SANTA!

I'm going to see the REAL SANTA this weekend in Lapland!!! I'm SO excited! I imagine his cabin looks something like this.

Unfortunately, both of my digital cameras are broken and I didn't have time to get them fixed before the trip but I'll bring my film camera and hope that my cousin brings his digital so I can get photos online as soon as I get back.

Now, if you'll excuse me... I need to go buy earmuffs so my ears don't freeze off inside the Arctic circle!

Camera Cafe

I love my Time Out magazine. I was quickly hitting my breaking point with the isolation of working from home when I received my magazine in the mail which had an article about great places to go if you work from home and are feeling isolated.

Perfect.

They mentioned a place called Camera Cafe which is a tiny camera store with old Hasselblads, Leicas, etc. and a even tinier cafe in the back with food and free wi-fi all day.

PERFECT!

Today is my 2nd day in a row at this place and I'm in heaven. Not that I'm talking to everyone who comes in here but just to have a place to go during the day is HUGE for me. And it's right by Leicester Square which seems to be near the area where I always meet up with people so it's very convenient.

It's very warm. Red walls, low lighting, Bebel Gilberto playing in the background, old photos on the walls.

This is such a great discovery!!!

Will you go to the prom with me?

I recently emailed a funny video link to my single girlfriends and as I was typing their email addresses I was bewildered when I realized just how few single women I know.

This realization rocketed my memory back to a specific feeling I had in 1993 when I was a senior in high school and all the single people were pairing up for prom dates. I had a crush on my best guy friend but he had an on-again-off-again girlfriend who I suspected he would take. BUT he hadn't asked her yet and I was stubborn and really wanted to go with him so I waited it out. There was still hope! As I waited I wandered my high school's hallways looking at every guy who passed by evaluating him to see if he'd be a good backup date. I would immediately dismiss him because either he was too cool for me (most of them) or I was too cool for him (any guy smaller than me).

But really, my ego just wanted that Perfect Prom Date. I would listen to all the other girls talk about their dates, their dresses, where they were going for dinner and just smile and say, "That sounds great!" Meanwhile, I was thinking, "Where's MY guy?!" Finally, the time arrived when I had to know the answer so after some coaching from my mother I got up the courage and called up my crush. Here's how the conversation went:

Me: "Hey...[cough]...so I was thinking....that if you didn't have a prom date and I didn't have a prom date by next week then we could just go together."
Him: "........[Laugh out loud] You'll find somebody."
Me: "[Holding back tears] Okay, yeah, no, you're probably right."

HORRIFYING!!!

The way I felt when I hung up that phone in 1993 is exactly how I felt when I sent this email yesterday.

And that feeling is "FUCK! I've waited too long!"

I was doing the exact same thing back then that I did for years in my adult life which is dismiss a bunch of great guys in the middle of the pack who would be worth my time but I don't feel would live up to the ideal I have imagined in my mind for my Perfect Prom Date, Perfect Boyfriend, Perfect Husband, etc.

Now that I'm 33 years old (almost 34) I'm looking around the local pubs, galleries and cafes searching for ONE guy who's single, cute and not afraid of a 33-year old and realizing that most of them are paired up or looking for someone younger.

Have I waited too long??? SHIT!!!

For my senior prom I ended up going with an acquaintance who I had one class with when I was a freshman but who I hadn't spoken too since. He's a really nice guy but I wasn't attracted to him. But we had fun. Mainly because we went with a huge group of people who were all one level cooler than me so I made some new friends.

He and I slow danced once and it was awkward because we didn't know each other that well and he wasn't very good at it. The rest of the night all the guys just bounced around in a mosh pit as those were the Nivana days (consequently, all the girls had to help them find their cufflinks to their rented tuxes at the end of the night).

I'm experienced enough to know now that I need to give guys at least 3 dates before I strike them off the list but I'm not letting go of my high standards. It was okay to settle for a prom date but I'm not settling for a husband who is just a friend and can't "dance" very well. So if I have to wait.... I'll wait.

Weekend

I love Halloween. I love dressing up. Whether I'm making an ass of myself or dressing as a slutty version of some service industry worker. My inner actress gets to come out. But every year I drag my feet on deciding who to dress up as. My last minute decision this year was Uma Thurman's character from Pulp Fiction. Sexy, fun, recognizable, I got to wear a wig and didn't have to wear heels. Perfect.

I ordered the black wig online and it didn't arrive until 3pm on Friday but at least it arrived. I thought I needed more than the wig so I stopped in a pharmacy, walked up to the counter and said, "One plastic syringe please". The pharmacist looked at me like I was nuts. I explained it was for Halloween and he gave it to me for free saying, "You seem nice" with a wink and a smile. I taped the syringe to my chest and drew the red magic marker spot as well.

The next step was watching the famous dance scene and memorizing her moves. I practiced a couple times and had it down pat. I even memorized her Fox Force Five joke about the tomatoes in case someone tested me.

I was fully prepared. And I thought people would know who my character was as soon as they saw the syringe. I mean come ON...Mrs. Mia Wallace? HelllooooOOOoooo.

Nobody in my group got my costume. At least not right away. It wasn't their fault because they either hadn't seen the movie (pause for gasp) or they weren't able to see the syringe because the place we went was too dark. I was constantly pulling my shirt open so people could see it...but nothing.

My friend was really sweet. Said a couple times "You look so CUTE!" then later said, "OH - I get it! The red dot is the blood!"

[Sigh] God bless her for trying.

We attempted to dance but as soon as we'd get going we'd get knocked in the back by someone. Way too crowded. We left and tried to find another place to go but everything closes SO early here so we had a hard time. We ended up finding one place but nobody was dressed up. Brits aren't so into Halloween. However they ARE into beer so they LOVED one guy in our group because he was dressed up as a giant beer.

We went back to the crowded place because it was still open and served alcohol. On the way, this British woman walked past us and said, "Well, they take it quite seriously, don't they?" We CRACKED up laughing and yelled, "Yeah we do!!"

Overall, I had a good time but was disappointed that not many people were into it. Took some of the fun out of it. And I didn't meet one single guy I was interested in. Except I had a moment with a guy as I was waiting for the tube. It was most likely a complete fabrication in my sex-starved imagination but it was a moment for me at least. I was sitting down in the station and as he walked towards the seat next to me our eyes met and instantly locked and we both couldn't help smiling. I never smile at people on the tube because they might be nuts and I don't need any nutty tube people in my life. But this time I couldn't help it.

I couldn't think of anything to say to this beautiful man sitting next to me. Not one thing. Now I can think of 10 solid opening lines but then...nothing. I had two choices of stations where I could get off the train and I thought I'd see where he got off. (Fully realizing how pathetic this is but continuing with the plan anyway. Also, ignoring any obvious jokes with the "he got off" ending to that last sentence.) The first stop he sat there so I decided to get off at the 2nd one and at the last second he popped up and ran off the train. I turned to look at him through the window and he looked at me as the train drove away.

I felt like putting the palm of my hand up to the window to see if he would put his palm up - you know, like in the movies - but I decided not too. It just felt like that type of moment though where I thought, "Noooooooo! Come back!"

I was drunk.

Saturday I sat on the couch all day because the weather was HORRIBLE then went to a bar to watch UGA get their asses handed to them by Florida. Brutal. Sunday I went to a Dim Sum restaurant with the Halloween people and then to see the Bond movie with the guy who was in the beer costume.

He had shed himself of the costume by this point.