Random things...oh and I'm 41 now...

A couple of weeks ago mom and I attended the Junk Bonanza.

This has been on mom's bucket list for quite some time apparently and she adores the women who run this thing and are the editors of a Flea Market magazine.

It was down in Del Mar, she booked us a hotel room near the place and we were set to go.

Unfortunately it was one of the worst rainstorms to smack SoCal.  But - we went anyway.  The actual event was way smaller than both of us thought and rather than coming back on Saturday like we planned we hit the whole thing on Friday.  Mom bought some stuff.  I enjoyed watching her giddy as a school girl and the highlight was watching her totally fan girl out meeting the ladies who run the thing.

I'm all about photo booths

She was so damn ecstatic.  It was adorable.  The ladies were also so very sweet.

I was very disappointed to find out I couldn't actually have any wine but this was rather a display

This couple rents out a bunch of trailers for parties and events. Seriously...can I have some of that wine please?

We signed up for a mini class that said "Chalk Painting".  This did not mean me making a chalkboard like I originally thought.

Yup, that's my red board.  Not a chalkboard.  I took it home and plan to try to pretend I'm crafty and do something

Another big thing that happened last month was my boss - Carol - retired.  This blow came to us a few months ago and her party was, get this, on my damn birthday.  Yup.  Thanks EVP for ruining my birthday and scheduling Carol's retirement party that day.

This has been quite emotional for me, as I've never worked for someone as amazing as Carol.  I'm coming up on my 7th year here at Chapman and Carol and I have developed a wonderful friendship.  But on top of that, she has helped me grow as not only an employee but as a better person.  She was always super supportive in everything I did.  When I tried Math for a nano second - she bought me a Math for Dummies book.  She came to my shows and posted my reviews on her office door.  She comforted me when I'd burst into tears, scared for a scary medical procedure.  She visited me when I was recovering in 2012.  She hugged me and got miffed when I'd lament about yet another shitty date.  We'd get into long discussions about politics, people and life.  We of course are still going to get together at least once a month for dinner but there is an empty void here now that she's gone.  I miss her so much and I know I'm going to continue to miss her.

Her retirement party was really sweet.  So many people for all over campus were there.  There is a damn big hole in Chapman University now that she has left.

Someone put together a big scrapbook for her.  A few of us close to her got to do our own page. 

I rallied the old Ops Team to pitch in and mom and I put together this awesome retirement gift for her.  I was pretty damn proud of myself I must say.

So in the middle of all of this was my birthday.  I did a few random things.  The day before mom took me and Becks out to lunch at Paris in a Cup and we had high tea!

She then showered me with presents like she always does.  Thanks mom!

After Carol's retirement party a handful of us co-workers went to the Circle to drink our sorrows and toast my birthday.  We hit Provisions then The Wall.  I was not in top form so didn't take any pictures, but thank you Hallie, Taylor, Marc, Chris, Michele, Anna, Rachel, Melissa and Cristina for being there!

The Saturday of my birthday weekend was one of our Photo Play Dates through the photo group I've created.  We hit The Huntington Botanical Library and Gardens.  It was a really great day and lifted my spirits so much.  At one point I stepped back and watched everyone taking different pictures and had a proud mama moment.  I'm so glad this little group is working out!  I posted my pics from the day on my Photo Blog.

Yay Photo Play Date!

 Later that night my dad, Lori, Lib and her little met me at Prime Cut Cafe for my birthday dinner.  I threw together just a small family dinner since the week was a bit rough and I was craving a steak.  Thank you Dad for picking up that tab and to everyone for making it a really lovely way to end my birthday week!

Fam Bam

My Bounce with Bumble...

I did Tinder for a month or so, why not do a blog on Bumble?

Apparently this is like the Feminist Tinder they call it.  It's set up in the same style as Tinder with the swiping left or right if you like a person but the difference is if you both "swipe right" the woman has to email the dude.

You're also timed.  Like if I match with a dude, I only have 24 hours to send him an email or he goes away.  Then the dude has 24 hours or something to write you back.  Um - this is an OCD girls dream! Ha ha ha!

On Valentine's night my girlfriend came over and we got to talking about dating apps.  She's on this Bumble and convinced me to do it.  So, with her help, we set up my Bumble account and I was ready to go.  Here's what I've learned.

• The dudes on Bumble seem to be way hotter than the dudes on Tinder.  I don't know why, but there is just a whole lotta better looking fellows on there!
• My friend showed me a date she'd been on with.  She said he was a little odd.  He text her a picture of baby quails he just bought.  Seriously like 10 of them.  She asked if they were pets.  His response - yes!  And I can eat the eggs.  Quails.  Not chickens.  Quails.
• My girlfriend was recognizing a bunch of the dudes I swiped as dudes that showed on on hers too.  
• There's also a "shake" quality to Bumble.  Apparently if you accidentally swipe left you can shake your phone and he'll come back.  Let's just say this turned into a very hilarious display by me trying to get a few dudes back.  Think:   
• This dude I went out with from this blog has now popped up on my e-Harmony, Tinder and now Bumble. Ack.
• I love the theme - Bumble...so when you're looking for dudes you push the little hive.  When it's thinking there's little bees.  It's so cute.
• Guys still pose with fish.
• We're running out of men.  I see the same dudes on all these different dating sites. 
• Some dudes only know how to email in what I would assume is text language.  All kinds of acronyms and what not.  I admit I may not have the best grammar but at least I can make a fucking sentence.  You know...with actual WORDS!  
• I "run out of people" all the time.  Either not a lot of dudes are on Bumble or I've literally run out of men.  It tells me to check back later.  I have to wait a couple of days if I don't want to "run out of people".  WTF.  
  
• I made a date with one dude, but had to cancel because I got a cold.  His response  - "Are you sure it's not just anxiety to meet me?"  Um - don't flatter yourself asshole.  So I tell him of course not, I have a cold.  How about we make a date over the weekend?  Guess what - GHOSTED.  

• I did get one good date out of it.  Fingers actually still crossed on that one but trying really damn hard to not get excited, because last time that happened it was with Sleeves, whom you read about a while back and you know how bitterly that ended.

So in conclusion - Bumble is pretty much like Tinder but with hotter guys and less guys.  I've already turned it off, but it was a fun jaunt.  I may actually go back on later for funners but I'm taking a break from dating apps/sites for a bit.  I'm getting too jaded so I think I should step away.  But I'm not giving up dammit!

Old Town Orange Food Tour...

Chapman has a staff party every Christmas and this year I won 2 tickets to the Old Town Walking Food Tour. I was of course thrilled because - FOOD!

The only bummer is my damn phone was apparently not taking pictures like I thought it was so I don't have very many. *Grumble*

Anyhoo -

My fellow foodie/wine lover friend Tianna joined me.  We were to meet in the Starbucks in Wells Fargo Bank at 10:45am.  We arrived and sat around waiting for our guide to show up trying to guess who was here for the tour.

Linda arrived and was a wacky bubbly woman who was the perfect food tour guide. She gave us a run down of how she got involved then told us a bit of history about the bank we were in.  The funny thing...I've been in there a million times and never looked up at the ridiculously beautiful ceiling.  Note to self - take in your surroundings more!  She told us about how there was a supposed bank robbery here way back in the day and pointed out a window that a hired sharp shooter waited for him to come back.  So random and cool!

Linda our Tour Guide

We headed out - about 16 of us - to our 1st stop which was Francoli Gourmet.  This is one of my favorite spots!  We were told we could purchase a glass of wine for $5 (normally $12-$15) um yeah!  What was awesome was I think every single person in the group got one.  I already love our group.

Starting the day of with wine!  Hell yeah!

The owner came out and chatted with us about the history of Francoli.  Everything in the place is from Italy from the floors to the bar.  Linda told us that the owner loved the ceiling at John Wayne airport so he modeled his after it as well.  We all got our wine (I'm only having white for a couple of weeks) and they were outstanding!  All there wines are Italian wines and you can come in and buy bottles if you like.  We also learned you can come in and buy olive oil!!  I may be coming back here when I get paid.  We were brought  large  roma tomato with mozzarella and aged balsamic.  The typical Caprese.  So yum!  We then got a delish mini bowl of pesto pasta.  Yum!!!!

That pasta was damn good!

This was by far the best stop!

We then headed over to Felix's.  This is a popular Cuban joint a lot of folks are fond of.  I don't eat there often but it's damn good!  There was a long table set up outside with a small plate containing an empanada and a fried plantain.  This was a photo that didn't come out.  But it was yummy!
There's a cigar shop right next door and there's always these regular dudes that sit out there smoking cigars and chatting.  One of them came over while Linda was in the shop and told us to sing her Happy Birthday when she came out.  We did so and she laughed saying he always does that and her birthday is actually in December.  Obviously part of the tour but I love that she includes the old regular at the Cigar joint! ha ha!!

Around this time while we were walking Linda filled us in a bit on the history of the plaza.  One of the things I didn't realize was the story behind the Marine banners. I've seen them around all the time but learned that they are all marines currently over seas.  They change them out regularly.  But if one dies in the line of duty that banner will always stay up.  Pretty cool.

Next stop was Paris in a Cup
We all sat out in the front at the little round tables and were given a chocolate macaroon and a little cup of Ninas Valentine tea.  So delish!!!   One of the waitresses came out and gave us a little history of the joint and then we were given time to mill around in the little gift shop.  Tianna bought a pack of macaroons and I took an adorable photo of her but nope - was one that didn't take.  Sigh.

After this we headed to the middle of the plaza and Linda chatted about the history.  I was getting a kick out of the fact that apparently there's a battle whether to call it The Plaza or The Circle.  All us locals who grew up here call it The Circle but apparently historians get pissy and say "It's the Plaza!"

We headed down the other side of Glassel and Linda paused to play a harmonica and sing a poem she wrote.  Hysterical.  Took a photo...didn't take.  I need a new phone.

The next two stops were stores.  We went into this store that has a bunch of native american stuff, sage, scents, soaps, etc.  Sort of a hodge podge of shit.  It's been there forever and I'm total jack ass because I forgot the name.  Next was Tidlywinks.  This is a darling toy store that's been in The Circle forever as well.  At this store after everyone shopped we got raffle tickets to win a toy.  Um guess who won?

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

The gal came out and gave a history on the store and it was pretty interesting.  But I must say - these store stops were disappointing.  I felt we spent too much time there.  I mean, it's a food tour.  I wanted to sample food not shop.  I wish we just popped in and out if we had to stop at the stores, but whatever.  I won a game of Tidlywinks.

Next up was Provisions. I love this place.  It's a tad over priced but it's a great place to come for drinks and some snacks.  They apparently have great beers.  Being a wino they don't have as much of a selection but a great place for all you beer folks.  Here we  got a little sample of beer and some meat and cheese.  I gave my beer to one of our group members since I'm not much of a beer drinker.  Cute glass though.  I wanted to steal it.

Baby Beer

Next up was the Pie Hole.  I've actually not been here yet.  We got a little slice of a lavender strawberry pie.  It was super sweet but good!  We also got a free coffee card.  Apparently the proceeds from the coffee purchases help an organization that helps women who run the household.  So that's cool!  Took a pic of that...guess what.  yup.  Sigh.

After this we headed over to our last stop which was Citrus City Grille.  Here we all sat down at huge table.  We got quite a bit here.  The bread with the dipping sauce which is always delicious!  Then we got some Butternut Squash Soup and a Tri Tip Melt.  Yum!

I love food

Love this girl

Linda then passed out heart shaped cookies since we're near V-Day and gave Tianna and I surprise birthday cards since we had the closest birthdays coming up.  It was so cute!

I told her I was named after the Bionic Woman

 We had such a great group too!  There were 4 women that giggled the whole time.  These two ladies that Tianna and I sat with a few times and totally reminded me of my mom and Keri.  Super sweet.  A bunch of couples - all cool.  One couple has a son thinking of attending Chapman so Tianna was talking up her Alma Matter.  There was another couple we sat with a couple of times and the man was seriously one of the most polite men I've ever met!  Always handing plates/samples to everyone else first.  Chivalry is not dead folks!  So awesome to have such a great group!

All in all it was super fun!  Tianna and I walked from my house so we got some good walking in that whole day.  Linda was a great guide.  All the food was yummy and I learned a bit more about my hometown.  One of my favorite prizes I've won!!  Definitely two thumbs up!

My Tap Dance with Tinder...

Yeah I know.
Online dating has been nothing but heartbreak and anxiety for me.  But - it's made for some funny blogs so why not keep going with it!

So I signed up on Tinder for purely research purposes.  I looked at it this way - if I actually do meet someone - dope - it's like a bonus.  But, it's Tinder.  I mean.  Tinder.  The hook up site.  In fact - some of the dudes snark at people looking for a serious relationship on Tinder.  One guy's profile said "Looking for fun - seriously those of you looking for relationships?!  Get off my hook up site!"
Legit.

The cool part about this site is, since it's such a fucking joke, I'm not at all invested.  I'll "match" with someone - we email a bit - he's gone.  Nothing personal and I'm not surprised.  I'm just like - and NEXT.

So - things I've observed:

• It feels like a total hook site.  Most dudes are like - "In town for a week!"  Or "Looking for a good time, you serious types swipe left!"  Or my favorite - "My girlfriend and I are looking for a playmate - no drama!"
• I swiped left so much.  I actually got a thumb cramp.  I am officially a vain asshole.  Tinder turns you vain.
• There's a few married guys on there saying they don't get affection at home so they're looking for a woman. EW!
•  Lots of dudes like to pose with their shirt off.  Which brings me to my next point:
• Lots of eye candy for sure.  Of course I swipe left but hot damn.
• I've seen some of my e-Harmony dudes on there.
• I saw my friends boyfriend on there.  UGH.  That was an awkward text to send to her.
• Girls must always ask about height because almost every dudes profile had their height and a snarky comment following it like "6'2 because apparently that's at thing" or "5'11 since you always seem to want to know".  
• I found I was very forward on Tinder. If we got to emailing I'd say "Are you a conservative republican?  Are you super religious?  Are you allergic to cats?"  Shit like that.  Some dudes found it refreshing.
• One of my dude friends let me swipe through his Tinder when we had dinner one night and for some reason most girls have a ducklips pose.
• Some dudes are straight up like - "I'm in town once a month - I'm great in bed!" or "I love to eat pussy." Yup.  Not kidding.
• I actually did exchange numbers with a few dudes for funners and got some great wine and movie recommendations!
• Some guys have a great sense of humor - this guy said "I have a naked shower picture in my profile".  You scroll and find this:
  
  Well played David 38.
• I exchanged #'s with 2 guys named Matt.  The way these online dudes go in my phone is James - Eharmony, etc and for this - Matt-Tinder.  Well I got confused so one dude was Matt Beard Tinder since he had a big ol beard.
• Do all guys fish?  I swear every other picture is a dude holding a fish.
• I've also been told the gals are always posing with Tigers?  Is this true fellas?  
• There are some dudes who have pictures of their junk.  Undies on because I'm sure Tinder wouldn't allow THAT but still.  Are you fucking kidding me? 
• When I was emailing one dude I said "Are you looking for a hook up or a serious relationship?" he said "Strange Question".  I said "It's Tinder".  His response - "Touche" Thank you Brian 38.
• You're only matched by age and distance. It's amazing the freaks that apparently are around me.
• I'm sharing an experience from a friend - she had a date with Tinder dude...showed up - Missing most of his teeth.  She said "He looked hot in his photos but he never smiled!"  Oh my.
• I actually did get a couple of dates out of it - and guess what - better than most of the E-Harmony dates I went on. I feel I literally swiped through 100's to get to these two though.
• If a dude actually emails you - you may get a few emails in and they stop.
• If you get to phone # exchange, which was really rare, all (but the 2 dates I had) eventually just ghosted.
• I'm already over it.  I think I lasted a month.  Deleted it today.

In conclusion - Tinder is weird.  I feel it's very impersonal and strange.  I would definitely say it's a hook up site.  You can probably meet someone you can have a relationship with but you have to put a lot of time and swiping into it, but I only lasted a month.  If I continue with the online date, I suppose I'll stick to the paid sites.  At least they try to match you based on algorithms and what not.  Although as I type this I'm still single.  Sigh.  Dating in this technology age is hard.

Women's March OC...

I, among what's now looking like almost 3 million other people took to the streets and marched in one of the largest US Protests in history - oh and I did I mention not one incident of violence?  This my friends is the Women's March.

The entire election process this time around was awful.  I saw so much division among my peers.  Although most of my circle falls to the left, I do still have dear friends and family that fall to the right.  But this time around everyone was divided, on all sides.  Right and Left didn't matter. My heart broke into pieces watching the hate, the sadness, the fear. I could make this paragraph go on and on but that's not what this blog is about.

This blog is about the experience I shared this past Saturday with about 20K of like minded people.  And this experience was amazing.

Let me back up and say - I needed something.  Something that I felt mattered.  Something that wasn't fueled by hate or violence.  I've gone into this year with more of a fighting spirit as I mentioned a few blogs ago.  I want to do more.  I need to do more.  This march was just that.  It wasn't a bandwagon thing.  It meant something.  And then it grew and holy shit - we made our voices heard.

I read up on the march a couple of weeks ago and when I found the mission statement I was on board.  A bunch of my friends were starting to say they were also attending and then it just grew.  This organization is already starting it's next campaign and I plan to be involved.  I'm in.  No more talk.  It's time for action.

You all also know I'm a big pile of love.  As sarcastic and mouthy as I can be (Hello Irish side) when it comes down to it I want peace. Unity.  Joy.  Equality. You know - people caring about each other.  Compassion.  Love for fucks sake.  We are all human beings.  Race, religion, sexuality, gender - IT DOESN'T MATTER - we're humans.  We should treat each other with compassion, love and respect.  But I digress....Women's March:

The night before, mom came over and wrote out the message I wanted to carry then I painted over it.

A bunch of my friends were hitting the LA march but I wanted to represent the OC.  I figured it'd be like a baby version compared to the bigger cities but I wanted to be here, in my town.  Um...20K is not baby.

Ready to go Sat morn!

I packed my car with my dear friend Brenda, my coworker friend Hallie and her mom and the lovely Shelly.  It was a tight squeeze but we did it!  I came in the back way to DTSA and we sailed right into one of the parking structures.  I was thrilled for the ease of it and thought, oh this event wont be that big.  We followed the stream of women heading towards the meet point.  Here's our amazing car load of ladies:

The Fab Five

We were directed into the street where the march was gathering and then basically just hung out for an hour and watched the crowds streaming in.  I started to realize  - there's alot of people here!!  There were friends all over and not all of us met up but knowing they were there made me so happy!  When I saw one of my guy friends coming - he said "I can't do nothing".  I burst into tears.  So much support from everyone.

I also want to stress how amazingly positive this was.  Every single person I encountered was polite, friendly, happy - It was fucking amazing and I don't even know how to put into words the inspiration and love that filled my heart.

Waiting to March

The front of the march

As we started to march, there were folks chanting and cheering.  The crowd control people were joining in, cheering us as we walked by.  The police were smiling and waving as we marched by, some people shouting thank yous to them. The entire thing lasted maybe 30/45 min or so and was only positive.  I saw no hecklers, heard no negativity and most importantly not once shred of violence.

These ladies

My heart swelled at this older couple.  That's a good man right there.

And this couple too! He had his arm lovingly around his lady as they marched on

When we saw this, that's when we realized this march is truly huge - that's like 20 minutes behind us!

After the march, we headed to the Gypsy Den where 2 other friends met up and we had a fantastic long brunch with mimosas!  Thank you Jessica for treating us!


Here's some shots from my FB friends all over the US posting from their march.  I've never seen my feed blow up with so many of the same wonderful event from all over.

 From friends in LA:

 Friends in DC where the main march was:

My friend in Alaska!

My friend in Chicago

My friend in Philly

My friend in New York

I could go on and on.  If you google the march you'll see thousands and thousands and thousands of people all over the US.  These are just from my friends on FB.  It was something to see.


You guys - it was amazing.  It was peaceful.  It was glorious.  We made an impact and this is just the beginning.  I know some people are poo-pooing the march saying these people's time should have been spent doing something else, or this doesn't matter, or it's just a bunch of angry liberal women, or do this or that instead of marching if you want to make a difference.  To all of you  - I say you're just wrong.  This made a difference.  This brought millions of people together, peaceful, to protest and stand up for our rights.  I know it certainly inspired me to do more, to fight back and to still have faith in humanity.  Right now that's what I needed and I'm only 1 person.  This was a great thing and I was honored to be a part of it!