First and foremost, my Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl! Three weeks after the win, the Seahawks balloon that I bought the night before Super Bowl XLVIII is still bobbing in my living room as the greatest cat toy ever. My Sundays feel empty now...27 1/2 weeks until kickoff, but who's counting?
Just like the Seahawks got their rings, I got mine, and I feel like I worked just as hard for it as they did. I wanted to do something with my engagement ring to make it more relevant, so I took it and an amethyst my grandmother gave me a few years ago to the jeweler who made the ring. I envisioned making a big-ass blingy ring with the amethyst and all the diamonds from my ring, but the jeweler talked me out of it. Perhaps I didn't properly communicate to him that I am totally at peace with my inner Jewish American Princess. In any case, he convinced me that an amethyst of that size would just get scratched as a ring, so I should turn it into a pendant instead. Three hours later, I had designed a pendant using the amethyst and the center diamond from my ring, selected a new stone for the ring, and had charged an amount greater than my rent to my debit card. I won't confess what I paid for the jewelry, but I will say that it was by far more money than I have ever spent on myself. For something so frivolous too! It actually felt gloriously symbolic of my independence to be able to pay for my very own baubles for no other reason than I wanted them. Happily, when I picked up the ring and pendant, I also received appraisals stating the combined value was nearly four times what I'd paid, so I think I did a pretty good job for myself. Plus, they are so sparkly! I love sparkly.
Football, jewelry, what's next? Oh yeah. Dating. Not much happening with the online dating because I'm just not that motivated anymore. I'm kind of over the get-to-know-you and decide if we should meet in person messages. After about five, you start to realize that you're having the same conversation with five different people. There may be plenty of fish in the sea, but not many of them stand out. I had a funny conversation the other day with another Plenty of Fish-er about the similarities in POF dudes. It turns out that there are also some generational differences. A bit younger than me, my friend E's preferred age range is 25-40, while mine is 35-45. Upon comparing notes, here's what we determined: Men in their late 20s and early 30s claim to be artists and musicians, but the dream dies in their mid-to-late 30s, at which point they become personal trainers. As men move from E's accepted age range into mine, they apparently take up hiking and MMA fighting. Seriously. You have no idea how many guys claim to be MMA fighters and/or personal trainers on POF, and they ALL hike. In my age range, there are also a lot of truck drivers. I'm not sure what's up with that, but there have been enough that it bears mentioning. I'm not a snob, but I'm not looking for a truck driver. Nor am I looking for a delusional "MMA fighter" or "personal trainer".
Honestly, I'm not really looking for anybody, which makes online dating seem like a waste of time. I don't want a relationship, and I obviously don't want a one night stand. I still have enough dates to keep me from being a total spinster, and I have plenty of free time to myself and no weird pressure. Sure, there are times when it would be nice to have someone next to me, but I don't want it all the time. In truth, I think I just like receiving attention. There's nothing wrong with that, right? The other night I gave my number to a 26 year old hottie solely because he flattered me by saying he wouldn't have guessed I'm older than 28. 26 is really young. Then again, if I'm not looking for anything in particular, should age matter? We've been texting since Friday and just exchanged POF user names. Honestly, if he weren't so young, he would be a hot prospect. He has a masters degree, is an architect/contractor, grew up in Montana, and he can spell and punctuate. Am I ready to own being a cougar? Stay tuned, gentle reader. Stay tuned.
