to do this week and trying to figure out how to organize the next few days of my life. The baby shower is over with...but now it's almost time for the baby!  I can't wait to be an "Aunt" and see this little guy when he decides to make an appearance.  It was crazy seeing my cousin 7.5 months pregnant and realizing that it's actually a person in there.  I know, I know, when you're pregnant you normally have a person at the end of it all, but it's still all so surreal. 

I left for D.C. right from the shower, so I didn't get to say good byes (there was A LOT of gift opening and I didn't want to interrupt) or see all of the adorable baby stuff that my cousin got, but I did get to watch her open my present, which made my day.

Once again, I learned I was nervous about nothing.  Yes, golfer made fun of my ridiculously big bag and yes, he made fun of my "Road Trip Survival Pack" that I put together, but it was nothing I couldn't handle, and nothing that I didn't expect.  We had a lot of fun and did A LOT of touring in the few days we were there.  We met my Aunt, Uncle and cousin for dinner on Sunday night, and my cousin was super excited to talk to golfer, because he just started taking golf lessons and is waiting for his tournament schedule.  Golfer also met a friend from home who just moved to the area, and they got along also, so WHOO HOOO!  I'm going to go our on a limb and say there aren't many people that golfer can't get along with...don't worry, I knocked on wood. 

Below is the conversation I had with Chicago Man, I know you're all dying to know what happened:

And since we all know when it rains it pours...Here's ANOTHER text I received last week, from the guy that moved to Hoboken and later found my blog...Obviously I knew who it was, but why give someone that satisfaction?  Maybe it's a 'John/Jon' thing...

I would also like to mention that this blog has had 4,000 views!!  I can't believe that many people have read the nonsense I post an a quasi-daily basis...I should maybe be a LITTLE more careful about what I write...

Have a fantastic Wednesday!

Imagine That...

So some of you might remember Chicago Man (in case you don’t, I’ll give you the run-down: met in an insanely random way at a Syracuse basketball game, talked forever, I found out he had twins closer to my age than he was and I went out to Chicago to visit him twice….then he disappeared).  Well imagine my surprise when I got a text from him today that read:

"Hey. How are you?  Been a long time.  Finished my ironman race."

Umm…HELLO?!  I’m doing great!  It has been a long time, how have the last 6 months of your life been?  I’m still waiting for that trip to NY you were supposed to take…

Why do people do this?  It’s so inconsiderate to contact someone 6 months later, when 9 times out of 10 they’ve moved on.  Don’t get me wrong, never in A MILLION years would I give him another chance, I love my boyfriend WAY too much, but it’s just funny that he thinks he can just prance back into my life.

Well I’m not having it…and when I think of an accurate response to his asinine text message, I’ll be sure to post it for all to see.

Ramblings

It's almost been a month since my last post!  WTF, you guys are supposed to tell me if it seems like I've fallen off of the face of the blogosphere!  With that said, it's a lot harder to blog when you have nothing exciting going on, or nothing to vent about or nothing you think anyone else wants to hear about...

Golfer officially got his date to move back down to the Keys...October 19th.  On the 20th, you'll find me wearing sweats, in bed, with a bottle or two of unoaked chardonnay and my dog.  You won't be able to miss me, I'll be the girl with the mascara rings around her eyes unable to put together a cohesive sentence without sobbing.  I'm kidding, I won't be that bad.  I hope.

I'm still slightly in denial that he's going...and I may or may not have looked up temporary jobs in the general area of the golf club that he works at.  And I definitely didn't do any research to find out how much a 'Kids Club Counselor' makes...Nope, not at all.

It's a strange feeling.  I feel like most people would be worried about what their boyfriend or girlfriend was going to be doing 13 states away, but that's not really what I'm worried about.  I'm worried that he's going to have SO much fun and do SO many awesome things that he won't miss me.  I realize I sound insane, and I'm going to visit, but still, I can't help it.

The 'exciting' news, is that golfer decided to plan a trip to DC for us before he leaves, which should be interesting, mainly because our over nights are normally one night so it's easy to pretend I'm low maintenance (washed face, brushed teeth, hair in a ponytail) kind of girl.  The reality of it, is that I blow dry and either straighten or curl my hair, use every type of make-up on the planet and own over 75 pairs of shoes. I also am not great at packing, nor do I enjoy car trips (I need options and tend to get car sick). But hey, if I come back from this trip single, then I won't have to worry about FL!

Last but not least, I got a text from golfer's sister today, asking me if I wanted to meet her for happy hour in the city with some of her friends.  I haven't gone to happy hour in ages, and to be honest with you, don't really go out drinking anymore (mainly because I hate counting WW points for alcohol and I hate being a sober person surrounded by drunk idiots) but I do feel like I need to make an effort to know her better, so I said I'd go.  Then I looked down at what I wore to work today.  Silver Sperry's, navy linen pants, and a white shirt with blue stripes.  I don't live near Martha's Vineyard, or The Cape, so this attire isn't really appropriate for happy hour.  I spent my lunch hour trying to find a pair of long jeans at Banana Republic (there were NONE) and ended up getting a pair of Gap jeans that should do the trick.  And lucky for me, I'm a shoe-aholic and have 13 pairs at my desk (plus the ones on my feet and the flip flops I wore into work today) so that's not a problem.  However, I can't decide if his sister wants to get to know me better, or wants to get her friend's opinion on me, so I'm going to have to be on my best behavior.

Foto Friday - Random Edition

Alright folks, I'm officially an awful blogger...I feel like I never have time to blog, which is funny because I'm not that busy...

Anyway...IT'S FRIDAY! And I can tell you that since I almost walked out of my job on Wednesday, I can't wait for the weekend.  My boss isn't very good at typing, so he makes power point 'slides' by hand using blank paper and a pen, which is frustrating but bearable.  On Wednesday, he decided to take 4 of our company's presentation decks (68+ pages each) and take pages out of each presentation to make his own presentation.  To make matters worse, he cut out all of the graphs he wanted to use and glued them onto his blank 'slides' so I had no idea where they were from originally when I went to make the new presentation.  I then went in to ask him a question about his handwriting which is atrocious and he was sipping tequila and boat shopping...WTF.  I walked away calmly and went for a brief walk down Park Avenue.

My boss's idea of a PowerPoint slide

My favorite welcome surprise of the week?  I was supposed to be going to Ocean City, MD next week, the trip ended up being cancelled, but my vacation days were already approved...so I'm off Monday - Wednesday!

Monday was a big day, golfer met (most of) the fam.  He's met my mom before, but it was only once or twice in passing...and for dinner we threw in the two youngest cousins and 4 Aunts and Uncles just to throw him for a loop and he 'passed' with flying colors.  Not that I ever had a doubt, but the fact that he passed the friend's test AND the family test AND still opens/holds doors for me AND tells me I'm beautiful all the time, makes him a keeper in my book...I don't care if he's not the most photogenic person in the world, he's MY non-photogenic boyfriend.


A conversation w a friend after I posted the 'awful'
picture of golfer.





























In other news...MY BEST FRIEND IS MOVING HOME TODAY!  K has been in college for 7 years and yes, she has 2 Masters degrees to show for it, but I missed her a lot while she was in South Jersey and she's FINALLY coming home!

This is for you, K!

I have a good LONG weekend ahead full of birthday's, working out and beach clubs!  Be jealous!

Venting Viernes

I know, I know, it's supposed to be "Foto Friday", but I have to make an exception just this once!

I was "off" yesterday for Jury Duty, which I have literally waited over 7 years to be called for.  Of course, I was excused and never even got into the court room, but that left me an entire day to do some errands, work off the last .6 lbs I have to lose and so on and so forth.  One of those errands was refilling my birth control prescription. Mom, you can stop reading now if you don't want to hear about your daughter and birth control, however, I've been on it for 10 years and I'm almost 26, so I think just maybe you'll appreciate the good rant.

Let me give you the back story: In January, my company changed prescription insurance and we went from a company that ONLY did mail orders, to CVS Caremark which sent us a letter in the beginning of the year saying that mail order was optional and that we could have the prescriptions filled at a convenient pharmacy of our choice (for me, that's the pharmacy in my hometown, because the CVS is in a not so great area).  So in March, when I got the annual prescription from my doctor, I brought it to the pharmacy a half mile down the road.  The prescription the doctor wrote was for 4 3-month supplies of pills (which is standard) and the pharmacy said they aren't authorized to distribute three month supplies and I had to do it month by month.  Since I needed to start the new pack the next day, I agreed to do it month by month at my local pharmacy.

Let's cut to May when I mistakenly threw out a new pack of pills, instead of the old pack and had to call the pharmacy and explain that I was an idiot.  They issued me a new pack, but it was 2 days off (for those of you who don't understand how birth control works, you take one pill a day and they vary in strength, you take the highest dose first and work your way down to the lower dose).  I decided to be proactive and call for a refill when it was ALMOST time for a new pack (we're talking 48 hours early) and the pharmacy couldn't refill my prescription because it hadn't been 28 days since my last refill.  This gives me ONE day to call in the prescription, pick up the prescription and do it all from Manhattan, because that's where I work and with my commute my hours are 6:30a - 6:30p, so there's clearly plenty of time for me to make a pit stop at the pharmacy. And do people overdose on birth control?  I didn't realize it was a controlled substance.

And now we have August 9, 2012.  It was the perfect amount of days after my last refill and I was ready for the easy refill process to begin, I called the night before and put in the prescription number by phone and waited for the text confirmation from the small town pharmacy to let me know my prescription was ready.  I was walking through target buying workout socks when I got the text, but it said "Please call the pharmacy regarding your prescription".  The thought process in my head went something like this "Oh. My. God.  What on earth could've possibly happened now?!  I waited and followed PERFECT birth control protocol in refilling this prescription AND I have to start taking a new pack tomorrow so WTF is going on...."  I collected myself and called the pharmacy.  The pharmacist informed me that Caremark (CVS) placed a block on my prescription and she couldn't fill it unless I called Caremark to remove the block for this months refill.  I was livid, but took the number from the pharmacist and called Caremark ready to battle. When a guy answered the phone I almost lost my mind....it's bad enough I'm arguing in the car accessory aisle at my local Target about birth control now I have to argue with an insurance man over my contraceptive methods, perfect. The conversation went something like this:

"Hello ma'am, how can I help you today?"
"Well, I hope you can help me, it's been extremely difficult to get my prescription filled for the last 3 months or so and I don't understand why there have been so many problems, most recently, the block Caremark put on my prescription at the local pharmacy"
"Well ma'am, I'd be happy to look into that for you, can I have your name, date of birth and the prescription number?"
"My name is ______, my DOB is ______ and I don't have the prescription number with me because I wasn't planning on having to talk to you about it today and I don't typically carry my birth control pills around in my purse"
"Okay ma'am, I see here that you've been refilling this prescription since March at your local pharmacy"
"Yes...I received a letter from CVS in January explaining that for my convenience, mail order was no longer required...which is kind of ironic because I can assure you this is NOT more convenient than any other refill method I've ever used"
"Ma'am, I'm trying to work with you here...my system says you have a CVS within 5 miles from your home address, is that right?"
"Yes, I do, but it's in the ghetto, so I try not to go there.  I value my life, kind of like I value my reproductive rights and my right to birth control.  I understand that it's cheaper for you as an insurance company if I use the 'preferred' pharmacy because of the deals you've cut with said pharmacy, however, I am almost positive the extra $0.79/month I'm paying at my pharmacy is a hell of a lot cheaper than the thousands you'll be shelling out for my prenatal care of an unintended pregnancy"
"Ma'am, let's not get carried away...."
"Oh it's too late for that, I'm already playing my next argument in my head...but so I don't have to use my next argument, please tell me what I need to do to refill this f ing prescription....I'm sorry, the f word was uncalled for"
"Ma'am, what I suggest you do is bring the physical prescription to your nearest CVS and tell them you would like the prescription transferred from your local pharmacy and they will give you a three months supply for $14.02"
"So I have to drive home, get the prescription, drive into the ghetto, explain this saga to another pharmacist, then go about my business and go BACK to the ghetto to pick up the prescription?"
"Yes ma'am"
"Please stop calling me ma'am, you have my DOB in front of you, I'm not that old."
"Have a good day miss"

I drove home, got the prescription and went to the gosh darn CVS, explained the story to the girl at the counter who informed me they don't transfer prescriptions, I have to call the doctor and have them call it in.  I lost my shit  nicely explained to the girl that I wasn't doing anything, I had already been to the doctor to receive the prescription in the first place and I wasn't doing anything else.  She went back to talk to her supervisor and they agreed that they would call the doctor and the local pharmacy and figure it out.  She then asked me what time I wanted to pick it up and I said in an hour or two. 

Three hours later, I went to the CVS drive through (the ONLY convenient part of this entire day) and gave the guy at the window my name....it took him a while but when he came back he informed me MY PRESCRIPTION WASN'T READY!!!!!  WTF?! He told me it would be 5 minutes, so I should park and come inside.  Of course I have to park and go inside, of course.

I went inside and waited for my name to be called.  The guy then asked me if I had any questions regarding my prescription to which I replied, "Actually I do, have people ever complained about the incompetence of CVS Caremark before?" and he said "Not to my knowledge, ma'am" and I tried not to laugh at the word 'ma'am' and responded "That's amazing..." and the supervisor from earlier came out and apologized for my "inconvenience". 

The worst part about this entire saga, is that thanks to Obamacare, EVERYONE even non-U.S. citizens are 'awarded' health insurance.  Which means if I was an illegal alien and decided I wanted birth control, I could walk into a planned parenthood clinic, or hell after this bill was passed any doctors office and demand a birth control prescription and get it in the same god damn day. Why do I work?  I don't need health insurance, they've extended unemployment benefits and I bet if I quit my job, I'd get more financial aid to go back to school.  Don't even get me started about that girl crying over $2,800 to finish her art degree at Drew University.  She was awarded a $50,000 grant for EACH year of her college education and has the audacity to post a video on YouTube asking for $2,800 because she can't afford to finish her degree.  I worked three jobs in college so I could go to school AND took out over $100,000 in loans...Do NOT plead your case to me.

End venting session.