Monthly Archives: March 2018

Pretty words, no action

30 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by in Daily Life, Dating, Finding Me

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J, the guy mentioned here: https://blessedwithastarontheforehead.com/2015/08/26/a-baby-made-me-cry/ called me 3 weeks ago.

We say hello to each other normally once or twice a year.  It is always nice catching up. He always asks me about my writing and I ask about his.  He was writing some screenplays. It is always a friendly conversation and never more than that. That is until a couple of weeks ago when he got in touch via Whatsup.

After catching up for a little bit he started reminiscing about the time when we first met and our train rides years ago. I didn’t back away from it or stopped him from going down memory lane. I enjoyed that innocent time in the train and was glad that he thought of them the same way I did.

I also remember that he got emotional when I chose to give the friendship back then a break. I didn’t think it was wise to continue socializing in the train since we were developing feelings for each other and he was married. Looking back I probably wanted him to say he would get divorced. He didn’t. I started taking a different train and eventually I met EX (the one that broke my heart).

It is so interesting for me to look back at that post and read about being upset that he was having a baby. This blog really helps me to see how far I have come. And in some instances, how I barely moved.

This time he mentioned he was in another state interviewing for a job. After many years in a steady job, he quit and took a somewhat high profile job, which he almost immediately quit. I was shocked at his quitting but understood his reasons. I won’t mention much more about that as I want to make sure this cannot be traced back to him.

This time he was overly sentimental saying he missed me and missed what we had in the past, which to be honest, what we had was a big “What If”.  What we had was the idea that if we were free we could be together and have this great love story. We were never free at the same time to see if anything would ever come of it.

The reason why I bring all this up is that he said something that truly surprised me. He said: “I will always love you”.  I was speechless. I was shocked. I know he always liked me and I always liked him, but love is a whole different ball game.  We never used the word love before.

I struggled for a reply.  He insisted: I really mean it.

What does one say to that? I can’t say the same back to him.  I don’t love him or ever loved him. I think I just changed the subject. Before hanging up he said that we would meet up for a drink to celebrate my birthday. Then he said: no, we are not going to wait that long, let’s meet before then.

Did I think we would meet up? I knew he would ask me and I wanted to be strong and say no. The question to me was if I would be able to say no.

The joke was on me. I didn’t hear from him again. My birthday came and went and he forgot to even mention it.  Of course I know this is for the best. I know it, and he probably knows it too. He is married. I am bored. Not a great combination. When we spoke he was emotionally drained from job hunting. I know I was a relief, I was a distraction.

I don’t want to be someone’s distraction. I don’t want a married man. I don’t want drama. We often mistake drama for excitement.

I wanted to write about it here just to illustrate how a smart person like me that knows better, can get tempted by hearing just a few charming words. I am not blaming him. I am not blaming anyone.  I am just reaffirming what I know: I have to guard myself and my feelings.

And once again I remind myself:  Believe in actions, no words! 

 

The last 3 dates

22 Thursday Mar 2018

Posted by in Daily Life, Dating

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The Litigation Attorney

We met on Match.com and after some back and forth messages I gave him my phone number.  I have no rhyme or reason for giving or not giving my phone number to someone.  It is all about a feeling and how a person asks.

After some short texts we met in person at a wine bar called Pino.  It was a tiny cute place and the manager was very nice.

We both like to talk a lot, so we had a very lively fun conversation. I just had one glass of rose wine and he had a couple of tequila drinks.  There was no food involved.  I had eaten before hand because he asked me for “drinks” so I assumed correctly that there was no food involved.

He is single, never married, no kids.  Just like me.  He is selling his apartment in the city located just a couple of blocks from my office, and buying a house on the New Jersey shore.  I don’t envision retiring and spending my days on a boat so I already see issues if this relationship is to go forward.

It was more friendly than romantic, but I need another date to confirm it.  We have been exchanging a few texts and a couple of quick phone calls.  We are scheduled to go out tonight and I am still trying to decide if I should go through with it.

The Data Architect

We met on POF. He is Scottish living in the US for a long time.  He is divorced with one  11 year daughter.

He works from his Hoboken, NJ home for a company several hours away.  He knows I like mosaic and whimsical art so he has been sending me pictures of every mosaic and art work he has encountered along his way.  And there has been a lot.  I thought that was cute and  thoughtful.

We agreed to meet at the subway on 33rd and Park and from there we rode to Astor Place.  Once there we saw some street art and started walking around.  I love that area!  At one point we stopped by a bakery and we each had a miniature cupcake. It was okay but nothing I would care to eat again.

After a few more blocks of walking around and him explaining the details of this once very Ukrainian neighborhood I saw a restaurant called Yuca Bar and immediately became interested. I love fried yucca.

It was a Latin restaurant with lots of Brazilian flavors.  I had the passion fruit caipirinha and it was on point.  I was disappointed with the yucca fries as it was not just the root boiled and fried but a mixture of mashed yucca breaded and fried. It was okay but not the real thing. He had guacamole and chips and I had the skirt steak and rice.  He is vegetarian.

After dinner, we went to a dive bar called Blue & Gold and talked about soccer while I sipped a club soda and he had draft beer.  This bar had the cheapest drinks I have ever seen in Manhattan.

We then took the Subway back to Grand Central.  He walked me to my train and we hugged good bye.

We have been exchanging texts since then.  I don’t think there is any romance but I may go on a second date to confirm that.  He asked me on a second date this Saturday but I am busy so we will choose another day.

The Commercial Real Estate Agent

We met on POF over a month ago. In that time he went on a hiking vacation in Argentina and still managed to contact me every day.  He doesn’t have my number so we just exchange messages on POF. He said he gave me his number.  Maybe he did.  Maybe I will use it.

We finally met Tuesday at Stout, a pub on 41st street.   I had eaten before meeting him so it was mostly drinks.  I had Prosecco, he had draft beer and we shared fingers.  All was delicious.

He is divorced with 2 teenage daughters. He just bought a house very far and now commutes over 2 and a half hours each way every day. That has me already thinking that geographically we are not an ideal match.

He is a very nice gentleman though and even though, again, I didn’t feel any real chemistry I am willing to go on a second date and see what happens.

***

All 3 are very interesting guys and I am glad I met them.  I am willing to go on a second date with all of them. I do also see some issues with all of them.  Are these real issues or am I just working extra hard to find something wrong with them?  who knows…  I am trying to keep an open mind and go on second dates before dismissing a nice person.

“One of the reasons the team on NCIS works so well-is that they live by their leader’s rules-which are not a secret .
What are your rules/standards? Do the people in your life know what they are? Do you hold grudges/resentments when they don’t measure up? Do you pretend that everything is fine-when it’s not-and close up a little every day?
And most importantly-
When was the last time YOU reviewed/upgraded your standards/expectations rules-and took a look at the impact around you/checked in?
(Hint-most people live from rules/standards/expectations created from reactions/perceptions formed around the age of six)
Might be time for a review/upgrade……..”
-Dave Rudbarg

 

 

 

Always grateful for lessons

15 Thursday Mar 2018

Posted by in Daily Life, Dating, Finding Me

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“If you want to know your past life, look into your present condition; if you want to know your future life, look at your present actions.” – Sogyal Rinpoche

I didn’t go to see the Broadway musical “Beautiful” with the guy that I mentioned a couple of posts ago.  He is recovering from alcohol and drug abuse. He had also just quit cigarettes when I met him.  He has issues.  We all have them, but he has more issues than I am willing to deal with.

I thought we could be friends, as I often think of everyone I meet.  He said he was okay with just friendship.  We exchanged texts and phone calls and in the first couple of days all was fine.  Then it got weird.  He started texting and calling at odd hours, sometimes after midnight.  At other times in the middle of a conversation he would say he needed to call me back and never would.  At times some of the conversations didn’t make much sense.  I sensed something was off, but I kept trying to be a friend.

It was becoming both painful and annoying.  I realized I couldn’t be the friend he needed.  He needed a supportive, understanding, sponsor-type of a friend.  I stopped picking up the phone late at night and started calling him out on the behavior that I thought was not ok.  He then just stopped calling all together.

What I learned from that experience is that sometimes you have to be selfish and think of yourself first.  Something is off with him and I am not going to stick around to find out what that is.

Be a friend but do not lose yourself in the process.  Do not think that it is your job to save everyone. Respect yourself first.

I haven’t had cable/internet/phone for the past several days due to the heavy windstorm we had starting last Friday.  The windstorm was scary. I have to walk 3 blocks from the train station to my apartment and the wind was so strong that I actually had to stop and hold on to lampposts not to be blown away and I am not a small creature.

Nature is powerful. It is beautiful. It is a wonder, but it can also be scary at times.  Nature needs to be respected.  At times such as this I am reminded of the need to respect nature and its force.

What am I doing to respect nature? The best way I know how to show respect it is through conservation. Growing up in Brazil I was reminded daily by my parents that water and electricity are expensive so I grew up with the mindset of using only what is necessary.  I also believe in reusing, re-purposing and cleaning my surroundings.

I decided to pay even more attention to my efforts of showing respect for Mother Earth.  Every little action builds up and promotes change.  It starts with me.

On those evenings without cable I joked with friends that I actually had to talk to my sister.  It is amazing how much TV is part of my life.  Even though I rarely sit down and watch something, the TV is always on in the background, especially now that my sister is using it to help her with fine tuning her English listening skills.

We normally don’t realize how much we appreciate something until it is gone.  We also normally don’t realize how much we depend on something until it is gone.  In this case it is minor, it is just cable and internet, but I can see how much I depend on so many other things and how I take those things and people for granted. Realizing that people and things that are part of my everyday can just one day disappear forces me to take another look at them and me.

Do I really need all that is around me? Am I choosing to surround myself with only people and things that add to my life or am I wasting time on things that are actually detrimental to me?

Be grateful for all you have.  Show people and things gratitude.  Get rid of the old and unused things.  Get rid of the negative and painful people and relationships.  

 

 

 

Trying to be blessed, not stressed

05 Monday Mar 2018

Posted by in Daily Life, Finding Me

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“If you really want to escape the things that harass you, what you’re needing is not to be in a different place but to be a different person.” – Seneca

I miss being here. I miss writing. I miss reading and replying to comments. It feels like I have been away for ages. It has been only one week. 🙂

My absence is due to too much work, little time, not feeling well and lacking the energy.

It has been a crazy stressful past several days. It started with barely being able to lift my head from the pillow on Monday morning. I had been dizzy on Saturday and Sunday mornings but on Monday it was really bad. Don’t judge me but I still went to work. I had to schedule the payment of bonuses to the brokers. There would have been a riot if I didn’t show up.

After I managed to get up and get to work, I declared I was there to only do this one task and go home. Result: I ended up staying even later than usual.

The brokers and management hadn’t yet finalized their numbers. It took them hours to agree on the final numbers, after weeks of negotiations. I also had to juggle the money from different accounts to cover everything. Then the brokers have different requests on tax and deductions on the bonus.

On top of that I have other stuff looming over my head. I have an audit I filed that will have to be amended. Any amendment is sure to draw the eyes of the regulators. Then I have another audit around the corner that I have to compile numbers for. I have to decide on a new health insurance for the company plus work on setting up a HSA plan. No one will be happy with the new Health insurance choices.

“You must learn to let go. Release the stress. You were never in control anyway.” – Steve Maraboli

Some customers are months behind on their payment so I have to chase them around. Some are in Singapore, India, Portugal, etc – it would be exciting if I could go see them in person. Then there is the regular stuff, regular payroll, check and pay expense reports, check and pay vendor’s invoices, etc

Stress doesn’t appropriately cover what I go through at work. Don’t take all this whining as a complaint. I am just giving you a picture of the many hats I wear. One way or another I get it all done.

Then there is the stress of worrying about my elderly parents in Brazil, and wanting them to be okay. Also having my sister here and trying to guide her on getting a job and starting her life here.

Getting back to what ails me. My sister suspects I have Vertigo ( Labyrithintis) as she knows some people that had it and the symptoms seemed similar. When I described the symptoms to my Naturopathic doctor friend he thought it was Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome, a condition that most regular medical doctors don’t think it exists. He says that given my age (menopause around the corner), stress and the symptoms I described he thinks it is a classic case of it. I have taken a saliva test that will determine what is going on. It will take one week for the results to come in.

Until then I wait.  I know the stress is over my need to control things.  I need to have everything performing optimally.  I need to have my family happy.  I need to be perfect at work.  When things are not as such I stress.  I didn’t think I was stressed.  I just thought I was just a tad tired.

Time to listen to my body. Time to think about leading a less stressed, stressful life.  Time to make changes.

Still feeling blessed – always!

“We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.” – David Mamet