The Anatomy of My Not So Romantic Meet Cute

In your twenties, you'll come to find a number of your friends, classmates and acquaintance begin to settle down and get married. It can be a little weird. One minute you're in school and the next minute, they took Beyonce's advice and put a ring on it. Anyways, I'm not complaining. I love weddings! I mean, who doesn't love a party where you get all dolled up and celebrate the love between two people? I'm such a sap.

Wedding talk aside, I have to say, I really enjoy hearing about how two people met and  how they almost didn't. It almost makes you wonder if there is such a thing as fate. Do soulmates really exist? Can the meeting of two people really be kismet? 

In June, I had my own rub with fate. In a small way, I had my own meet-cute. But don't call Katherine Heigl just yet. This is no Rom-Com.

Setting
I was traveling to Portland from Orlando for my cousin's wedding. Waking up around 2:30 a.m. Thursday morning, I had packed, got myself to the airport and made it as a stand-by passenger on the first flight to Chicago. My early start had afforded me smooth sailing and about two hours to eat breakfast in O'Hare International Airport. However, my two and half hour layover morphed into five and a half hours thanks to a three hour delay. One croissant, small coffee, almond pretzel, over-priced water bottle, small bag of trail-mix and three hours later, we were finally boarding the flight to Portland. It was a four and a half our flight and I had a middle seat.

I thank the powers of God and the universe for joining together, because as soon as I reached my row, the lucky girl who had window seat had asked me if I wanted to trade seats with her friend a few rows back. Homegirl had a window seat and it didn't really take much convincing. Window seat for a four hour and a half our flight?! WIN! All that was next was for me to pull my FSU baseball hat low over my eyes and embrace the nap ahead of me, but where's the romance in that?

The Meet-Cute
Enter Tyler. We'll call him Tyler, because, well...that's his name. In he walks, excusing himself past Jerry (the 17-year-old who attends a snowboarding high school — snowboarding high schools are real) and wearing an Oregon Ducks hoodie. Without too much hesitation, I asked him if he attended the University of Oregon and conversation quickly turned to college football. With my alma mater, the Florida State University Seminoles winning the National Championship earlier this year, the topic of conversation is probably no surprise. But what surprised me was how long Tyler and I talked and what we talked about.

Thinking back, I think we pretty much touched on almost everything. We discussed and suggested books and movies, learned about jobs and places traveled, traded sibling stories and even touched on the topic of sex and joining the mile-high club (not with each other, what kind of girl do you think I am?!). It was strange and in a way, comforting. There's something about meeting someone and simply talking and trading stories. They have no idea who you are and you haven't a clue about them.

At the end of the flight, we exchanged numbers and went our separate ways.

The End of the Rom-Com, Maybe?
Now, you're probably wondering what happened. Did we meet up one day and frolic around the city, taking adorable pictures worthy of any pre-teen magazine? No. We didn't. He invited me to hang out with his friends Saturday evening, but that was my cousin's wedding day and an opportunity to catch up with my family whom I haven't seen in months. The choice was easy, but perhaps a small part of me wonders what could have happened if I snuck away for an hour and a drink.

A few members of my glam fam. 

Relationship Status
Our relationship status (and I'm not talking about Facebook "Relationship Status") is friends...ish. Perhaps we're more distant friends or simply acquaintances. We're two ships passing in the night, or maybe more like two plans passing in flight.

We've texted a bit here-and-there, but that's kind of it. It's the end of the meet-cute. The rom-com without the rom...and perhaps the com. The beginning, "middle" and abrupt end, leaving you with what-ifs and what could have been. 

Youthful Optimism
Meet-cutes are real! Rare, but real. They happen, and while you may not realize it at the time, it's great story to share with girlfriends. Yes, the what-ifs can drive you mad, but as a lover of love, this does give me a little hope...and who knows, maybe this isn't the end of the "Rom-Com." His Oregon Ducks may find themselves matched up against my Seminoles...and that would be a great next chapter to this story.

I should also add, Portland and the surround area is a really pretty place to visit.

Sincerely,

Cybill

{Photo Credit//Personal//Personal//Personal//Tyler}

Some

"Some women are lost in the fire. Some women are built from it."

— Michelle K, Some

2014 Goals...Made in August

It's August and my attempts at blogging have failed miserably. I think I posted one post in the month of July. Where does all the time go? I think it's spent at work or sleeping. Lately, that's all I feel I do, but I've promised to be kinder to myself. Yes...napping is something kind to gift myself, but so is living life and that latter is far more adventurous. With that in mind, I'm going to greet the rest of 2014 with a few goals. Some are a little silly, but all are hopeful.

1. Staying up late to live a litte more. Since I began my new job, I've been so set in my way of sleeping at decent hour. I love to sleep. I love being in my pajamas and just cuddling in my bed. However, that's not what life is about. My goal is sleep a little later...perhaps an hour or so (let's not get crazy, I do have to work the next day) and just do a little more, even if it's something small, like reading a book or watching a movie.

2. Calling, not texting. Some of my friends can probably attest to this. I do like to chat and if you need someone to talk to for an hour during your drive, give me a call. However, this doesn't mean I do it with everyone. More often than not, I'll settle for texting someone, but it just seems to lackluster. Hearing someone's voice and being able to give your full attention to talk with someone on the phone holds so much more value.

3. Sitting up straight. Silly and small, but considering I sit at my desk for most of the day, it's probably best that I work on my posture. I have an awful posture and I should really do something about it, especially since I have scoliosis.

4. Turning to prayer for my answers. I'm a girl with a bunch of questions that never really seem to get answered. Lately, I've found that some of my questions don't even have clean-cut defined answers as much as I ask others and as much as I think about it. When it comes to that, clearly, the only way to get my answer is through prayer and through Christ. There's really no better way.

5. Enjoying the beautiful angelic morning. One Sunday evening, not too long ago, I remember dreading the idea of having to wake up and go into work the following morning. I had no real reason, I just didn't want to do it. Then I realized, it's a waste of my energy and my emotions. The way you feel about something really does play a major role in how things work out, and as silly as it sounds, it really is best to go into things excited, happy and grateful about life!

Okay, enough motivational mumbo-jumbo from me. I have to indulge in life a litte more before I really feel inspiring!

Sincerely,

Cybill

{Photo Credit}

You're Going to be Fine

"Sometimes you're 23 and standing in the kitchen of your house making breakfast and brewing coffee and listening to music that for some reason is really getting to your heart. You're just standing there thinking about going to work and picking up your dry cleaning. And also more exciting things like books you're reading and trips you plan on taking and relationships that are springing into existence. Or fading from your memory, which is far less exciting. And suddenly you just don't feel at home in your skin or in your house and you just want home but 'Mom's' probably wouldn't feel like home anymore either. There used to be comfort of a number in your phone and ears that listened everyday and arms that were never for anyone else. But just to calm you down when you started feeling trapped in a five-minute period where nostalgia is too much and thoughts of this person you are feel foreign. When you realize that you'll never be this young again but this is the first time you've ever been this old. When you can't remember how you got from sixteen to here and all the same feel like sixteen is just as much of a stranger to you now. The song is over. The coffee's done. You're going to breathe in and out. You're going to be fine in about five minutes." 

— Unknown

{Photo Credit}

And Here We Are Again

I'm still here. I'm still alive. This blog may be on life support, but it's not dead.

These past few weeks have fun-ish a ride. Some ups, definitely some downs and ultimately, I'm standing here, confused as to which direction is the right direction, and whether there is a right direction at all. 

So, I've stayed in Orlando over the weekend a few times now. I've tried that whole "explore where you live" thing. Two evenings in a row, I even went out downtown to check out Orlando's nightlight, and perhaps made a few "friends" (let's use that term loosely). But don't ask me if I'm in love yet (or possibly ever). I may just laugh...out loud and in your face. 

Now, don't get me wrong. Staying in town and going out, having brunch the next day, that was all fun. But, most of the reasons I enjoyed myself was because of the company, and isn't that how it usually goes? One of my closest friends from college was in town and the two of us, along with another girlfriend of ours from college checked out the Orlando nightlight. Short evening short, we ended up calling it a night around midnight. Clearly, we can't hang the way we used to in college. 

Anyways, there's that side of the Orlando life and then there is what takes up most of my time, work. Work has been keeping be busy. It's the reason I get up at the hour I do. The company I have at work is great. Truth be told, if it wasn't for the company and all the fun stuff, it'd definitely make things far more difficult. And I say that with a few things in mind, so here me out...

Day-after-day, we're constantly working to please our clients. It's the nature of the beast. Yet, week-after-week, they don't seem happy with what we're delivering. Can we do more? Perhaps. But do we have the resources? No, we don't. And I'm starting to loose all hope in it and once again, I'm second guessing my "career" choice. 

Is there a reason I should keep on trying to please these people who never seem grateful? Is there even a point to it at the end of the day? What I do, it doesn't make anyone breathe easier. I don't go to bed at night knowing that someone's life is better because of what I did that day and I'm starting to second guess if this what I want to turn into a career?

Ultimately, I know that my answer is No. But until I'm through with this lease on my apartment and I figure out a plan to change things, I guess this is the game to play.

{Photo Credit}

Cultivate. Understand. Expand.

"Decide today to stretch yourself. Take on a goal that you had previously given up on. Get lost doing something you love. Cultivate happiness within yourself. Understand and know that life isn't just about what you do. It's about how you serve and what you give! Go within yourself to grow outside yourself. Expand your comfort zone." 

— Unknown

{Photo Credit}

Owning Up

Hi everyone. I know, I know. I'm an awful blogger. Considering my last blog post was April 24 and it's now May 5th (Happy Cinco de Mayo, by the way), it's plain to see that I'm not a frequent flyer on this blog. And while that is true, there's more to the story than that. There's not that much more, though. Truth be told, I'm usually just tired when I get back from work most days and I decide to nap instead of blog. There is also that fact that the hours seem to fly by. Seriously, it's practically 8 p.m. and I feel like I got back to my apartment not too long ago.

Anyways, let's me try to tell you about something interesting! This weekeend, I visited my lovely roommate (college roommate) and friend, Carling! I guess it comes at no surprise that I didn't stick around Orlando. Since I've started working downtown, I've stayed in Orlando once. Yes, you read that correctly, once...and I started working here in March. But that's besides the point...

I spent this past weekend in Jacksonville and it was great! It was nice being with really good friends. There's a level of comfort when getting together with an old friend. They know you and you know them. There is no need to apologize for burping or question whether or not they have something in their closet you can steal; you already know the answer. And, I've realized, living alone...the laughs and simple day-to-day friendship makes a hard day so much better.

While in Jacksonville, I also got to spend some time with my friend, Dan. Now, before you get into thinking the relationship between Dan and I is anything but platonic, let me stop you. Dan and I are friends, and we'll never end up together, despite what a few of my coworkers believe. Aside from that, spending time with Dan and Carling (as well as some of our friends) was great! I actually have friends, despite what it feels like while I'm in Orlando.

That, ladies and gentlemen, was my weekend. Nothing fancy, nothing crazy, but everything I needed this weekend. Time with good friends and good bit of food!

I should probably add the small fact that the large amount of food continued onto today. We had a Cinco de Mayo potluck at work and let me tell you...I wanted nothing more than to crawl under the conference room and nap after lunch. SO. MUCH. FOOD. But really, it was great!

Alrighty, I should probably go...but skip a real dinner. Considering everything I ate, I should just look at food and call it a night. I'll see about getting better about updating...and perhaps living a life worth sharing!

Sincerely,

Cybill