All My Friends Say...

Oh Luke Bryan. I do love that song. I love even more weekends home with my girls. I recognize that I use pictures of the SATC ladies often, but if you'll notice it's always in reference to these fabulous hometown women in my life. It was so wonderful to be around, be lazy, and be out with them this weekend. Nothing too exciting aside from a giant shoe clearance and a night downtown with all of us able to be together again. Three new pairs of heels and a slight blip in the diet plan later, it was a pretty fantastic weekend indeed. 

It's amazing how some friendships stay exactly the same even when the individuals are changing and evolving in their own rights. The four of us, I think, have changed and grown so entirely in the past few years. Even from Christmas to this past weekend. Is that possible? Maybe it's just the individual goals and priorities that we've changed for ourselves, both individually and together. The dinner conversations were hilarious. Still a lot of the same, but definitely more of the diet, fitness, working out, let's be healthy mentality going on over our chips and salsa... and maybe a margarita or two... It's so nice to all be trying together though. You know when you're the only friend dieting or maybe it's another one in the group and it's all they can talk about? You know it's a big deal if you're the one working so hard, but to the rest of the group you just can't shut up? It wasn't like that at all with us this weekend. We were all so excited and so motivated. I think we all helped one another. Just like we usually do. Anyway, a very positive weekend. Put me back in the place I needed to be. It had just been too long without them. 

Monday sucked. That's nothing unusual. But we're pretty much at Wednesday now, so another weekend is right around the corner, right? Right. 

"I Don't Wanna Grow Up"

...well, you need to. Seriously, get on that.

Quite the entertaining weekend. No, I didn't run into Lindsay Lohan, but I ran into a few girls who would've fit nicely into this particular movie. Don't get me wrong, I can be quite the mean girl... much to my avail. Oh well. Not today's point. So let's get to today's point shall we?

Went home this weekend for yet another wedding. A friend that I grew up with did as most of my friends are doing lately, graduated college and graduated from the single life all within a few months. It was a beautiful wedding. She was a princess as predicted. No mean girls were in attendance of such wedding. Even though we were one big happy group of friends for oh, I don't know, eight years of our lives. I am only referring to said girls as "mean girls" because they have since gathered back together even moreso "clique-esque" since graduating college. Are we regressing back to our high school days, Ladies? Is my life suddenly in rewind when all of this time I was certain it had been in fast forward? My newly married princess friend specifically told me that she invited every last girl that was in our "group" growing up. Can we talk about how I spoke to one of them who decided not to go based on the fact that it was her birthday... (and?!)... and her remark to Princess inviting some of the other girls was "Classy, do you remember what terms they were on in High School? Why would she invite her to her wedding now?" My response... "NO! Of course I don't remember what terms they were on in High School because it was... HIGH SCHOOL?" Buh. I'm getting myself all worked up again. I was honestly ashamed, sitting in that beautiful ceremony and being the only one out of the entire group of approximately seven or so girls. I cannot fathom being offended to receive an invitation to a friend's wedding. Yes, we haven't been so close while in school, but we grew up together. That in itself is enough for me. Whatever. Burn your bridges if you wish, just don't look back after you do.

Anyway, the rest of the weekend consisted of drinking (too much) on Friday night into the wee hours of the morning, entertaining text messages, friendly bar tenders, christmas shopping with my mother, and spending time with a couple of my "nice girls." My SATC girls if you recall. Missed Roxie again. Reunion to come soon. It was a good weekend all in all. Minus the disgust I had for said girls mentioned above. Oh well. Live and Learn... and Grow. Grow up.

"Men Lie and Women Bitch..."

"..and nothing's ever gonna change that." 

Such wise words from a Mr. Perfect at the end of a blog-worthy conversation I just ended. One might think that with a comment like that, it was a very heated discussion with quite naive viewpoints thrown into the wind. It was quite intelligent actually. Two grown adults discussing a topic that I like to think I know a little something about, having a degree in Sociology and all.

 Spun from our "conversation" last night (recall: me-rolling eyes; him-talking a lot as per usual), and other notions brought about from his day at work, we somehow ended up talking about idealism in relation to gender beliefs today. 

He claims to be quite the idealist when it comes to society in general. I can see where this could be the case. It could also be the case that he's just naive. He can't understand why people just don't want to be equal with one another. His main point was that women don't want equality. No one really wants equality. They want to be a step up. Ahead of the other. He said that he didn't hate our Sex and the City viewing last night as much as he found it depressing that this wasn't so far fetched from reality. Granted, we discussed it had to be exaggerated for entertainment purposes, he said that the girls in SATC were a prime example that women don't want to be the same as men, they wanted to be better than men. My response to this, being the ever-so-classy me that I am, was "you don't know what the hell you're talking about, shut up." Okay, maybe I was laughing while saying it, but it is what I said. Women have to try and be better than men (smarter, funnier, quicker) to even potentially receive equal respect as men.. no matter the case. I'm not saying it's his fault that he doesn't see things as I do. I'm not saying I hate men and they keep me down, oh woe is me. I'm saying it is what it is. Society has been molded to be what we live in today. Period. 

A show like Sex and the City is not the basis of all of feminism for the twenty-first century. But the fact that they can "have sex/date like men" for example in one episode, or turn down dates because of shallow reasons for example in another episode, allude to the more independent and self-sufficient women of our time. And that's reality. That's what men do on a daily basis and I can't say that I've never met a woman who acts as such, but in any case I think it's simply hard for men to comprehend from such a perspective as SATC offers. It is empowering. Just as my angry girl music is. I don't think it's about being better than one another. I think it's about trying to find a happy medium that doesn't exist still in our present day. Not that it will never happen (for all of you idealists out there)... just that it hasn't so far. 

News flash: Equality doesn't exist. Not today anyway. 

Sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings there... 

And in response to more thought from my last post and of Kate White's quote, I'm going to say that I can feel all of this so strongly I want to argue about it until my face is blue, while wearing my new cute shoes, and having him open the door for me on the way out. It's not about hating on men, it's about loving being a woman. And being respected by all people, men and women, for being pretty damn fabulous at it. 

That's all. Classy out. 

My Kids are my Birth Control

Confused? Don't be. I'm referring to my kids at work. Don't get me wrong, I really do enjoy my job, but let's be real.. it's nice to leave them to their parents at the end of the day. They've made me question if I even want the responsibilities of a dog anymore. My responsible self is pretty much burned out by about 5 o'clock. This picture is by no means an exaggeration of my every day life.... 

Sometimes I think about all of the young women I attended high school with that have already had babies. Mind you, I'm in my early twenties. Babies? Hell no. And this is coming from someone who loves children. I couldn't do it. Not at this point in my life anyway.  I most definitely commend those that can. God bless them. 

Anyway, there was no real excitement on the weekend front. Just to have my friday off and the weekend in general without wild children running about made it seem like a vacation. I'm still waiting on my actual vacation to be scheduled. Please God let it be sometime in the near future. 

In other news, I'm almost done with my book. It's taken a long time I know. Somedays I'm really into it, and other times, I'm too tired from said children mentioned above to become involved. Yes, I'm still referring to "Are Men Really Necessary: When Sexes Collide" by Maureen Dowd. I've found that I really like her. I may find another one of her books to dive into eventually... While returning to my new obsession of the very beginning seasons of SATC, I took particular interest in one of Dowd's chapters "Of Pussycats, Booty Calls, Road Beef and Slump Busters." (Catchy, right?) 

In this chapter, she refers to her friend, Kate White (current editor of Cosmopolitan Magazine). White quotes, "But the feminists made you feel that if you wanted to have your cake and eat it, too, if you wanted to be pretty and sexy and like guys you couldn't be a feminist." It caught my attention. I read it last night and it almost went hand in hand with a conversation I had with Mr. Perfect earlier in the evening. Maybe not so much a conversation but me rolling my eyes and him trying to defend himself. 

With said new obsession previously mentioned, he was courteous enough to indulge me and watch a couple of episodes. He, however, at the end used the term "interesting" to describe the fact that I enjoy this show so much. He said it "didn't seem like me, because it wasn't about equality, it was about power and the degradation of both men and other women..." (not a direct quote but you get the point..) If you've ever seen SATC... let me rephrase, if you're a woman and have ever seen SATC, you know that the target audience is you. I don't think it's as much about power as it is about independence. 

But does this feminine independence, this strong willed sexual awareness, the want to be both beautiful and wanted along with strong and free, does all of this negate a "feminist disposition?" Feminists of the seventies thought so, as Kate White told you above. But what is this new wave of thought? Is it impossible to "have your cake and eat it too?" 

Anyway, maybe a train of thought too serious for my day off, but also nice to have something intelligent to discuss as opposed to shapes, colors, and play dough. Your thoughts?

Rejuvenated?

There they are. They've made an appearance. If you don't like the Sex and the City cliche, you might as well move to another blog because I find a lot of solace and wisdom from Ms. Carrie Bradshaw and her witty friends. 

All of that aside however, this picture perfectly describes how I felt Sunday night when on a brief visit to my hometown, I was able to catch up and drink up with a few of my favorite people. I was able to convince Roxie to come home for a few days as well, as it is a central location from our current addresses. So the two of us ventured out with the Diva (an old lifelong friend who continues to live down the street from my parents for the time being), Ditzy (another old friend who you would find fits this nickname perfectly), and Mr. Perfect. Why he put up with this venture, I'll never know, because it was a very late night and a very expensive bar tab later that I felt truly happy at home once again with my girlfriends. 

We did two rounds of girly shots, topped off with rum and cokes and cokes and rum and rum and cokes etc. etc... Unfortunately enough, because Mr. Perfect was at the table for the majority of the evening, no free cocktails were supplied.. therefore, moi expensive tab at the end of this madness. Not that money should really matter at all when you're out with your friends. I'd do it all over again. Without hesitation.

After a weekend spent with Mr. Perfect's friends at the wedding of the season, it was nice to have a relaxing night out with favorites where I felt like there was zero need to try and impress anyone in my immediate company. It's really hard starting over. I don't feel the need to impress everyone I come into contact with, but you're still on your toes all of the time. Yes? Am I the only one? 

Anyway, my alma mater's classes begin again next week and for the first time, I'm not there. I'm not there for the first parties of the year, the relaxing afternoons on the couch avoiding studies with my closest friends, the days of nothing that mean everything... you get me.  As you can promptly tell, I have mixed feelings about this. The first feeling is envy for those going back to the comfort of college life. The second feeling is sadness that I'm missing out on so much of what I have known and so many whom I have loved for so long. The third feeling is more of an awkward feeling.. not really one I fully understand all the time. I'm happy to be in a new part of my life. A new chapter. I want to be happy about this all the time... But the more you get to know me, the more you find I don't deal well with change. Especially drastic change. And this summer has been pretty drastic. But I'm working on getting through it all. We'll see how it goes.. This is me. Dealing with it. 

All in all, I feel that is enough reflecting for the time being. It was a good weekend. Very well spent with the closest thing I have to a "New York- S.A.T.C" group of girlfriends on a random late Sunday night. I find it's those random nights that turn into the best of nights... and those alone can keep me going no  matter how many changes occur around me.