You're kidding me, right?

Muckraker is in touch, out of the blue, insisting that, No, he doesn't always contact me when he needs favors, but that yes, he does in fact need a favor this time.

He wants me to go pick up a prescription and mail it to him. (It would have been amusing if the prescription had been Viagra...)

Sucker that I am, I'll probably do it. (But believe you me, I'll be calling in favors as well in the next year or two...)

The Right Guy

Hello my faithful readers ... (however many of you are left after my inconsistent posting schedule...!) Work is KICKING my butt and I haven't even started on that thesis I hoped to have a first draft of by now. DAMN IT!

However, I am happy to report that Jedi and I are still doing remarkably well! (I say remarkably because I am a remarkably difficult person to deal with at times, yet he is unfailingly kind and patient with me.)

So... well, that's good! I can't believe we've made it 5 months... that's a record for both of us. And to think, I totally didn't want to waste my time with him at first... good thing I let him get under my skin. He said last night that he thinks he might be too "Nice." I have to say, this is TOTALLY true... But if he hadn't been so nice I wouldn't have kept not being able to find excuses to dump him. (Wow, that was a convoluted sentence-- but you get what I mean.)

We've had a few misunderstandings because he's so nice though-- Such as the time when I picked him up from work at 4:45. I was running late-- I thought his work got out at 4:30. So, I apologized... but he was all, "Are you ok? I thought you'd had an accident or something... " but didn't make a big deal about it AT ALL. I only found out a few days later that he gets out of work at 4pm... not 4:30 (never mind 4:45)... woops! (My cell was out that day, so he couldn't call to see where I was.) I would probably have been extremely annoyed with him, and I would have let him know it right then and there... But, well, he HATES confrontation.

While I appreciate that (having grown up in a household that is very confrontational) I'm working on getting him to express what he's ACTUALLY feeling as opposed to suppressing it.

In OTHER news... Over the break I had breakfast with Science Guy (remember him!?) We had a good time-- he is a nice guy, if a bit clueless oftentimes. He talked about his girlfriend and I talked about Jedi, and we talked about maybe double dating.

Science Guy said... "NO WAY! Jedi will make me look bad!"

True... True... True...

I had mentioned to him that Jedi got me a digital camera (and about a million other things!) for Christmas...

Science Guy started laughing and said, "Do you know what I got my girlfriend for Christmas? A Salt Shaker."

For REALZ. A SALT SHAKER.

I asked him, "Does she want one? Does she need one? Does she collect them? Is it an inside joke?"
His response, "No. We just had a dollar limit and it fit in the limit and I saw it in the store. I thought it was funny."

He was going to meet up with his girlfriend after our breakfast and give her the gift.

Hmmm.... I should probably touch base with him to see if he's STILL going out with her. HA HA HA....

I think I got the right guy.

Why Jedi is Perfect for Me...

Oh! I almost forgot to add.... I got Jedi this T-shirt for Christmas! And he WEARS it! In a totally non-ironic way! And he proudly says he's a feminist!

I once said I could never be with anyone who wasn't a card-carrying member of NOW ... Everyone always made fun of me saying that I may as well become a lesbian because I'd never find a guy who would be a member...

:-)

{{{SWOON}}}

A New Year

This picture is from my Chistmas trip to my grandparents' house. I have to go across on the ferry which is a scary proposition when icy water comes in massive waves over the side of the boat!

My Christmas didn't turn out as expected because I came down with... the flu. Damn it! At least it was a mild case, but I've been sick most of vacation. Jedi was supposed to go to his grandparents' place, but he was sick as well-- though his illness was this damned chronic condition that is totally ruining his life at the moment. I personally think he has Crohn's disease, but what the hell do I know? I'm not a doctor. The "real" doctors (I think most of them got their licenses from a cracker jacks box) have done a ton of tests and still can't find anything wrong with Jedi. Nevermind that he is in major pain and runs to the bathroom every five minutes... but beyond that, he's totally fine. Mmm hmmm....

Jedi got me a digital camera for Christmas (in addition to about a million other things!) and I've been using it! I took the picture above with it, and I <3 it!!! It's got a bunch of great functions, including video recording... I wish this blog wasn't anonymous so that I could share Jedi's goofy dance moves with you... but he's made me promise not to show that to ANYONE, let alone you guys.

Things are still going well... I don't know, we've settled into a very staid routine. I wonder if I'll get bored with it, but I'm a pretty simple girl. We hang out, watch movies, (play wii!), clean (well, HE cleans.... just one more reason I <3 him!), make dinner, and he indulges my real housewives addiction.

Oh, I should probably ALSO mention that his ex-girlfriend, Cruddy, has been texting him again!!! She wished him a Happy New Year's at midnight last night. I almost took the phone from him to write to her and tell her to stop! Anyone know how to block someone on an iphone? Jedi claims not to know how. I believe him, but I know it must be possible. He thinks you have to do it through the phone company and have to pay a fee. I don't know...

Anyhoo... a lazy day. I have to get back to my trash tv... the Kardashians are calling!

Something Wonderful or When the Universe Sends You A Sign

I'm a huge believer in signs. I'm a lapsed Baptist, and not quite religious, but at the same time I do believe there's a higher power up there.

Even as I feel like it's the height of human arrogance to think that God intervenes directly in individual lives, I also can't help thinking that God (or one of his/her agents) also gives us nudges in the right direction. I know, I know-- how do I reconcile these seemingly contradictory beliefs? I don't know, but I do.

And I do believe that there have been times in my life when I've been nudged in the right direction. When I follow the direction of those signs, things seem to unfold in my life in a pretty magical way, where things just fall into place. (Yes, I know, many people think these things could be random coincidences, wishful thinking, etc... But somehow, sometimes, things just feel RIGHT, and as much as I hate to sound like Dubya, you just know it's right in your gut.)

Now that I've prefaced that, let me share with you a little story that took place immediately after the previous exchange.

After Jedi gave me the red scarf, he said, "Hold on. I got you something else. Maybe you'll like this better."

I opened it up. It was the book Something Wonderful.
Yes, this is a trashy romance novel... but hey, I'm a smart bitch who loves trashy books. And this book? This author? Both TOPS in the genre.

I looked at Jedi in surprise.

He explained, "While you were sleeping I looked at the books on your bookshelf and noticed you had a lot of books by this author. I wrote down the names of the books and made sure I got you one that you didn't have. Do you like it?"

Dear reader, I loved it. Not just because it was an insanely thoughtful gesture-- because it certainly was that-- but because it was so much more than that, though Jedi had no way of knowing it. In fact, until writing this post, even I didn't know it.

You see, I did already own this book. However, I lost it somewhere along the way. This summer I was looking for it, but couldn't find it.

The reason this was so meaningful was because of this post... from which I'll quote (And I'm realizing I repeat myself an AWFUL lot! And make the same lame-o jokes again and again! Apologies!):

It may sound crazy, but for most things in my life I've just KNOWN... somehow, KNOWN in my gut (not to be all George Dubya about it...) when I'm going in the right direction.

I'm just waiting for Something Wonderful.* Whether that's with a job or with a partner, I believe that in the end I'll know it's the right one-- that I'm on the right path-- because it will feel so very right. (Yes, I know I'm single in large part due to my own issues, which I've talked about at length, but I also feel that somehow I'll just KNOW when I meet the right one. Call me silly, but every single member of my family... (other than my own parents)... has said that when they met their spouse they just "knew" when they first met them. There are several people in my family who got married on their first date-- no joke.)

A few days before Jedi gave me this book, I had asked the universe for a sign I was on the right path.

When I opened that book, I thought to myself, ok-- this seems like a sign, but it could just be coincidence.

When I looked at the date I wrote the previous post about waiting for "Something Wonderful," and even referencing that exact book, I was rather shocked to realize I wrote those words the DAY BEFORE I met Jedi.

Call it coincidence. Call it wishful thinking. Generally being a skeptic, I wouldn't normally disagree with you.

But for me? In my gut? It feels like a sign I'm on the right track.

Thanks, Universe.

Not quite the gift of the Magi...

Jedi had a gift for me under the tree that he was totally hopped up about. It was in a gift bag and he kept admonishing me not to peek inside... all the while saying things like, "I've been wanting to get you this since we met!" "I can't wait to see your face!" "I really hope you love it!"

I finally said, "Do you WANT me to open it now?"

He said, "No. No... Do YOU want to open it now?" Eager puppy-dog look.

So, of course, we agreed to exchange just one gift...

(Now, I should mention that the gift that I exchanged with him at this particular time is one that I'd sneakily gone to his mother to find out that he wanted. It was a video game that is rather hard to find.

The Saturday before this particular exchange Jedi had asked his mother if she'd gotten him the game for Christmas. She apparently had a totally blank look and didn't know which game he was talking about. Jedi spend TWO DAYS driving me CRAZY talking about how he should just buy himself the game because he'd be so disappointed if he didn't get it for Christmas, and how it's impossible to find, and his mother wouldn't even know where to look, and his life would be over if he didn't get this game, etc. etc. (Ok, yes, there's a bit of hyperbole in there, but I was ready to STRANGLE him.)

Meanwhile I had already ordered and received the game. I had made him promise not to buy it for himself before Christmas and told him to have more faith in his family, but he was totally still a pouty-mcpoutypants about the whole thing. Driving me NUTS I tell you!)

But, back to that mysterious bag...

Jedi watches me intently as I open the bag... (frankly, I was a little worried there was a ring or something in there...)

And I pull out a ....
Yes. A Red, Wool Scarf.

Was this a joke, I wondered...

I shook the bag a little to be sure I wasn't missing something.

I put on my best, "Oh, grandma got me underwear for christmas and I have to thank her" face.

Or, otherwise known as "Present Face."


Well, he could read my present face and was all disappointed. "You don't like it, do you?"

"No! It's not that! It's great... it's just... Um... What made you choose this for me?"

He said, "Well, ever since we met, I noticed you're always wearing scarves, and I've wanted to get one for you..."

Light Bulb Going On

"Ooooh. Um. Babe, I wear Pashminas... you know, shawls?"

(Example!)


(What can I say-- I know they're no longer "in style" but frankly I think it's a look that never goes out of style. And they're so practical!)


Poor guy. He spent the night apologizing (ridiculously so, and I told him that...I felt so bad that I wasn't able to better disguise my dislike... but I was so surprised!)

He offered to take it back, but I told him I wanted to keep it as a memento-- and I do.

I then gave him his gift...

His response? (Besides childlike wonder and glee?)

"Damn. I'd better step it up."

No worries, dear reader, he stepped it up. He stepped it up.

Details in the next post, because this one is long enough...

5th wheel...

Poor Jedi!

Last night I got together with a crowd from work that used to work together.... (and then, LAYOFFS! Grrr....)

It was supposed to be a large crowd, and the organizer specifically said partners/kids were invited... and she invited Jedi by name.

And then... people canceled or didn't show up and I didn't realize it was going to be such a smaller crowd. There ended up being only 4 women (including me!)... and Jedi! Whooops!

He sat quietly most of the time... which, frankly, I appreciated. He didn't complain, but I know it's not fun to sit and listen to people you don't know talk about other people you don't know. Whenever he opened his mouth to talk-- I wished he hadn't. (Is that terrible of me? Probably.)

Like I said, it's not that Jedi is dumb-- he's not. He's just uninformed in general--(which I'm working on. The nightly news now figures as part of our routine... shocking, I know.) The problem is that he'll join in on a conversation but be about 2 steps behind everyone else.... and not realize it. I admit it, it makes me cringe.

That wasn't so much the case last night (I can't expect him to be up on the details of evil coworker's baby, when the truth is that even I barely care about evil coworker's baby. Like I said-- terrible person. Feel free to throw tomatoes at your monitor,) but it's certainly the case most of the time when I bring him out in public.

It's weird-- in private, I don't mind his general lack of knowledge so much, because he IS curious and wants to learn-- he just hasn't been exposed to much. In public though I feel like it reflects poorly on me, and I just want to be like, "Stop talking!!!" (I know, I know--terrible person...!!!)

I know I'm in the early stages of the relationship and so I'm inclined to overlook things... but I do wonder if this will end up being a deal breaker. On the other hand, I also know that he generously overlooks many of my flaws. If the worst I can say about him is that he isn't up on current events, in the grand scheme of things, how important is that? The problem is that I don't know the answer yet.