Quick Update

Sorry for no posts. Work has run me ragged, travelling most of last week and this one, and now I've come down with bronchitis. No surprise really. The body just can't take that much.

People who don't travel for work think it must be so great. They don't realize you don't see much of the city you travel to. It's airport, hotel, client, hotel, airport. When I arrived in Miami earlier this week (usually a great getaway), they were experiencing a power outage. So I couldn't even connect to the Internet and work (or blog).

I'm behind in my work. But all I want to do is sleep!

Men & Women

I'm in St. Louis for the majority of this week, meeting with colleagues from all over the globe and attending training sessions. I love meeting the colleagues; the all-day training sessions are a bit draining.

When I went from my previous employer -- a privately owned, relatively small company -- to my current employer -- a part of a publicly traded company with offices around the globe, several of my friends and family members remarked that maybe I would meet some interesting guys through my work.

I have learned that while this field attracts great communicators, the majority of the men in my company are married or gay. Plus, the men are WAY outnumbered by the women.

I work with a number of bright, successful, attractive, single women. It's interesting to note when we have a company function and there is one single male, all the single women flock to him. The guy must love it. It seems a bit pathetic in reflection, but I'm not so sure it's all about just looking for a mate. I think it's also about the balance. I appreciate the balance of men and women in conversation and in work. I think people from all backgrounds bring interesting points to the table, and I missed the influence of testosterone when I worked at an almost-all-female office early on in my career.

Girls Night

I had drinks with my girlfriends Kelly and Christine on Friday. We met downtown, near my apartment and close to Christine's office. Kelly's husband Sammy is working construction on a building down there, and she suggested we check in on the guys. (They had gotten off at 3:30 and were a few drinks ahead of us.) As we three girls walked into the all-male-patroned bar, we received shouts, like "Hurrah" and guys instantly vacated bar stools. The reception was a bit overwhelming, and had the other two not been with me, I would have run for the door. But we found Sammy, who in addition to being a sweetheart is built like a football player and very protective of us all. He started introducing us to the guys he works most closely with, saying "This is my wife Kelly, this is my cousin Christine," and then he looked at me and, again wanting everyone to know not to mess with us, said, "and this is my sister Emily." Now, Sammy is of Puerto Rican descent, and I am as pale as pale gets with blonde hair. Needless to say, his comment caused a few to raise their eyebrows.

One very intoxicated fellow offered to buy us girls drinks. Kelly felt bad about this (because there were 3 of us), but the other guys laughed, saying the offer came from someone who is usually very tight and doesn't buy his share of rounds with the guys. I just wondered aloud what he would expect in return for the drinks, but Sammy said I was worried for nothing.

A little while later, our drunk one-time generous friend came back and asked Kelly and Christine, "How about a buy-back?" While they both tried to think of how to respond politely, I really couldn't stand it. "Are you kidding me?" I said. "I can't BELIEVE this. This would never happen in Texas, but maybe that's why they say we have gentlemen in the South." The guy stood his ground, and I asked, "Are you single?"
"Yes," he replied proudly.
I said, "And that's why."

The girls busted out laughing, and needless to say, we got out of there without having to buy him another drink.

The other hilarious thing that happened was when Christine, annoyed with having to answer the same repeated questions from another guy who'd had too many, finally answered his question of "Where do you live?" with "Germany."
"Sprechen Sie Deutsch?" he asked.
"No, and it's been a very tough year."
He persisted, saying "You really don't know ANY German?"
"No," Christine said, "That's why it's been so difficult!"
He deserved it. He was like talking to an elderly relative that asks you the same questions every 15 minutes.

While we didn't meet any eligible or interesting guys, we had a lot of laughs together, so it was a great night.

Anti-Valentine Party

Remember in junior high when you'd go to dances, where no one was really dancing, and everyone milled around awkwardly in a dimly lit gymnasium?

That's what last night's Anti-Valentine Party reminded me of, complete with 80's music. (At least the music was good.) Except there were no popular people and there was a multitude of geeks. I know it will make me sound very snobbish, but it seemed like the coalition of the rejects.

Besides the fact that there were almost 2 women for every man, and every girl (except me) had dragged a girlfriend along to at least talk to, I was stunned at the number of older singles. The biggest compliment I got of the night was from a guy who looked older than my dad ('course, my dad looks good for his age!) who told me, "I'm glad to see there's someone attractive here tonight." Kinda smarmy, but that was as good as it got.

Each person was handed half a Valentine with instructions to "find your other half." Cute idea, and it gave you an easy opener to talk to people. But in looking around the room, I realized I didn't really want to approach any of these guys. I talked myself into it after a half-price Cosmopolitan (hey, the bartender wasn't half bad looking), and began asking if anyone had the other half to a Spiderman Valentine. I ended up talking to three guys. The first was really awkward. He seemed nice, but I wasn't at all interested and the conversation was challenging. The second guy would have been okay to talk to except for the bad breath. I felt bad for him, because he was obviously chewing gum, but it wasn't enough to overcome the halitosis. The third guy, while probably 10 years older than me, was decent enough. We were having a good time discussing NY neighborhoods in regards to restaurants. His buddy, who was probably the best looking guy in the joint, was talking to a woman much older, probably in her 50's. At a mutual break in the conversation, the buddy introduced me to her and to his friend and then arrogantly said, "Okay, ladies, well, it was nice talking to you! Good luck tonight!" An obvious brush-off!

At that, it had been an hour, and I decided I was better off alone on my couch, enjoying some Indian take-out and wine with my snuggly cat.

Kiss Kiss

In recognition of Valentine's Day, I'd like to share some recent data about kissing that comes from Albright College in Pennsylvania.

Kissing, smooching, snogging...what does it really mean? The hypotheses were
1) It can be used as a mate assessment
2) It promotes bonding
3) It induces sexual arousal

Researchers found support for all three of these hypotheses, and found that women place more emphasis on the taste and smell of the person they kiss than men do. (Men tend to have less acute senses of taste and smell than women.) Kissing is also a bigger potential deal-breaker for women than for men. Men were more likely to expect kissing to lead to sex. (No big surprise there.)

Though it's been a while since I've had a proper kiss (not counting the sweet ones from my niece and nephew this weekend), I have had several deal-breaker kissers that stand out in my memory. In high school, I was thrilled to have a date with a popular guy until we got to the kiss. He slobbered so much I had to wipe my chin! Gross! Smell is also very important to me, and when you get that close to someone, you get a nose-ful of their scent. One guy smelled like cedar and my mind wandered to hamster cages filled with cedar shavings.

Tonight I'm headed to an Anti-Valentine's Party for single NYers. I'm not expecting to kiss anyone, just hoping to meet some new friends and who knows? Maybe someone I'd like to see again.

Memories from the Weekend

Here are a few pictures from my visit to Houston.
The twins had a pirate-themed birthday party to attend, and Graham had his mom draw a mustache for it.
The baby I'm holding is Toby, son of friends Katie & Nick. He was completely relaxed and deeply asleep.

Puffy Coat Day

It's snowing! It's snowing!

I am one of the few people in my office excited to see the white stuff starting to accumulate outside. Just got back last night from a lovely warm weekend in Houston, where I was the recipient of many hugs and kisses from my family. I neglected to bring my camera to work today, so I will have to post pictures tomorrow.

It was great to see familiar faces and to get so many hugs and kisses, especially from the little people! Paige and Graham, my 4-year-old niece and nephew twins, flanked me most meals, and I often had one of their precious hands in mine as we walked along. The newest member to my sister Steph's family, Evelyn, is as lovely as her name. She is a sweet baby with smiles that light up the room and a belly laugh that we all try to induce as often as possible.

I've been neglecting my blog a bit of late. Partially, this was due to a rebellious nature in me. After posting nearly daily for a couple weeks and receiving hardly any comments, I decided to stay quieter. (I live for comments!) However, it was also partially due to a saddened state brought on by homesickness and unending gray weather. For now, at least, I am rejuvenated by my family and enthralled by the beauty of the snow. And I got to break out my "puffy coat," aptly named for its appearance and warmly stuffed with down. It's so comfortable and warm, it feels like I'm wearing a sleeping bag.

GIANTS among men

What a great way to start my first year in NY -- a tremendous upset by the NY Giants to win the Superbowl.

I travelled over to Jersey City to watch the game at a local bar with my friends from New Year's. It was great fun being with a large group of cheering fans. We stood throughout the second half as it got more exciting, and one guy started us all chanting, "Let's go Giants, let's go! [stomp, stomp]" as if they could hear us...

When the time ran out and our win was secure, people were hugging and high-fiving complete strangers. The excitement filled the air all the way back to the city, with cheering crowds everywhere.

Unfortunately, I have to miss the ticker-tape parade this morning to attend a client meeting in Jersey. Walking by City Hall last night, (where the parade concludes with speeches by players, coaches and the mayor) I saw the preparations in building a scaffold and hanging NY Giants banners. This morning, the streets were already beginning to fill with blue, white and red-decked fans.