Good talks with good friends :)

So, Jenn (one of my good friends and coworkers), Brandi (good friend, ex cowoker), and I went to Pei Wei's for dinner tonight. Jenn was not able to make my b-day party, so we celebrated tonight. I think the birthday celebrations are officially over as of this evening. :) Anyway, dinner was great, we had some wonderful conversation and some great food. mmmm. After dinner, Jenn and I went to see Finding Nemo, which is a great movie. It was so cute and funny. I think my favorite character was the sea turtle. He talks like I do and I think that is cool. He even says "No worries", how great is that? Well, after the movie, Jenn and I had some great conversation. The topic is as follows.

We were discussing all the ironies, confusion, and expectations for single people in today's society. It is so funny how a random stranger can ask you if you are dating anyone and this is seen as a normal question. When i went to renew my lease on my apartment, the woman at the complex asked me if i live alone in my apartment. I answered yes, i do. She immediately asked me if I was seeing anyone. I told her that i was not. She was so surprised. She even had the nerve to ask me what I am doing and why i am not dating anyone and how i can live on my own. I started to tell her that i was working full time and going to school at night and then i realized i was about to start justifying something that does not need to be justified, so i just changed the subject to the matter at hand, my lease. It was so odd to me that she did not hesitate at all to attempt to make me feel different or inferior because i am single. Fortunatley, i was able to shrug her ignorant comments off, but I believe that not everyone can do that as easily. Jenn and i were discussing that there are no guarantees in relationships. I have seen so many of my good friends get into relationships that are not healthy, but they become so codependent on their partner that they stay in those relationships. Now, i dont want to be too cynical, i have also seen some amazing relationships that i think will last forever (ex: Mark and Natalie, Scott and Denise, Sam and Sara, May-Ling and Leith and many more I am sure). But, i think so many people get lost in the expectation that they are supposed to find someone, get married, and have 2.5 kids. That is crazy to me. I think that we should attempt to build a life for ourselves that makes us happy. That means school, a career, family, great friends, whatever makes you happy. If you can build that happy life for yourself and then you are lucky enough to find that person that complements that life, then that is wonderful. If for some reason you do not find that person, then you are still happy. I think to many people live their lives with the goal of finding someone to spend their life with that they stop living for today. They live for the future. I am a firm believer that you should do things that make you happy now, dont keep waiting for the future to make you happy. Now, dont get me wrong, I would love to find that person that fits into my life so well, but I have promised myself to never put my life on hold just because I have not found that person yet. This weekend helped me to see how lucky I am. I have so many friends and my family that love me unconditionally through thick and thin. That is something that can never be replaced or substituted. Obviously since I am single, we can conclude that all my relationships with men have failed, some my fault some not, but never the less they have failed. Out of some of those relationships, i have been able to build life long friendships that are invaluable and that I would not trade for anything. In my life, men seem to come and go, but family and friends stick around even when times are tough. It is such a catch 22 because we all want to find that special someone, but along the way, there are going to be ups and downs and we need our friends to be there for us through those. So many people find that special someone and slowly begin to cut off all their other friendships, but if that relationships ends, they have no one to turn to. It is a hard balance to find between sharing your life with someone, but not becoming codependent on that person. I think if you can set up a life for yourself that you are happy with, then an addition of a romantic relationship will just be icing on the cake. Anyway, I will jump off my little soap box now. Let me know what you all think on the topic.

One more thing, guess who just set up an interview at the Velvet Hookah for tommorrow night after class. Oh yeah, that would be me. Wish me luck, please send out good vibes at about 10:00 tommorrow night. Thanks!!