wench

So I’m pretty sure that anyone who follows me anywhere online knows that Jaron came to visit me this weekend.  I had been getting really excited and my hopes were a lot higher than I was really comfortable with….

Well the weekend, and Jaron arrived I was definitely nervous.  An infestation of butterflies took over and I found myself downtown waiting on a train.  I wasn’t looking for the guy I went to college with 5 years ago… I was looking for the man from the pictures, from the emails…  and of course he was at the end of the crowd.

I didn’t have a concrete plan other than I just wanted to spend as much time as possible with him.  And I think we did pretty well.  We played co-op New Super Mario Bros. on the Wii — a game I need to own.  We watched Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog — and he sang along…  And then not wanting to wait any longer, “I vote yes on giving this a try.”

“Me too.”

We’re a couple now.  And a freaking adorable, and probably sickeningly cute, couple.  We held hands through Avatar at the IMAX.  Held hands as we walked through my favorite park — The LP Zoo.  Made out in front of the Puffin exhibit.  We were so cute that a manager (quite possibly the owner) of the Meatloaf Bakery just needed to talk to us.

It was over far too quick.  The weekend, of course.  And it was also almost cut way to short — I was almost called into work.   That would have sucked balls.  Luckily we got a full day together.  And then he had to go back home.  It’s a 4 hour train ride.  It’s not terrible, but it’s definitely far enough.

He was the first to say “I’ll miss you.”  He texted me a photo of my favorite animal at the Zoo after I got back to a Jaron-less home.  My heart would race each time he kissed me.  He gave me massages without one single prompt.  He didn’t care that I kept stealing his power-ups.

He’s the best.

And now I’ll answer!

A couple days ago I sought you out and had you ask any questions you might have for me.  This led to an interesting formspring.me conversation… plus a handful of questions from a handful of you.

I love cupcakes! Where is your favorite cupcake from and what is it?
Quite possibly my favorite cupcake is the Watermelon cupcake from Phoebe’s in Boystown.  It’s a little sweet, but not sickeningly so (Lovely might debate me on this).  The cake, like all of Phoebe’s has a great consistancy, not to dense not too crumbly, and it has a great light frosting.  I also love the Lemon, Bleeding Heart Raspberry, and Rootbeer float cupcakes — all from Phoebe’s.  Basically, besides for the red velvet, Phoebe’s hasn’t made a cupcake I haven’t loved and they have the best prices in town for gourmet cupcakes — that I’ve seen at least.  (I’m a tiny bit of a red velvet snob.)

What is your opinion on love?
It’s awesome.

Okay.  I thought I was in love once.  I thought I was with the person who I would marry.  And I was wrong.  But I’m 100% okay with that.  He and I weren’t right for each other and we both know that.

I love a lot.  But the love it takes for that real true deep love… well, I’m looking forward to the day it comes into my life.  I won’t rush it.

What do you like about Jaron?
A lot.  Okay.  You should know I haven’t seen him in five years.  Nor have we actually talked in at least five years as well.  We weren’t close in college.  We just had a lot of mutual friends, which was common since it’s a small school.

But if you’re looking for a list — which is only going to feed his ego more… (Jaron, did you ask this one??)  … It’s a lot of small things, plus some big ones.  Things I appreciate:  We have the same views/loathing of cilantro, and we both have reactions to it (so it’s more than the “it taste gross”); we have some other similar food preferences; the similar ability to just appreciate things for what they are; he writes super long email responses to my super long emails; he’s nerdy; he built a computer in a fish tank!; he’s got confidence, and I would dare to say he’s willing to put his ego/image aside to just have fun (something I still have issues with); we have similar values, similar love of travel…  But you know what?  He makes me happy.  I have a huge smile on my face.  And I can’t wait to see him in… about three and half hours…

Why do you call yourself ‘wench’?
It all started in 2004.  I was working at Cedar Point in a saloon.  I was supposed to be a hostess, but ended up serving a lot of times.  I also “bartended” some.  Anyway.  The joke with my college friends was that I was going to be a Beer Wench for the summer.  From that summer I’ve used “wench” for things like bowling names.  And going through tons of blog titles Wench just stuck.  Oh.  And I like pirates.

How do you pronounce your name?
Ah! You got me… I don’t actually know! Okay.  Here’s the thing.  “Erini” is not my legal name, I’ve just been going by it since college.  That’s 7 years now.  As far as I’m concerned, it’s my name and one day the government will recognize that too.

My grandfather is Finnish.  So he’s the one who started calling me Erini way back when (before college even), and I really loved it.  The thing is, I cannot speak Finnish.  I can read a little bit of it, but asking me to do so outloud? HA!  Trust me when I say Chinese is easier.

So, the correct Finnish pronunciation aside, here’s what I consider acceptable:
Erin-EE or Air-Re-Nee… Rini (Ree-Nee) for short.

If you’re asking about the CS, it’s just that. C-S.

Why cupcakes over other delicious desserts?
Well, I do love certain pies.  Growing up I only liked pumpkin, but my time living with the Mennonites put a healthy appreciation for the dessert in me.  The only Menno staple I don’t care for is pecan.  I’m also not sure how I feel about shoo-fly.

Anyway, cupcakes are a great size for just one person — you won’t look selfish if you eat it all.  And when you share it, it’s intimate.  Cupcake dates (with friends or otherwise), totally awesome.  Also: Cupcakes are NOT vehicles for icing!  That’s what separates a decent cupcake from an AMAZING cupcake.

I do love other desserts… but after this summer and all the fun I had on my cupcake dates, it holds a special place in my heart.

——————————————-

All right… there’s a question from CMigs for Jaron as well… but he’s probably getting on the train or going to the station… he’s getting ready to see me.  Soo… I’ll have him answer it later.

I should probably finish as much of the cleaning as possible… I underestimated the time I’d need for these dishes and how many would need to soak some… I hate admitting this, but this is probably the WORSE I’ve left my dishes…

I really do like formspring.me, so keep asking me questions and I’ll keep answering them!

This one’s for you, Pham.

So, a friend of mine, Phampants, and his friend Karen are on a mission…
This awesome duo has been working for weeks putting together a youtube video.  Why?  They have one dream*: To become Ford Fiesta Agents.

Seriously.  It’s true.  Watch:

Watch it.  Fav it.  Share it.  Seriously.

All I ask, Pham, is that you give me rides!  Oh! And bring back cupcakes from the places you visit!  What? …  Fine.   But I will have at least one cupcake related trip for the two of you to take for  2010: Year of the Cupcake.

You should also tweet**, facespace it, and pretty much any other social media you can think of.  Let’s clog the interweb tubes with Pham.  Well, don’t clog it so much I can’t function.  I have a super awesome weekend to plan.***

Check out Pham’s post for more info.

*Okay, maybe they have more than one dream… but really… they have one dream….

**Suggestions for tweets: “I think John & Karen should be Fiesta agents cause they are awesome http://tr.im/MGQ3 @fordfiesta.  #fiestamovement” or you know, you’re smart, you can come up with clever tweets supporting them too. 

***OMG YAY!  TOMORROW!!!!

Okay, outside of being redundant, this is going to be all about me.  (Yeah, I know, when isn’t this about me?)

Anyway.  This whole being in charge of the toy store thing is really eating up a lot of my time.  I’ll get used to the schedule eventually, but this is my first week of open-to-close by myself.  Not to mention, I’m paired up with a girl who’s been there longer than I have, but yet I’m the one who got the promotion… yeah…

So.  Not that I don’t think you wouldn’t ask unprompted anyway… I’m going to ask you to ask me anything.  Seriously.  I want to say that no topic is off the table, but there are one or two things I may choose to not answer for the moment.  But ask regardless.

You can either ask here… or via formspring.me/erinichristine.
I’ll collect them for a few days or so, and then post the responses.  Maybe we’ll make this a monthly thing or something… maybe not.

So yes.  Ask me anything.  Heck, Jaron’s going to be here in a few days, if you want to ask him anything*, go for it.  I’ll make him answer while he’s here.

*I mean, he is the only guy I’m interested in… so… yeah.

We all know I have issues with the Pink Fluffy Brain Goo.  It takes over any rational, logical part of my mind and then all of a sudden everything is all *SWOON* …. yeah.

I feel like I’ve been getting better about all of this.  Not letting crushes over take my life and all.  But I’ve got to admit, my hopes are definitely up right now.  And I’m not sure I can jump high enough to get a hold of them.

I like Jaron.  He was the last guy on The List.  And I like him.  He loathes cilantro, would prefer tomatoes and mushrooms not to be included, can enjoy a movie for the sake that it’s a movie and not get caught up in petty details, owns two adorable cats, sends me kitteh videos, writes amazingly long email responses to my amazingly long emails, shares similar values as I do, is very open and comfortable about being open… and he’s cute.  And I like him.

There’s a couple things though.  Jaron doesn’t live in Chicago.  And I haven’t seen him in about 5 years.  So as much as I like him, I’m nervous.

He and I have both changed since we were in college together.  This doesn’t bother me too much, mainly because we’ve talked more now than we probably did in college.  We’re getting along great online.  Which is why my hope is so high.  But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about a possible lack of chemistry offline.  We’re basing everything so far on pixels.  It’s just emails and IMs and whatever pictures we find when we’re stalking each other.

But even if there is offline, real world chemistry, I then have to deal with the fact we’re not in the same city.  It’s a four hour train ride just to get to a city close to him, and then have to have him pick me up if I were to visit.  He’s not that far away, but he’s still not here.

He’s coming to visit.  A week from tomorrow, he’s coming to visit.  Only for a weekend.  But I’ll take it.  I’m excited. He’s excited. (He’s told me, and that kicks ass.)

I like him.  And he’s coming to visit.  And my hopes are definitely up with this one.

This is a look through my dating past.  Some names have been changed or omitted.  And as long as my memory serves me right, this should be a complete list (as of posting it) and in chronological order.

I’m starting this from my college years – but if you really want to know I had 12 “boyfriends/relationships” before then (with the first being in 1997).   I’m not really counting those as anything too significant.  Anyway.  The list is 2003 – Present.  (Most of which is post-college, 2007 and forward.)  Here we go…

The Ex (Sean) – My first and only college boyfriend.  We started dating the second or third week into my frosh year.  I was quickly enamored with this mutton-chopped guy with a blue Mohawk.  We dated on and off until the summer after my sophomore year – after he had graduated.  He was my first, as I was his.  I was in love, or what I thought was love.  He wasn’t.  So he ended.  It was the right thing.

GC#1 – He had graduated before me, and was visiting campus… we were at a party together, and this is when beer decided to end out friendship… So after two beers I was drunk.  (Not sloppy drunk, but still feeling it.)  We decided to head back to my room, where lots and lots and lots of making out happened.

GC#2 – He was a class or two below me, and had a little bit of a reputation around campus.  We had made out after the Halloween progressive, and on our way back to the dorms he got distracted by a group of girls in his class.  Anyway, senior year we hooked up on night.  We had this ‘flirt-hate’ relationship, and that night it was flirt, which lead to “come over”, which lead to…. Yeah….

GC#3 – Another guy a class below me.  And another one I had made out with during my junior year.  Fast forward to after I had moved away to the city and I’m visiting for a friend’s wedding.  At the After-Reception Party, we made eyes, flirted a little, then I went back to my friend’s house… where he latter ended up.  And I ended up doing something on the front porch… A show for all the Main Street truckers?

The Rocker – Met him craigslist.  Long hair, about my height.  The first date we ended up meeting one of his friends and seeing Transformers together.  We sort of stayed friends until a few months later.. then I went over to his house, stayed the night, fooled around… then we sort of lost contact.

The Lost Child – Met him on craigslist too.  Showed up wearing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt.  He ate my ramen (DON’T BE GROSS!).  We watched Milo & Otis together.  Pretty sure we made out some.  Also fell asleep together.  He had no direction in life.

The Crazy One – Met him on craigslist as well.  He had been discharged from the army.  He wore crazy platform goth boots shipped from Italy.  He played synth in some weird religious goth band.  We made out.  I told him no sex ‘cause I didn’t want to rush things again.  Using the word “again” sent him off because apparently I have baggage… however it should be said that I wasn’t allowed to cheat on him because that’s happened to him in the past… Also, he considered making out more intimate than sex.  Called it “soul kissing”…  I stopped meeting people from craigslist after this.

The Virginian – Met him through okc.  He was older, 30… But a lot of fun to hang out with.  We got coffee, went back to his place, watched a movie, made out a lot… I stayed the night.  He slept over at my place at least once.  Outside of making out nothing ever happened.  Decided we were better as friends.

Shipping Room Guy – One of my co-workers at the University.  We went to a Hawks game together with other co-workers.  He, myself, and another one of the shipping guys went back to his house.  Got really drunk.  A bit of making out and wondering hands.  Yep.

Douchebag #1 & Douchbag #2 – I was really drunk. I don’t want to talk about it.

Adam – Met him through my friend Dan (who I met online).  Only made out a few times.  Some wondering hands too.  But we’re just friends.

Potluck Guy #1 – Met through Dan.  He drove me home one night, and was a bit too tired and well, drunk, to drive back home so he stayed over (in the living room)… but not before a goodnight make out session.

Potluck Guy #2 – Met through Dan.  He hosted the potluck with his roommate.  After a decent amount of wine… well… yeah… Lots-o-making out.  He came over to my place once for a date of sorts, aka more making out.  Decided maybe we were better as friends.

Sweater Boy – Met online.  Went on one date to see my friend Andy’s band play.  He’s getting his MFA in Creative Writing, so we talked a lot about writing and literature.  Train gets to my stop and I ask if he wants to come over.  Things ended up in the bedroom.

The Neighbor – Met online.  We exchanged a lot of emails and IMed a lot before we finally met in person.  And well, had and I had an arrangement.  F-buddies and nothing more.  I had a first with him too… and was caught off guard when it happened.

One of the guys from the concert – Met him at a Mucca Pazza concert.  Made out with him and another guy at the show.  This one came home with me.  Only made out… just wasn’t feelin’ it.

Mr. Funny – Met online.  We had a shared love of China, since we had both been there.  Chemistry in the bedroom just wasn’t there…

The Bandmate – Met through my band, obviously.  He was leaving and so we went out with another friend of ours… After making out for a while, I decided to give him a little going away present… in our friend’s car… (SORRY!)

The Boy – Met online.  You’ve read a lot about him already.  There was happiness, then not so happiness.  Then no talking, then talking again, then hooking up.  We still talk occasionally.

The one I almost killed – Met online.  Walked to the lake, talked, decided to come back to my house… fooled around… then he almost died of an allergic reaction to my cats.  It wasn’t like I didn’t tell him have TWO cats…

The Idiot – Met through my brother.  We fooled around after my brother’s wedding reception… and then he came to visit… I wasn’t feeling it… and then he threatened to sue me, you remember that, right?

The Comedian – Met online.  Went out for drinks at the bar near my house… went back to my house to make out… then hooked up.

Frank – Met through his sister/online.  I really enjoyed my time with him… things just didn’t work out.

The Musician – Met through mutual friends/musicians.  He was older, really sweet, and a giver.  Really enjoyed my time with him… and well, things in the bedroom were great too.  He’s now dating another friend of mine, and I think they’re a great and cute couple.

The Hacker – Met online.  Turns out we have some mutual friends.  Made out some… but decided it wasn’t right.

4-Day – Met online.  Got all caught up in the romantic acts, the flowers and him being sweet.  He is a really sweet guy, just not the right one for me.  Oh, we hooked up.  Duh.

The Macedonian – Met at a Mucca Pazza concert.  Went back to his house, hooked up, left my phone at his place.  I went to get it the next day, and stayed over again.  Not the story you were hoping for?  We just started talking at the concert, and at one point he asked if I wanted to make out.  Make out with a sexy European dude? YES.  After the show, I didn’t realize we were going back to his place, I thought we were going to meet his friends at another bar.  He’s got an adorable dog, which seemed to take to me really quickly.  He smokes, and smokes pot – two qualities I don’t necessarily like, but tolerate.  He brings me coffee in bed, after we wake up (generally near or after noon).  We talk about music, random life stuff, and I ask about Macedonian a lot.  I haven’t seen him in a while, but we text every once in a while.  I don’t really know what he’s looking for, or (honestly) what I want from it.

Jaron – Met in college.  He was in Sean’s class, and well he was closer friends with Sean than with me.  We’ve been reconnecting online a lot lately.  A LOT.   He’s cute, and funny, and I get unbelievably excited when I get an email or IM or @-reply from him…  It’s still all very new so the butterflies are very much present.  I’ve always had a weakness for GC guys – it’s just nice to have someone who shares some of the same ideals I do, or at least understands them.  But in our reconnecting we’ve found a lot in common (like our shared loathing for cilantro).  I haven’t seen him in about five years. He’s coming to visit me really soon.  He doesn’t live in the city.  So if things were to happen, there are some things to think about and discuss.  But, regardless, I’m excited to see him… and it might not need to be said… but I really like him…

you want towel?  …  you want mint for pillow?

Okay, for the first time in a while, this actually feels like a Monday.  And well, as the start of the week, I feel like I need to do some organizing and thought gathering and just some general housekeeping.  (and please tell me you get the reference above.)

• 2010: Year of the Cupcake – I’ve been slacking at starting this.  Which, yes, is totally lame because, hi.. CUPCAKES.  I have indeed consumed my first (second, third, and fourth) cupcakes for the year.  However, I’m not counting them for YotC.  I do however have a great bakery picked out for my first trip and am very excited about visiting them this week.
• Some personal news – I don’t want to talk about work too much, but I had to share this… I got a promotion!  I know I just got this job, but I’ve already been promoted to Assistant Manager.  Feel free to congratulate me with cookies, cupcakes, drinks, or meals.
• Triple-A – still going steadily…  We also have a facebook group now that you can join (this is just a way for us to sort of be able to see all the members at once.)  I’m going to continue working with Lovely about maybe a giveaway… and I’d like to work with 20sb on some projects too.
• BOYS. – okay this is the update that you all (*cough*cmigs*cough*) want.  I am going to be working on The List post(s?) during my days off this week.  (When I’m not finishing freelance work.)  I know you’re all dying to know about the Macedonian (*cough*cmigs*cough*)… However, while, yes, I still talk to him some, there’s someone else.  I’ve been reconnecting with someone from my past (from college, not a previous hookup or relationship or anything).  Well, let’s just say it’s been the highlight of a lot of things (weeks, days.. yeah..) .. And I’m definitely looking forward to seeing where this could go — however, he’s not in Chicago… so…
• Grad school – I know I talked about living your dreams… and wanting to apply to the MA in Zoology… but with the promotion, I’ve been going back and forth about whether I should apply for this year.  Classes would start in the summer.  I might see if there’s any conservation or environmental education courses I can take online this year…  I need to find a way to work full time and still get this degree.

Anyway… said guy from above is IMing me… and I have an email from him that’s burning a hole in my inbox (MUST READ NOOOOWWWW!)… so…. sorry… BOY.

Yesterday, my beautiful friend, Lovely Anomaly and I decided to start a club. One that welcomes all, and whose sole purpose is spreading self-affirmation and celebrating one’s own amazingness and awesomeness.

This is how it went down:
Lovely: We should start a new club. Triple A. Absolutely Amazing & Awesome.
And thus it was. (Okay, there was more conversation after that… but that’s how it was created.)

We want you to realize that yes you are indeed Absolutely Amazing & Awesome. We believe that you need to see that in yourself before you can go out and conquer the world.

So, are you Absolutely Amazing & Awesome? Join Us!
All you need to do is ask. Or really, just let us know in some form. (The only reason Lovely and I say ask is because we absolutely love affirming people’s awesomeness and saying “YES! You’re in!”) You can find us on twitter at @lovelyanomaly and @erinichristine. We want to know who you are! We want to join you in celebrating the amazing and awesome person that you are.

As this club grows, trust us, they’ll be some amazing & awesome things in store. (I mean, of course!) For now though, tweet us! Let us know that yes, you are indeed Absolutely Amazing & Awesome. And if you’ve got a site, we’ve got a little treat for you:

<a href=”http://pinkdinosaurs.tumblr.com/post/346988729/a-call-to-all-those-who-are-absolutely-amazing” mce_href=”http://pinkdinosaurs.tumblr.com/post/346988729/a-call-to-all-those-who-are-absolutely-amazing”><img src=”http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kwmuhon4KC1qa142p.png” mce_src=”http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kwmuhon4KC1qa142p.png” border=”0″></a>

<a href=”http://pinkdinosaurs.tumblr.com/post/346988729/a-call-to-all-those-who-are-absolutely-amazing” mce_href=”http://pinkdinosaurs.tumblr.com/post/346988729/a-call-to-all-those-who-are-absolutely-amazing”><img src=”http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kwmui3EQgZ1qa142p.png” mce_src=”http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kwmui3EQgZ1qa142p.png” border=”0″></a>

<a href=”http://pinkdinosaurs.tumblr.com/post/346988729/a-call-to-all-those-who-are-absolutely-amazing” mce_href=”http://pinkdinosaurs.tumblr.com/post/346988729/a-call-to-all-those-who-are-absolutely-amazing”><img src=”http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kwmuipyE7C1qa142p.png” mce_src=”http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kwmuipyE7C1qa142p.png” border=”0″></a>

Use these to let others know. (And please link back to this post so others can join too!)

It’s not being cocky, it’s celebrating you for all that you are. (But be forewarned, we won’t stand for douchebaggery or any sort of tyrant bitchery. But this is an honor code system.)

So, ask yourself, are you Absolutely Amazing & Awesome?

The Official Triple-A Twitter List
*Also, if you can’t see the code for the graphics in your rss reader, you’ll have to view the actual blog post.

you should probably click to embiggen.

the original post by pham

If you haven’t figured it out by now, Mucca Pazza is one of my favorite bands.  Ever.

What’s not to love?  Nerds.  Hot, sweaty, sexy, music playing nerds.  And when there’s that much dork-ass sexiness in the air, well, it abounds and spills over and for some people it just sets the right mood for maybe finding that someone special… well, for the night anyway.

I have found a trend with Mucca Pazza shows that I’ve attended (which has been a lot: proof), when MP is at the Empty Bottle I will make out with someone and share a bed.  Okay okay.  So I’ve only been to two shows of theirs there.  But it’s happened both times!  The first time I ended up making out with two different guys, which turned into an awkward tug-of-war dance… and this last time?  Well… I met the Man from Macedonia.

I guess even without the combination of sexy nerds and a enjoyable location I can be kind of flirty.  That’s not the point I guess… but I should be said.  I’ll flirt with people at Mucca shows regardless of venue.  But I almost feel I flirt with Muccas more than the other people at every other location.  Flirting with the Muccas isn’t one of those “I want to get in your poly-wool blend pants” sort of thing — well… ANYWAY.  They flirt too! I’m digressing.   A lot.*

So.  The question’s been asked… How does one go about meeting someone at a Mucca Pazza show?  Here’s the things I’ve noticed and maybe some tips:

• You’ll probably need some liquid courage.  But not too much, because then it becomes liquid stupid.
• Scope out the crowd, find out where the hotties are.  Maybe try to be in those areas.
• Make eye contact with attractive people.  More than once too.  If they smile, keep it up! Smile back!  FLIRT.  If they don’t… STOP BEING CREEPY.  Just give up then.
• Make small talk… by far the easiest thing ever here.  Just talk about how awesome Mucca is.  Talk about a particular thing that happened in the show… (Did you see that trombone chick [Ela] strattle that speaker?  Isn’t the accordion player [Small Ronnie] adorable?  Were you ever in band?)  Easy Peasy.
• FLIRT.  Touch.  FLIRT.  Giggle and laugh.  All appropriately.  Reapply liquid courage as necessary — but remember, it excess it becomes liquid stupid.
• If it seems right.. go for it.  Just kiss them.
• Get their number too…

This technique can be used in other situations… but honestly, the simple fact that everyone is so hyped up and happy and sweaty and all that nerdy sexy mojo vibe has been flowing for an hour or more… What better time then this?

So… The Man from Macedonia? 
Well… I think I’m going to make you wait to get the story on that one.  What a tease!

*this could be a whole ‘nother post in itself…