I was brought two roses yesterday, a red one and a white one. Just because.

There are a variety of reasons why I've been feeling out of sorts.  Dating, work, preparing for my Europe trip, feeling unorganized and cluttered and feeling like I don't have time for everything I want and need to do.  Life is a balancing act; I think we can all relate to that.  On days that I realize I'm feeling a little off, sometimes I just need to take a few moments and get away from my normal routine.  Every week day I get up, get in my car, travel through the canyon to BART, work all day and then reverse my commute and end up at home to start it all over again the next day.  It can get tedious and sometimes I just feel like I need to break out.  But not in a big way.  Sometimes I just need a small change.  Today was one of those days.  So on the spur of the moment I took a different road home through a different canyon.  At this time of year, the East Bay hills are neon green and gorgeous.  THere's something about living here at this time of year and getting to take in the sights and colors that helps me breathe easier.  Going home through this different canyon only added about 10 minutes onto my commute, but I knew the sun would be streaming through the overgrown, old trees, the hills would be bright green and there would probably be horses and or cows roaming the fence lines.  I thought if I could find a safe place to pull over that I might be able to get out and take a few photos.  Taking photos is similar to how I feel about singing - it's a creative release. I love the results and the more photos I take, the better I get at it.  Or at least, i think I'm getting better at it. 

Take a deep breath and look at these photos I took this afternoon - you might just be able to smell the grass and feel the warm sun.  Click on any of the photos to see a larger view.  I'll also post the full set and few other artsy, creative-releasing photos that I've taken lately on my flickr site:  www.flickr.com/photos/bellacantare
 

 


    

Ahhh, that feels better.

Sorry to leave everyone in suspense for so long, but I've been taking advantage of having nothing to do today by...well, doing nothing.  I had an interesting evening last night, and yes, as one of you smart readers pointed out, one of my tags said, "dating."  I WAS out on a date last night.

Per THIS post, this wasn't someone that I met online, but funny enough, someone that I met through friends, in person, about a week after I wrote about quiting the online dating scene.

I'm not going to go into what I'm thinking or feeling about this person, simply because it's a little too soon to make any decisions, and he's smart enough to figure out how to find this blog, and really, shouldn't he hear how I feel in person before all of you find out?

What I will say is that it was probably the most original date I've ever been on.  I'm always saying that I don't expect to be wined and dined at the fanciest restaurants, I just want someone to put some thought into what we do on a date, ESPECIALLY the first date.  Nothing against this guy, but I didn't have high hopes.  Maybe I'm just jaded, maybe I'm bitter from too many dates that have said they were going to "surprise me" or that they had something special planned and then I show up and they want me to decide what to do, where to go, what to eat, etc.  So when this guy told me to not worry, he had a great plan and that I'd just have to wait and be surprised, I was sure I was going to be calling my friend Lori from a restaurant bathroom at some point trying to figure out a way to get out of the date.

Considering the date got off to a rough start due to traffic, we actually ended up having quite the adventure from Daly City, to Berkeley, to Oakland, to Castro Valley where we got some pie and then ended up at a bar with dancing and karaoke.  What was even better, was every stop in our date adventure was a place or an activity that neither one of us had tried before.  This one is going to be hard to top.

Towards the end of the night I asked him why he would plan such an elaborate date with so much travel time that would require us to be stuck in a car talking when he barely knew me.  I asked him, "What would you have done if we had nothing to talk about and then you were stuck with me?   How did you know you'd like me?" and he said that he really didn't know, but he had an idea that we''d be fine.  "Plus," he said, "you give me the business." 
I had no idea what that meant, and he said, that it meant that he liked how I give him a hard time.  That's a first.  I've never heard that as a compliment before.  I mentioned this to my friend Brian tonight, and he said, "Guys like a girl that's mean to him. We love it!"

Maybe my Lenten promise is hindering me - maybe I should start being meaner....just something for me to think about.

www.Dooce.com keeps a continuous list of things that you can do to turn her on and things that you can do to annoy her.  I've decided to start my own versions based on my need to not blow up at people around me.  It's called, "How to Make me Happy" - I haven't decided on the opposite version.  Maybe, "how to piss the hell out of me" or "how to make me roll my eyes violently."  I'm up for suggestions.


:-)  When I ask you how your day is, or what you've been up to during the morning/day/evening/whatever, don't forget to ask me about my day and take a little interest in me and my life.

:-) Chivalry - opening cars doors.  Taking my hand in a crowd.  Killing the damn spiders WHEN THEY FREAK ME OUT!!

:-) Spontaneous acts of kindness or love, just because

:-) Compliments, just because

:-) Fruit Mentos