Trying the Younger Set

While there are millions of people in NYC, it's just not that easy to meet people. Perhaps it's because people tend to stick to their own groups and take longer to open up to newbies. And it's a well-known fact that there are more single women than single men here...and the men know it. So I apologize for the lack of dating-related stories. Believe me, I've probably missed dating more than you've missed hearing about it!

But I'm happy to report I had a date...with a younger man. Now, generally I have dated men my age or older, but I figured...eh, why not? This particular younger man is someone I used to work with. He's nice and cute, and he asked me out for a belated birthday drink/dinner.

I chose Sala, a great tapas place with delicious sangria. We had a great time, conversation flowed easily, and he was very complimentary and a good kisser. I sent him a text message the next morning thanking him, but...nothing. Radio silence. Crickets. I suppose someone should teach this young guy how to treat a woman and be respectful. But I don't have the patience. Besides, I hate the term "cougar."

Birthday Celebrations

I'm so tardy in posting about the birthday trifecta of a couple weeks ago, I can now lump in my birthday report as well.

Two weeks ago, I was down in Texas to celebrate my sister Jenn's 40th, my dad's 70th, and my nephew Colin's 7th birthdays. It was non-stop partying and organizing for parties, but so wonderful to be around many people that I love so dearly.


My birthday was this past Monday, and I had a really great day. I was touched that my three employees bought me a massage gift certificate and one of them made me a cake. Throughout the day, I heard from friends far and near through Facebook and had the birthday song sang to me by family and friends, and that evening, I attended the conclusion of our Spring Bible study at church. The end of semester dinner includes time for each of us to speak about what we've learned and what's going on in our lives, and I shared with them how much I treasure the relationships I've made and how glad I was to be spending my birthday with them. It was a simple birthday, but I truly enjoyed it. I really love my birthday -- other than the getting older part -- and I was a little sad when it was over!

West Point Graduation

My cousin Rob graduated from West Point this weekend. I was 16 when he was born, and I clearly remember his whole life. It was very emotional to see him graduate. I'm so proud of him -- although I never doubted he'd finish what he started there -- but I can't help but feel concern about him and his friends he introduced me to as they head off to Afghanistan later this year. But Saturday was mostly about celebrating, and no less than the Commander in Chief -- President Obama -- was there to commemorate their achievement. In attendance were Rob's parents, his paternal grandparents, his sister Bev, my sister Steph and her husband, and me.





UPDATE: I can't get the videos to upload correctly, but you can see them on my YouTube channel. President Obama's full speech can be found on the White House blog.

Sweet Karma

Sorry for the lack of posts. I need to give a recap of last weekend's birthday extravaganza, but I haven't downloaded my pictures yet! Every night has been busy with something, and I've had to catch up on mundane things like laundry and bills that I usually do on the weekend. Plus, the triathlon is two weeks from this Sunday, so I have to get a workout in every day.

But this is too good not to post!

Several years ago, a new boss was brought in to oversee the group I worked for at the time. I met with him a couple times and provided information on how the group had grown and changed over time. After he'd been there for a couple months, he announced a reorganization and the creation of several new management level positions. Immediately after the announcement, I went to his office and announced my desire for one of those positions. He laughed at me. Then, he said I could interview for it, but obviously his mind was already made up. It took me almost two years to get promoted, even though during that time, I was doing the job and was viewed as a leader by others in the organization. Even after my promotion, he treated me with no respect and made things difficult for me. I worked hard and tried not to let his opinion get to me, but I never forgot how he treated me.

Years have passed, and we both have moved on to other jobs. I have continued to move up, taking on more responsibility and achieving a senior title I never imagined.

Recently, I got a request from him through a social network to connect. As his note described, he has been recently let go "due to the tight market" and is wondering if I know of any "appropriate" positions for him. It may be a tiny bit evil, but I had to laugh out loud. There's a saying that came to mind: "Be careful of the toes you step on today as they may be connected to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow."

Dinnertime

In preparation for the family birthday trifecta (sister Jenn's 40th, Dad's 70th and nephew Colin's 7th) this weekend, I arrived in Austin yesterday. (Working remotely for a few days, which is perfect timing to get my team's reviews completed.)

Yesterday afternoon, my bro-in-law Anthony was preparing to take the kids to piano and realized he hadn't figured out what to make for dinner. (Yes, he's pretty awesome.) I had to insist he let me cook for them. I usually just help out with clean up or kid stuff, but I realized I could help out and treat them to one of my favorite dishes at the same time.

I had an hour. I ran to the store and got the necessary ingredients, then came back and started cooking. I made guacamole for "appetizer" -- in quotations because we can't give it to the kids as such or they won't eat anything else -- wild rice, steamed broccoli and Chicken Guadalajara, which includes sauteed onions, peppers, chicken, cream (fat free) and monterey jack cheese. The kids and Anthony came home about 15 minutes before I finished, and Jenn walked in from a day of veterinarian-ing just at the ideal moment.

Dinner was a hit! Anna was exclaiming how much she liked the chicken, and I teased her that I made this exact dish for her 5 years ago (when she was only 4) while I was taking care of them. At that time, it just seemed too foreign to her, and she refused to try it. And Anthony gave me one of the best compliments, asking if I'd made this dish for any of the guys I've dated (yes) and wondering how that didn't win them over!

Colin was most impressed that I had thought of dessert. I bought three pints of ice cream in different flavors for us all to sample.

GED, the Meltdown

(photo credit: my new friend in Paris, and fellow singleton blogger, Man-shopper)

When NM and I were planning our European vacation, Green-Eyed Dutchman (GED) had made another appearance and was, for the time, behaving quite attentively. Within a few weeks of our plane reservations, however, the unexplained-frustrating-depressing silence commenced. At first, of course, I didn't know the silence would only be broken by a 5-minute phone call two months later, and so initially, I was optimistic. That rapidly drained away with each passing week, but I did realize that I might be going to Amsterdam under very different circumstances than I had originally intended. And of course, that came to pass, and I was determined to enjoy the city regardless.

But it wasn't always easy. In fact, I found myself thinking of GED and both missing him and angry at him for how he completely dropped the ball.

In Paris, Irish Parisienne asked me if I would call him once I got to Amsterdam. I said no. Then she said she'd completely understand if I did, wanting to get an answer for his disappearance and closure for the relationship. I appreciated her support, and her words almost acted as permission for me to make the call. Because of course I was curious as to why someone would act so incredibly inconsiderate, especially given our original friendship and years of knowing each other.

So I did call and left him a voicemail letting him know I was in Amsterdam. I heard back from him the night before Queen's Day via email, saying he wasn't in the city but would call me the next morning. I finally got a text message from him late that afternoon saying he had gotten into the city. His next text message was 3 hours later, saying he had only just received my reply and obviously the networks were inundated with data. I let him know the hotel I was staying at by text, voicemail and email, and reminded him when I was leaving. And, as has become aggravatingly typical, I got no response.

A couple days after I returned to NYC, I got an email. Here are the highlights (and my thoughts):
"I feel like an idiot..." Good, you should.
"I was just too indolent to put more efforts in finding you..." Apparently.
"I am sorry Em" Too little, too late.
"You deserve so much more than the way I have treated you." I agree.

At least at this point, I'm not taken by surprise or devastated. I'm actually completely fine with closing this chapter and moving on. And that's a really great place to be, especially with this particular man.

A Day in London

We arrived to a cloudy, rainy day in London (is there any other kind?) although the sun poked through the clouds a few times to make for some great pictures. Having just the one day and one night in the city, we limited our expectations to Harrods, Kensington Park and Hyde Park.

Our hotel was in Kensington, located next to the park, and I captured these pictures of the Prince Albert Memorial, Kensington Palace and the Park to and from Harrods.




Although I've been to England many times, it was my first time to Harrods. The complete-shirt bib and the polite sign about carding minors gave me a chuckle.


Dinner was a delectable treat at a fancy Indian restaurant that came highly recommended by all of the hotel's concierges. The chef combined Indian favorites with skills he learned in France and Italy, and we left very satisfied.

And then my vacation was at an end. I came home exhausted but refreshed. I definitely will go to Paris again (so much more to see!) and of course, with so many loved ones in England, I will also be there again in the future, although probably not London. I think I'm done with Amsterdam, at least for now. And I still have to update you all about that.

Party in Amsterdam

After a peaceful and beautiful train ride through France and Belgium, we arrived at Amsterdam Centraal Station around mid-day. We checked into our hotel and had a delicious lunch at a cafe on Museumplein, seeing preparations already underway around the city for Queen's Day (April 30), the biggest national holiday in the Netherlands to celebrate the Queen's birthday. Originally our plan was to hit the Van Gogh museum after lunch, but my travel partner said she was tired and would prefer to do the Heineken museum.

I like the Heineken museum. First, because they give you two beers as part of your tour, and second, they've done a great job incorporating multimedia elements to bring the beer brewing process to life. We enjoyed it.

The next day we went out of the city to Keukenhof Gardens, known for its beautiful tulips. I had first heard of Keukenhof nearly a year before, and when we planned our trip for April, I knew the tulips would be in full bloom. They did not disappoint. Tulips in every color were a feast for the eyes. I couldn't stop taking pictures! They were so beautiful.




Then we went to the Anne Frank Museum -- amazing and moving -- and took a canal cruise. And that night was the eve before Queen's Day. Festivities were already underway, and we enjoyed the music and laughter on the Leidesplein. And I had fun dancing with this adorable guy.



The next day was Queen's Day, and everyone was wearing orange. It was amazing how many people were in the streets. There were street fairs and carnival booths and concerts. Everywhere you went there were crowds and a party. To escape that for a bit, we toured the Van Gogh museum, always amazing, although I missed Starry Night this time. It must have been out on loan to another museum. We didn't really engage in Queen's Day. NM really didn't like the crowds, and we were both tired from all the activities we'd been packing into each day. But we did see entrepreneurial kids -- not selling lemonade -- selling Heineken! I had to take a picture.


And the next morning we flew to London for a one-day stopover.

Size

My mom (!) sent me an email with an attachment about the human body. I work in the health field and have always been interested in medicine and science, so I imagined it would have interesting facts about anatomy.

And it did.

Including, "the penis of an average man is three times the size of his thumb."

This is great to open at work, complete with a nude-y picture, albeit very tastefully done.

And it makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Celebrating May

I promise to post about the rest of my trip soon. It's just that it's been so busy, and I'm sick with a cold, and I'm still feeling a bit of jetlag and all I want to do is sleep.

But it's May! It's my birthday month! (Yes, I like to celebrate all month long.) It's also Mother's Day, my sister's 40th, my dad's 70th, my nephew's 7th, and Fleet Week in NYC. Plenty of reasons to celebrate.

To kick it off right, I got myself a birthday gift at Duty Free in London. (In fact, I went a little crazy at Duty Free. All that savings kind of drove a bit of a shopping spree!) But this is something I've been wanting for awhile: an initial necklace from Tiffany's. And as Heathrow conveniently had a Tiffany's store, I decided to see if they had the necklace. They did!

I'd first seen the necklace on a friend of mine. I loved the simplicity and elegance of it, but I just haven't gone to one of the Tiffany stores to check out my initial. I'm thrilled with my purchase and have worn it every day since I got it. Happy early birthday to me!

Paris...Ooh La La!

Paris was absolutely gorgeous! The city is beautiful, and the weather was idyllic with highs in the 60's and 70's. There is so much to see there, and while we crammed in as much as possible, there are still more places that I want to see on my next trip.

We arrived so early on Saturday morning, most everything wasn't yet open. We walked down to the Champs Elysees and saw the magnificent Arc de Triomphe that Napolean had built to celebrate his troops successes. We found coffee -- I LOVED their coffee, so strong and smooth -- and walked down to the Seine and past the Eiffel Tower, although we saved going up for another day. That first day, we also took a lovely boat cruise, which provided me with a good basic understanding of how the city was laid out. We had a fantastic dinner that night in the Latin Quarter, but the beef left me with a massive tooth ache where the temporary crown is. I drugged myself up for the night and was able to keep it from getting that bad again by only chewing on one side of my mouth for the rest of the trip.


On Sunday, we went shopping, and we enjoyed exploring the little boutiques on Rue de Temple. I navigated the subway system to get us there, and I was impressed with its cleanliness, smooth ride and frequent trains. It was a very easy system to manage. After shopping, we toured Notre Dame, and we were allowed access even though a service was being held. We quietly walked around and respected the sanctity of the church, only taking photos without flash inside. Then we headed over to the Eiffel Tower, where after a quick line for tickets and a cursory look in our bags, we were whisked up to the incredible views of the city. We met some other Americans there, including two women from Houston and a family from Las Vegas, who are in Paris for a year to "learn the language." I envy them!

On Monday, we went to the Museum d'Orsay, but it was closed. And unfortunately, we ran out of time to go back. We walked over to the Louvre, which was open. The garden was fantastic, and I remembered my sister Steph mentioning to me how much she enjoyed it. The Louvre is absolutely massive, so we saw the two pieces we most wanted to see -- the Mona Lisa and the Venus di Milo -- and enjoyed several other pieces to get to those and back.



Monday night we had an amazing dinner at a restaurant that was recommended to me named for the chef, Jacques Cagna. Every course was a delight, but I especially enjoyed the escargot, which were served in mushroom caps and small boiled potatoes, and the crab bisque. After dinner, I was pretty tuckered out, but NM wanted to get a drink at the hotel bar. I started talking to a couple of men beside us, and played "wingman" for her, talking to the late-40's English married guy so she could flirt with the young French guy. I had a good conversation at least, but our whole party was repeatedly interrupted by this obnoxiously drunk Australian woman, who was draping and pressing herself against the two guys. Her friends tried ineffectually to pull her away, but she kept coming back. The young Frenchman was sweet and tried to calm her down when she got to the point of tears. The woman was really embarrassing herself. It was pathetic. But I did get a cute picture out from the evening:



Tuesday, our last day in Paris, we went to Sacre Couer, which is high on a hill in the Northern section of the city. There are many steep steps to get to the cathedral, and on the steps were mimes, sketch artists and musicians, along with groups of tourists enjoying the view. After a moving walk around the sanctuary and taking pictures of the gargoyles on the exterior, we walked down to the Moulin Rouge.



Back to the Champs Elysees for lunch and some shopping, we headed over to the Arc de Triomphe again to walk up 284 more steps to reach the summit and enjoy the view.

But the highlight of Paris for me was getting to meet and hang out with Irish Parisienne, my fellow singleton blogger and virtual friend for the past three years. It was exciting to meet her in person, and we hit it off immediately. She brought along a friend of hers (a girl originally from San Francisco) and we were joined by another Irish guy, and much later her boy-of-the-moment Frenchman. Irish Parisienne and I could have talked all night, filling in the details for each other about our blog stories, but out of respect for the others, we joined the larger conversation. Still, she asked me to regale them with a couple of my stories, and they responded with the appropriate exclamations and laughter.

The next morning, we headed to the train station, on our way to Amsterdam.