Me time

Writing's supposed to be cathartic, right? Well, I could use a little catharsis right now. I am overwhelmed and overworked!

"It's summer," you say, "how can one be anything but blissful and lively?" Well, as usual, this bitch has taken on too many damn commitments! I was only working 10hrs for the first part of the summer and was very poor so naturally I thought it would be brilliant to accept a 20hr TA position and a bazillion hours of babysitting. Oh yeah, and I think I acquired a boyfriend in the meantime (crush status has upgraded!)so although that is a blissful acquisition, boys require attention! Hence, now I have too much on my plate and not enough time to do anything particularly well. Ugh.

Worry not, dear friends! I have devised a genius plan for tackling my stressful status. It's called sitting on the couch and watching every B movie that cable has to offer until I fall asleep still wearing my clothes. It's fool-proof.




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Misc.

Ahem, summer crush going swimmingly:)




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Group Therapy

I'm taking the LAST CLASS OF MY LIFE this summer and it's group therapy. What a great course to end on! The class is 3 hours a day and the first half of it consists of all of us students forming a group with the instructor being the group therapist (he is in private practice and IS a group therapist so it's all kosher) and the second half of the class is lecture.

Being in a group is AMAZING! I recommend it to any and all! Now, granted, some of it may have to do with the fact that we're all therapists already so we kind of 'get it' as to how this whole therapy thing works, but I have to imagine that with a good leader all groups could eventually get to this place.

I've learned things about total strangers that have taken my close friends years to reveal. I've also learned that I have more in common with total strangers than I ever could've imagined! Finally, I learned that someone I had already known before the group (and did not care for) was actually quite similar to me and much of my distaste for this person probably comes from that very fact. When people display our least favorite traits in ourselves it tends to hit a chord.

The book we are reading for the class is called "The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy," and it's written by the guru of group psych, Irvin Yalom. He comes of as an intellectual snob, but he's a psychiatrist so what do you expect? :) Just check out this picture and you'll see what I mean.

L'ete

I love summer. Yes, it's hovering right around 100 degrees outside here in the Southwest, but even that can't dissuade me from loving this time of year. I love that even though I'm writing a dissertation and taking a class and working it still feels like I have endless amounts of free time (it's my delusion and I enjoy it). I love the food of summer (screw the salmonella scare-I love my tomatoes!). Summer pastas and fruits and veggies and fun summer cocktails!



I love summer clothes, too. You can live in your bikini and summer dresses. Shorts are perfectly acceptable (provided you have a tan) and everyone ends up with highlights in their hair.



I love summer books! Lighthearted reads and books you've always wanted to read but never had the time to. I'm currently reading 'Cry, the Beloved Country,' and could use some chicklit after this! Apartheid isn't for the faint of heart! It's also required that you do most of your reading sitting by a pool and that's fantastic.



Finally, the best of the best is summer romance! I know I've been complaining about all things boy related as of late, but I have a new summer crush so things are looking up. If things go well I'm sure there will be more written about it here.

Summer Lovin'

Wow, dating is just too much! Why can't you just skip the dating process and immediately know if someone's a good match and be able to call them on a Tuesday night to complain about your life? Hmm...maybe that's what friends are for!

I've been dating a whole lot lately and I'm just plain worn out! Maybe it would be one thing if I was dating one amazing person after the next, but so far that's not the case. They're either dull or annoying or possibly a closeted homosexual. Not to brag, but I'm way too cute, smart, funny, and socially adept to spend so much time on sub-par men. The scary thing is that maybe I'm not and that's why I keep dating weirdos. Maybe I'm a weirdo and I just don't realize it! Do weirdos know they're weird? This is a question that has been plaguing man kind since the dawn of time.

I still do have a crush on the intern and he officially checked me out yesterday and then we were stuck on the elevator together (fate perhaps?) and he introduced himself and we shook hands (i.e. We touched!). He went to grad school in Colorado and seems terribly outdoorsy (I'm allergic to all things fresh and organic.), but that arm band tattoo just does it for me! Yum!

I know this goes against all things preppy in me, but I actually think sleeve tattoos are hot. A somewhat nerdy, engineer-type who has pro-feminist ideals and had a sleeve tattoo would be my idea of the perfect affair.

What about Bob?

I thought I could be ready to possibly give up single bliss and went on a date with this guy, let's call him "Bob." Bob sucked. He was cocky and argumentative and here I'd thought him witty and nerdy (totally my type).

He did not A) offer to pick me up or B) walk me to my car. He did, however, accept my offer to split the bill, answered his phone during dinner, and told me he enjoyed going to naked girlie shows. Nice.

The worst part of the whole thing was that I was such a bitch. When someone gets cocky I automatically get bitchy. It's like a switch flips and all of my social graces turn off. Yeah, that's probably not the best approach. Now I'm stuck without a crush and still hearing about my uber in love friends. Hmm...I may be getting bitter.

Just to remind myself that crushes still exist here are a few of my favs.




Swoon!

Singledom

I am awash in newly-in-love friends and strangely I find myself at a point when I am most enjoying being single. It is rather weird to be so out of synch with your friends. I moved to Austin in August of 2004 and became single again for the first time in years. After that I was a dating machine! That poll that ranks Austin as the #1 singles' scene is true. This is an easy town in which to date.

Granted, there have been times in the past 4 years when I've been single, but I don't know if I've ever been so content with it as I am now. It feels pretty good to not have someone judging you to see if you're worthy. It feels nice to not be anxious about a relationship. I tend to be a little anxiety-ridden in relationships and I'm working on that, but for now I'm just enjoying where I'm at.

Yes, I do have crushes. I'm still human! For instance, there's the intern at the counseling center (Tattooed and in touch with emotions? HOT!) and the guy at the bike shop (Athletic and intellectual? Nice.), but they mainly just serve as nice day dreams to get me through dissertation torture. No serious potential.

So, when my friends are telling me romantic tales of twitterpation I merely sit back and listen. I've been pretty hurt by the past couple of boys I've dated and I'm finding that the healing process has begun. It's nice to be dating myself. I'm going to go take myself out for a cup of coffee right now! :)


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