Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Are men getting sketchier, or have I just started paying attention?

The other night I found myself chatting on Facebook chat with an ex boyfriend and a former mini-fling. I stopped the mini-fling when I found out that he had a girlfriend. Both wanted to "see me" whenever I was in town. Both have serious girlfriends.

Last night I heard a story about a guy who I considered a good guy, even "marriage material" because he seemed non-sketchy. In fact, he'd had sex with 2 girls by the time he graduated from college. No drugs. Close to family. No criminal record. Recently however, he did E, with a girl who his roommate from college of 3 years (and good friend) really likes. That's two faux pas: crazy drug use, and potentially doing sketchy things with a good friend's crush.

When I was in China studying abroad, my roommate got "very close" to another guy studying abroad with us, who had been with his girl friend for 3 years. He was necking my roommate on the dance floor while his girl friend was back home probably missing him a lot. He was also one of my favorite classmates and one of the least likely to cheat, or so I thought.


Have the character of people dropped like the value of our 401K?

Everywhere I look there are guys of all types: the nice guy, the guy next door, the guy who should be old enough to know better, the successful guys, the ones who behaved in college....who are commiting major relationship faux-pas with friends and significant others. Lying is bad, but lying to the degree that I have seen recently is absolutely abhorrant.

I have read that cheating is fairly prevalent, but seeing these real life examples of men who should be trust-worthy try to cheat on their mediocre to fabulous girlfriends makes me wonder if I even want to be in a relationship.

Ironically, people are getting sketchier as my own sketchiness has dropped off into "normal" to "boring" territory haha. I have always thought that people get less sketchy and less morally "grey" as they get older, but what I am seeing clearly contradicts this. Whether you want to blame the economy, Obama's healthcare plan, the crazy republicans, El Nino, or young people and their rap music, something is clearly amiss.

Friday, September 4, 2009

The Dark Side of Education

Student Loans.

Currently my student loans are only about 50% higher than what the average person in the US makes per year. Somehow this ends up equaling a repayment amount higher than my monthly rent if I go with the longer 30 year repayment option. It's about $1000 per month if I go with the standard 10 year loan period.

Are you kidding me???


For that amount of money I could spend a week in the Caribbean every month, buy a pair of Louboutin shoes every month, get an apartment twice the size of my current apartment, be a sugar mamma to a struggling model/actor, go to Vegas once a month and gamble profusely, support a small midget population living in my larger closet in my larger apartment...the list goes on.

I am not happy about this loan payment business.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

If you are reading this...

Please comment! It makes me feel loved and like someone cares about my rantings haha.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

The "Douche- Pheromone"

I'm done with match.com. Or that's what I thought. Now that I'm almost at the end of my match.com free trial, a cute guy winked at me. The last 4 winks (the match.com equivalent of a Facebook poke) have been from men who are over 30 (47, 34, 47, and 42 years old respectively), some divorced, mostly old and creepy.

So, cute guy winks at me, and I think I have 16 minutes (until my free trial runs out) to send him an email explaining that I don't live in MN yet, that I think he's cute, and give him a good reason to show me around town because I'm new. I have no good reasons so I just ask if he'd want to do that and leave my email.

I go back to actually take a look at his profile (yes, I wanted to hang out with him based simply on his pictures -- though I did let him slide for being shorter than my usual type--I think that makes me only semi-shallow and certainly improving). I think I'd picked up that he did some type of banking just based on his one picture and the use of the word "rich portfolio of experiences".

For some reason any use of the word portfolio is sexy to me. Then again so are the words "800 SAT math score". I feel that most girls go with words such as "gentleman" "work out often" and "romantic".

For some reason I think the word romantic = pussy. My best friend said that although I pretend like I want romance (e.g. showing up to my apartment and finding it covered in rose petals and candles), what I really want is to show up to my apartment and find my guy there holding a drink for me with the TV already tuned in to watch the game.

Back to what I call the Douche-Pheromone. This is specifically about the investment banker douche- not the Jersey trash douche. I believe you can spot an investment banker from a mile away.

What exactly is the Douche-Pheromone? it is technically a scent, but highlighted in their appearance as well. Button-down shirt, expensive jeans, sportscoat on top, perfectly placed hair, and confidently smug smile. I'm attracted to that confidence, that suave...that thing that every other girl wants too. These guys have women falling all over themselves trying to get with them, and therefore never want to choose, settle down, be loyal, or not be a douchebag in general.

The new match.com guy seems to have some promise though. He started out by calling me "Reina" because I wouldn't give him my real name. The cuteness was of course a turnoff. We ended up having a good conversation. I found out he works in ecommerce, so not even close to banking. He seemed nice. And put together. And good looking. Here's to hoping I wasn't just attracted to his secret "Douche-Pheromone".

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

About the fish and the sea

The match.com experiment has ended, for now.

My roommate-to-be in 8 days pointed out, "the cool girls are not that cute". Though the "many fish in the sea" metaphor seems great and all, I don't think there are that many date-able guys "in the sea". Actually I've put the number of dateable people closer to 8% (total guesstimate). And that does not even take physical attraction and similar interests into account. There just are not that many attractive people in this world in general. I think the college pool was skewed.

Part of my problem is that I just have a very specific type that can't be determined by anything on an online dating profile. I feel that if I had run into any of the guys I liked on an online dating site, I would have immediately found something to dismiss them without thinking twice. For starters, most of the guys I've had an intense connection with weren't my physical type when we first met. Then there's the nitpicking. Facial hair, tattoos, balding head, works too much, in love with strippers, (unfortunately theres TWO guys I've dated who fall into this category-- should I be concerned?), too short, does not go to a reputable university or even a non-community college university, and the list goes on. Okay, not all of these are characteristics of men I have dated in the past, but I thought I would sprinkle in some of my non-negotiable would-never-date em traits so guys of my past who may discover this blog won't know which ones are legit.

It's hard to label the type of chemistry that makes two people fall head over heels for each other, blow off friends, life, forget what time of day it is and just live in a constant state of blissful floating (you know what I'm talking about). I think it's almost impossible to try to figure out who gives us these "feelings" because we all inevitably always choose the wrong person.

Take the "Tale of the Two Nicks" for example.

I had a friend, who shall remain unnamed, who was seeing a guy named Nick (let's refer to him as Nick 1). Nick 1 was far from "ideal". In fact he was young, with a record, working in a gay club, skateboarding by day, hanging out with 'the bad kids in town' and in general was from the other side of the tracks. He was also remarkably honest, charismatic, sweet-natured, and good - looking in a could-be-in-a-early-2000s-boyband kinda way. He was not in college, worked odd jobs, didn't have a car, and once was homeless.
Then there was Nick 2. About to graduate from UVA Law. Great manners. Well versed in food and wine. Tall. Handsome. Lived in a swanky apartment downtown.

Guess which one my friend chose?


This isn't just the story of Two Nicks. This is the story of all of us. How many of us who don't have the constant "need" to be in a relationship actually end up with the guy who's good on paper? What about the guy who'll treat us right? Hell, what about the guy who actually likes us?


A part of me, for once, wants to end up with the guy who likes me, who is good on paper, takes me out and wines and dines me. I'm not sure if I am mature enough for that yet. I think I'd rather take my chances on the guys that make me forget what day of the week it is. The one who makes me stay in bed while on the beaches of Southern Thailand because I'd rather lie there with him discussing absolutely nothing important. I think that's a problem most women have. We care to much about the sensual pleasures (pleasure of the senses). We want to "feel" that certain way. We want the romance. We want to dream about the life we may never have.


I would personally just rather not settle. A close friend once said that he did not see me as having a serious boyfriend until I was 30, and he was much older. Though I don't believe that to be true, dating just for the sake of dating is not my cup of tea.
And for that, I bid online dating adieu.

For now.