Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Full of Abundance

Whenever I start in about my “lack” in life, i.e. lack of job, lack of money, lack of men, lack of romance, lack of willpower, lack of house, lack of a flat stomach, I can look back on my 46th birthday (last Sunday) and be reminded that I have no lack of love in my life.

I was overwhelmed and truly touched by the number of friends and family who called, sent text messages and emails, wrote comments on my Face Book wall, and mailed wonderful cards for my birthday. My boss baked me a delicious cake (lemon cake with strawberry and kiwi fruit center), of which she and I polished the remainder off the following day. My friends took me out for a yummy, unique and lively dinner at Quinn’s on Capitol Hill, where we ate, drank and laughed til we cried. I was presented with many fabulous and thoughtful gifts.

I know I’m getting overly sappy in my old age, but seriously, each time I’d read a well-wisher’s sentiment, I was awe struck. “This is really what people think? Wow.” I am truly blessed to have such a supportive and amazing group of friends and family. No, there is no lack in my life. My life is absolutely full of abundance of the best kind!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Maire Claire Should Be Single In Seattle

By now most Seattle women have heard the news: Seattle is the best city to "snag a seriously great guy." That's according to an article in Marie Claire Magazine (August 2009)which states that Seattle is the number one city to find men. And not just men, but seriously great ones to boot. The article suggests patronizing such places as The Little Red Hen in Green Lake on Monday nights for line dancing, Pyramid Ale House for pre-Mariners pints, Frontier Room's Ladies' Night, Seattle Coffee Crawl and the Sunday Ballard Market. Aside from the fact that these are primarily 20 something haunts, yes, you will find guys there (the jury is still out on whether we want to dub them "men" yet). Okay, there is no question that there are plenty of men in this city. We are the tech capital, airplane making capital and 'outie' capital. We have an air force base, an army base and a navy base nearby, and we have dozens of universities and colleges within the city limits. There are lots of possibilities for locating the male species.


King 5 News did a short segment on this articles and interviewed women in the area. During an interview in one bar the reporter points out to the woman being interviewed that there were four guys sitting at the bar right behind her. She turned and looked at them, then turned back to the reporter and started, "Uhhh, yeah...." The response was edited out so we viewers aren't sure exactly what her comment was. But based on her facial expression, it wasn't flattering.


The general consensus: there may be a large quantity of guys, but the quality is lacking.


Case in point: Last Saturday night a group of us girls took our soon-to-be-married friend out for her Bachelorette Bash. It was a fun night overall with lots of cocktails, dancing and laughs. However, not one guy bought our gorgeous bachelorette a drink all night. She and I were both surprised. I'm not sure why. It seems par for the course in this neck of the woods. There are plenty of guys in this city, but it's a rare occasion when one buys a girl a drink.


I agreed to an online date last Sunday evening. We had planned to go eat Thai food in my neighborhood. My date phoned me from my building entrance and when I went down to meet him, he was dressed in a fleece pullover, hiking-type pants and Birkenstock. Dude, this is a dinner date, not a hiking date. Thanks for making the effort. Now this fella's approach was probably to just "be himself." No need to put on airs. "If she doesn't like me for who I am, forget her." Or maybe he's just an idiot who doesn't realize you should actually try to look nice when going out to dinner. I walked out in my nice dark jeans, heels and pink trench coat. Clearly we were not on the same page from the get go. The rest of the date went about on par. Every time he said something, I said the opposite. He lives in Everett and dreams of buying a house in Sedro Woolley. I am an urbanite who rarely leaves "Manhattan." I love travel, he won't get on a plane if he can help it. You see where this is going. In the end, he still asked if I would want to get together and do something sometime. Like what?


Other than online, I have found other spots for meeting men. There's Barista Boy from my coffee shop, the 60 year old from the driving range and, of course, Mr. Karaoke from Hula Hula's karaoke night.

So, yes, there are definitely guys in this city. No doubt about it. But I'd have to agree with the lack of quality factor. It's not as if there are no quality men out there. There must be some. The article says so. Maybe they are just hidden underneath bad manners, sloppy attire and tight wallets.