Sunday, September 30, 2007

a few dating lessons

every so often, i get my nerve up and dive into the online dating pool. obviously, it hasn't been successful yet. but it has been a learning experience. here are a few things i've learned:

on photos:
  1. glamour shots/commercial headshots shouldn't be used. anyone with sense knows those have been retouched. and in most cases, that look is not what you'll be seeing when you meet up at the coffee shop.
  2. if it looks like there's any possibility, the pic could show up in a mug shots book or be on a post office wall, don't use it.
  3. please make sure your photo is from this decade. that also goes for your hairstyle.
  4. if you're going to have an animal in the pic with you, it should be cute and alive. no dead fish, no dead deer, no insects of enormous size. and no pics of your dog (cute) with a dead bird in its mouth (yech!).
  5. if you're going to post an action shot, please make sure it's your good side. and your back side or camera angles looking up from about the knee area are pretty much never your good side.

on interests:

everyone is interested in a) traveling; b) making more money c) doing something to make a difference in the world; d) meeting in a coffee shop for a first meeting. my advice on actually being interesting: a) go someplace. take a trip and stop waiting for the perfect traveling companion. b) skip the money talk in your profile. it's pretty safe assumption that no one wants to make less money and that everyone wants to make more. contentment with financial status would be something interesting. c) actually be doing something to make a difference in the world. what are you waiting for? volunteer now...don't wait for your life partner to get started. d)come up with something, anything besides a coffee shop for a first meeting.

and finally, on emotional baggage:

i think there should be some way devised to weigh a person's emotional baggage. seriously. as in if your past isn't really in your past, you should exceed the weight limit for emotional baggage. for example, if you've only been out of rehab for a month, and it was your second time through, this is not old news. or if you've been divorced for more than a year, and you still refer to your ex without the ex qualifier, well, this is not old news. in both of these cases, your emotional baggage has exceeded the acceptable weight limit to embark on a new relationship journey.

hope & hamstrings

yesterday was walktheirwalk. i blogged about the event here.

to everyone who sponsored me, prayed for and encouraged me--a huge THANK YOU! it meant the world to me.

in coming days, i'll post some additional thoughts. for the moment i'll just say it was a really great experience and it truly did help me recapture some hope. and my hamstrings and calves may never recover--they only hurt when i move them.

finally, it's not too late to give. oh, and here are some photos of the day that my friend renee took.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

oh, how i love tim gunn

one of the very best parts of project runway is tim gunn. i'm a huge fan. i love his 'make it work' attitude. we quote it at work in our department a lot. tonite i watched the premiere of tim gunn's house of style. here's a couple of nuggets of wisdom i gleaned from this episode:

  • i can not control how i am perceived, i can only control how i'm presented.
  • my closet is in serious need of an overhaul.
  • a key to walking with confidence is to listen to my inner soundtrack...note to self: get an inner soundtrack.
  • i should buy his book.

since bravo is putting SO much time in between project runway series, i'm glad they found another vehicle for tim. if you're looking for me on thursday's at 10 pm... i'll be watching tim.