What Ever Happened To...

Dinner & Dancing Dates?

Call me old fashioned but I really long for the days when "dinner and dancing" meant more than grabbing a 10-piece nugget trio after 3 hours of grinding it up on some sweaty cramped dance floor.

I mean how is it possible that with all of things that modern society has come up with to keep itself entertained, something as wonderful as spending the night swaying to a live jazz/blues/mo-town/big band has disappeared? At what point did that become boring & uncool exactly?

I want to feel beautiful and sexy ... without having to risk flashing the crowd or getting groped in the dark by some mystery man.

Dear Diary...

I accidentally called his apartment "home"... as in our place. He didn't freak out. Neither did I.

Truth is, I really kind of like the sound of that. A lot.

Girl Code vs. Work Code

Started a new job last week (yaaaay!) and, as it turns out, my good friend's ex sits a desk away from me. Facing me.

To say that their relationship was troubled doesn't really cut it. They didn't work for a long time, and they took way to long to figure that out. Things got really ugly, and they both ended up doing things they shouldn't have (one more than the other, but that's besides the point here). Since then however, they've both moved on, and from what I can tell, are both doing quite alright in light of it (she especially).

As for him, I have no idea. He seems fine, he's really nice and funny, not to mention quite a bit flirty with just about every girl in the entire building. However I've noticed one thing, he's really quiet about his social life when around me. And I don't mean in terms of talking to me about it, but just talking about it in general while I'm int the vicinity. I mean, from what I've been able to pick up in the 2 weeks I've been working, it's not secret that he's very much single and dating. That much is clear. Even our boss calls him on it.

But he seems to incredibly (and to be honest, quite awkwardly) tight-lipped when around me, I mean like laughing cracking jokes with everyone in the room, out loud and unabashedly, and then pulling a straight face and burying his head in his work when he notices I'm laughing along.

It's as if he thinks I were a mole or something, planted there to watch and report his every move.

But the truth is, my showing up at his job is purely coincidental, there's no need for him to be worried about me. I'm not going to run and tell his ex that he spent the day bragging about his "prowess" or how many girls he chatted up - 1) I don't care enough to pay that kind attention to him, and 2) he's really quite nice and helpful to me (in all other respects) so why would I risk changing that?

Yes there is girl code, and I will no doubt have her back should it ever get to the point where I need to, but I'm definitely not going to hold a grudge against her ex if I don't have any beef with him. Right? I mean, isn't this a valid exception to the rule? I'm the new girl, I can't just come in with drama… also, who really gives a shit at this point anyway? She's happy and better off now, what does it matter who his latest flavour of the month is?

I dunno, maybe I should pull him aside and talk to him and let him know he doesn't have to worry. I don't want to be his best friend or anything, but I do hope that we can learn be comfortable just being ourselves, I mean, I'll be around him more than my own family so… yeah, I have to figure something out.

10 Reasons...

... Why Office Romances Work.
(Not advocating, just saying... then again, I'm not not advocating it either)

10) You can sleep over, and then car-pool in the morning.

9) Eating alone will never be an issue again.

8) The people you work with aren't exactly your bestest friends ever (new word, yes), so their opinions and thoughts don't really have to matter or weigh you down.

7) You don't have to explain why you're stressed/grumpy/not in the mood. He knows, and actually does understand exactly how you feel.

6) Forget sexy texts, a trusty ol' janitors closet is just a hallway away.

5) It's pretty much guaranteed to be short-lived, and casual. Since you both have real lives filled with commitments outside of work, neither of you really have the time to deal with any at it. This is business after all.

4) You see him more than you do your own friends and family, and you don't even have to feel bad about it.

3) You (both) always look and smell impeccable, which does loads for one's sense of attraction... especially if it means never having to put up with the more stale odors and behaviors of their more natural "home-self".

2) The secrecy of it all. A good relationship needs a little spice, and nothing sizzles more than a juicy little secret you can't tell anyone about.

1) It's naughty. And everyone likes to feel just a little bit bad.