Dating defeat

Boys should come with instruction manuals.

I'd love to have back all the minutes, months and years that I've spent dissecting phone calls, e-mails and notes passed in history class. When he says this, does he mean that? When he told me he'd call me, did he really mean it, or was he just being polite? Does he like me?

If only we could go back to those "check yes or no" boxes.

Tonight, I had an epiphany about men. They're not really that complicated. Unlike women, they very often do say what they mean. And while they may throw out a few polite phrases like "We should do this again sometime," or "It's not you, it's me," most of the time they're easier to read than we care to admit.

Turns out that men are either interested or they're not, but seldom are they confused about it. And when they are interested, they usually find a way to communicate that. When they're not interested, we spend days obsessing over whether they are and what they mean and when will they finally make their move when the reality is, they just don't want to date us. Why is that so hard to understand? It doesn't make us less beautiful, less intelligent, or less desirable. It does make them idiots, but then again, that's not a news flash either.

Guess you can lead a man to a restaurant, but you can't make him date.

Just a year ago, I was blogging obsessively about Mr. Friend of Friend. I spent hours trying to figure out whether he was interested when he never, ever was. At least not in me. And you know what? Life went on, and I was better off. And I remember all the very many signs that I should have seen but didn't want to.

Turns out that while love is blind, so is fleeting interest. So tonight, I vow to acknowledge dating defeat. Let's just be friends. It's not you, it's me. I just got out of a relationship. I'll call you.

No, he won't. But in the big scheme of things, why am I losing sleep over this?

It starts with me

I've always suspected that I'm a lucky little brat. The past couple of weeks have only confirmed that.

As reported earlier, I'm participating in a leadership group for Benton County. Our meeting this month focused on health and human services, and it was an eye-opening, humbling experience. See, I live in a county of the haves and the have nots. Not only do we have the highest average income per capita of any in the state (save one, according to some), we have the most people below poverty level.

I learned that my picturesque, Mayberry-like town has people living in cars. Our shelter has served more than 2,400 homeless and near-homeless so far this year. People are living on less than $600 per month. Children are going all weekend without food. The average family on assistance receives about $12 a day to feed four people.

I cannot begin to tell you the profound impact this experience had on me. I don't have to pack a calculator when I go grocery shopping. I don't worry that I can't feed or clothe my family. I don't have to look into the eyes of precious children who are going hungry.

The point of this rant? This Christmas, I vow to buy only three presents: one each for my two nephews and my niece. I'm no longer going to go in debt to purchase clothes that never get worn or toys that seldom get used. Those of you who would normally get a small token of my affection should be aware that, this holiday season, you'll be getting only a card. Instead, I'll be supporting local charities and international missions. And I encourage all of you to do the same. Imagine how much good we could do if we merely donated half of our Christmas gift budget to help those who need it most.

Luke 12:48 says it best, "To whom much is given, much is expected." There are so many people hurting in the world. It is our responsibility to reach out.

Boo, Texas!

Tonight I uploaded pics from my camera since my Chicago trip. So here's a random assortment of photos from the past couple of months.

The zebras from mine and Amanda's zoo trip



Peacock



Avery's pre-birthday party



The boys, watching a WWII documentary... they're OBSESSED with Army stuff



Brady, on our way to Austin



Royal Stadium at the University of Texas

Oops!

Three reasons I quit stalking people as of last night:

1. Gas is $3.80 per gallon, so drivebys are pricier than they were in high school (and my parents were buying the gas back then).
2. It's not nice to invite a friend to pick a restaurant to celebrate her birthday, then drive around until it's too late to eat there.
3. Sometimes, even with your best efforts, you get caught, and that's not easy to explain.

Yeah, gas is nearly $4 a gallon, but having friends who'll patiently put addresses in their GPS to help you stalk? Priceless.

Friday preview

Wow. I just realized I haven't updated you all on the exciting happenings of my life.

There is much to say but little to share, so for now, please review what I've learned this week:
1. There are many, many people in the world who are less fortunate than me. Many of them live nearby.
2. It is 36 miles from Siloam Springs to Rogers. The distance increases exponentially when you've driven it five times in six days.
3. No matter how old they get, boys are still really, really hard to figure out. Anyone have a manual I can borrow?
4. Most people talk a lot and say very little worth remembering (i.e., this post).
5. Exercise may get easier in time, but it never gets enjoyable.
6. Sometimes life gives you lemons. Sometimes life gives lemons to your friends. And a lot of times life just isn't fair.
7. Girls who love football are destined to date men who don't. What a waste.
8. Chick-fil-A never gets old.

Guess that's all my wisdom for now. I'm off to Rogers (again) to have dinner with Kelly and Amanda to celebrate Kel's birthday. It was yesterday, but given all the sadness of 9/11, we picked today to party.

Happy birthday, Avery!

Today is Beaver's sixth birthday. I can't believe how much he's grown!

(I have some pics from last weekend when I was in Texas and we did a pre-birthday party, but I haven't downloaded them yet. Soon... I promise!)

Monday = fun day

I just experienced my own version of utopia. I'm staying at the Hampton in the Fort, in a whirlpool suite. (And lest you think I'm wasting work money, it was the same price as a regular room.) So I got to relax under the jets while watching Monday Night Football. Life doesn't get much better than that.

I overslept a bit this morning, so I was 30 minutes late to the office, but since I worked until 8 or so tonight, I guess we're even. I was in Fort Smith all afternoon doing branding interviews, then enjoyed a fabulous dinner at my favorite restaurant in the Fort, Rolando's. And since I consumed more than my fair share of calories, after checking into the hotel, I walked two miles on the treadmill in the hotel gym. Needless to say, in all of the nights I've spent in hotels in my life, I've NEVER been to the gym in a hotel before.

Now I'm watching D Mac on MNF.

Tomorrow we're driving to Little Rock and back, so don't hold your breath for a Drivel update.

Where did the weekend go?

While I realize that the work week is five days and the weekend only two, it seems those two blessed days are much less than 28% of my week. The time from Friday at five until Sunday at ten seems to fly by, and I'm often left wondering how in the world I wasted the past 52 hours. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and thank God for it every single night, but still... I'd be lying if I said that I never considered what it would be like to be a lady of leisure. I live for my weekends and days of watching football (hooray for the first full weekend of the pigskin!), reading books, visiting friends, and sleeping in. Hey, 8 a.m. is sleeping in these days.

Last week was quite busy, so I was in bed before 9 p.m. on Friday night. Yesterday I slept in, watched football all day, then headed over to Rogers for church. I've been looking for a church home for over a year, first in Conway and now in NWA, and have never found a place where I belonged. Every time I get to go to chapel at work I leave filled with the Spirit and full of peace and joy, and I really want to find that same feeling someplace on the weekends. Oh, I know worship is about Him and not about me, but still, I really want to be someplace I can be happy.

So yesterday I crossed the county to meet a coworker and his family for Saturday night church (and no, it wasn't LDS), and I loved it. The praise and worship was awesome. The message was inspiring. Granted, it was only my first trip, but I think it's a great start. So I'm praying for God's guidance on whether that will be my new church home.

After church I went to visit some friends who recently moved to Rogers who paid $35 to watch the Hog game on PPV. Yeah, we won, but it was not pretty. It's going to be a loooooong season, Razorback fans.

Now I'm gearing up for the week. I'll be traveling to all four of our offices in 24 hours, so it will be a crazy few days. Oh, and I have 300 bags of microwave popcorn in my trunk, so now my car smells like butter. Hmm...

The good news is that the Cowboys looked great today (yeah, they played the Browns, but still), and Felix had a TD. The bad news is that pretty boy Tom Brady is evidently out for the season with a torn ACL. Guess the MVP award is officially up for grabs.

Later, kids.

Here ye, here ye... ye olde update

My dad is concerned that I haven't updated since Monday, so here you go. There's really not much to report. I've been in focus groups since 1 p.m. this afternoon. Yesterday I was in a faculty meeting where we talked about academic rigor to the point that I thought rigor mortis was going to set in. The only thing more boring than having a lot of meetings is working on reports, and boy do I have both in spades. Oooh, web analytics and leverage reports... how exciting is my life?

I did get to have dinner tonight with some of my Fort Smith friends who've moved to Rogers. And thankfully tomorrow's Friday. I'm looking forward to a weekend of football and napping.

That's it. Sorry my life is so dull.

Missed opportunities

So yesterday, while we were driving down the streets of Austin, we passed by the Nike + Human Race while looking for the capitol. Jen and I found out today that, had we stayed, we might have seen both Matthew McConaghey and Lance Armstrong shirtless. Bummer. Instead we saw some homeless people down under the bridge. Not the same thing.

The eyes of Texas

It's finally here... the moment I've been dreading... time to pack up, kiss the boys goodbye (if they'll let me), and drive eight hours back to home and reality. It's been a really fun and relaxing weekend and so great to see Lon, Jen and the boys, but I really hate this long and boring drive.

On Saturday we mostly relaxed and watched football. Jen was on call until about 11, then she came home and crashed until dinnertime. We had a little pre-celebration for Avery's birthday next weekend, complete with cake, cupcakes, and donuts for dessert.

Yesterday we loaded up and went to Austin for lunch and a little tour of the major landmarks: the Texas state capitol and Darrel K. Royal stadium. The stadium was locked, but we were able to go to the gift shop, where you can buy a game-worn jersey for a mere $400. Shouldn't a new one cost more than a stinky one?

We had lunch at Macaroni Grill and went shopping at IKEA. That was my first trip to that store, and it was interesting. I felt like a mouse in a maze.

I plan to hit the road in a couple of hours and make a stop at the luxury outlet in Richardson to break up the trip a bit. I can't believe I have to be at work in less than 24 hours. And I'm praying I don't hit any of the Gustav traffic headed north.

Happy Labor Day, everyone!