I Love Those Days

Do you ever have those days that are, in actuality, just like any other day but something inside you is just bursting with happiness?  It's the kind of day that's kind of like this scene from 500 Days of Summer except that it's not set off by having sex with Zoey Dechanel or anyone, but rather you just wake up and everything seems to be right.  Everyone seems extra friendly and you seem to be unreasonably happy, like you might just burst into spontaneous song and dance in the middle of the crossroads and everyone around you will be dancing on the tables in color-coordinating outfits.

I had one of those days this week.  Sure, I'm hella stressed out about finals and all the stuff I haven't even started yet, but I just couldn't help but feel really awesome!  I was walking around campus and these guys would walk past me, smile and say, "Hey!  How are you?"  In a way it was a little jarring, since it breaks a social norm of keeping to yourself when you're out and about, but at the same time it was really nice to have people make that effort to smile and say hello.  It was really nice.

Then I went to work and it was like all of the attractive young men in this town decided to all come to my work that night.  There was even one moment when I was helping this guy (pretty cute guy) and he was totally flirting it up in an almost painfully obvious way and I let him walk out the door without getting too deep into conversation.  GAH!  What if he NEVER comes back in?  Bummer.  Could have been awesome.

Regardless of letting that guy walk away, it was a glorious day.  I was really happy.  I still feel it lingering.

Things are looking up.  

Weird Encounters of The Third Kind

Strange things happen to me.  Seriously, sometimes I take a step back and say. "Did that just happen?"

Last week I was sitting in the library trying to get a few things done before the break and I had the most random run in.  I was completely absorbed in this paper I was writing when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder.  I turned to see this guy that is routinely in the library when I am, though he's not someone I really paid too much attention to.  He looked a little familiar, but that's probably because he reminds me of my younger brother.

He said to me, "Are you [insert my real name here]?"  I'm pretty sure I just stared at him with my mouth open and this look of utter confusion on my face.  I nodded and kind of laughed.  "Yeah, I am.  Wha...who are you?"

His name is Marcus Farnsworth.  He served in the same mission as my older brother and apparently my brother shared pictures and stories with this guy (and others, but Marcus seems to remember a lot of details about me.)  He had recently gone to a mission reunion in Utah and had talked with my brother a bunch.  He told Marcus that I'm up here at school and Marcus finally put two and two together and recognized me, then felt the need to tell me.  We talked for a bit, he spewed quite a bit of knowledge about me and what I was doing two years ago while he and my brother were in the mission field.  He even sent me a letter once, but I only vaguely remember it.  

It got awkward and I didn't know what else to say, so I told him we should do something sometime.  We exchanged phone numbers and he eventually went back to his studying.  I immediately texted my brother and told him what happened.  He said, "Did he ask you out?  He's so weird."

Great.  I just gave my number to a weirdo.

Why didn't my brother have any cute, funny, flirty guys write me?

How Not To Breakup With Someone

If you're planning on ending things with that significant other, don't do it like this:

• Over Text Message.  Breakups aren't the only thing that shouldn't be done over text, NOTHING serious ought to be done over text.  It's impersonal and, frankly, the cowards way out.  Don't ever ever EVER think of using text message to break up with someone or to talk about something important.
• Over the phone.  This is just a step above texting.  Just don't do it.
• On Facebook.  I shouldn't have to even explain this one.  It's a given.
• Through a friend.  Again, cowards way out.
• Using the excuse of "I prayed about it and it just doesn't feel right."  You may have prayed about it, but you don't need to lean on that.  Be upfront.  Tell the girl/guy that it's just not working out for you.  I know we're spiritual people, but sometimes those revelations don't need to be shared or explained.  Sometimes what people need to hear is that it's not going to work for YOU, no matter what the reason behind it.
• By letting them down easy, leaving them with false hope.  Don't ever say, "It isn't going to work our now, maybe in the future."  If you want to break up for good, don't say, "Let's take a break." or  "I want to try dating some other people, but I still like you and want to date you."  Either you want to date that person or you don't.  Pick one, don't leave the other person in this "maybe someday" limbo.  You might think your intentions are clear, but they're not.

Be honest.  Be direct.  Don't beat around the bush.  Be gentle.  Be kind.  

#TwitterDate

Let's be honest, I like to flirt.  I also really like Twitter.  It only makes sense that I really like flirting ON Twitter.  With the cold weather hitting, I posted a few times about accepting applications for a cuddle buddy.  It started out as kind of a joke, but let's face it, who couldn't use a cuddle buddy in the winter?  Or all the time?  I am always down for a good cuddle.

Enter Joseph.  Here's a fun, good-looking guy who started retweeting all of my cuddle buddy tweets.  So, because I like Twitter, flirting, AND cute boys, I started flirting a bit with him, telling him to submit an application.  It was refreshing to just relax and have fun talking to this guy, you have no idea.  To say that this semester has put a few stumbling blocks in my path would be an understatement.  This ended up as a great escape, something that could simply be fun and void of stress.  It's about TIME, Universe.  Sheesh.

Things escalated rapidly and, because of the impending doom of winter and the fact that I really have nothing to lose, I told Joseph to go ahead, name a time and place and I'd be there.  Apparently Joseph had nothing to lose, either, because it totally happened.  Yes, you read that correct, I went on a date with the dashing Joseph Struhs. 

There were a few moments when I was sitting in the Cocoa Bean waiting for him to show up and I thought, "What if he wasn't serious?  What if he stands me up?"  But the feeling didn't stick around very long; he didn't stand me up.  When Joseph walked through the door, I had a split second to decide whether or not I was going to wave, smile, or sit and do nothing and let him figure out who I was.  I smiled.  He walked over and I awkwardly stood up to shake his hand.

You know, I don't think of myself as an awkward person, but sometimes I feel like I get overwhelmed by awkward situations and I simply can't escape them.  I had a million thoughts going through my head at that moment, wondering if I was making a decent first impression, should I pick my coat up from the chair, what drink do I want?  I get so anxious in these awkward moments that I take on the attributes of awkwardness.  Hopefully it wasn't too transparent that I felt that way...

The date was kind of a blur beyond that.  He was really nice, we have a lot of things in common.  I'm fairly certain we could easily share our music collections and like a lot of what the other has.  I mean, how can you go wrong with a guy who loves Mumford and Sons as much as I do?  Psh, c'mon, Joseph.  We jive too easily.

We're going to make dinner together sometime soon.  Turns out we have a mutual friend and all three of us love to eat, so it's perfect!  I think it's safe to say that this Twitter date was pretty successful.

Cheers!

Kirk: The Last Chapter [hopefully]

Kirk is pissing me off.

I'm at the point where I know it won't go anywhere with him, even if he decides to treat me like a person and talk to me.  However, I'm not okay with how things have ended.  It's been two and a half weeks since we had a conversation.  A conversation that ended when I told him that he owes it to me to tell me what he wants or doesn't want...and he never responded.

If you want to hurt someone, drop them cold turkey.

It pisses me off that he would act that way.  It hurts me to think that he doesn't think I deserve at least saying he doesn't want to talk.  Most of the time I'm okay and I don't think about him, but other times I think about it and I feel sick.  After all I went through with Tyson, you'd think I'd have grown thick enough skin to deal with this kind of treatment, but I guess there's no getting used to it.

Kirk ended up being the biggest coward I've ever met.  It's nice to know that there's some comfort in knowing I dodged that bullet.  Still hurts, though.

Live and learn.

Freshman Girls

I read a tweet today saying how all the guys on this campus go for the stupid, 18 year old, freshman girls.  It is SO TRUE.  I don't know what it is about naive girl-children that makes the boys at this school lose everything.

Please, will someone enlighten me?  Are you men afraid of older girls, girls who've had more education, who have goals and motivation?  Do you all just want 18 year old baby-making machines without brains in their heads?

Don't get me wrong, not all 18 year old girls are like that, but I see the vast majority of the guys going for the girls who fit the young, family studies majors mold.  It drives me crazy.

EDIT::  I don't mean to lump everyone who is a family studies major into one category. On the contrary, a few of my best friends are family studies majors or minors, there's nothing wrong with the major.  There is something wrong with the guys at this school who only want young girls who seem to be planning on being homemakers.  Again, I'm not knocking girls who plan on being homemakers.  I plan on being a homemaker, allowing my husband to be the breadwinner of the family.

I'm simply creating a stereotype for the girls guys at this school go for.

3rd Floor of the McKay Library

Ladies and gents, grab your pens and pencils; this post is important.

There's a poster somewhere around campus that says something along the lines of, "70% of the dates are found on the 3rd floor of the library"  I've always laughed when I see this, but it's true that the 3rd floor is a bit of a meat market.  If you've ever studied up there, chances are you've been hit on by some guy or you've made eyes at the girl sitting at the computer diagonal from you.  We're all Mormon, we're all aware of the constant push to get married.

It's like how around Valentine's Day or Christmas there just seems to be love in the air and people start getting together.  That love that's in the air on those holidays?  Yeah, it's always present on the 3rd floor of the library.  It lingers just above everyone's heads like a cloud, raining bits of flirtatious luck over certain people.  It's kind of fun, I rather enjoy being up on the 3rd floor, occasionally batting my lashes at handsome men.

But is there a special technique to catching a man (or lady) in the library?  Sammie and I had this conversation the other day, which is actually what lead me to write this post.  It wouldn't be complete without this:

Sammie:  Just studying in the library, waiting for my E.C. to come sweep me off my feet
Leslie:  Hahaha.  You know, I hear the library is good for that.
Sammie:  Yeah me too, that's why I showered beforehand.  So far it's not working...lol
Leslie:  You need some pheromones or something
Sammie:  Seriously
Leslie:  Bethany and I are making all sorts of plans to hunt boys down.  Time to get serious
Sammie:  I am IN
Leslie:  And in the library, don't have headphones in.  If a guy sits near you, do a ring check.  If the coast is clear, then smile really big when he makes that awkward eye contact with you.  There are all sorts of ways to pick up a dude in the library.  I've been practicing.
Sammie:  Hahaha oh my gosh
Leslie:  Comment on their books or something.  Their backpack, their coat.  It works.
Sammie:  I first read books as boobs.  Nice boobs.  hahaha
Leslie:  I can't stop laughing.  I've been reading this conversation aloud to Bethany because it's so funny.
Sammie:  Does she have any pro tips?  Because I think I've graduated from easygoing status to hella desperate.  I can feel my ovaries drying up as we speak.
Leslie:  So what you're saying is you want a baby.
Sammie:  Eventually
Leslie:  Tell that to a guy then say, "And I want it to be yours."  or "I want it to have your eyes, because I could stare in them all day."
Sammie:  Hi I'm Sammie.  How's your sperm count?

Clearly we think we're pretty funny.  In actuality Sammie is way funnier than I am, I freaking love that girl.

But seriously, there are tops of tips and tricks to picking someone up in the library.  Not putting headphones in is key, since headphones block out the rest of the world and make it really hard to hold a conversation.  Last week I was on the 3rd floor and I pulled out a giant textbook to read a chapter and the guy next to me looked over and made a comment.  I had to take out my headphones and say, "I'm sorry, what?"  He commented on the size of the textbook.  Me, being as stupid as I can be, put my headphones back in after saying something like, "Haha, yeah, it's gianormous" and I failed to notice that he was going to try and perpetuate the conversation.  GAH, LESLIE.  FAIL.  He was pretty cute, too.  Headphones are a no-go!

The ring check is so cliche, but so essential here at BYU-Idaho.  I can't even tell you how many times I've thought, "Man, that guy is really cute!"  Then I did a ring check and instantly he was out of my field of vision because there it was, a little silver band across his ring finger.  Married.  Unfortunately there isn't a ring for guys who are dating someone and very few guys who are engaged wear ring, though I think they should.  Perhaps we ought to force everyone to wear an Irish claddagh ring that way we can always know someone's relationship status without having to thoroughly stalk their facebook profile.  

The eye contact and smile is KEY to flirting in the library.  Too often I see people in the library who have these perma-scowls slapped on their faces.  No one is going to want to talk to you if you look like you just realize that what you thought was Friday is actually Tuesday.  Lighten up, be friendly!  You have got to make yourself approachable and warm and being able to smile is a big step.  One this window is opened, people will want to talk to you.

But does this really work?  Let me tell you a little story.
This past week I was having a really awful day.  Like, a really awful day.  I went to the library to work on a paper between classes and when I sat down at the computer, the guy sitting diagonally from me locked eyes with me and flashed me this gorgeous smile.  Seriously, my really awful day was instantly brighter.  I started doing my homework, while occasionally glancing this fellow's way.  We caught each other's gaze a few times and each time we smiled and sort of laughed.  I was going to make conversation, but his friend ended up coming to sit by him and the two of them swapped girl troubles, part of the time in Spanish (which was kind of effective, since I'm not fluent, but I know enough Spanish to know what they were talking about.  HA!)

It's not a perfect example of flirting in the library working, particularly because I left my phone number with him and I never heard from him (which is understandable, considering he was talking to his friend about a girl he's been dating on and off) but it's still an example of how opening yourself up makes it easier for people to have at least some sort of interaction.  Smiling at me was enough to make my day better, so I'm not really bitter about him not utilizing my phone number.

Got any advice on how to flirt on the 3rd floor of the library?  Leave them in the comments!

Also, please respond to the poll that is found in the right sidebar of my blog!  We'll see where ya'll really like to meet new people.

Halloweenie

I've heard it said that, "Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it." (Mean Girls quote, in case you live on another planet and didn't pick up on that already.)  You'd think that attending an LDS school would limit the slutiness around Halloween, but noooo, no no no, certainly not.  This is the time of year that it's okay to dress like a common whore and get away with it.  


I went to a ward Halloween party where our bishop was hosting it and girls came in wearing tights with underwear over them, a corset, and a cape to pass off as "slutty superman" or something like that.  It was utterly appalling. Or maybe I'm just the girl who lacks the balls to wear such a thing to a ward function....haha, yeah right.  Totes inapro-pro (Thank you to my younger brother for sharing that phrase with me.  I love it and hate it.  Totes)

I realize that most of you come onto the blog just to read and lurk, but I'm really curious.  What was the most awful costume you saw last night, whether it be immodest, weird, poorly done, or scary?  
I stopped by the party on campus at the Hart because there was NOTHING else going on in town.  Seriously, Rexburg, what gives?  I know there was a boatload of dance parties last weekend, but what about Halloween night?  Last year it was on a school night as well, yet the town was hoppin!  What's the deal? Anyway, back to the Hart.  It was alright.  We had fun dancing up on each other, freaking out the Molly Mormon girls dancing near us.  If we aren't going to dress like sluts, we're at least going to dance like them.  

The night wasn't a total waste.  My roommates and I flirted with some random dudes who invited us into their apartment.  We watched a scary movie with some other guys.  It was fun!  I love Halloween.
But now that it's November...is it too early to hang mistletoe?

p.s. Does anyone know how to fix the text on this post?  Sometimes My posts randomly get highlighted in white and I don't know how to undo it.