The Year in Review

I really am not much of a New Year's observer. I tend to keep track of years by birthdays because it seems a little more personally relevant. But, the last couple of weeks I've been thinking about what an astounding year it has been, and I thought I'd list a couple of highlights/important moments. In no particular order...

*I read about 60 books in their entirety which ended up being about 15,330 pages. It doesn't really look that remarkable, but trust me... that's a TON of reading.

*I got a 4.0 during one of my hardest semesters of college and made the Dean's list (!)

*I did some incredibly big spontaneous things, like deciding to live all by myself (which has been wonderful and something I'd always planned on doing, and even though the real plan was to do it in Manhattan, this works for now) and quitting my job on a whim

*Won over 93 cute little 7th graders by talking to them about flesh eating bacteria, The Office, Twilight, and various video games.

*My car was seemingly totaled after it got high-centered on a bike jump (long story), BUT was miraculously resurrected (and for a lot less money than anticipated)

*Gave in to whatever strange sleeping disorder I have that makes me want to sleep all the time.

*Wrote the 1st ever (and worst ever) Weylandian short story with my good friend Lauren : ) I've never let so many cliches be attached to my name, but I'm proud of this one.

*Wrote 3 essays in French. That is tough stuff.

*Lived on almost only granola bars for like a week.

*Was labeled as the leader of a rebellion. You're laughing, but this is true.

*Wrote a radio ad that was actually broadcast (so what if it was only in Nevada?)

*Wore fake eyelashes for the 1st time ever (and hated them)

*Forgot about worrying about what people think me.

Sheesh... that's just the tip of the iceberg! On a related topic, I really dislike New Year's resolutions. I'm a very goal-oriented person, but I think it's better to be working on things like that the whole year and not just the first two weeks of January. But, if you're interested, here are some things I'm working on right now:

*Honestly expressing my opinions. I want to be an agreeable person, really, and for the most part I am, but I am really, truly going to stop pretending to like things that I don't. For example, I ate 1.5 Oreos today to be nice, but I hate Oreos, they make me gag.

*Remembering to check the oil in my car.

*Give people the benefit of the doubt. I keep finding myself being surprised by how wonderful people are, and I think it would save a lot of time to assume that they are wonderful and let them prove it one way or the other after that.

A New Trend in Dating

Dating is becoming even more treacherous than it was previously. (And it has always been treacherous, for the record.) The treachery increases almost exponentially as the disconcerting trend of tricking someone into going out with you becomes more and more widespread. In all seriousness, in the last 4 months I have been tricked into 3 dates. I realize that I am a remarkably gullible and naive girl, but I don't think that means I deserve to be constantly finding myself on a pseudo-date that I never intended to be on.
The Problem: I'm not sure exactly what is leading to the decline in up-front dating. It seems so simple to say, "Would you like to go out sometime?" And it seems so complicated to cook up some crazy scheme to connive your way into spending a few hours with an unsuspecting girl. Oh the lengths some people will go to to save face.
A Matter of Semantics: Here's the thing, when you say, "Let's hang out," a girls believes that you mean "Let's hang out." If, in fact, you mean, "Let's get dinner and watch a movie. Oh, and by the way, I plan on holding your hand," it would be more accurate to tell the girl you'd like to take her on a date. (If this term is unclear you might want to refer to a dictionary.)
The Co-Conspirator: Please do not be a co-conspirator to someone who wants to con a sweet single senorita. Co-conspirator activities would include: inviting over the unsuspecting girl and a single man and then arranging it so that they will have to be together for an entire evening in a stunningly date-like nondate situtation; encouraging office romances by assigning the poor girl to work with someone you call her "soulmate;" insisting that a girl and a man she has never spent ten minutes alone with are a truly "perfect couple" thereby encouraging the man to adopt this phrase himself to the girl's absolute dismay.
The Bottom Line: Although it may save you the trouble, potential rejection, and maybe even some cash to trick someone into a date, it will not win over someone's heart. You've already proved yourself cowardly and deceptive- and those are not generally on the attribute list of Mr. Right. There may be naive girls out there (like me) who will fall for the ruse, but as soon as they realize what's going on (naive and stupid are worlds apart) you'll have been discovered for the phony dater you are.

Entropy

I used to have a problem with doing everything the day before it was due. Now, I have a problem with doing everything the day it is due. Good thing that this college business is almost over.