She's just not that into you

This past weekend I experienced a first in my 23 years of existence: two dates with two different guys in two days. Now I know what you're thinking: "but you're so hot and athletic and smart and funny, why is every guy not falling at your feet?" I know. Crazy, eh? But that's just not the case. I do not get wooed by guys very often. In fact, I was on a year-long dry spell of dating up until this past month. But that is besides the point. And I don't know why I just felt like sharing that with the world, but it's out there now. Anyway, apparently I'm giving off an "I'm available" vibe right now, or as one friend believes, I am just now expressing that gene. Whatever the case, I am confused as to why this all had to happen when I am moving to KY in a week and a half.

But I learned a lot in the past week because of these dates. It was a semi-stressful weekend, full of multiple awkward and "did that just happen?" moments. But you live and you learn and you eventually laugh.

My personal notes on the events:

1. Don't spend 10 hours making a girl an origami box to ask her out on a first date. It freaks her out. Too much effort. Too little mystery left.
2. On a first date, do not take a girl out to the nicest place in town for dinner and drop $200. It makes her feel like she owes you something afterwards.
3. When you take a girl home on the first date, don't expect to go inside with her when you drop her off. And if you do happen weasel your way in, do not go in, walk straight into her room, and lay on her bed. Sends the wrong signals.
4. Foot scratches are a no-go. Feet are flat out a no-fly zone. And when she pushes you away, don't try again 30 minutes later.
   
5. Don't show up on a first date with a bottle of wine and a CD for the girl. Overdoing it.
6. When a girl says that she's tired and continues to yawn, making the obnoxious yawning sound as she does it, take the hint that she wants the date to end.
7. When a girl ignores your emails and phone calls, don't randomly show up on her doorstep in full-out biking gear and ask her to join you.

My question is: How do I end it with someone I've only gone on one date with? Is the silent treatment acceptable?

Auntie EJ

I got the call tonight at 12:45am CST that my niece was born! Matthew and Elizabeth are the proud new parents of a 6 lb 8 oz baby girl: Mary Beth Jones. And I am now ready to be the most rockin aunt that has ever lived. I haven't even met her and I already love her!

Reasons why I will be a cool aunt:

1. She is partially named after me, so she will automatically think I'm cool if her parents liked me enough to make me her namesake. Although I am still confused as to why they are spelling her name with a "z" when I spell mine with an "s".

2. I am young and hip. While many aunts are older and mature, I am still a spring chicken and a spaz. It also helps that I do not have a husband or family of my own, so I can completely spoil her and treat her as if she's my kid (until she does something bad, and I can pass off the punishment to her parents, that way she still loves me).

3. I will teach her the proper technique to kick a soccer ball, shoot a jump shot, and ride a bicycle, all before the age of three. Guarantee it.

4. I will buy her the trendy clothes and accessories that parents do not buy their kids because they don't want to teach them frivolous spending.

5. I have the capabilities of going from super cool athletic aunt to girly, proper aunt. I can throw a pretty legit tea party and can be a star actress when we play dress up and house. This is what gives me the edge over Uncle Andrew.

All in all, I am glad that they had a baby girl so that I could be an aunt, and not an uncle. :)

Freedom

To my astonishment today I realized that I am basically done with college. I was so preoccupied with my tests this week that I wasn't even thinking about my finals schedule. But as I turned in my biochemistry exam this afternoon and headed home, it hit me that I only have one final and one paper due in the next two weeks. Two of my other classes' finals are optional, and since I already have A's, there's no point in taking them (I'm not that much of an overachiever). And I've already written the paper that is due. And my one final is in my cake-walk psychology class. I'm done. Hullabaflippinloo. I am free...well until August 4th when my life becomes consumed with medical school. Oh, and I am working full time in a research lab this summer. So, maybe I'm not that free. Dangit, I just burst my own bubble.

But more importantly, what am I going to do with my last two weeks in College Station? Well of course I have to think about the whole moving thing. I graduate two weeks from tomorrow and leave that day to go back to Lex-Vegas. So the packing process is looming...but I'll put that off for a few days. I have more exciting things to do this weekend.

Time to hang out with my friends. Go to Sweet Eugene's to pleasure read and make fun of everyone else that is studying for finals. Go to the rec to play racquetball and climb. Sleep in. Go on bike rides. Do whatever my little heart desires.

14 more days in Aggieland. Living it up. Soaking it in. Loving life.

Motherly Advice

Before my date, my mom asked me what we were going to be doing. I said we were going iceskating and then going to get some coffee, which of course I think is going to be a lot of fun. She immediately took a serious tone and said:

"Remember one thing Elisabeth, tonight you are not an athlete, you are a date."

What?!

For the Love of the Game

This spring I have been playing on two athletic teams: an intramural basketball team and a city league soccer team. Originally, I did it to keep in shape, but I have quickly realized that playing only twice a week does not exactly keep my heart and lungs at the strength they had been back in the glory days of college athletics. But that is beside the point now. I have learned so much by being part of these teams, with the biggest lesson being that sports are actually fun! It's been a blast being able to be a normal student and experience these things in my last semester.

For so long, soccer ran my life. It was a job for me. Of course I cherish my time as a college athlete and I would not trade it for the world, but playing soccer every day became so monotonous. I no longer saw the beauty and joy of the sport. But I am now playing on a Division 5 (formerly D4 team that got demoted because we were getting killed every week) city league team. I got asked by my biochemistry professor, Jerry, to join his team because they were desperate for some talent. At first I felt almost obligated to do it, since he was my professor and he wanted me to play so badly; but after my first time out on that field, playing with other adults who were doing it just for the love of the game, not because they wanted to impress the fans or get a scholarship, I was hooked. (Plus, I must say, I was impressed by Jerry's skills. Who would think a biochemist would be athletic too?) We lost the first 6 games I played. We didn't score a goal until the 4th game of the season. And did we care? Absolutely not. We were laughing and having a great time, despite the embarrassing losses. It's a beautiful sight, my friends, to see people trying hard, getting stuck in, enjoying the competition, but not caring about the outcome of the game.

Now the other team I've been playing on is a bit more competitive. The soccer seniors formed a basketball team and signed up for the A league, even though half the team hadn't even played high school ball. We were division 1 athletes and we had Ashlee Pistorius (Miss Illinois basketball and soccer, for those who care about titles)...who could stop us? We rolled through the regular season. 3-0. Every game ended early due to the slaughter rule. We weren't the best shooters out on the court, but man we were scrappy defenders. The post-season tournament started last week, where we played Kappa Delta who was 0-3. Sorority girls in A league? Seriously? They only had 4 players for the first 10 minutes of the game. Did that stop us from playing with 5? HA! You kidding me? Once they got their fifth player, we picked up the intensity even more and pressed them the entire second half. They literally couldn't get the ball over half court. They all had little attitudes, so that made us want to pound them even more. Plus, we knew the competition in the next couple of weeks would pick up, so we wanted to get some good practice in. Well apparently after the game, the girls went back to their sorority house and complained about how we were all bitches and they decided to email our soccer coach to complain about it. Our assistant coach Lori Stephenson got an email the following day saying how disappointed they were that we claim to be Aggies because we are the antithesis of good Aggies. We were rude, overly competitive, and showed no class. They said they will never again attend an A&M soccer game. Oh well. Like sorority chicks really came to our games anyway. Their loss.

Last night was the semi-finals of the tournament. We showed up to find a team of 8 girls who were all decked out in basketball gear, swishing three pointers left and right, and actually organized in their warm up. While on the other side of the court, we were in soccer shorts, soccer socks, and wife-beaters with "Scrubs" spray painted on the front. I quickly noted that we were in for a tough game. The game started out in our favor, as we quickly went up 6-0. But that lead vanished quickly with some questionable fouls called and free throws made. We started off in man defense, but to change things up and hopefully throw them off, we decided to sit back in a 2-3 zone. BAD decision. The girls made 6 three pointers in the first half. We were down by 12 at one point. We started to cut the lead down, but then got our spirit knocked out of us when they made a mid-court 3 pointer at the halftime buzzer to put them back up by 11.

At halftime we made some adjustments, deciding to go back to man-to-man defense, changed up the substitute pattern, leaving me and Ashlee in while everyone else rotated, and talked the normal basketball talk: "We have to box out! Use that booty your mama gave you", or "Guys, we are the soccer team. We don't lose to nobodies. Pick it up!!" I had to be reminded by one teammate that it was ok for me to smile. But I was in the zone. The game face was on. I was ready to claw and scrape back into this game. Well that's what we did. We slowly started to put a dent in their lead, which was difficult to do because these girls actually ran plays and knew what they were doing. They had all played high school ball together. One time Mel held up two fingers while dribbling the ball down the court, just so the other team would think we had a plan, but it didn't work because we all just stopped and started to laugh, because we honestly don't have one set play. With 10 minutes to go we were still down by 5. It was a close game. The refs were calling everything the other way. Ashlee then gets a steal and dribbles the length of the court, gets fouled, and makes 2 free throws. We have a big defensive stop next time down the court and then Amy hits a massive 3-pointer to tie the game! The other team is forced to call a time out. We are going nuts. I was so into the game that I thought I was going to throw up at one point (I think it was a combination of being out of shape, eating 4 cupcakes before the game, and nerves). We ended up taking the lead off big lay ups by Ashlee, Kelly, and me. The last 2.5 minutes we were holding the ball, watching the clock run down. They were forced to send us to the free throw line, where we hit every shot (unlike a certain Memphis team who choked down the stretch). We ended up winning by 4 points. I felt like I had won the national championship.

Our confidence was high leaving that game. We were talking big, saying no one could beat us if we played like we did in the second half. But as soon as we turned the corner as we were leaving and saw who we are playing in the championship game on Sunday, our hearts sunk. Here is this team with Nike A&M shoes, shorts, and jerseys. They have a few black girls and a lot of height. Apparently they are the club team for A&M. Our hopes are doomed. I don't think a club team should be able to play intramural sports. That's not fair. It would be like the soccer girls playing intramural soccer. What's the fun in that? But don't kid yourself, we will show up ready to fight. They may be better players, but if we play with the heart that we did last night, we may just have a shot. But then again, it's not about winning. It's about the memories. We are having a great time, and I wouldn't want to step on that basketball court on Sunday with anyone else but the girls that I have fought and battled with on the soccer field for the past 3 years of my life.

EJ Explains the Secret of Dating

You have to appreciate a good, old-fashioned date offer. Most guys these days just wanna "hang out" with a girl until it gets kind of serious and eventually have a DTR. They try to skirt around the issue of feelings. More so, want to avoid having to spend money on a date or dressing up to impress the girl.

So when I hear a, "Hey Elisabeth, I was wondering if you would like to go on a date with me this weekend? I think you are a cool girl and I would love to get to know you more," you just have to applaud that. What a breath of fresh air! It's classy. You are giving the girl a 5 day period to prepare herself for the date, whether that means going to get a new outfit, a haircut, a tan, or her nails painted. It shows you have put thought into it, planned time out of your weekend, and really do care to spend time the girl, instead of a last second, desperation date where you call and are like, "hey girl, I'm not doing anything tonight, ya wanna chill?" Not exactly romantic.

If only more guys would be old-fashioned, I think they could get more dates. Girls love charm. What girl does not like to be wined and dined? It makes you feel special. It gives you something to look forward to. I recently learned in one of my classes that dating is one of the most healthy things you can do as a young adult. The reason? It gives you an opportunity to dress up, making you confident in your appearance, and most importantly, you spend a few hours talking about yourself...your interests, your strengths, etc. So when you leave a date, you have to feel good because you have just spent the evening talking yourself up.

So guys, step up the plate. Man up. I know you can do it. It's been done before. It was done last night to me. Asking a girl out does not mean you want to be the father of her children. It simply means you enjoy her company and would love to get to know her more. It's not a marriage proposal. It's a date. =)

I Have A Dream

This is it. I have found it. My new passion. And I've never even done it before. Road bikes have always been this odd obsession of mine. I've had this intense respect for bikers since the Tour de France and Lance Armstrong got so popular a few years back. To be honest, I am not even a fan of Lance, but I envy the dedication and commitment it takes to become a great cycler. People think soccer is grueling? That's nothing compared to climbing mountains on a bicycle.

I just got a new-to-me-but-used mountain bike this week. It's a lot nicer than the one I had. Jerry, the guy who gave it to me, said it would be about $700 new. It was an old police bike that he snatched at the warehouse sale they have every summer for bikes left on A&M's campus. He has done some work on it - new tires, breaks, handle bar, etc. I really like it. I feel like I am flying on it, but he said it's nothing compared to what I would feel like on a road bike. He let me ride his (well, one of his many), and it is incredible. The rush. The exhilaration. I am addicted to speed. I need a road bike.

As everyone knows, I hate to run. Despise it. It is not fun at all. Biking would be a great alternative. Get on my baby, clip in, put in the ipod, and just go wherever the open road takes me. I did it yesterday on my mountain bike and went 6 miles. I can only imagine what kind of damage I could do on a bike that was meant for long distances.

Too bad the lower end of these bikes usually cost around $1500. The one pictured below is $8500. If only I was made of money. And if only I wouldn't be 32 before I earned my first paycheck. Sigh. Until then, I can only dream...or find myself a sugar daddy. :)