Swing Me Away

There's a going away party for a co-worker at Swing Wine Bar in Olympia tonight.  Olympia is in the opposite direction of my commute; however, I've never been to Swing Bar and this Diva can't pass up a chance to have a fabulous time bonding with friends!

Happy Thursday Divas!!! 

All the Difference

I was driving home tonight when I passed a neighborhood couple who had recently gotten married.  They are a wonderful couple who have been together forever; I was so happy for them!  However, as I pulled into my garage, I got a twinge of "Why not me?  I deserve a happily ever after!"  Selfish, I know, and it may have been brought on by the "Smile" Glee song I was listening to in the car (see to the right.)  So, after a good cry in the car, I looked for some inspirational words on line to change my state of mind.  I found the following blog article from All the Difference and it put things in perspective.

You Don't Get What You Deserve by Travis Corrigan

Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first. - Mark Twain

Sometimes you have days where you exclaim what a friend of mine puts succinctly as "thank goodness I didn't get what I deserved." Two events reminded that today was one of those days.

First, I had brunch (yes, brunch.. don't judge) with a great friend and former professor who had made a large contribution in functionally saving my life a few years ago when I was (hopefully) a much different person dealing with the consequences of making much worse decisions than I do now.

Though we don't get together as frequently now (my fault), some portion of the conversation are dedicated to updating him on what I am up to. Because these conversations act as snapshots of my current life, we both reflected on where I was when our friendship began and the path to where I am now. I was humbled and reminded of the fact that there were a lot of people from '08-'09 willing to see beyond the scared, angry kid I was and instead focus on my potential and help me move from the former to the latter.

The funny thing about memory is how much of the total situation falls away to the point where you recall only a few fragments (usually the ones that cause the smallest amount of emotional upset). The other funny thing is how all the details come rearing back in vivid detail simply through conversation with the people that were there.

As we wrapped up our conversation and departed from the restaurant, I took stock of where my life is now and what it was just a few years ago. All of my relationships are fantastic (at least they are for me), I am awash with more opportunities than someone my age should be getting and have made enough progress as a human such that there are slightly more people who have nice things to say about me behind my back than those who feel inclined to say otherwise. Considering all the selfish, hurtful things I've done in the past, I am thankful that I have not gotten the full brunt of what I deserve.

This is what I was thinking about when I stumbled upon this:


That's right, a free skateboard with about 8 skateboard decks underneath sitting right in front of my apartment building. Double. Winning.

Life has a funny way placing things into motion such that your life works out the way it does. Sometimes you miss a deadline by a few seconds or make a wrong turn or you decide to have some agency and overcome that fear of making a connection with someone. All the little inches in life put you in place to give you the hand you have today. Everything that didn't work out (both good and bad) is giving you everything that is working out (again, both good and bad). The free skateboard I got today after brunch is a function of a desperate email I sent in November 2008. I didn't deserve it, but I'll took it anyway.

Some people may say that Karma is a bitch but I think that she's a pretty decent gal. I'm sure that if we look over our lives we'll realize that we a got a decent amount of good stuff and avoided at least 10x of the bad stuff we deserved through the same channel: serendipity ...or fate, if you are so inclined.

In either case, be thankful. Life is short. Continuously performing gap-analysis and complaining about how things "should" be is not good stewardship of your life. But if you must do it, then at least acknowledge the negative consequences that could have very well played out to make the life you have now a blessing.

Single Gal Seeks Intelligent Man with Limbs Intact and Clean Teeth

Mainly for shits and giggles and my own personal entertainment, I'm back in the on-line dating scene.  Interesting.  It's always fun to review the ads in order to determine if there is someone out there who is intelligent, entertaining and attractive as well as not being a drug addict, sex offender, or married.  I'm still not comfortable with the whole "sell me" mentality - it seems a person has to present themselves as this year's great new model or the blue light special of the week.  Plus the unspoken rules of etiquette - do I contact them first or do I wait for them to contact me?  To chat or not to chat?  Exchange email?  Oy!  It's complicated for a single gal!! 

No Use Trying to Stop Time!!

I was gazing out the porch when I realized how much bigger Sam is then when I used him as the silhouette for my fence.  Eyes rolling, he agreed to stand next to the figure so I could see how much a few years makes difference.  What a handsome boy as he stands next to that sadly painted figure!!!

Long Blonde Gives a Boost to Diva's Esteem

I have to be honest - ever since I got the long hair extensions, men have been, well, friendlier than usual.  Just more willing to start up conversations, letting me go first in line, smiling....it's very strange.  This hair has also boosted my confidence - I'm walking taller, I've got the lip gloss going, and I even bought new underwear - a matching bra and panty set of all things - today!  I guess the long hair is giving me that nudge to begin working the sexy confidence factor that is lingering somewhere inside of me!   And I'm kind of enjoying it!! 

I've also been receiving Mama Gena's Daily Fluff via email every day, which gives me much needed food for thought.  Mama Gena, who I learned about from Diva Sister Luna, focuses on The Pleasure Revolution, as excerpted:

The Pleasure Revolution is an adjustment to the soul of a woman. Women were never taught to guarantee their joy. They were taught to guarantee the joy of others, take care of others and then whatever crumbs were left from that were theirs, but when a woman reverses the order and really pays attention to her pleasure, making sure that each choice feels absolutely right to her and absolutely gratifying to her, she’s going to makes choices that enhance her life and enhance the lives of others.

I'm trying to keep this in mind - paying attention to my needs and what feels absolutely right to me.  So now I'm going to start wearing the "good stuff" for myself, not waiting until there is a man in my life to appreciate it.  Although, based upon the new attention I've been receiving, this won't be far behind!!!

Gewurztraminer! Bless You!!

I'm not much of a wine drinker, but last night I sampled some Gewürztraminer wine.  It was so good I picked up a bottle tonight and sat on my back porch in the sun sipping a glass of it.  Yum...and quite the relaxer!   Both boys are off with their friends so the house is quiet and I'm enjoying every minute of it!  My wine glass is a gift I received for my last birthday from Diva Andrea - isn't it cute?  Pink tiger striped and it also has a little black feather boa around the base.  Diva to die for in my opinion!!

Wishing It Was School Clothes for Me Too!

Saturday found son Sam and me at Clackamas Mall shopping for school clothes.  He is my fashionista son, who seeks out all of the "right" clothes, as opposed to son Jordan, who is happy for all black with skull motif.

Our biggest haul was at Zumiez.  They were having a ton of deals on buy one, get one half off shoes, hoodies, etc.  They also offered free delivery of items they did not have in stock, which included a pair of Nike tennis shoes and just the right color of hoodie.  We also picked up a "seatbelt" latch belt along with an old school "snapback" baseball hat.


P-Rod shoes on order



The elusive Zine hoodie we ordered



Supra high tops




Cool snapback hat

 

 We swung by Foot Locker to pick up a new pair of Michael Jordan mesh shorts.  Sam is soo funny because he always touches the material on clothing to make sure it's the "right" kind.  Had to be mesh, not nylon!

After picking up some cologne at PacSun (gotta smell the right way) we ended up at JCPenney to grab an assortment of plain tee shirts along with some flannel shirts.  That's Sam's uniform - jeans, tennies, plain shirt, fannel, and baseball hat.

One son down and one to go!! 



The trusty flannel