Days 60-63 (Apr. 12-15): Beauty in the Ugly and Mundane

As soon as I'm finally caught up on all that time I went without blogging, I am going to make some changes to Pollyanna's Protege. However, before then, it's all about a hasty review of things. Haha, I do apologize for the long-winded deal, but believe me when I say it's necessary. So here comes Round Four:

Day Sixty (Monday, April 12)
Do dirty old men know they're dirty pieces of scum, or do they actually think their elevator-eye action is flattering? Probably a mix, I'm guessing. The reality of their actions? It's an I-Really-Need-At-Least-Three-Showers kind of disgusting. I usually love older people and feel wholesome around them, but when the gross ones come along, it's just so disappointing. Such a "man" crawled out from under a rock and into my presence on the way back from the post office. Ugh. Nasty. He just stopped to give me the once over and said something that was *fortunately* blocked by my headphones and ipod.

Here's why I list this mundane happening: It reminds me how blessed I am to know chivalrous men, both young and old.

There are two other "mundane" occurrences that I wanted to record. Okay, they really are mundane (without the quotation marks)happenings, but to me, even the mundane means so much to me. For one, I had a quick gmail convo with a friend who asked me to relay a message to someone. I felt really awkward because it was to invite this other person to something I thought I wasn't invited to, lol. When I said as much (amiably, of course), she cleared things up and said of course I was invited, and hadn't she told me about it.

The second thing was when Mariam texted me to ask if I was coming to Book Club. I hadn't missed it yet, but did opt to stay home instead. Knowing how Book Club is and how fast it can pick up, I was flattered that Mariam checked on me, what with her being the club leader. Awww, that kind of thing makes me feel loved, so I really appreciated it.

Lastly, I got an email with my first book segment to edit!!

Day Sixty-One (Tuesday, April 13)
There are two mentalities of who to surround yourself with: People who are smarter than you & People who are mediocre or even stupid.

I am of the first mentality, which is one of the many reasons I'm friends with my dear childhood friend Karl. He's one of the people I use as a sounding board in my life, which is why I went to him for advice about some major Next-Step decisions. He gave me GREAT advice, partly in the form of 4 questions:

1) Which would you enjoy the most?
2) Which would you be best at?
3) Which seems the most plausible?
4) Which do you just feel like you should do?

I also had a good chat with one of my old college roommates, Liana. We both used to watch Bones at the en of the day in our apartment, and are HUGE fanatics! So, we were discussing the 100th episode that had just aired. There's something so comforting about easily being able to pick up with someone you haven't spoken to in far too many months to mention.

Now, none of this day is in chronological order, including when my Mom stopped by the post office when I was there. Instead of being greeted by a dirty old man, I had the pleasure of seeing my beautiful young mom. We chatted for a bit and she drove me to the nearby Dunkin Donuts (where there's free wifi), so I could do a few things without the distraction of my beautiful home. (Sometimes you just need to get away too, you know?)

There, I met a cute elderly-ish man named Frankie who was very friendly and sweet. We talked briefly and he said I'm a very nice young woman and that I should be sure to talk with him next time we're both in there, since he hangs out there quite often. Awww, I love friendly, non-sleazeballs.

So, even though I slept most of the day, I had some really nice, stand-out moments. (Since quitting, I had been catching up on a LOT of sleep. It's so nice not to have to set my obnoxious alarm clock, you know?)

Day Sixty-Two (Wednesday, April 14)
Some time ago, I had decided that college was NOT the only time I was allowed to have one-on-one time with guys. So, I've been on a "mission" to "recruit" great guys to get to know better in a platonic manner. Enter one of my "candidates" lol. (Wow, that all sounds so crass and experimental.)

On Sunday before going to Panera, a guy friend and I decided to get together on Wednesday. He and I met up at Deerfield Beach, and though it was gloomy out, it was still nice to sit in the sand and chat. He gave me some interesting things to think about. We actually didn't agree on much to do with our faith, but did agree to disagree. It was quite...interesting really.

The most interesting thing of all was realizing I can't force anything, especially friendship. Relationships aren't (necessarily) gained by a forced mission, lol. Well, I mean, it's good to pursue people to an extent, but at the same time, it's probably better to just let things happen naturally. That's true for me anyway. So, though I can and probably should (somewhat) pursue friendship (with guys and girls), it's better to be sure that they will also reciprocate and initiate the friendship as well. I don't want a repeat of my other unhealthy relationships wherein I was doing all the work.

My cousin Jennifer and I had been in contact about grad school, and I have been looking at it as another option. (Not entirely sure where it stands now for me, to be honest.) I told her to give me a straight up opinion from someone who is in grad school getting her Masters. She gave me a no-holds response that really helped bring things into perspective! I appreciated her not wasting anytime pandering to what she thought I'd want to hear. I respect that and found it very informative. Thank you Jenn!

I also want to give a shout-out to Rebecca for her random text saying she missed me. Awww! I love my friends.

Day Sixty-Three (Thursday, April 15)
If ever there was a mundane day, it was today lol. I spent most of it applying to various opportunities, as well as chatting with Andrea (catching up on life), and my old co-worker. She told me about the new girl, we reminisced about our favorite lunch spot: Sals, and she told me her chivalrous ways with Omar when he tried to gossip about me and she wouldn't have any of it. Aww! I appreciate people who stand up for me!

I also enjoyed the beauty of waltz dancing once more, such as the Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens scene in HSM3 on the roof of their school. Seriously, it's just GORGEOUS! I had been playing that scene over and over endlessly throughout the course of the time before it was due back at the library. Wow, I really appreciate anything dance-related! So good!