Speed Dating with Pros in the City and Match.com Happy Hour

Hello All-

So again I've been promising myself to do at least one social event a month and for the month of September I've done two! Pros in the City Speed Dating Event and Match.com Happy Hour Stir Event. I'll start with Pros in the City.

Pros in the City

Well the turn out for men was WAY better this time. I'd say I sped date with 13 guys. I actually was interested in two of them. One was an older gentlemen and the other was a guy from Ireland. It was really interesting and I actually felt no pressure because I didn't really have expectations (which isn't a bad thing). I used to psych myself out thinking that this is it he'll be at this particular event and when I would receive no responses I'd be more depressed and avoid social events for a few weeks afterwards. Although I guess deep down I was hoping that I'd be attracted to at least one guy. Anyway, at the speed dating event the females would sit for the duration at their seat and the guys would get up and spend 4 minutes with each female. It can be a lot of fun or the minutes can feel like an eternity. The guy from Ireland, I'll call him "R" was really funny and had great taste in music (which I love). He was very surprised that I was into British/Irish bands as well. I have a very eclectic taste in music which I think was part of what attracted me to him. The thing with these speed dating events is that once the speed dating is over it can get kinda awkward. Once everyones dating is done you kinda wanna get the hell out of there unless of course you make a connection. So basically everyone left. So it's like you take the test, go home, sleep for the night and then rush to your computer the next day to see the results.  Two guys (including R!) said they were interested in me. The Lawyer (not the older gentlemen I was interested in) who seemed to be absolutely bored and a little stressed out at the dating event was a total turn off and I really wasn't interested in him. I've exchanged two emails with R and that was a few days ago so the ball is in his court. I said we should hang out but rather than pine away and wait I'm going to continue my search, which brings me to the next event:

Match.com Happy Hour Stir Event

Let me preface by saying OY! I believe we females today have a high standard when it comes to the men we want to date and maybe those standards are way to high. I'm sure everyone has noticed those Match.com Stir Up Event commercials that are being created as of late.  The commercials show very attractive men and very attractive women interacting at these events which was basically what I expected. I know that sounds way superficial but I'm just being honest. The event was actually a happy hour at a spot in D.C. and let me tell you it was unorganized to say the least. Anyone could've walked into the establishment and as usual women outnumbered men I'd say two to one especially at these dating event. Deep down I expected as much. There were a few individuals making connections but what I witnessed most were a lot of men just standing around drinking their beverages of choice and groups of women talking to each other. Yes I was one of those women and I remember I read somewhere that a group of women talking among each other is very intimidating for men to approach them. I mean I would totally feel the same if I were the only woman and the guy I wanted to talk to was with a group of his male friends. But alas I didn't see anyone I wanted to talk to or was attracted to so no love connections.

Dating is hard as shit, your basically putting your heart on the line every time but in the end when it works and you find him it's totally worth it. I do still have one credit for another speed dating event so I do plan on doing that when it occurs. When I do these events and no numbers, emails or Facebook pages are exchanged I don't see it as a failure, I use these situations as learning lessons on what I may need to change or do the next time around. Its always good to put yourself out there, you never know when you'll meet the one, it could be on the way to the metro, getting a drink at the bar, meeting your friends at a restaurant, it basically can happen anywhere.

But I think I'm also going to start doing some volunteering and find some activities that include music, drawing and visiting museums which I adore doing. I had lunch with my old boss/mentor and I told her that with the success of obtaining my Bachelor's Degree and weight loss, I am viewing my love life in the same manner. I may have bad weeks where I go to a few events with no love connections or go online and find no connections but the KEY TO SUCCESS TO FINDING LOVE IS NOT GIVING UP. No one is going to bring Prince Charming to my door (unfortunately) so I need to do the work and just keep at it and I will find him. Like a persons' intuition you know what you should do in that current situation and I feel like this is the right path for me to find him.

So I will continue to put my heart and patience out there and hopefully soon I will start actually dating :) Til the next time.

- Loree

Vision Board & Goals

So I've been sending out my resume out like crazy and my brother gave me this brilliant advice to send my resume first thing Monday morning rather than throughout the week (Thanks Joe!). The thought is that with the unbelievable amount of people looking for jobs now, sending your resume during the week will only get lost. When HR receives an email during the AM on a Monday they are more likely to open said email. So I prepared a bunch Sunday Afternoon and emailed them around 9 - 11 AM Monday morning and I actually got a couple of call backs!

Funny thing though, I haven't been motivated in the interviews. I don't know if its because I've been a full time student for the past three years that I just don't wanna deal. Actually I know that its because I'm out of practice. Don't get me wrong I like money and I would like to find a job I love but "in this economy" I feel like I can't be too picky. My goal is to get out of the role of Executive Assistant, Administrative Assistant, anything Assistant but I know that since I just obtained my Bachelor's degree in Management Studies this past May I am considered Entry Level and I'll most likely be an assistant for a while. So I need to deal with that for the time being. In addition I have to find a new car since mines was totaled. Unreal what life can throw at you but I will deal.

I think what will make my head feel less in the clouds is updating that Vision Board that I've mentioned countless times. It is as follows:

1. Date
2. Stop being a homebody, socialize a bit more
3. Visit museums more (at least once a month)
4. Learn Spanish 
5. Learn German
6. Visit Rome, Ireland, Spain, Greece basically travel more
7. Religion - Read the Bible
8. Mediate Every Day and invest more in my spirituality
9. Would love to purchase my dream car which is a Dodge Challenger
10. Buy my own place
11. Sing Karaoke in front of an audience
12. Obtain my Masters in Web Design or Finance (haven't decided which yet)
13. Find a career/job I love and can grow in
14. Get my retirement right

Below you'll find the image of my Vision Board. I need to add #14 which I have. It's so important to prepare for your future because I am assuming that social security will not exist for me when I retire. 

Out of the list, I have been working on 1.) Dating, 2.) Finding a Job - working with Randstad a job placement agency and 3.) Travel More, going to Atlantic City in September which is exciting!

Again, I can't stress how important it is to have your goals out there in front of you. I'm a visual person and it really does seeing this goals first thing when I wake up. So onward and upward!

Have a great Labor Day and til the next time!

- Loree

Meetup Event to 2nd Base?

So on my Vision Board one of the things I wanted to do and basically need to do is date more and be more social. So I went to a Meetup/Happy Hour Event in D.C. It was fun, I wore my green sleeveless dress. <<SIDEBAR>>First I wanna say, I never was comfortable showing my arms but since losing weight and actually doing the weight lifting arm exercises 3 times a week worked! I love my arms! I had a habit of printing out exercises moves but never doing them. It's amazing that if you actually do the exercises consistently it actually works! Anyhow sorry back to my story at hand....

The Meetup Event at a rooftop club had the purpose of meeting new people and raising money for the homeless and they had a great turnout. The crowd was supposed to include people in their 30s and 40s but there definitely were older individuals and younger which brings me to the story here. I met up with my cousin and another close friend and we were conversing with people. The first guy we spoke with had to be 2 inches from my cousins face, he reminded me of the "close talker" in that episode of Seinfeld. Well when he finally had to use the men's room and gave us a break a young guy came up to us asking which one of his friends we thought was the hottest. I'm thinking, he and his crew definitely were under the age of 30 crowd because that question is very high schoolish but I digress we answered the question. My cousin and I agreed that it was the Blonde Adonis sitting on the couch. I mean this kid was ridiculous. So next thing we know he is calling this kid over and he looked even better close up! Insane, great hair you can run your fingers through but the sides were close shaven, biceps and you could tell he had a six pack and a smile that made, me at least, feel like 12 year old girl. But one thing we noticed Adonis couldn't stay still which made me think he was definitely on something medicinal (legal or illegal I don't know). Oh did I mention that he and his friends work for a medical establishment? They all came to the happy hour in their medical smocks, I'm sure to show that they are the sh*t and work in the medical profession. So funny. Anyhow Adonis eventually left and went dancing on the dance floor. He basically danced the whole night through. Well he had 3 other friends also in the medical profession, another Caucasian kid, a "Harry Belafonte lookalike" and an African American kid. We spoke to them for a bit then danced for a bit. Then the club switched over the music to lounge music indicating we needed to get the hell out, party is over. This was around 9:30/10:00 pm. So my cousin, and our friend and I walked outside the club.

As we are leaving who do we see getting into a taxi fan. The medical crew! They asked us to go with and said they were headed to another club and would we like to join. Now mind you, Adonis was there and cute "Harry Belafonte" so we said what the hell. Now the next part of this story I advise no young lady to do on their own. Honestly we shouldn't have done it as a group as well. Instead of heading to the club we were heading to "Belafonte's" place. The reason being he had to change. So we were like ummmmm o.....k...... We were very hesitant but we ended up going anyways. When we went to "Belafonte's" place, Adonis was there, the kid who sparked the conversation was there, another Caucasian male was there and an African american male was there. All five guys were with us at the Meetup. Anyhow they were taking they're sweet ass time changing! I mean they put on music, and asked us if we wanted to smoke (and I don't mean cigarettes). In unison we ladies said "NOPE." So they asked if we wanted a drink, we also said "NOPE," again. Honestly I felt like I was watching a movie that was either a comedy or beginnings of a tragic story. These guys seem cool and I didn't get any bad vibes from them but you never know. Anyhow, the Caucasian kid left and so did the kid who introduced us so all. So all that was left was the African American guy who was into our friend. Adonis who was into all of us and Belafonte who was into me. 

These guys were definitely trying to get some but doing a poor job. I mean Belafonte left the room for second and came back shirtless. I mean seriously! LOL But <<SIDEBAR>> Belafonte did have a great body, six pack and all but I digress. Belafonte and I danced a bit and O.k. just so we're clear I had to look up 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Base in regards to relationships to make sure I'm using the right terms correctly. Went to wiki answers states that 2nd base is defined as " 2. rubbing, touching, normally over clothes, ( http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_definition_of_each_base_-_first_second_and_third ).", Which I would say Belafonte got to with me and our friend and Adonis (the African American kid feel asleep LOL) danced a bit and my cousin well she's in a relationship so she kept to herself. 

Long ass story short we ended up leaving because the Washington D.C. Metro system for the 100th time were doing track work and I had to shuttle between two stations which meant getting home was going to be a nightmare and very late on my own. We tell the guys we gotta go, went outside, "Harry Belfonte" walked us out but asked us to wait they were coming. We waited 30 seconds and left. Belfonte called asking why we left and we (with the permission of the taxi driver) blamed it on the taxi driver. Then I lost the connection. I went to the metro station and surprisingly Belfonte called me back asking for me to return and I told him I'm halfway home and said he would hit me back the following weekend. That was 3 weeks ago and I've yet to hear back which is totally cool and what I totally expected.

But let me say I had a blast! It's been a while since I've interacted with the opposite sex and having a guy interested in me was a definite confidence booster. He was really cute and had an amazing body. So I think I'm at a good start with the socializing, I have another speed dating event on Friday September 9th and a Stir Event by Match on September 17th so we'll see how those goes and I'll report back. 

Bottom line is as in all things "PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT." I'm coming to the conclusion that it doesn't have to be so difficult and that my love is out there.  

Til the next time!

- Loree