It seems counter intuitive, but it’s easier to blog when there aren’t any big things going on in your life. At least that’s been true for me. When life is normal, I can write about the new Kelly Clarkson album or the person I saw walking their electric scooter through the line at Starbucks the other day. Recently, however, there have been so many changes and big events in my life that blogging has been near impossible.

Work has been really tough, which means it’s on my mind constantly. And as we all know, the #1 rule of blogging is that you should never write about your job.

I started seeing someone, too. He’s pretty amazing, to be honest. He’s tall and awkward and funny and wonderful. And he even let me take him home to Montana for the 4th of July… Which is impressive in itself. But I always get a little superstitious when it comes to writing about new relationships.

And last but not least, after four wonderful (completely platonic) years together, my roommate Brian and I are getting a divorce. Our lease is up at the end of July, and we both decided that at the ripe old age of 26, we should probably learn what it feels like to live by ourselves. So off I go into the world of 1-bedroom apartments on the East side, with half of my previous furniture. (Seriously, we even decided to split up the coasters).

So as you can see, I’ve been busy. I’m hoping that things will settle down soon, one way or another, but until then, bear with me. I’ll try to make it worth the wait.

Every year about this time I start to lose it. I haven’t seen the sun in months, I completely lack all motivation to do anything athletic, and it’s nearly impossible for me to get out of bed in the morning… or afternoon. For the last month, I’ve been trying to use the SAD lamp my dad gave me every day. I’ve been watching lots of TV from the couch and napping every weekend. I wasn’t blogging very often because nothing interesting was going on… I’d even slipped back into the “Woe-is-me-I’m perpetually-single” mindset, which I had successfully been avoiding for almost 6 months. Basically, it was February.

Enter: Birthday.

I have never felt as loved as I did on Monday, March 2. After all the e-cards, Facebook messages, blog comments, texts, flowers, cards and cupcakes, there was not even a remote corner of my being that didn’t feel like it was overflowing with warmth and love. It was an amazing week, and it’s just what I needed to jump start this insanely busy month. Coming up: lots of work events and working late, St. Patrick’s day with the Plastics (the annual event), a girls’ trip to Vegas for Spring Break ’09, some rousing March Madness basketball and hopefully a Blazers game or two. So, basically, working hard and playing hard for at least a month. Then, (fingers crossed!) sunny weather. Although, I’m not betting on it.

So off I go. Hopefully there will be ample time for blogging my adventures. But in the meantime I wanted to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who helped me get through my slump. Thank you to Ed, Talia and Alex, and Sandy for the beautiful flowers. Thank you to my coworkers for celebrating with me after work. Thank you to Brian and Jess for the cupcakes. Thank you to my book club for meeting on my birthday and celebrating with champagne. Thank you to Amanda for the purple feather boa. Thank you, Dad, for finding a place to email me from Guatemala. Thank you to my brother and my cousins and my aunts and uncles who remembered it was my birthday. Thank you to all my facebook friends and blog followers who sent me messages. Thank you, all. You are, truly, the best thing in my life.

How to Have a Great Valentine’s Day (Even if You’re Single):

Step 1: Make cupcakes. Add red food coloring to make them pink and festive.
Step 2: Get coffee with friends in the morning. (Couples are okay.)
Step 3: Walk around NW Portland and enjoy the sun. Take photos.
Step 4: Do some shopping. Buy yourself a few things. You’re a fantastic date.
Step 5: Watch the NBA Slam Dunk Competition. Continue crushing on Rudy Fernandez.
Step 6: Rent a funny movie, have a cupcake (or 3) and work on the bottle of white wine you opened last night.
Step 7: Enjoy.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

I’m copying Blythe, who’s copying Linda‘s reflective questionnaire. I’m thinking I’ll do this every year like she does. Any suggestions for questions I should add?

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?

Wow, pretty much everything relating to my job. Worked for a nonprofit in a full-time position? Planned an auction? Been heartwarmed by the work I’m doing?

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don’t believe I made any new year’s resolutions this year… So I’m doing pretty damned well. And I will definitely be making some for 2009 (coming soon!).

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

My friend Michelle gave birth to an adorable baby boy named Seamus on Christmas day. He turned a week old yesterday!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Nobody close to me, thank goodness.

5. What countries did you visit?

Canada and Mexico. Yahoo, North America! (This is a HUGE difference from 2007, when work took me to Taiwan, Spain, France, and Japan in addition to my annual Canada trip for fun).

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

Boots with the fur. To be purchased on Endless shortly…

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

November 4th. History was made.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Honestly? Making cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving dinner that actually tasted good. I can now cook one thing!

9. What was your biggest failure?

Probably not paying for all of those parking tickets when I had the chance (and the money)!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Well, I tend to get sick fairly often, but nothing major. I’ve always been pretty lucky that way…

11. What was the best thing you bought?

My wool coat, I think. Or maybe my first Jubelale.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

The Democrats. Way to get your act together. And in an election year, no less.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Still President Bush and Vice President Satan.

14. Where did most of your money go?

To pay rent for my awesome apartment. But other than that, lots of it went towards my car.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Am I focusing too much on Barack Obama becoming President of the United States?

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?

Low – Flo Rida and T-Pain, Bleeding Love – Leona Lewis, So What – Pink, Rehab – Amy Winehouse, Viva la Vida – Coldplay, Mercy – Duffy, anything by Katy Perry or Taylor Swift, and the Mamma Mia! soundtrack.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:


a) happier or sadder? 
happier
b) thinner or fatter? thinner, but this last week may have changed that…
c) richer or poorer? poorer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Hanging out outside when it wasn’t raining. Walking by the river and in Forest Park.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Beating myself up. Being negative.

20. Did you fall in love in 2008?

Nope. Fingers crossed for 2009!

21. What was your favorite TV program?

Ooh! Either 30 Rock or So You Think You Can Dance. Those were the ones I started watching this year. Then there’s always The Daily Show, Scrubs, and Boston Legal.

22. What was the best book you read?

I’ve had a pretty long string of bad books, but I did like Three Cups of Tea and Eat, Pray, Love (I’m embarrassed to admit it). Plus I received quite a few books for Christmas that I’m looking forward to reading!

23. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Paramore.

24. What did you want and get?

Brian to stay in Portland.

25. What did you want and not get?

Talia, Alex, and both Bens to stay in Portland.

26. What was your favorite film of this year?

Hmmm… Probably either Wall-E or The Dark Knight.

27. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 25 and did a pub crawl with my friends on N Mississippi Ave.

28. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

A relationship that worked out.

29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?

Low-maintenance clothing in solid colors. I’m guessing that every year I complete this survey, this answer will be the same.

30. What kept you sane?

My roommate. As always.

31. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

I’m going to go with Jon Stewart on this one. I am so predictable.

32. What political issue stirred you the most?

Usually I’m pretty fired up about abortion rights, but this year healthcare was front and center.

33. Who did you miss?

My family. I can’t get enough of them.

34. Who was the best new person you met?

I’m going to go with either Michelle or Jess from work. Sami’s a close third, too.

35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.

I have a hard time enjoying the moment when it comes to relationships because I’m too busy worrying about the future. This is not a good thing. I’m working on it.

36. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Outside you will find
There is love all around you
It takes you, makes you wanna say

That it’s a beautiful life
And it’s a beautiful world
And it’s a beautiful time
To be here, to be here, to be here

- Beautiful Life, by Fisher

I offered to help a friend at work with her wedding planning. She’s getting married on New Year’s Eve and I was hoping to take something off her plate. I’ve seen enough people go moderately nuts while trying to plan weddings to know that even the ones who seem calm can be freaking out on the inside.

Anyway, she mentioned that one of the things on her to-do list was to make a soundtrack for their slideshow. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m sort of obsessed with music, so I told her I’d try to help.

I ended up sending her a whole list of song options, and in the process started compiling my list of Top Five Favorite Songs About Love. I originally started with Top Five Songs I Wish Someone Had Written About Me, but could only come up with two that I really liked, then moved to Top Five Verses About Love, but that still didn’t do justice. Anyway, I’m still having trouble narrowing them down confidently, so I’m asking for some audience participation. What’s your favorite song about love? This includes break up songs, happy songs, heart-wrenching songs, anything that moves you. And let me know your favorite verse or line if you want. I may include your song in my Top Five!

Plus I always love being exposed to new music.

A few weeks ago on a Friday, I got on a plane headed for Montana. I was feeling sorry for myself. The guy I was seeing just realized that he wasn’t that into me, I had been suffering from Bronchitis for over three weeks, and I had to fly home for roughly 48 hours to go to a funeral. I was not my usual happy self, and I didn’t really feel like being cheered up (note: not normal for me).

But I somehow found joy in the most unlikely places, accidentally. In fact, since then, I’ve been continually reminded that although life is never perfect, there are wonderful things at every turn. I keep thinking of a voicemail my mom left me last summer when there were forest fires all around Missoula and the smoke had settled in the valley, making just leaving your house hazardous to your health. She talked about how smoky it was and then said, “So that’s the bad part of life here right now, but the good parts are everywhere.” It’s sort of like the opening scene of Love Actually, where the narrator talks about going to the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport and discovering that love actually is all around.

That Friday night, I was my dad’s date to a wedding (the oldest son of one of my dad’s golf buddies got married), and although I’d never met the couple and couldn’t think of anything that sounded less appealing that attending a wedding that night, they looked so blissfully happy that I couldn’t help but enjoy myself, celebrating with them.

Even the funeral provided moments of joy. When I read the obituary that my dad wrote for the family friend who passed away, I was inspired all over again by her courage, her sense of adventure, and her love for her family. Saturday night, after the memorial service, all of my dad’s friends from high school (that’s right – high school) and their kids went to the Sip-N-Dip in Great Falls, which is one of my favorite Montana gems. We drank blue cocktails out of fishbowls and put dollar bills on the glass to tip the mermaids. One of my dad’s friends, John, tried to convince the bartender to let him borrow the mermaid costume and go swimming, but apparently the pool is closed at 9 PM to everyone but guests of the hotel, which we were not.

When I flew back into Portland after the whirlwind trip, my friends met me at the airport and took me out for drinks, even though it was late on a school night. They were amazing. They listened. They made me laugh. They even looked at my Sip-N-Dip photos and pretended I wasn’t talking crazy. They didn’t tell me I was too emotional or lame or needy or awkward. They told me I was awesome and hugged me hello and kissed me goodnight on the cheek. Even the ones who live halfway across the country called me that week and supported me, and I didn’t even have to ask.

So yes, I’m currently in the busiest part of the year at work. Yes, I worked 12 hours yesterday after working last weekend, and it’s only going to get worse. Yes, the summer’s over. Yes, three more of my closest friends moved away in the last month. Yes, I’m single. Again. Yes, the economy’s terrible and the presidential race is ten times closer than it ever should have been. But how can anything in life look bad when there are so many good parts?

For the last week or so, I’ve been “working” on a post about all the awesome and not-so-awesome things that have happened to me recently. Hopefully that post will be finished soon, but until then, I wanted to talk about an incredible episode of This American Life.

One of the things that happened since last we met is that Brad and I broke up. I’m doing fine. I’m over it. And I can honestly say it’s better this way. But when it happened, I wasn’t so calm or reasonable. Between then and now I’ve gone through the obligatory stages of sadness, anger, resignation, and now I’m back to “normal.” Considering it wasn’t a very long relationship, it didn’t take particularly long to go through the spectrum.

My dad sent me an email saying I should download Episode #339 of This American Life and listen to it. He didn’t actually find out Brad existed until my mom told him about meeting Brad when she was in Portland, and then by the time my dad asked me about my new boyfriend, we’d broken up. So in his lovable and adorable Dad way, he tried to cheer me up. (Well, first he told me that boys are crazy, that they don’t make any sense, and that even he doesn’t understand them… But then he told me to download the podcast).

The episode is in four parts, but my favorite two are the Prologue and Part One.

For fear of transcribing every single interesting or funny line in the show, I will only write a few of my favorites and then STRONGLY URGE you to listen to the entire show online for free or download the podcast on iTunes. In fact, if you feel like a little audience participation, let me know what parts/quotes you liked from it.

In the Prologue, Ira Glass interviews a girl named Lauren, who sounds like she’s probably a teenager, or maybe a bit older. She’s in the throes of all the emotional turmoil that follows a breakup, but is still willing to be taped and even describes her situation in a remarkable way. My favorite is this quote:

“Breaking up with someone is literally the most common thing. Like, everyone you know broke up with everyone they ever dated… until maybe the person they’re with right now if they’re with someone right now. But when it happens to you it feels so… specific.”

Which really brings into focus how ridiculous breakups are. You always feel like no one understands, when in actuality, pretty much everyone’s been there. But it still seems different this time.

In Part One, a woman named Starlee Kine, co-creator of the Post It Note Reading Series, talks about her recent breakup and then writes a break-up song about it. I’m not making this up. She has never written music in her life, she has no musical abilities whatsoever, but she decides it’s the best way for her to express her feelings and wallow in them.

One of my favorite parts about Starlee’s story, other than her deadpan humor, is that music seems to play a similar role in both our lives. Music has and always will be one of the most important outlets I have. I don’t create, mix, or even critique it. I don’t claim to be a music snob. In fact, my friend Ben has described me as a music plebian. I listen to just about everything and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

I’m just amazed how lyrics or a good beat can affect my mood, change or enhance the way I feel, or identify emotions I didn’t even know I had. My friend Julie is one person that seems to share these sentiments; she will sometimes describe her feelings or state of mind with just the name and artist of a song (not out loud, mind you. Usually on her blog or her status messages on Google chat). I have playlists in my iTunes library for just about any emotion or occasion (Saturday Night Dance Party, Mellow, Giddy, Road Trip, etc.). Sometimes I’ll listen to SNDP when I’m doing the dishes or if I had a bad day and want to cheer up. Or I’ll put on Road Trip at work while I’m doing something boring like putting address labels on 800 invitations.

Starlee associates Phil Collins songs with her ex-boyfriend, Anthony. Nothing is sacred to her in this “report”. She is the first to admit that, “it was hands-down the corniest relationship I’ve ever been in. And by corniest, I mean greatest.” This quote is even preceded by a list of all the red flags she ignored because she was so enamored with Anthony.

When he broke up with her on New Year’s Eve, after nearly a year of dating, she was crushed. When she reflects on it, she says, “In that moment, no one could have conveyed how I was feeling better than Phil Collins.”

She goes on to make a sort of mix tape of breakup songs she loves before trying to write her own. She wants to listen to every sad song she can, to just wallow and be consumed by all of her sad feelings. “A breakup song won’t ever suggest you start online dating, or that you’re better off without him. They tell you that you’re worse without him, which is exactly what you want to hear, because that’s how you feel,” she says. She’s honest, articulate, and apparently has no pride or dignity whatsoever. Heartbroken to the max.

Once again, I don’t want to ruin the entire episode in this post, but let me just say that I have a whole new respect for Phil Collins now, and I even downloaded a song or two of his after listening to the episode.

So it turns out that my emotions can be described or amplified not only by music, but by a program on NPR. Just like breakups, the feelings you are going through always seem so unique and so specific to you, when they’re actually incredibly common. Of course, knowing that doesn’t make it any easier to get over them. It’s just an interesting thought.

It’s no secret that I’m not very good at this whole being-a-grown-up thing. Occasionally I pay a bill late because I forget to open my mail for a week or two. Sometimes I go to work looking like I got dressed in the dark because… I did. And I’m still trying to figure out why books and beer are usually higher on my list of expenses than, say, food and clothing.

But one thing I’m really bad at is being in an “adult” relationship. Because I haven’t really ever done it. The only things I know about dating in your mid-twenties I either learned from my friends (who are mostly in long-term relationships that started with a random drunken college make-out) or movies. So, basically, movies. Which is why I got really nervous about my mom and my brother coming to visit this past weekend. Clearly, I want Brad to meet the fam, but if there’s anything Hollywood’s told me, it’s that meeting someone’s parents is a huge deal. Even if I don’t think it is.

So I talked to Brad about it last week. I tried to play it cool – Hey, I would love for you to meet my family, but I totally understand if it’s a little overwhelming to meet them so soon…blah blah blah. And of course he wasn’t worried at all. He said he definitely wanted to meet them, I just needed to tell him when and where to show up. So I made plans for my mom, Pete, Brad, and I to have drinks together on Saturday night.

One of my mom’s best friends from college, Marty, just recently moved to Portland, so she was excited to stay with him for the weekend. Pete was going to stay at my apartment on the floor, because Brian’s (awesome) friend Kim was in town and had dibs on the couch, but I decided to stay at Brad’s instead and give Pete the bed. My mom got in late Friday night, so Marty picked her up at the train station and she said she’d call me for breakfast on Saturday morning.

Bright and early Saturday morning, I got a call from my brother saying my mom had called about breakfast and he didn’t know whether it was okay to tell her that I wasn’t actually at my apartment with him. I called her back and told her I had stayed at Brad’s, since there were so many people staying at my apartment and this way Pete didn’t have to sleep on the floor or share a bed with his 25-year-old sister. She responded, “Meg, there are about a million reasons for you to stay at Brad’s, and that is the least of them.”

I told her she and Marty should go pick up Pete and go to breakfast and I’d meet them there. Brad had to drive me home and get his bike, plus I needed to shower and get ready. So, we drove to my apartment and were hugging goodbye in front of the entrance when I looked across the street and saw my mom and Marty, standing in the Park Blocks, waving and giggling at us.

Now, one thing I haven’t told you about Marty is that he’s a photographer. He never leaves home without at least one camera. So he wasted no time in picking up the one around his neck and snapping a few “paparazzi” shots of us.

This was me, being embarrassed and explaining to Brad that he didn’t get to wait until that night to meet my mom. Turns out he was actually excited to see her. I was the only one who was mortified.

Moral of the story: I’m awkward. Brad’s not. My family loved him. And I look absolutely terrible in the mornings.

Let’s play catch-up. Here are the things that have happened in my life since last we met that I have deemed blog-worthy (in a list, of course):

1. I went to Idaho. And it was hilarious. Besides passing a store in the middle of Pocatello (population ~55,000) called “The Gun Barn” and another one that was a giant warehouse with these wares listed across the side: “Camping – Boots – Knives – Camo – Gifts,” it was a great experience. My dad aptly dubbed Pocatello “the town that time forgot” after driving through downtown and feeling like he jumped into 1955.

Other things to note about Idaho: They call baked potatoes “Bakers.” As in, “Whadya want on yer baker?” There are also lots of Mormons there. Everywhere you turn, stores are selling CTR rings, ties, necklaces, and wristbands. I got carded at our hotel bar and when I told the bartender I’d have to go back to my room to get my ID, he responded with, “You’d understand if you were from here.” The regional high school rodeo championships were also in town and all of the cowboys and girls were staying at our hotel. They even set up a fake calf in the atrium to practice their roping skills.

The wedding reception was at Tiffany’s parents’ house, which is a beautiful ranch about an hour outside of Pocatello, near Aberdeen. When we were driving on the long dirt road out to the house, passing by miles and miles of potatoes, sugar beets, and wheat, my cousin Kristin started singing, “We’re from the country and we like it that way…”

2. The Sixth International Barbecue Symposium took place. Anyone who went to Lewis & Clark knows that all meetings, gatherings, or even organized conversations are to be called symposia. For instance, if you do a search on the website for the word “symposium,”, you’ll get 4 website suggestions and 85 articles on everything from the “Third Annual Multicultural Symposium” to the “Environmental Affairs Symposium” and the “Law Review Symposium.” So, naturally, six years ago, my friends decided to start the annual Barbecue Symposium, which consists of lots of friends in one place, drinking, grilling, and playing in the sun for one whole day. This year we even had 4 guests of honor fly in from out of town. Overall it was a great success. And if I had to sum up the day in just a few photos, they would be these three. At one point, I decided to nap and then rally for more flip cup. I love me some flip cup.

3. I went to a Share the Road Safety Class in order to get the cost of my Illegal U-Turn ticket reduced by $115. And it was totally worth the two hours of my time. Highlights included them showing us this video to convince us to watch for cyclists, and the woman next to me getting in a bit of a fight with another person in the class about her ticket. “That is TOO illegal! Otherwise I wouldn’t be sittin’ here in this damn class!”

4. I bought the new Coldplay CD. And it was a let down. I’ve never been a huge Coldplay fan. I didn’t DISlike their music, I just didn’t search it out or buy their albums. (I just checked to see if I had any Coldplay on my computer. Until last week, I had 4 songs of theirs and I’m pretty sure I got 3 from my brother and 1 from a Christmas mix my cousin made). I really liked the song on Kanye West’s latest CD with Chris Martin on it, so I thought maybe I should give Coldplay a chance.

Jason told me to check out their website and download the free song. (He’s seen Coldplay in concert and probably has all of their CD’s). I downloaded Viva La Vida (the one on the iTunes commercials) and really liked it. Then I saw this political emotional rollercoaster of a video and decided I’d probably buy their CD when it came out. Well, I bought it. And it pretty much all sounds like their old stuff. I still like Viva la Vida, Violet Hill, and Lost?, but the CD was a waste of money. In fact, I’m pretty sure the song 42 is actually just In My Place with a few different words.

5. I started internet dating. It’s true. So be prepared for all sorts of embarrassing/stupid/painful stories on this here blog. And to start it off…
On Saturday, at my friend Kate’s wedding, Jason (that’s right, my EX) came up to me and said that he’d just received an email from eHarmony letting him know that they’d found a match for him. Her name is Megan, she’s 25, 5’10″, and she’s a fundraising event planner for a non-profit here in Portland. She’s very close to her family and enjoys happy hours and microbrews. I coolly responded with, “Wow, she sounds pretty awesome.” And then mumbled something about loving the song that was playing and ran off to dance.
When recapping this story to my friend Ben, he said if eHarmony thinks Jason and I would be a good match, that’s just proof that the system is totally fucked. I’m trying to stay optimistic.

I am not bitter about being single on Valentine’s Day.

As I’ve mentioned before, I love holidays, and this is no exception. It’s my mom’s favorite holiday as well, which probably influenced me a great deal. She would always make us valentines and have some sort of surprise at breakfast. One year she made us heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast and served us orange juice out of mugs with hearts for handles (which I had not seen before, nor have I seen them since).

So, last night Talia and I got together and made mini-cupcakes for our coworkers. We decorated them with conversation hearts, which we both hate. They’re cute, but they’re disgusting. Anyway, in case no one else actually purchased any this year, I want you to know that the phrases on this year’s conversation hears include:
melt my heart
in a fog
chill out
nature lover
wild life
IM me (also, e-mail me and fax me)
heart of gold
Clearly there are lots more, but I thought those were the most ridiculous.

Anyway, at one point we got a little carried away and made this monstrosity.

Then, today, we had free coffee, cookies, juice, and cupcakes at work (in addition to my cupcakes). Plus, Talia had to work late, so Alex and I went out to dinner, which was followed by Rock Band and beer chez T&A.

Don’t get me wrong, sometimes things come up that make me a little sad about not having a significant other on Valentine’s Day. I am not immune. Like when I get some spam email from eHarmony telling me there’s still time to find a Valentine before Thursday! (How did they even know I was single? Is it that obvious?). Or this afternoon, when most of the girls in my department at work got flowers delivered. Out of the six of us in the office today, 4 are married. Three of the married girls got flowers, so the 4th one called her husband and whined, “The only girls who didn’t get flowers in the office today were the single ones and me.” Then the only other single girl in the office says over her cube wall, “No, Traci, even some of the single girls got flowers!” Sure enough.

But even when the interwebs and everyone in the office make me painfully aware of my singledom, I remember that I have incredible friends who will stay up late making silly cupcakes with me, who will take me out to dinner and play Rock Band, who will buy me hilarious Valentine’s gifts like this shirt. And then I remember how happy I am with my life, even if I don’t have a boyfriend.

Plus a guy riding his bike on the Park Blocks stopped to ask me out on my way home from work. And I’ll be damned if that doesn’t make a girl’s day.