Let's Get Syn-ical

Dating.

Every single person's personal hell.

So why do we do it?

The best answer I can come up with....because we have to.

It's an unwritten rule that some bored housewife came up with centuries ago so that she could gather her girlfriends around on Sunday mornings, have an excuse to eat bacon with maple syrup whilst sneaking champagne in her orange juice and scoff at their awkward adventures.

And then one day, some genius in Hollywood decided to start visually documenting these adventures and made millions off of what most of us now pay $12 a pop to see the latest Rom-Com. Except real life dating is far more awkward than your typical Hollywood heartbreak-turn-fairytale. Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway aren't getting rich off of movies about blind dates that your friends met at a random bar and set you up on, or the time you showed up in heels and were a clean 4 inches taller than your date. Lest we not forget the dinner where your date verbally assaults you in a lame attempt at humor and then hangs out for 3 glasses of water past the bill payment. No, no, these are NOT the dating escapades that the movies have promised the average 20-something female.

The way it's supposed to go is that I pass a handsome gentleman on the street, probably in New York City, we exchange a lingering glance, share a great exotic meal, and then cut scene to the big elaborate wedding with doves, a jazz band, and me and Mr. Right cruising away in a white Rolls Royce waiving in tandem through the back window. Cut scene again to the 4 bedroom house in the sunny suburb with 2 kids, a golden retriever, and perfectly clean kitchen.

So seriously, why do we keep doing it? Simply for the hope that our cut scene is just around the corner? That maybe this next date will really be "the one". The guy that convinces me that spending time with him is far greater than the joy of going home from a long day of work, putting on my largest pair of sweatpants, curling up with Mickey and watching the latest episode of Bachelor Pad? Ha!

But with the pressures of getting older and the feeling that you are lagging behind and missing out on something that everyone else seems to have figured out, it makes you really examine WHY do I put myself through the misery of countless bad dates and excrutiating dinners that I don't want to be at. Just for the hope of winding up in a cut scene situation so that one day I might wake up and Mickey has a golden retriever best buddy, who is jumping in bed on a Saturday morning while the kids have made their own oatmeal and are watching cartoons while the hubby and I just laugh about the amusement that is our daily routine? I think I just wrote the newest Tide commercial...

And as if dating weren't already hard enough in and of itself, now you have to layer modern technology on top of it all. Facebook fights, private email addresses, who are you texting now? was you Twitter post about me?? It's Ex-haust-ING.

So for those of my other single ladies who are struggling with the same frustrations in dating, or trying to as best as one can in the real world, I wish you many minimally awkward dinners, adequately tall escorts, and hopefully many happy cut scenes of love. May you each be the exception to the rule and find that soulmate with whom you will one day wave happily through the back of a car window at your adoring well-wishers.

And if you have a particularly amusing bad date story, I do hope you'll share. I'll bring the champagne if you bring the orange juice.

Guess I should rest up, I'm gonna need my strength!

Fall in RVA

Alright, this is really my first post about things to do in Richmond (RVA- for those of my Atlantans who are not familiar with the town's branding) and what it might have to offer. This is also an exciting post for me because it's the first annual topic repeat I've written.

Sorry, let me back up right quick...Something wonderful happened to me this weekend. It happens once a year, and it's a spectacular moment that energized me for the upcomming change that is right on our heels...

I had my first sweet taste of Fall. Marked by that first beautiful morning where you walk out of the house in shorts, a tank top, flip flops and your immediate reaction is "Huh, it's almost chilly out here". And once that 8am chill burns off and you realize that it is now 11am and that slight hint of chill is still overpowering the oppressive summer heat that has been breaking our spirits for months, THAT'S the moment of beauty that I am referring to. It's better than seeing that damn groundhog pop out of the ground into a shadowless world where Spring has arrived.

Perhaps not everyone has this same respect for the grand autumnal shift, but there's just nothing like the fall. The weather is perfect, the leaves are gorgeous, the beers are pumpkiny, and the football is plentiful. Oh the joy of football season. A mere 13 days away from losing my Saturdays and being happy to do it. This is the kind of stuff that dreams are made of. Well, my dreams.

But during this time of year that I cherish so deeply, I don't want to be stuck longing for my normal Atlanta-themed fall line up: Ice Cream Festival, Decatur Beer Fest, GA Tech/ Miami game, Fall tennis season, my favorite patios, etc. I need to figure out what the RVA Fall treasures are.

So I will ask kindly that those of you who know better than I, what should I be gearing up for this fall?? What events do I need to be blocking time on my calendar at work in order to stalk tickets so that I can be sure to get into the biggest and best thing? Although given the fact that I've yet to need a reservation for dinner on a weekend night in town, I'm not terribly concerned about ticket sales for many events. Maybe I should be.

Where are the best bars for watching Saturday college football- keep in mind, needs to be somewhere that with lots of TVs so that they will hopefully pick up all the UGA and Miami games. What are the top festivals to be on the lookout for? And most importantly...what is the preferred local craft fall brew?? This is also something I haven't noticed in RVA, but in ATL, almost every bar in town has a college allegiance...where certain alums gather to watch their games. Don't reckon anyone knows of any Miami or UGA bars in town? I'm guessing not, based on my hours of Google searching.

Holy guacamole, I have so much to learn to get prepared for the season and time is just slipping away from me! I cannot go into the season lacking the appropriate knowledge. So help the new girl in town a bit. Any information is greatly appreciated, and company is always more than welcome! I'll be easy to find this fall, surely there aren't that many Miami jerseys in town. The only question is whether or not I can get away with wearing my Dawgs shirt underneath so that I can adjust accordingly depending on game times. I'm sure I'll figure it out...

Thank you in advance, and I look forward to exploring a new way to do Fall. I may still stalk Decatur Beerfest tickets just in case though...

And for those in Atlanta, the Roswell Ice Cream festival is next weekend. Go. Great event, great cause. Just do it, ok? For me? Thanks.

Happy NOT Groundhog's Day!

CLW

Untitled

I was perhaps a little over zealous in deciding that Cindy Lou had actually successfully answered the "Who" that I have been exploring. I am growing to believe that it's not a question that one CAN answer, but more one that we continue to explore, as I have done so openly over the last year. Richmond is not an end, or "the answer". It's actually a start, a twist in the response. Part of the exercise in life on finding myself that I began last August. And on days like today, when I get frustrated, a little beaten up, and a little down and want nothing more than to run back to the familiar, I'm thankful for the little reminders that it's just a bad day, not a bad situation. Someone very dear and wise taught me to look out for this...

It can be easy to get tunnel visioned and shut down - very easy in fact - and not realize where I was a year ago compared with where I am today. The whole point of this blog was to track that progress and be kept honest. And reading some earlier posts reminded me of that goal. 

So perhaps I jumped the gun on claiming myself new and bright and shiny (seriously, I've got to stop stealing terms from Grey's Anatomy). It's been almost a full year since I started Cindy Lou Who and I feel that I have turned my back on her as of late. Sorry, old girl! She helped me through a few very rough patches and stood by me through some really awesome times. Maybe we can all pretend that my last post didn't actually exist and it was just some really bad dream that we all had. Or I guess I could just delete it all together. Nah, that doesn't seem fair. And if you will, as you have so kindly done over the last year, allow me to open this door back up and continue to share myself, my struggles, my little victories, my Mickey stories, my musings on terrible traffic, my terrible 90s music references, and whatever other thoughts come to me on any random day, we will call it a personal favor and I'll owe each of you one back. (Disclaimer: I still owe on the beer from my 1000th view post, so I wouldn't really hold your breath for me to help with anything time sensitive. I also don't do yardwork and don't babysit. Probably not good for moving and I can't offer legal advice. Soooooo, ya.)

Thank you to everyone out there who has gotten me here and continues to do so. Old friends and new friends and Mickeys alike.  Oh, and in case you were wondering how the 4 left-pawed pup is doing, I'm happy to report that he has a new love in his life. Jackson! A 20lb Yorkie who completely owns him. They couldn't be happier together. Mickey even lets Jackson share his closet, things have gotten serious between these two:

Alright, time to climb down off this lovely rooftop, as much as I wish I could stay under the stars, where no one can make us change who we are (Yup, old school Teitur tonight). But alas, I must turn it in for the night. I will be back in a much more timely fashion though, I promise...


The always [Insert adjective here],
Cindy L. Who