#342 The Sinking Ship

In my Adult Swim post, I mentioned meeting a tall guy.  To give a bit more detail, he had crawled into some cave area in the dinosaur exhibit, and when he popped back out, I said, ‘That was impressive!”  He noticed my height and we talked for a bit.  He’s 6’8” and played some college ball.  Really nice, funny, very cute.  He chatted with Kerstin and me for several minutes.  When he left to catch up with friends, he gave me his number.  He mentioned meeting up with him and his friends after the event; I didn’t make it so texted him when I got home. 

Mid-week he texted about meeting for a beer and we settled on Saturday evening, after my day of Rick’s Picks.  I met him at a bar called the The Sinking Ship.  Interesting name, as it did speak somewhat metaphorically about our relationship.

 

 

We spent the first couple of hours talking by ourselves and then were joined by three of his friends (two women from his work and another female friend).  Overall I had a good time, despite the friends being there.  I did like them but it was a bit strange to have them there.  Although we have some common interests and I find him very attractive, he is not what I’m looking for in a long-term relationship.  He has one habit I don’t like that is a deal breaker.  And I don’t think he’s a Christian.  Bummer. 

While I was having a good time but simultaneously thinking my bummer thoughts, I felt like he was thinking I was too much of a square.  And too old.  (My guess is he’s 31.)  At the end of the evening, he left me with a hug and a “Let’s keep in touch.” 

So why is it that as the ship was slowly sinking, I didn’t initially want to abandon it?  My first reaction should have been to say, “Buh bye” when the friends were on their way, making full use of my life preserver.  On the contrary, even though I knew he wasn’t right for me, I still kind of wanted to go out with him again.  He’s cute, funny, smart, kind of nerdy and really interesting.  And 6’8”. 

Is it the height?  I know he’s not the only tall guy in the world, but he’s the only tall guy in my world right now.  

Is it that I don’t like being rejected, regardless of how I really feel about our long-term compatibility? 

I think the bottom line is that despite the deal-breaker habit, he’s really fun.  And he does seem like a good person.  Even though this makes no sense, that sinking ship did fully sink.  And I need to keep my eyes open for the other fish in the sea.  (Originally written in early March)

 

P.S.  - I did hear from the "captain" in late April.  He invited me to meet him and some friends that night at another bar on my side of town.  I had other plans (what's up with guys and late notice?).  Would I have really gone if I had been able?  I probably would have tried to find a friend to go with me.  Oh well. 

 

#341 Hiatus

I have been on a bit of a hiatus from my blog and am hoping to get back into it.  I can’t believe it’s been nearly two months!  Life does that sometimes.  You look up and think, “What happened?”  By no means am I a work-a-holic, but I do have periods of time when I have more going on at work.  I was busy the last two weeks of March with work, then went on a short personal trip in early April.  Work picked up again in April with back-to-back projects.  I am now getting back on the blog wagon.  Stay tuned! 

#340 Adult Swim

A few Saturdays ago, Kerstin and I attended the first Adult Swim held at the Children’s Museum. It was an over-21 night of food, drinks and music that was a fundraiser for the museum and the Sapphire Theatre Company. All the museum exhibits were open to explore, with various food a drink stations spread throughout the floors. They even brought the Vogue into the dinosaur exhibit, complete with dancing cages.


My favorite exhibits were the geckos, the Hot Wheels and the ever-present carousel. The newspaper reported over 2,000 people attended and that it was sold out. Kerstin and I had a great time and I would definitely do it again. I read it will become an annual event.

 

 

On a side note, both Kerstin and I had our hair cut this afternoon. Mine was a usual trim, but she went to a new hairdresser for a new style. She always looks great at work, but she looked fabulous at the museum with her new cut and a cute outfit.

During our time in the dinosaur Vogue, we chatted with a tall (6'8"), dark and handsome guy in a white tux. Before he left to find his friends, he gave me his number. It was a nice cap to a really fun night. Stay tuned to see what happens…

I try to live my life in a way that keeps the enthusiasm of a child alive. I love to get excited about little things. Geckos, Hot Wheels, Rick’s Picks. Yes, I’m a responsible adult, but I also have a sense of play. And I hope that continues into my old age, like it does for the couple we saw in the dinosaur Vogue. Even though I’m an adult, I still love to jump in the pool. 

#339 Rick's Picks

Two weekends ago I drove to Rockford, Illinois and back. Why? To see Rick’s Picks, an exhibit at the Burpee Museum of Natural History. Who is Rick? Rick Nielsen, the guitarist from Cheap Trick. What are his picks? His guitar picks. Now that I’ve answered all of your questions, let me give you some background information and then I’ll tell you about my trip.

This past Christmas my brother gave me a Rick’s Picks t-shirt. I’ve been a Cheap Trick (specifically a Rick Nielsen fan) for a long time. My sis-in-law is from Rochelle, Illinois (about 30 minutes south of Rockford) and had heard about the exhibit. It started in April 2012 and ends April 10, 2013. I didn’t have much time left to go and finally decided to make the trip. By myself (I didn’t bother asking my friends because I knew what the answer would be).

My history with Cheap Trick and Rick goes back to New Year’s Eve in the 1990s. Alyce and I wanted to go out for New Year’s and my other friends didn’t. We ended up at Union Station to see none other than Cheap Trick. At that time I knew a couple songs and liked them well enough, but wasn’t super excited about the show. As I stood off to the side, I started watching the tall guitarist jumping around. He was a great performer and was so fun to watch. I then noticed that he was pointing his index finger in our direction. He’d point, then turn his hand over and move his index finger like he was saying, “come over here.” Alyce and I turned around to see who he was pointing at. At one point, the crowd seemed to turn around in slow motion to see who he was pointing at. Turns out he was pointing at me. I felt like I was in a music video!

A few minutes later, a roadie came over and said Rick wanted to meet me. What? I followed him to the side of the stage and after the song was over, Rick ran over, looked me up and down and said, “You are tall!” He then said, “I’m Rick.” I said, “I’m Linda.” He ran back on stage. That was it. What? I’m no groupie, but I was expecting maybe a little more.

I returned to Alyce to watch the rest of the show. Rick is known for throwing personalized picks into the crowd. He threw one in my direction and the guy in front of me picked it up and gave it to me saying, “He was throwing this to you.” Awwww. From that night on, I’ve been a huge Rick Nielsen fan.

Since then, I’ve seen them twice opening for other bands at summer concerts. Last summer I saw them at Rib America. Rick is now 66 and is still as energetic as he was back when I first saw him. Once again, I stood off to the side and thought maybe he’d recognize me. Nope. Oh well, it was a great show!

So now to my Rockford pilgrimage. Rick is from Rockford so he decided to put together an exhibit. Luckily he never threw anything away so there was tons of memorabilia. It’s mostly guitars (duh) displayed along the walls and in enclosed cases, hanging from slowly rotating hooks. Each has a description of its history and coolness factor. There are posters, tickets stubs, fan letters and drawings, various pieces of clothing, shoes, sunglasses, hats, his pick collection, and much more. It was hands down one of the coolest, most interesting exhibits I’ve ever seen. I read a lot of the memorabilia descriptions and also saw some of the videos throughout the exhibit and thought I saw everything in an hour and a half. However, someone could spend hours in there paying even more attention to the detailed items. I didn’t have the luxury of spending hours. I had to be back in Indy for a date. (Yes, I had a date! Stay tuned for that recap in another post.)

On the way out I bought another pick (to keep my other pick company) and a magnetic checkered guitar for my fridge. Just a little something to remind me of my fun day.

One way it took me 4 hours and 15 minutes. I left at 7 a.m. and got home around 5:30 p.m. Not bad. It was a sunny day and I had great tunes to keep me company (driving out of Rockford I blared, “I Want You To Want Me.”) Even though I felt like I had enough time to see the exhibit, I do wish I could have spent more time in Rockford. It seemed like a really nice town, despite its ranking as the #3 Most Miserable City in the United States . I disagree.

All-in-all I had a great day! For those of you who are singletons and want to do something but don’t have a companion, just go on your own. Yes, having a buddy is more fun, but I’d rather do something I love by myself than sit at home wishing I would’ve done it. Get out there!

#338 Yesterday

All my troubles seemed so close to me. Here is a recap of my yesterday:

The morning started out great. I got up time and had a really good weight workout ending with some back exercises and stretching.

My mattress was scheduled to arrive yesterday. They called Tuesday to give me a three-hour delivery window – 10:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. They were to call 30 minutes prior to arriving at my house. I told them previously to call my cell number (I can get home in 20 minutes). I was proactive and called again Tuesday night to confirm they would call my cell number. Did they call my cell number? Of course not.

Trusting they would do as I twice asked them to do, I went to a meeting from 10 to 10:30 a.m. When I got back to my desk, I saw my parent’s home number on my phone screen, showing they’d called. Apparently the driver called my home number and left a message at 10:07 a.m., saying they would arrive in 15 minutes (not 30). Thankfully, my dad got there at 10 a.m. Unfortunately, he forgot about my security alarm and it went off. 

I did drive home to see how they set the bed up and spent my lunch hour re-making my bed, cleaning the floor, moving my nightstand back, etc. I lay down for about two seconds on the new mattress and then went back to work.

Back at work, I sent the wrong password to someone two times before I got the right one. Ack!

I stopped at my parents after work to have dinner. After dinner I put some things in my trunk before we headed to a Lenten service, and noticed that my driver’s seat was fully reclined. As in Van Halen, “ease the seat back” reclined. I have electric seats and while the forward/backward button worked, the up/down button did nothing. Are you serious?! My dad drove to church so I silently prayed all would be miraculously ok when I returned. 

After we got back to my parent’s house I tried the seat again. Voila! It worked! I did the same exact thing as earlier in the night so I have no idea what happened. My car is a little on the old side and maybe things are starting to wear out. Regardless, I was so thankful all was ok and I didn’t have to spend time/money at a car repair shop today. Thank you Jesus!

Got home at 9 p.m., just in time to watch Modern Family. I sure needed some laughs!

Oh yeah, I had a great night’s sleep on my new mattress!

#337 Dating Down

I recently saw an interesting segment on CBS Sunday Morning that discussed the topic of tall women and their limited dating pool, with most of them having to date down (aka, date shorter men). Mo Rocca (LOVE him) talked to several tall women (6’ to 6’3”) to get their thoughts on this phenomenon. (Ok, why is it when people talk to “tall” women, they are always 6’1” or 6’2”. They never talk to the seriously tall). Most admitted that they prefer dating men their height or taller. However, he did talk to one couple where the woman is 6’1” and her husband is 5’7” and they are very happy together. I did love his quote…something like, “I never thought I would end up with a woman who could physically pick me up.”

In high school I refused to date down. I actually had a couple guys ask me out who were under 6’. Nada. No way. No how.

When I got to college I thought I would be in guy heaven. Surely there would be at least one guy out of the approximately 20,000 students who would be of a suitable height. As luck would have it, there was one. Oh there were plenty others who were tall enough, and even some on the basketball team who were way tall enough. I went on a few dates but no one really caught my attention. Except for the one who happened to be 6’4”. (See Post #329 to see how that turned out.)

Post-college I’ve dated sporadically and I would estimate that the height of the guys has ranged from 5’9” to 6’10”. I’ve met a few guys (and dated a couple) throughout my life who were a lot shorter than me that I was really interested in (most recently, “Carl”. I’ll save that for another post). Ironically, I’ve found that shorter guys are more likely to be interested in me than guys closer to my height. I was on a first (and last) date with a 6’4” guy who said he always wished he was taller. He then commented that I probably wished I was shorter. I said no. (Crickets)

The 6’10” guy (referenced above) told me that if I was taller than him he wouldn’t want to date me. I can agree with that to a point. 6’11” is tall even by my standards, but I know a couple attractive women in that height range.

I have had my height “rules” - my Jim Harbaugh Rule (Post #2) and my Costaki Rule (Post #249). (Alas, both of them are taken.) In all seriousness though, at the end of the day, it’s not only about height. It’s about a connection and how that person makes me feel. I want them to be in the height ballpark, but I would choose 6’4” and a great connection over a 6’10” dud. (For the record, the 6’10” guy was not a dud. We just wanted different things, i.e., marriage and kids).

Why the rules? Why don’t I like to date shorter men? The bottom line is that I just feel more feminine when I’m around a tall man. I could care less what others think of how I look with a shorter man. I actually think it looks kinda cool when I see celebrity couples where the woman is a little taller. But if the difference is too great, I start to feel like a dude. One woman Mo talked to said she feels like their mother if she’s significantly taller.

Which brings up one of my biggest pet peeves - seeing a really tall man with a really short woman. Really?! Save some for the rest of us!! If they’re holding hands it looks like he’s taking her for a walk. But I digress…

So what’s a tall girl to do? Especially when approximately four percent of the male U.S. population is 6’2” or taller. (Holy $#!% that is a scary statistic.) I will continue to date people I’m attracted to who are close to my height.

But where are all the tall guys? I think Mo needs to do another segment on that topic.

#336 Where Are We Going?

I heard an interesting story on the radio last night while driving home. I was scanning stations and ended up on 90.5 (K-LOVE), a Christian station. The DJ told a story he heard from a friend. His friend was running errands one day with his small child and they made several stops. At each stop they took the child out of the car seat, then put them back in to go to the next place. Eventually I think they were going to a sporting event.  In the car seat, out of the car seat, etc. The child didn’t complain and just went along for the ride.

Finally the child asked, “Where are we going?” The parent told them they were going to a basketball game. “Ok.” And that was it. They trusted their parent to take care of them and get them to where they were supposed to go.

The DJ then spoke about how we humans sometimes are unhappy with where we are in life. We’d like a better job, a bigger house, a nicer car. We often question God as to why things happen the way they do. I know I have my own questions for God now and then. Why didn’t that relationship work? I love my job, but is there something else I could be doing?

This story is a good reminder to have the faith of a child and trust God that we are where we are supposed to be.  There may be some bumps in the road and we may have to get in and out of the car seat numerous times. But God is with us all the way and we have to trust in His plan for us.