Blow Out Your Candles

Each year we turn another year older.  We grow another year wiser.  We get one step closer to the people are meant to be.  And each year, on that fateful day when we add another year to our age, we make a wish for something we are lacking.

Today is my 29^th birthday.  I'm supposed to make a wish, blow out a candle, and then eat cake.  Well today there was no candle, no cake, but there is a wish.  However, if told you, it wouldn’t come true and I’m really hoping this one does so I’m keeping it to myself.  Happy Birthday to Me!

“Whatever with the past has gone, the best is yet to come.” - Lucy Larcom

The Grinch That Stole Cliffmas

This Christmas, my mom gave my brother and me a gift.  It was card with money in to put towards the trip we were planning on taking to see the Phillies at Spring Training in March.  The card read, “Merry Cliffmas” in reference to the Phillies latest acquisition, superstar pitcher Cliff Lee.  That day made it seem really definite that David and I would be seeing the Phillies come March.  Last week, our “Cliffmas” gift seemed to be the gift that kept on giving when the roster for this weekend’s games was announced and we found out that not only would be we actually get to see Cliff Lee pitch but also 2010 Cy Young award winner, Roy Halladay.

Yesterday, we finally got to enter Bright House Field and our Spring Training adventure began.  Our day started early when we arrived at 10am, a half an hour before the gates opened which allowed us to get a prime spot in the front row to watch batting practice.  Surrounded by kids and adults taking pictures and hoping for autographs, we felt pretty lucky to be standing where we were.   Roy Halladay pitched a great game, our seats were amazing and everything went perfectly.  We even started plotting all the things we would have to do the next day and the beauty of it all was that we still had a whole second day to make sure we really did spring training right.  Or so we thought.

This morning, my boss called me and told me that instead of reporting to the baseball game today, I had report to Orlando to for my meeting by 1 rather than my originally planned time of 5pm.  Bye bye spring training.  So long Cliff Lee.  My dream birthday trip was over way before I expected.  The Grinch had officially stolen Cliffmas. I made it to Orlando and realized that I have absolutely nothing to do until my 7pm reception so I thought I would use this time to reflect a little bit on my less than stellar day.

As I sit here, in the middle of the afternoon looking like a sad little girl in the new Cliff Lee t-shirt I bought just for today, I find myself trying to find something that I can take from this heartbreak.  I’ve been through the tears of disappointment and the yelling fits of rage and now I’m on to a half baked attempted at finding the silver lining. 

The only thing I can seem to come up with is that you should never put off till tomorrow what can be done today.  Even when you think you will get a second chance, you shouldn’t wait to do the things you want to do.

"Too many people miss the silver lining because they are too busy looking for gold." - Author Unknown

Good Days

Some days are just good days.  Everything just seems to go right and at the end of the day there is really nothing that needs to broken down, analyzed or rationalized.  Today was one of those days.

It was 80 degrees and sunny in Florida.  Phillies lost but in the small up close and personal stadium, I couldn’t help  but think that there is no better way to see a baseball game.  And to top it all off, Carolina pulled off the upset win over Duke for the #1 seed in the ACC tournament.  This is what I call an amazing day.

Every once in a while, you just need one of these days.  Sometimes we have to remember to take the time and enjoy these days when they happen.

“Every day might not be good, but there is good in every day.” – Author Unknown

Conquering the I-4

Well we made it to Clearwater.   David and I in our Chevy Impala rental car went the distance.   After a day trip to Universal Studios and eating at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, we hit the I-4 and traveled the 103 miles to Clearwater, FL.  Needless to say, I’m now exhausted. 

But I did say I would write something every day in the month of March so here’s a thought for today.  I have a fear of driving.  I don’t like driving other people’s cars or driving in unfamiliar places but today as I drove down the highway, singing along to country music, I couldn’t remember exactly why I was so afraid.  My fear started because I had a few accidents but should we let a few setbacks hold us back?  If we get a few bad grades on tests, do we drop out of school?  When you go through a bad break up, do you give up on finding love forever?  If you break your arm playing sports, do you just quit playing all together?

If I don’t get over my fear of driving, I will never go anywhere.  Today I took a big step outside of my comfort zone and it really felt so silly to me that I was ever afraid in the first place.  I can’t spend my whole life being afraid that I’ll get in another accident or that I will get lost in some strange place.  This afternoon, I conquered the I-4 and in turn, conquered my irrational fear. 

Our lives are full of irrational fears.  Sure some negative things may have happened to you but that doesn’t mean that they should hinder your life.  Ultimately, when you face them head on, you realize just how ridiculous the phobia truly is.

“Always do what you are afraid to do.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

Girl On The Move - Part One

103 miles from the Orlando Airport to Brighthouse Field in Clearwater, FL.  Not exactly the be all and end all of road trips but an adventure none the less.  I have actually only ever taken road trips with boyfriends, which basically means me in the passenger’s seat either talking their ear off or sound asleep.  I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a driver but tomorrow I will begin facing my fears by stepping behind the wheel and hitting the unfamiliar road.  I don’t know what I’ll find but I know what I’m looking for.  I’m looking for something different, something unfamiliar and unknown.  I’m looking for excitement and I’m seeking to make some memories along the way.  103 miles sounds like a good place to start.

Stay tuned for more from this girl on the move…

"Life is either a great adventure or nothing" - Helen Keller

It's All Greek To Me

I will be the first to admit that I don't watch quality television shows.  My DVR is loaded with episodes of Gossip Girl, the Vampire Diaries, One Tree Hill and Pretty Little Liars just to name a few.  Basically I like cheesy teenage dramas and I’m ok with that.   Last night, my heart broke when I heard that one of my favorites would have its series finale next week. 

For those of you who don’t watch (and I’m sure that’s most of you), Greek is a show on ABC Family.  About four years ago we were introduced to the drama happening on Cyprus Roads University’s Greek Row.  The show centers around Casey Cartwright, the established upper classman who is immersed in her life at college, especially her role as sorority girl.  Rusty, Casey’s nerdy engineering major brother, is a freshman just looking to fit in and find the social scene he didn’t have in his past high school life.  The Cartwright’s along with a cast of other eccentric characters take on college life from inside the walls of a fraternity/sorority house.   Overall the show is one big mess of Greek letters branded on everything, late night parties, relationship drama, and the never ending search to find the true meaning of brotherhood and sisterhood.

I originally came across this show soon after I graduated from college and felt compelled to watch.  At that time I was missing my former life as a college student and sorority girl so it was nice to take a walk down memory lane every Monday night.   Next week, the show will air its last episode and as the cast ends their story, Casey, who calls Cyprus Roads and Zeta Beta Zeta her home, will be forced to leave it behind.  In last night’s episode, when a sorority alum came back to Cyprus, she brought to Casey’s attention that there is a life beyond Greek Row.  This former siser had changed, she had grown and she wasn’t the only one.  Everyone around Casey had changed too because thats what people do.  The only one who hadn't evolved was Casey.  She realized that life can’t stay the same forever and the things that mattered so much to her for the last four years were no longer that important, just memories.      

The fights, the feuds, the loves and the heartbreaks of our lives are all just that, memories.  I look at my college friends and think how different we were back when all we cared about were frat parties and formals.  Everyone has grown and evolved for better or worse.  College sweethearts have become husbands, wives, fiancés, or exes.  Some have given birth to new legacies or pursued new degrees.  The Greek letter t-shirts that we practically lived in have become blankets, gym shirts, or cleaning rags and 2 am might still exist but I’m sure many of us can’t remember that last time we have seen it.  The one thing that does remain are the memories and if we are lucky, the bonds that will keep us together as friends.  

 We all have to change in order to grow up, so eventually, we just have to move on.  Sometimes we may wish we could turn back time or stay at a certain stage of life but the truth is that life never stops moving and all we can do is our best to keep up with it.  Sometimes we will walk with it or jog along but most of the time we will have to run to keep pace with it as it flies by.

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiousity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney

Girl vs. Computer - Strike One

So because I am trying to go outside of my comfort zone, I threw my better judgment out the window and took a chance on finding a new relationship in a way I never thought I would.  Typically, my strategy when it comes to dating is to hang back and let boys come to me.  Like many things in my life, I am not a very proactive dater; however, I recently made an attempt to change that.

For years now, people have been telling that I should venture into the online dating world and the other week; I caved and thought I would give it a shot.  Now I’ve heard the success stories and the horror stories associated with internet dating but for me personally, I don’t really buy into it.  It just seems like a more technologically advanced form of blind dating but on the flip side, where else are you going to meet people if you are a workaholic who travels way too much?  So I threw some money (yes they charge you) at the problem and took a chance on finding love on the world wide web.

Well I found a lot of creepers.  Over 800 profile views and 200 emails worth of creepers to be exact.  If you are over the age of 40 and living within a three state radius of me, I probably got an email from you.  I had a ton of guys telling me how pretty I was and how much we have in common.  Although there was interest, very few of them seemed like anyone I would be remotely willing to take a chance on but I promised myself and others that I would give it a chance.  My rule was three strikes or one month (whichever came first) and I’m out. 

Right out of the gate I caught my first frog who had all the potential to be a handsome prince.  He seemed great on paper and cute in pictures so I thought there was no harm in seeing if he was someone I might like to get to know.   It only took a few emails for me start wondering why exactly he was single and a few more emails for him to ask for my number.  Shortly after I gave him my number, I realized just why this guy was single.

Mr. Potential Suitor #1, when in the possession of a phone number, will drive you crazy!  He was a major texter.  Now I know that you’re probably thinking that texting is far from a deal breaker but after getting 9 texts on the first day he had my number, I started to think this guy might be a little much for me.  Every morning I get a good morning or a how’s your day going text.  Throughout the day, I get updates on what he’s doing like working out or running errands and let’s not forget about the dinner time texts where he tells me what he’s eating.  Of course there were good night texts too.  The texts were one thing but then there were also emails.  He even sent pictures.  And if I didn’t respond within a few hours, he would check in to make sure he hadn’t done something wrong to make me avoid him.   He was practically suffocating me and I hadn’t even met him yet!

Now, when it comes to relationships, I am pretty low maintenance.  I like to ease into things and someone coming on too strong, too fast will definitely send me running for the hills. I can’t deal with needy and this guy had gone from good on paper to full on Stage 10 Clinger in a matter of days.  I was even contemplating ways to break up with him when I realized, how do you break up with someone you’ve never even met?!

Ok so I think you all get the picture that Texter is definitely online dating strike one.  Two more and I’m officially retiring from this game.  He wasn't a bad guy, just not the guy for me but in every situation, there is always something that can be learned.  The moral of this little tale is slow and steady wins the race.  If you are in the pursuit of a relationship, don’t put every card you have out on the table right away.  Let a relationship happen and enjoy the getting to know each other part.  Jumping in too quickly makes me wonder if you want to be with me or if you just want to be with someone and I’m not looking to be just someone you settle for.  Soon I will step up to the plate again for the next pitch but right now I might take a minute, step outside of the batter’s box and try to regain my composure.   

“Never let the fear of striking out, keep you playing the game.” – A Cinderella Story