He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.

I have not written in a few weeks and that is because I just got back from my vacation in Florida! Now, because St. Valentine's Day is coming up, I thought I would post some V-Day traditions as well as history of it's birth (there are varying stories).
St. Valentine's Day started during the Roman Empire and was a holiday to honor Juno, the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The lives of boys and girls were very nearly always separate, except on this day at the celebration, the boys would draw a name of a girl with whom he would spend the remainder of the night with. Later, the Christian Church in Rome took up this holiday in honor of Saint Valentine, the patron saint of lovers. Another story tells that St. Valentine, a Roman who was martyred for not giving up his Christianity, and died on February 14, 269 AD, after leaving a farewell note to a woman signed, "From your valentine".

A Few Traditions:

• The first Valentine's Day cards are given credit to Miss Esther Howland, who is named the mother of American Valentine's Day cards.
• Hundreds of years ago in England, children would dress up as adults as go caroling. One verse they would sings is: "Good morning to you, Valentine; curl your locks as I do mine-- Two before and three behind. Good morning to you, Valentine."
• Like the Roman tradition, in the Middle Ages, young men and women would draw a heart with their Valentines name on it and wear it on their sleeve for a week. (which now means it's easy to read your emotions).
• In some countries a woman may receive a gift of clothing from a man; should she decide to keep it, means that she will marry him.
• It is said that if a woman sees a robin flying over head on V-Day it means you will marry a sailor. If a sparrow, she will marry a poor man but be very happy. If a goldfinch, she will marry a wealthy man. 
• Valentines Day is the day to look for a date, based on the English custom stating that birds find their mates on February 14th. 
• Before the 16th Century, gloves were worn exclusively by men. On Valentine's Day, if a woman went up to a man and said "Good-morrow Valentine, I go today; to wear for you what you must pay; a pair of gloves next Easter day" he would have to buy her a pair of gloves to wear on Easter.
• In the 1700's, rural Englishwomen would pin bay leaves to each corner of their pillows, as well as one in the middle, in hopes that on the eve of Valentine's Day their future husbands would appear to them in a dream.
• In the 19th century, because it is said that on the Leap Year a woman can propose marriage, if a man received a Valentine on the Leap Year, he could trace it through the mail and would be entitled to accept her assumed proposal if she could provide proof that she was able to manage a modern mansion on her own.

Time For A Change

So, I realize that I haven't posted a while, particularly on my terrible dating skills and there's a reason for that. One of my dates actually went well and I'm stickin' with it. I also realize that no one wants to read about how good someone's love life is, so that's out.
New Year's Resolution #2 (would be #3 if #1 wasn't cancelled): Don't be a pussy. Be as straight up as possible.
I'm usually a no bullshit person. I tell people what I think about them no matter what. I'm not afraid to hurt other people's feelings; I am however afraid to hurt my own feelings. Well not anymore. That's just going to hold me back from what I want, and from my other resolution to not do anything that doesn't make me happy. Sometimes to have to take risks to get what you want.
Also, I think I'm going to start writing again. I want to actually finish a novel. I'm gonna start fresh and actually finish it. I never finish anything. I'm gonna do work! Done.
This year's gonna be great.
Now, 2012 is apparently supposed to be our last year so I decided to do some research on that, just out of curiosity. Here's what I found:

• The last official day is December 21, 2012. So we have a year, 2 days and about 8.5 hours left.
• According to Hindu cosmology, December 21st represents "the age of darkness" or "Kali Yuga". What this means is that, in their culture, there is an imbalance in the three forces of God: Brahma (creative), Vishnu (protective) and Mahesh (destructive). The balance has apparently tilted 75% in favor of the Mahesh. The Mahesh force cannot reach over 75% or there will be a total imbalance, which will be reached by December 21st. In their minds, it is man alone that caused this damage, therefor will take out their own during a predicted World War 3. Mankind will survive, but according to the Hindu, will never be like it is now. There will be a new beginning. 
• Salt Lake Tribune posted an article not too long ago regarding a Mayan tablet found in the Tortuguero in the Gulf coast state in Tobasco. They also referenced a new finding; a brick found at the Comalcalco. The text translates to "he will descend from the sky"; the date translating also to December 21, 2012. 
• According to WLKY (Louisville, Kentucky), the damage has already begun; the floods in Mississippi, the tsunami in Japan, the worst outbreak of tornadoes in over 50 years. Relating to the Mayan calendar, they believed (along with the Egyptians, and Aztecs of the time) that they could gain authority and predict the future through the sky. The Mayans knew how to read the cycles of the Moon and Venus better than anyone in this time period (about 300-800 A.D.). I, for one, am a firm believer in reading the sky. 

What would you do if it was your last day on Earth?

Reference.

Random Ranting

I like how when you have an injury people treat you like you have the plague. So, I have a severe burn on my knee, not a big deal, right? I guess not, because everywhere I've gone the last couple days no one will look me in the eye or talk to me. No one will even sit by me on the bus. Also, I've had my Christmas party planned for two months and this douche decided to plan a show on the same day and everyone thinks i'm a bitch for not going and being supportive. Uh, hello! I'm the one who made it in advance, not the week before! Have some class. 

Burnt knee limitations:

• Can't stand.
• Can't walk.
• Can't put on pants.
• Can't move my leg.
• Can't bathe easily.
• Can't go in public.
• Can't think of a good excuse for why it's there.
• If I work tomorrow I will die.
• Fuck my life.
• I need to see a doctor.

Date Number Three

So, after wimping out for a week I decided to take my own advice and just go for it... ask my co-worker out... via Facebook. Still slightly wimpy, but it gets the job done. After awkwardly asking him to a club (using far too many "uh's" and "um's" might I add) when I didn't know a single thing about him or even if he was interested, I immediately wished that I could hack into Facebook and take back the message. To my surprise, about an hour later he replied with a yes and I jumped around a very public area for far too long and nearly pissed my pants... I was just a tad bit excited. No big deal. Anyway, after running through everything in my head, he shows up and the only thing that comes to mind is, "Fuck, why did I do this? This is such an awkward first date." Which, it was awkward at first, especially after I head-butted him three times and violently threw his drink from his hand... on accident of course. Being about as graceful as a peg-legged ballerina, I naturally wanted to crawl into a hole and die. As the night progressed, I became more and more comfortable and dare I say it, enjoyed myself. Yes, he didn't puke on me or decide to randomly strip his clothes... until later that is. My "no second dates" rule may be overlooked just this once. Oh, and his name is Andrew*.

Three good things about this date:

1. I won't have to deal with one-word conversations at work because he turned me down.
2. I was actually nervous versus only being there because it's my resolution.
3. He 's still talking to me, which is usually a good sign that it wasn't just a one-night stand.

Two bad things about this date:

1. I looked like a hot mess afterwards, minus the hot.
2. He drove away before I got in my house knowing that I didn't have a key.

Just An Addition

I saw this a little while ago and it really made me think, especially after my last post. I'm definitely one of those people he's talking about and it's depressing... But if I wasn't one of those people, who would I be? I mean, we live in a material world, right? I just want to be a beach bum already...

Another Resolution

Everywhere I've gone lately, all I hear is people complaining about how miserable they are but they don't try to change it for whatever reason. Now, I know there are circumstances where you simply don't have a choice, but then theres just the fear of taking action. I try to live my life like I'm going to die tomorrow (metaphorically of course). It sounds cheesy, but it works for me. I literally have zero social life and I never leave work it seems like, but I try to do something on my bucket list as often as possible (I have an extremely long list), and something for myself every day... Even if it's making fried chicken seasoned with ten pounds of cumin before I go to bed. I tend to be overly optimistic about everything, and let myself down a lot, but I think it makes me who I am. I know I may not even live to be middle aged, not to sound morbid, but I need to keep pushing forward. So heres my second resolution; I won't do anything that doesn't make me happy. Done deal.

A few things on my list that I haven't completed: travel as many places as I can fit, go skinny dipping, go sky diving, swim with the whales, catch the bouquet at a wedding, go a whole day without hurting myself, dive off of a HUGE cliff, surf pipe, go camping, witness an eclipse, find Aries in the sky, go horseback riding on the beach, swim across the English Channel,  learn a language, perform as a street musician, climb Mount McKinley, learn to clog, swim with sharks, see a polar bear in person, go paragliding, fly a plane, ride the Trans-siberian Railway, go train hopping, ride a dune buggy through the   desert, volunteer in a third-world country, go to the opera house in Sydney, write a novel, go to an Anna Sui fashion show, learn to snowboard, see the Monalisa, meet the Dalai Lama, spend a whole day eating and listening to tunes in New Orleans, witness New Years Eve on Times Square in New York City, gamble and win in Las Vegas, go on a cruise, learn to sail, go to the Super Bowl, experience tears of joy, experience a "movie kiss", be a beach bum for any amount of time. 

The list goes on and on and on. :)

Date Number Two

Karma decided to let me enjoy myself for once, so yes, I had a good night. Actually, it was nearly perfect until Reginald* decided he was "hot" at took off his pants. I didn't think much of it, though I was rather shocked by how forward he was... Like, "well, I took you out for 45 minutes, so I think we know each other pretty well now... It's perfectly fine for us to sit around naked". Also, the movie we watched was no doubt the most boring I'd ever seen (which I'm sure was on purpose); Clerks. Maybe I just have a weird taste in movies, but I prefer the ones that actually have a plot. I don't want this to turn into a movie review, but come on. All it was is two guys who sit around in a Gas Station and talk about their lives. I was so bored out of my mind that to keep myself from also stripping down, I took mental notes about things I noticed during the movie, like that cigarettes were only four dollars in the 80's and that the counter lined up perfectly with the diagonal lines in the ceiling tiles.

Three good things about this date:

1. He offered me his jacket while we were outside, which is a first for me.
2. The Italian soda I had was really really good.
3. He didn't puke on me or deck me in the face.