Sunday, January 22, 2012
Adventure Bowl
Ask A Guy Out On A Date: Dates 1, 2 and 3... :)
I'm in a serious state of swoon.
Thank you, Adventure Bowl. If you don't know how it all started, how I reached into my Adventure Bowl and pulled out, "Ask A Guy Out on A Date" then go down a few posts and read it all. I thought I would be happy just to go out on a date that night and not be murdered. The fact that I have gone on several MORE dates with someone I like, and like to kiss, is icing on the cake.
Me and my Craigslist List mystery man met at a beer and wine bar near me. I didn't have huge expectations for the night. I don't think I even showered, LOL... beyond showering that morning. I put on makeup, a cute top and perfume but I hadn't felt that "indescribable something" that you want to feel when you see someone's picture in your inbox, so yeah, I didn't want to have all this build up before the date just to be disappointed (if that makes any sense.)
But the second I saw him, shyly peek his head around the corner and meet my glance, I thought, "Oh, shit, I should have showered! He's so cute." And he was. Tall, (6'3), blue eyes, funky glasses, a warm smile. The smile is everything, isn't it? I, of course, was immediately thrown and nervous and spoke a mile a minute about what I knew about the bar and all the different craft beers they had while an inner monologue was running through my head, "Dear God, don't blow it... wow, he smells good. JUST ACT NORMAL!!!!" Smile. "Hi."
He grabbed us some beers and we talked and laughed. And he was funny and sweet and smart and one thing that struck me was he had this beautiful optimism about life and that is something I really want in a person. Soon we were running off to the bar across the street and then the bar across from that. We talked all night long... my time in NYC, his job, his future, he might go back to school, his nieces and nephews, my nephews, my dogs, our dating life.
And then... he brings this up even now, how I reached over and just touched his face. And I don't know what made me do it. I think he was talking about something really personal (he is out of a very long relationship) and he looked a little sad talking about it, how painful it had been for it to end in the way it did and I just think I wanted to comfort him. Something I might not have done had the beer not been flowing but he looked at me, his attention just sort of, took all of me in as if to say, thank you.
I can't explain it.
We kissed but I was conscious of knowing this needs to be taken slow.
So we did.
Our second date was dinner at a nice restaurant. More laughing and talking. Less huge fireworks. Hey, where did all the chemistry go? Perhaps I'm just scared. We kissed goodbye on a street corner and went our separate ways. The next morning, there was an email, he had had so much fun and was looking forward to our next date. Was I available Saturday evening? He already knew the perfect place in mind.
We met there at 6:30pm. At 2:00am we were still talking as the bar closed. Laughing, being silly. Holding hands.
I won't lie. I'm scared. I haven't liked anyone in 3 years. Oh no, maybe 5 years. In this real way. A grown up way.
So there we are. I don't know what will happen. It's sometimes easy and wonderful and other times, I'm quite scared. I don't want to get hurt. I don't have the time! Or the energy! I can't be down again. I can't be let down.
I'm afraid I won't get up.
Yet there are times, too, when all of a sudden, his hand is on my back or his he pulls me in for a hug and I think... just go for it. Stop over analyzing it. Stop trying to break it. Stop trying to end it before it even begins.
So that's where I am. Feeling the reward of taking a crazy chance. Taking an ad out for a man, essentially ordering him up like a pepperoni pizza, LOL, and it being pretty damn great.
I don't know what it will all be. It might just be for right now. Or it might be a lesson in just putting myself out there. But I'll take it.
That's enough for me.
What are you doing to take a chance? It's the new year, you must want to. I swear, if shy ol' me can advertise for a man, you can not only do that, but you can DO ANYTHING you want. What's your adventure? Tell me in the comments!
***
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
"Snap Out Of It!" Or Shit You DON'T Say To Someone Who Is Depressed
My life, lately, is a Cathy cartoon of "Acks!" (And eating crazy amounts of chocolate and feeling bad about myself in a bathing suit even though it's not bathing suit season, nor is it even close to bathing suit season.)
You feel me?
But I read this sweet commenter's comment because it meant a lot to me that they took the time to write. And then I had to read it again. Because while I was struggling with what I might look like in a bathing suit in six months, they were struggling with something much deeper.
Here's the comment:
Hi, I am a guy who has been in bed for 100 days or more depending on who you ask. I wanted to say that your stories do cross the gender boundaries and that reading your posts has been enlightening. It is nice to know that just because you have been depressed for a long time doesn't mean you are a loser, and that I am not the only one languishing in bed for days on end.
People truly do not understand why it is that we do things like not leave the house, or turn down offers to go out in order to lay in bed. "Snap out of it!" has been hurled at me more than once, it is allot harder to "snap out of it" then others may realize. Perhaps this blog can shed some light on the process, and make people understand what it really means to be depressed. Thanx.
Dear Anonymous
Your comment popped up in my email and I wanted to reach out and let you know I am thinking about you. It sucks being depressed. When I was at my darkest times, I did make a deal with myself:
1) Take a shower every day
2) Get some sunshine every day with a five minute walk
3) Write in your journal - which can just be a notebook, just get your feelings out in some way.
I was surprised I started to at least feel a crack of light once I did these things. Other things that might help...
1) Do you have job benefits? If you do, therapy is the best!
2) Is there one friend you can check in with a few times a week, even just for a laugh? Isolating is the worst.
3) I joined an online support group when I was feeling especially alone. It really helped.
You sound as disillusioned as I did but there is the same spirit in you that I had, the desire to get better. Let me know if I can help in any way.
Kayla
I have no idea if what I said will help. I mostly, when I was in my heap on my bed, wanted to know I wasn't alone. I was lucky that I had access to benefits and got myself medicated and in therapy, although to be honest, that did not help me for a long, long time. That said, my depression was pretty God damn severe and was compounded by losing my cousin, job and boyfriend in such a short amount of time and then my Mom getting sick.
What I'm trying to say is, yeah, it takes time and it does take effort. No one who is depressed is ever going to "Snap out of it." That's as ridiculous as standing in front of the mirror and thinking if you wished to be 20 pounds thinner, you could just wish it away. "Drop off! C'mon, I said it, so do it! Drop off."
Ridiculous.
THE GOOD NEWS: You want some good news regarding your depression? Now this is just my opinion but I'll tell you this - I would rather have had a depression THAN not had one.
Yeah, that's right.
Why is that? Well, most people I know are experiencing some low level depression anyway. Maybe they just don't have any energy or they shop or lay on the couch or watch endless amounts of TV to cover it up. Maybe they are having a glass of wine earlier and earlier in the day to not think about how dissatisfied they are with their life. Maybe they don't even know they are dissatisfied, they have gotten so used to this feeling.
A depression punches you in the gut and leaves you writhing on the floor. The ONLY way to get better is to work through it. To ask some really f'ing tough and uncomfortable questions about how you got here. Giving your depression, your dissatisfaction, the time and energy it deserves - WILL GIVE BACK TO YOU 1,000,000 times over!
I promise. I promise. I promise.
Did I miss anything? Is there anything you would like to tell Anonymous, whether cheering him on or giving him advice? Do it in the comments!
*****
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