Adam & Steve

In the beginning, God created man, and named him Adam. Adam needed a companion, so along came a woman named Eve. Let it be written, let it be done: man and woman unite in love, lust, and [eventual] betrayal of trust.

For anyone raised Catholic, or anyone who isn't located underneath the center of a rock, this is our first example of relationships. Man meets woman. Man falls in love with woman. Man is betrayed by woman but still builds a life and family with her. So what happens if one day, man meets man and falls in love?

"If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads." -Leviticus 20:13

"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders. -I Corinthians 6:9

"God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." -words written on signs carried by protesters at anti-same sex marriage rallys.

Allow me to digress briefly: I spend a lot of time online. I'm a geek at heart. Message boards are a hobby of mine and I post on several. One such board is dedicated to politics. Back when the presidential campaign race was heating up, a wave of political discussion threads popped up on PPM (Poor Posting Me aka The Metallica Club's private message board). There were so many threads that the mod gave politics its own section (yes, metalheads have them there smarts, too!). About a week after the presidential election they closed the political forum, and from there, a few Clubbers (that is what Metallica calls their fan club members) spun off their own Political Discussion message board. This brings me back to same-sex marriage. It has been quite the heated debate on the Political Discussion forum.

One Californian woman who is a member of MetClub and the political forum, a happily married heterosexual mom, stated brilliantly:
"Marriage is marriage. It is not a religious institution and no one suffers from it. If same-sex couples want to marry, fine. Let them lose their asses in a messy divorce just like everyone else."

I concur.

It is also my opinion, that if a same sex couple is living together, caring for each other, and acting like a married couple in all ways with the exception of a marriage license, is it fair that they are not entitled to share insurance? If one half of a same-sex partnership dies, is it fair that the survivor is not entitled to his/her partner's life insurance and estate?

My answer is no.

I'm part of a very tight-knit old fashioned Catholic Italian family. I have recieved all of my sacraments (with marriage being the only one waiting in the wings. And yes, marriage is a sacrament in the Catholic church). Throughout my childhood and for most of high school I attended church every Sunday, and on holidays. I'd go to confession. I do not attend mass that ofetn anymore but I still have my faith. I pray and I [try] to follow the commandments. So taking all of that into consideration, I should be against same-sex marriages.

I am not.

I do not think it is a sin to be gay, and I do not think it is a choice either. A majority of my friends, plus a cousin of mine, are gay. They will each tell you the same thing: They didn't wake up one morning and decide to be gay. They were always gay, they just denied it because it isn't what society accepts.

Every mother tells her son/daugher how she can't wait for them to get married and have children. We are all raised to be heterosexual. If a child turns to his or her family one day and says "I'm gay" does that mean the parents did something wrong? No. Does that mean the gay individual wasn't raised right or taught the right things? Absolutely not. It just means they are attracted to the same sex. It just means that on an intimate level, they choose to be male-male or female-female.

I think it is hypocritical to be against same-sex marriage, but pro opposite sex marriage. People get married because (we hope!) they love each other and are committed to growing old together. Marriage is an offical declaration of two people's love for each other. Why be against that?

The bottome line is: if they aren't hurting me or you, why try and hurt them by telling them they have no right to be married?

I know one man who disagrees with me so passionately that he quotes the Bible each time he replies to one of my posts on the topic.

This is what he said to me during the discussion:

[Quote]"It is written in the Bible that 'Love is the greatest of all,' and that people should 'Love your neighbor, as you love yourself.' I think there are many types of love, but the kind of love that two gay people want, was made for a man, and a woman by the creator. Like you say, when God judges men, and women, straight, or gay....he will judge them according to how they loved their neighbor. However, God will also judge them according to how they loved him, and if people put him at the very top of their priority list. I'm not saying those who marry someone of the same sex are going to hell. I don't believe that. I think you CAN love God, and believe in him, and yet also choose NOT to follow the teachings of God's word. (sinning.) " [Endquote]

To that man and anyone who agrees with him, I say: The type of love gay people want is the type of love we all want. Don't criticize it, celebrate it. Celebrate the type of love you embrace for yourself as well. In a world where there is so much more hate than love, I think it is very non-religious of anyone to condem sincere love. Just because a man may intimately love another man, or a woman intimately love another woman, does not mean they are incapable of putting God at the top of their list.

Love, in any form, doesn't interfere with faith, if anything, it strengthens your faith.

Bullshit Babble Part I

1. I'm addicted to coffee. I need to drink at least 16oz a day. AT LEAST. In the morning I will go to Dunkin Donuts and get a 16 oz hot coffee, iced coffee, latte or Coolata. Then, I will have my second coffee either at lunch, on the way home from work, or during the evening.

I can drink a large cup of coffee before bed and still fall asleep. It's in my veins.

2. I have a 16-month old nephew, he is also my Godson. He lives a 7-hour drive or a one-hour Flight away from me. I wish I could see him every day. I'd settle for every weekend.

3. I love the Mets. It isn't easy loving them, but is love ever easy? They are my team, through thick and thin. Coffee runs through the course of my veins, but if you cut me, I bleed blue and orange. Being a Mets fan has taught me important lessens for life: love, hate, anger, joy, sadness, disappointment, celebration and forgiveness. And let's not forget hope: there is always another pitch, another out, another at-bat, another inning, another game, another season. Wait till next year. There is always a second chance.

4. I love music. All types, except for the boy band (or shall I call them girl bands?) bubblegum pop shit. I also don't care for 99% of what is played on MTV, when they do decide to play music. I love a lot of the old 80s rock and metal. I also love Billy Joel. Basically, if you can write your own lyrics and write/perform your own music, I respect you, because it means it is actually your music, it means the words you sing and the music you play comes from your heart. You are sharing your emotions, your talent, not someone else's.

5. I love my job. I really do. I may not make much money, but I don't mind getting up in the morning and going to the office. I love my responsibilities at work, I love the people, I love the goals the company strives to achieve and does achieve. Isn't that more important than getting to that next box in the salary category of questionnaires?

6. I think I have met the best group of people, even when we bicker, through my love for Metallica. God Bless the internet!

7. I will always love New York, but I miss the old New York, the one I knew right up until September 10. 2001. I have a magnetic attraction to New York: whenever I fantasize about someday leaving, my emotions pull me back.

8. I went on a date with a man who told me: "I bet I can get you to fall in love with me and give up your cats." I wonder what ever happened to that guy? ;)

9. I'm not a fan of band-wagon Patriotism. Where were all the U.S. flags before 9-11? My same friends who teased me for having an American Flag bikini back in the 90s, have gone out and bought all sorts of U.S. Flag items in recent years. This bothers me because I am always proud of the U.S. Flag, even when it is not trendy.

10. The word hero gets tossed around a lot. My true hero is my paternal grandfather. He came to America when he was a teenager, learned the language, served in the United States Army, and raised a family. He was a painter (to this day people see my last name and ask if I am Freddy the painter's granddaughter), a husband, father and grandfather. And a homeowner. He passed on his Italian values to his children, yet raised Americans. He never forgot where he came from (Italy) but always had respect for America. He lived the American Dream. I respect people like that, this is also why I respect Lars Ulrich.

Misery Loves Company

Yesterday I was feeling kind of bummed because the guy I wanted to hang with didn't accept the invitation. It turns out that my friend Charlie was feeling bummed too. He had given his husband a card the night before and it was kind of disregarded. Then yesterday morning Charlie woke up to realize his husband never got him a card for Valentine's Day. Not only that, but there would be no romantic dinner for them because his hubby had a meeting last night that he could not get out of.

We decided to make it a friends night in. After work we went and got some Smirnoff Ice drinks, Wine Coolers, and a variety of Hostess cakes (Snowballs, Yodels, etc.) and went back to Charlie's place. We ordered pizza and just hung out, watching TV, talking, laughing hysterically, venting about men. We had a blast. Now I don't even know why I was bummed yesterday.

Once again, Charlie was one of the best dates I've ever had. Being with Charlie was way better than being at home alone, where I probably would have wallowed in self-pity (and the Oscar goes to.....)

I know there are quite a few of you who joined me on an Anti-Valentine's kick. I hope things brightened up for all of you last night!

Designing Women

So my Mom has a new mission: repaint her entire house. My Dad is "thrilled." While he welcomes the chance to sit back and watch some other sucker paint his and my Mom's two floor co-op, he realizes this is not without headache. See my Mom had a brainstorm inspired by Trading Spaces: sponge paint the whole house. Sponge painting consists of mixing two different shades of paint and painting it on the walls with a split-sponge. It gives the paint a rustic, patchy, spotted look. It actually looks as cool in person as it does on Trading Spaces. I know this because I have already seen my Mom's newly sponge painted kitchen.

While this new adventure in interior design would make Ty Pennington proud, the painter my parents' hired was less than thrilled. Not only was he clueless on how to sponge paint (Mom guided him step-by-step), but he said it isn't "a real paint job" and instructed my parents to not tell their friends and neighbors that he did it. Ya gotta love old school craftsmen.

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree
I moved into a new place last May, a few days before Memorial Day weekend. Between work, family, friends, baseball and a quiet lil band called Metallica, I have yet to add finishing touches to my new kick ass abode.

Yesterday I went window shopping at home furnishing stores. I hit jackpot! I found the curtains I need for my kitchen and bedroom. I also found the two other finishing touches for my bedroom: a black wrought iron full-length mirror, and a wall mirror for above my dresser.

I found the perfect curio for my living room. Its square-shaped design is comprised of muted silver and glass. The muted silver matches the legs on the other furniture in my living room, such as my coffee table and computer chair. The curio will hold my porcelain Disney collectibles. I also picked out a wood end table for the left side of my sofa. The end table also doubles as storage for a blanket. Eight mini mirrors carefully placed to form one design will hang over my sofa. My living room is black, white, red and silver/grey.

The coolest touch to my living room will be on the wall across from my sofa. I stole this idea from Trading Spaces (unlike my Mom, with this idea it is not Ty that will be proud, but Vern). I found black clock hands that stand by themselves. Surrounding the clock, in lieu of numbers, will be wrought iron tealight candle holders. KICK ASS!

Of course purchasing these final pieces to my decorating puzzle translates to one online order, trips back to the furniture stores on 86th Street, Linen N Things and IKEA (YAY!). Oh, and let's not leave out my friends, the Benjamins! When I think about a finished, completed apartment, I get so stoked! As soon as it is complete, I will host pics and include them on a future Blog.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

This week has been about change: adjusting to one I have known about for quite some time, and learning of two new changes. I'm going to discuss these changes in chronological order.

Moving On
The first of these three changes is one I have know about for the past few months. It involves my friend "The Dawg." The Dawg just recently turned 30 and is making a respectable, life changing adjustment: she is leaving Brooklyn. That's right ladies and gentlemen, it is possible for Brooklyn breeds to leave, and do so happily.

The Dawg has actually been undergoing some life changing events for almost a year and a half. A few months before her 29th Birthday, her boyfriend of 6 years broke it off with her. She thought, well we all thought, they would marry one day. At age 34, he said he isn't ready to get married. Odds are, he will never be ready, but that is no longer The Dawg's problem. Once the relationship ended, the first change she had to adjust to was the single life. She also had to accept that she spent much of her 20s with one man, something she now chalked up as a waste of time. "I should have him arrested," she has said several times, "he's a theif, he robbed me of my 20s."

Well The Dawg is adjusting well. Like I said, she is making a big change: moving from her hometowm, family and friends and heading to the suburbs of Pennsylvania. She will also be leaving her job, a non-profit publishing company to whom she has been a loyal emplyee for about 6 or 7 years now. And she isn't doing this alone: she is making the move with her new man: a one-time friend from work turned boyfriend.

So Congrats to The Dawg. She turned 30 during the first week of February and already her 30s are shaping up to be more exciting than her 20's. After all, he 30s will see a new state to call home (it will also be the first time she is not living with her parents!), a new job and a new man to share it all with.

School's Out: Well, at least this one is
I've been following the WB11's news coverage of the Catholic school closings in Queens and Brooklyn very closely. I was raised on Bay 20th Street, where my parents still live. From grades kindergarten through 8th grade, my sister and I attended the school across the street: St. Finbar.

The adjacent church is also my parish, well technically it isn't anymore, because I have moved, and so has my sister, but in our hearts that is our church. While I was not baptized there, I did receive my other first sacraments at St. Finbar. My sister, unlike me, was baptized there and like me, received all of her sacraments there as well. She even flew home from Niagara Falls, NY last May to have her first born baptized there.

Anyway, with all of this sentimental attachment to St. Finbar, you can imagine my shock (somewhat) and sadness that this school is scheduled to close. I really hope they can get a budget together to save the school.

What is especially shocking to me is something I saw on the WB web site. It states that St. Finbar school has a student population of 164. I did the math and when I was attending that school, the population was 576! Kindergarten through 8th grade had two classes each, and each class held between 30-32 students. Of course this decline in attendace is due to the lack of Catholics in the Diocese. The communites in which these schools are located in are changing. I've seeen the change for many years now. In fact, the Diocese has sited this as the reason the schools aren't doing well financially. To back-up its claim, the Diocese has pointed out that there were 7,000 less baptisms in 2003. WHERE ARE ALL OF THE CATHOLICS?

I'm trying to have hope that by some miracle they will remain opened, but should St. Finbar close, it will be very surreal to visit my parents and know the school across the street no longer functions.

Movin' On Up: To The WestSide
Earlier in the week the Executive Director of the agency I work for called the administrative staff into a meeting.

Before I continue, here's some background info on the agency: it is a non-profit agency which privides programs and services for children and adults with autism. It is Queens based, with several schools, group homes and administrative offices located throughout the Borough.

Keeping that in mind, here is the third change for the week (things do happen in threes, don't they?): the executive director announced that the administrative staff, i.e. anyone under the umbrella of the executive director, fiscal, payroll and human resources, will be moving to a new office in Manhattan this summer. Since I am the Staff Recruiter, I fall under that umbrella. This news thrills me for more than one reason: it cuts my commute in half, and I am back in Manhattan.

While the Astoria section of Queens is kind of cool, nothing beats Manhattan. There is better shopping and better food, so lunch hour wont feel so limited, plus there is an array of choices for after-work entertainment.

There are a few things I miss out on in Queens that I will welcome back in my daily life once we get to Manhattan. For instance, Astoria lacks delis, real delis, the kind that make great sandwiches and give you a pickle with it. It also lacks a bookstore. That's right, walk up and down Steinway Street and you wont even find a mom and pop bookstore, let alone a Barnes & Noble. This always bothered me, because very often I like to go check out new books and even read a little on my lunch break. I also think books make great gifts, so it was always a pain in the ass to have to stop in Manhattan on my way home, just to purchase a book.

Oh, and another thing that makes it great to be getting back to Manhattan: I am a hop, skip and jump from Madison Square Garden. This is an added convenience for attending concerts, and should a NHL season ever see the light of day, I can easily see my Rangers without missing the start of the game.

Quite a few people in the agency live in Queens or Long Island, so they are kind of bummed. Me? I wanted to kiss my Boss. We are scheduled to make this move in June. Ironically, I turn 30 that month. I guess The Dawg isn't the one who's 30th Birthday gave her the gift of change.

ATTN: BELT SALESMEN, VIRGINIA AWAITS!

This is undoubtedly the funniest thing I have read all day, possible all week:

Bill Sets Fine For Low-Riding Pants

Here's a lil something to make chain Pepsi drinkers like me happy....

A Pepsi A Day Keeps The Doctor Away

MONETTE, Ark. - A woman who drinks a Pepsi a day marked her 105th birthday Tuesday. Mitchell was born in Blytheville on Feb. 8, 1900, and lived on her own until a broken hip sent her to the Monette Manor nursing home at age 101.

"I've been drinking Pepsi-Cola for a long, long time," Rebecca Mitchell said. "I drink one every day."

She has seven children, 13 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren, 11 great-great grandchildren and two great-great-great-grandchildren. Her son Roy E. Mitchell was killed in European combat during World War II. The other six are scattered in Arkansas, Georgia and Illinois.

Mitchell married on Christmas Eve 1916 and she and her husband Roy stayed together 54 years until his death in 1960.

"When I think about my mother's life, it's really amazing all the things she's experienced and seen," her son John Mitchell said. "She went from living on mud streets to blacktop to concrete."

MTA: Massively Terrible Automobiles

Ah the NYC Subway. It has a friendly lil slogan: MTA Going Your Way! I beg to differ. I have been riding the MTA (Mass Transit Authority) trains and buses steadily since I was 14 years old. I have to say, quite often, the MTA does NOT go my way.

Exhibit A: This morning's commute
Normally I leave early for work, but this morning it was tough to get out of bed so I left just in time: not late, but exactly the time I need to leave to arrive at the office at 9am. I walked two blocks to the 71st Street station. I take the D and transfer at 36th Street to the N, which brings me to my stop in Queens, where I work. I can also catch the N at 62nd Street, but it is a walk I'd rather not do every morning, so believe it or not, transferring trains actually makes my commute easier. But I digress.

As I was saying, I arrived at the 71st Station and there was the D train, halfway in the station, doors closed and cars empty. As it turned out the train stalled and had been sitting there for so long that the conductor had the passengers exit the train. Anyone in the back cars had to walk up front so they can exit. All commuters at 71st Street were told there are no Manhattan bound D trains, so we were given two winning options.

Winning Option #1: Go to the other side of the station and take the Coney Island bound D train to Coney Island and get on a different Manhattan bound train, or

Winning Option #2: Walk to 62nd Street and get the Manhattan bound N train.

We were told we would be given vouchers at the token booth (which will be non-existant one day, oh joy!) so we do not have to pay an additional fare.

You'd have to be from NYC to understand the idiocy and inconvenience of winning option #1, so I took winning option #2. I retrieved my voucher and treaded on to 62nd Street. By some miracle (apparently they really never cease) I caught the N train right away, was able to get a seat and arrived to work a few minutes early.

Exhibit B: Inclement Weather
The MTA cannot handle this. If it drizzles, everything starts running like the Little Engine That Could. I'm sorry, but the last time I checked, New York was mapped as a major city that can handle any obstacle. But again, I digress, because the MTA is in a class of its own.

Just a few months ago, during the first heavy rain of Fall, the MTA went into a holding pattern. To make a long, stressful story that should remain un-revisited short, that morning was a nightmare. I took the scenic route to nowhere. Literally. I found myself all over the borough of Brooklyn in a quest to find some mode of transportation (yes even car service failed me this day) that would get me into Manhattan or Queens. My journey started at 7am and ended at 1PM when my Boss finally phoned and said "Stay home, it's not worth it, you wont lose time off for this."

Apparently anyone who did make it in to work that day arrived between 12PM and 1:30PM. Please keep in mind that these people live in Queens. These people have 20-30 minute commutes, tops, and still had the same horrendous experience I did. The only reason they made it in that day is because they had no bridges or tunnels to go through, they just had to wait for the trains to decide they can tread on during rain and flooding.

Ah, the NYC MTA, Going Your Way!

Now I Really Love JetBlue

New York Daily News - Home - JFK's spa has riders on cloud 9

I may have to get to the Airport earlier from now on! JetBlue has put a spa in their terminal at JFK! If you click on the link, you will see a news story about this. The idea is to provide passengers with relaxation during stressful Flight delays, Standby or missed connections.

The services are provided by Oasis Spa and include: a 60-minute massage ($95), haircuts (starting at $25) and manicures ($25). There is even a spa store (did you forget to pack shampoo? LOL) that ties in with the Oasis Spa's in Manhattan.

I know, I sound like I'm giving this free advertising, but I always Fly JetBlue, so I'm really excited about this! I think it is really cool. Maybe you have to be a chick to understand it, because my other girl friends are psyched too. LOL

Stupidity and Selfishness Run Amok

Allow me to introduce you to the new face of stupidity and selfishness, or as I like to call him, my brother-in-law. This is a man who was lucky enough to nab my sister for a wife. No man will find a more devoted soul than her. Together, they have a 16 month old son who defines love, life and absolute perfection in a toddler's body. So, you would think a man this lucky would be appreciative. You would think this is a man who got what he deserved out of family life. Well if you think that you are wrong on both counts.

Ironically, my brother-in-law has a very unselfish profession, he is a firefighter. That's just about where his unselfishness starts and stops. When he gets home, it's a different matter altogether. Let me just say that this is a man who's stupidity and selfishness holds no barriers or limitations, but today, I will focus on one particular example of his stupidity and selfishness.

A few days ago he received the results from his physical exam. There are two red flags in his physical: the first being that he is a candidate for emphysema. If he does not stop smoking he will have severe lung problems in the next 5-10 years. The second red flag was a high iron count. What causes a high iron count? I'm glad you asked! Too much alcohol consumption. Basically he needs to stop drinking or his liver and other organs are in jeopardy.

My brother-in-law just turned 38. Like I said earlier, he is the father of my 16 month old nephew. When my sister discussed smoking, drinking and possible health problems with him, he let her speak her mind and then proceeded to tell her he will not quit smoking or drinking. Hello asshole!

Last night was Super Bowl Sunday. He sat on the sofa, alone, watching the game and drinking his beer and smoking his cigarettes. This is a man who feels he needs to drink and smoke. This is a man who would rather skimp on what he buys his wife and child so he can have money for cigarettes and beer. Basically, his selfishness may kill him at an early age and leave my sister a young widow and my nephew without a Dad at an early age.

How can you be the father of any child, let alone such a small one, or someone's husband, someone's loved one in general, and not give a shit about being around for them? How can you have so much to live for, and not care to live?

R-E-S-P-E-C-T Find Out What It Means To Me

This blog might as well be called: "Nothing But the Truth Part Deux."

I always joke, that in my quest to find Mr. Right, I keep coming across Mr. Right Now or Mr. No Way In Hell. Well last month, I found the fourth Stooge in that mix: Mr. Inconsiderate.

I met Mr. Inconsiderate on a web site called myspace.com. I didn't sign up on myspace.com to find Mr. Right. I signed up because quite a few friends already had, and twisted my arm to do so as well.

Sometime back in December I started talking to Mr. Inconsiderate. He wasn't a bad guy at first. He slipped under my radar. I thought he was a great guy: we had so much in common, held a conversation easily on so many levels, and genuinely had a good time together. He even had me believing we were at the same place in life.

We went on what I thought to be five perfect dates: partly because we got along so well, and partly because he knew exactly how to treat a woman. There was something weird, though: I felt as if he were trying to buy me. Let me explain by outlining out five dates:

Date #1:

We go out to dinner at this sushi place in the village. During dinner he reaches for something in his suitcase and pulls out an iPod. I mention I plan on buying one for myself. The next day he e-mails me: "Merry Christmas, I ordered you an iPod." He even had it engraved. I was shell-shocked and freaked out by this. I told him I cannot accept such a gift so soon, especially after the first date.

Date #2:

We go to an Italian restaurant near my house. Great food. Before we order appetizers, he hands me a bag full of expensive perfume from FCUK. Not iPod expensive, but still overwhelming for the second date (geez I hadn't even kissed him yet!).

Date #3:

We go to Mezcals, this great Mexican restaurant in Bay Ridge, and he gives me a Metallica DVD.

Date #4:

We head to Roll N Roasters. Why? Because we both love that place and are craving it. This time he gave me a DVD for a gift: Cliff 'Em All, about Metallica's deceased bassist, Cliff Burton (I'm a huge Metallica fan). It was sweet, but he never needed to bring me anything. We always have great dates.

Date #5: We order in chinese at my place and watch the Cliff 'Em All DVD. This is where we have a great conversation about our families and how we grew up.

All five dates happened in two weeks. Then, one weekend in January, he had a whole plan: lets go to eat at a new place in Tribeca on Saturday. Then on Sunday we will do dinner and a play. This is where it all went wrong.

To try and shorten this already long blog, let me just say that on Saturday he stood me up. Sunday he gave me some excuse for the night before, but said we are still on for that evening. Well, he stood me up again. That's right: two nights in a row. The next day he tried apologizing through e-mails. When I finally told him what he owes me is a phone call, and that gifts are meaningless, it is respect I want, he went MIA. Well it has been about three weeks and he is contacting me, through e-mails. He is being apologetic (begging forgiveness, actually), but I'm so over the games. Basically, I accepted his apology but told him I will not see him anymore.

I just don't get it: how can a grown man be so oblivious to consideration and respect?

If there are any single, interested men reading this, allow me to give you the same advice I gave Mr. Inconsiderate:
Don't buy me what I can get in a store. I can buy all that stuff myself. What I want from a man is priceless: I want respect, consideration, physical and emotional love, and companionship.

My search for Mr. Right continues....

Is it Spring yet?

Ground Hog's Day was yesterday, and the lil bastid saw his shadow. Six more weeks of winter. Oh joy!

Nothing But The Truth

Someone sent me this in an e-mail, and I think it can apply to both genders. Read on, I'm sure I will revisit this topic later.

NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH:
1 . If a man wants you, nothing can keep him away. If he doesn't want you, nothing can make him stay.

2.. Stop making excuses for a man and his behavior.

3. Allow your intuition (or spirit) to save you from heartache.

4. Stop trying to change yourselves for a relationship that's not meant to be.

5 . Slower is better.

6. Never live your life for a man before you find what makes you truly happy.

7. If a relationship ends because the man was not treating you as you deserve then heck no, you can't "be friends." A friend wouldn't mistreat a friend.

8. Don't settle.

9. If you feel like he is stringing you along, than he probably is.

10. Don't stay because you think "it will get better." You'll be mad at yourself a year later for staying when things are not better.

11. The only person you can control in a relationship is you.

12. Avoid men who've got a bunch of children by a bunch of different women. He didn't marry them when he got them pregnant, why would he treat you any differently?

13. Always have your own set of friends separate from his.

14. Maintain boundaries in how a guy treats you. If something bothers you, speak up.

15. Never let a man know everything. He will use it against you later.

16. You cannot change a man's behaviors. Change comes from within.

17. Don't EVER make him feel he is more important than you are...even if he if more educated or in a better job.

18. Do not make him into a quasi-god. He is a man, nothing more nothing less.

19. Never let a man define who you are.

20. Never borrow someone else's man.

21. If he cheated with you, he'll cheat on you.

22. A man will only treat you the way you ALLOW him to treat you.

23 . All men are NOT dogs.

24. You should not be the one doing all the bending...compromise is a two way street.

25. You need time to heal between relationships... there is nothing cute about baggage...deal with your issues before pursuing a new relationship.

26. You should never look for someone to COMPLETE you...a relationship consists of two WHOLE individuals...look for someone complimentary...not supplementary.

27. Dating is fun...even if he doesn't turn out to be Mr. Right.

28. Make him miss you sometimes...when a man always know where you are, and you're always readily available to him- he takes it for granted.

29. Never move into his mother's house.

30. Never co-sign for a man.

31. Don't fully commit to a man who doesn't give you everything that you need. Keep him in your radar but get to know others.