UPDATED: No more maybe's and not ready's...I deserve a Man, not a boy.

Just to note, this is a previously posted blog that I really strongly still believe in. There has been some recent updates in my life though, so once you read the passionate words of my past experience, please read on for the most recent awesomeness in my life.


No more maybe's and not ready's...I deserve a Man, not a boy. 
At first I wanted to take my time and really reflect on my recent dating experiences. I don't like to just jump off the handle into emotion, I want to really understand what is happening. I really truly want to accept the meaning behind it and why things went the way they did, but you know what conclusion I came to?

I did nothing wrong, and I feel used.

At first I was sad, then I was a little bemused, but now I'm quite angry and ticked off that dating has turned into this horrendous lying piece of crap game. If you want to know what sparked my sudden burst of "DAMN RIGHT I'M ANGRY" vibe, go here, because this MAN knows and understands exactly why I am upset.

     Here’s some brutal honesty for you: if you ‘aren’t ready for something serious,’ then you need to go get yourself ready and leave these ladies alone until you do. You can’t go out and have sex (I mean, ‘hook up,’ as the middle schoolers at the lunch table might call it) and then claim that you ‘aren’t ready for something serious.’ It’s too late, friend. Sex is something serious.
Can you imagine if an airline pilot pulled that kind of stunt?
     “Attention passengers. This is your captain speaking. I just want to tell you that, like, I don’t want things to get weird or whatever, but I’m not really into being a captain right now. I mean, yeah, I chose to take a plane full of souls up 32 thousand feet into the air at a cruising speed of 600 miles per hour, but I don’t want you think that this is, like, official, you know? I’ve got your lives in my hands, but I don’t want this to get serious. In fact, actually, look, I’m just gonna bail now. I’ve got my parachute. You don’t but that’s your problem. I got what I wanted out of this. So, uh, yeah. Bye. Enjoy your fiery demise!”

The Matt Walsh Blog

This blogger Matt Walsh is right on so many levels. When did dating turn into the blase half in half out scenario? When did the words and actions in the beginning start with, "I really like you, but I'm just not ready for anything serious." That line should be followed with a nice smile and the girl walking in the opposite direction. That dude is only saying, "I think you are hot, I like your company for the moment, and I really want to sleep with you but then when I am done since we aren't a couple I can drop this." That is total BS. Hanging out with a woman every week is SERIOUS, talking with a woman every day MEANS SOMETHING, and sleeping with a woman AFFECTS HER EMOTIONS. There is such thing as meaningless sex yes I know that, but only when both parties agree that that is all it is. When you are actively dating a woman, the sex isn't meaningless to her. Unless you intend to make your dating situation into something more, DON'T SLEEP WITH HER!!!!!

I know the hate and blame women get on the other side of the scale of the dating game, but I have to say half the shit I pull is because I CAN'T act like myself until at least a month into it. I have to protect myself and guard my emotions because of the pricks who use me for their own gain. The game is in place so that I can hold onto my sanity and emotions, but I wouldn't have to play it if a MAN walked along and said, "Hey, I like you. I want to take you out." And then opened doors for me, and paid for a drink, didn't make a sexual pass at me and CALLED ME THE NEXT DAY!!!!

I know what you are going to say gentlemen, "But it's not fair that we always pay on first dates, why do we always have to go out of our way?" First of all, deal with it, because that is how you court a woman. Second, you do that in the beginning to get your foot in the door. Once you are in, that's when you get the benefits of your hard work and effort. Let's think of it like a new job; you write a killer resume and attach an amazing cover letter. When you get the interview you dress to impress, you put your best foot forward and you act the professional part. Even when you start the job you keep up the attitude of great employee because you want to make a solid first impression that you are amazing and are worth the money you get paid. Once you prove yourself, you get a raise! Maybe you get the corner window office, the nice comfy chair, the free lunch, the late night free dinners, the snack in mid day just because you are so wonderful at what you do. If you put in the effort to woo a woman, I guarantee she will repay you three-fold in a "SERIOUS COMMITTED RELATIONSHIP."

Now on one hand I understand the lonely part, I get it, you want to hang out with SOMEONE of the opposite sex. That's ok, totally ok. We women get lonely too and in the middle of the search for your person sometimes there will be the randoms that we forget about maybe a month or so later. Those fillers are just as needed and important, but there is a respectful way to handle it. Go on a date, yes a date not a "hang out", and talk. Talk to this random stranger, get to know someone new. Maybe you will hit it off and actually want something more, maybe you won't. But you are only allowed to take her on one, maybe two dates. No sex, no intimacy past maybe an innocent make out session. After that, you are done so walk away. You don't want to stay with this woman, and she probably doesn't want to stay with you either. At the point it isn't personal because neither of you have put your best foot forward. Once you step past the boundary though and transition this situation into a random booty call, that's when you become the prick. Don't you dare text a woman past 11pm asking her if she wants to hang out. Do you realize how degrading and disrespectful that it?! You better not every turn this into you being a Codfish either, and if you don't know what I'm referring to read this. Knock it off gentleman, I know your mother's raised you better so stop treating women like toys to be tossed away when you get bored.

Perhaps I should mention that this all has to do with age and maturity. I wouldn't expect a 21 year old guy or girl to truly understand this fully. Everything is still too new, and in your younger 20's you are supposed to be dumb and stupid to learn the rules of relationships. However, once you head toward your late 20's and definitely into your 30's you damn well better know what is right and wrong. Shit or get off the pot gentleman, because honestly we don't have time for you to dance around this situation. I will give you a simple guideline....

Date One: Talk about interests, giggle about interests, smile and take in the person's attitude
Date Two: Figure out if you are on the same page of what you want in a relationship

• If you are on the same page move forward
• If you are not on the same page....walk away

Date Three: Both on the same page, explore your attraction to each other. Yep you better be kissing her goodnight by this night
Date Four: She likes you so much she wants to do something sweet for you. Cook you dinner and dessert, set up a movie at her place, take you out for a drink. Good job you Man you!!

The point is, by date two, hell by the end of date ONE, I guarantee you will know if that person is someone you want to be with. If the answer is an honest no, DO NOT play her with emotions to fill your needs. She isn't your play toy, and don't treat her like one. Now don't get defensive, you know that I am right. The only reason you are annoyed reading this is because I am calling you out on your bullshit. That's ok, you can be angry, just know that we see you for what you are, a boy. Don't worry, just like Matt Walsh said in his blog, even he had his "boy" days, but you will all become men eventually and you will find the right woman for you when you do. Until then, keep it in your pants and don't string a girl along. She has feelings, she is a person, and she deserves your respect.

I'm exhausted with these games though gentleman, and as funny as some of my dating stories are I am tired of meeting the boys in this city. I am done messing around with the maybe's and the I don't know if I am ready's, and the well let's just see where this goes...attitude. Here is my declaration:

"I want a MAN to date, I want a MAN that wants me for me and truly cherishes me and what amazing benefits, affection, and love I have to offer. I want a romantic gesture. I want flowers. I want to have the opportunity to show a MAN that I can truly love, cherish, and take care of him the way he deserves. I am an amazing woman and I deserve an amazing MAN to love with my whole heart. I won't back down, and I won't take maybe's for a test drive. I want the real thing, and if you aren't the real thing step aside because I don't have time to play your half assed games. Come and find me MAN, because this woman is ready for what you have to offer."

UPDATE TO THIS BLOG 3/27/15:
My fellow bloggers and wonderful readers, it's been a little less than a year since I have written this post and I felt the need to give you a slight update.

Shortly after a very frustrating break up and a moment of complete frustration with men in general my entire life did a complete flip flop. A very very good friend of mine who I have known for three years, and previously dated for a short stint in the beginning, came back in to my life and opened my eyes to what I had been looking for all along.

On Sept 1st I told him what I wanted and needed in my life and that I wanted and needed him, and I kid you not, his response was, "Jessica, I read your blog. I know what you want and are looking for. I'm not like those guys, and I would never treat you that way."

Needless to say my long time friend, Bear, have now been dating for seven months and I have never been happier. Not only does he listen to my wants and needs, but he is also passionate and considerate, a man of many words and a mind so full of excitment for learning that I sprint to keep up with him. He cares for me in ways I never thought a man could, and to top it all off he is my absolute best friend. I have more fun with him than I thought was possible. He is my partner in crime, the one thing I have been looking for this whole time. It's a wonderful realization that you really truly can find someone who is that one person for you and sometimes that person is right in front of you, you only have to open your eyes and not be afraid to take that leap into the wide unknown abyss of love.

The Double Standard

I’m sitting at a bar with a couple of my friends, and an attractive guy walks up to me and offers to buy me a drink. One of my guy friends leans over and whispers, “That is so not fair. What a double standard. I’m sitting here by myself and hot girls aren’t buying me any drinks.” I smiled at my friend, offered to buy him a drink to shut him up in a friendly way, and we go on with our evening. 

I chuckle a little bit when men mention the double standard to me because in a lot of respects I feel that women get the short end of the stick when it comes to the dating scene. Of course men are welcome to argue with me, I would even love to hear their side, but first you should hear my side.

As a single woman I am on the constant search for “the one” and no I’m not talking about Neo. The one is the guy that fills the slot of “man of our dreams” the fantasy fairy tale man that we were all force fed actually existed when we were little girls. Some man is supposed to come sweep us off our feet and all we have to do is flaunt our bodies, primp our goods, and pretend we are everything he wants us to be…right? HELL NO!! I am a single INDEPENDENT woman and if I am READY to find a man to share a life with me I have no problem looking for him myself. “But Jess, you should just live your life and be happy. The right man will find you.”

No, I’m sorry that is BS and you know it. Why do I have to wait for him to come find me, why can’t I go find him myself? Here is one that never made sense to me….If I sit and wait and act like I am a perfect woman, the woman of this man’s dreams, he will then want me. BUT…if I seek the same man out, he will see me as needy, I give him the power, therefore he won’t see me as his perfect woman. Ugh, how depressing and exhausting. I’ve read in books that men need to see us women as a challenge, but in order for it to be a challenge us women must sit around and wait for mister perfect to get off his lazy man ass and come find me….ME…his damn perfect woman sitting alongside a BAJILLION other women doing the exact SAME THING!!!! Doesn’t this infuriate anyone else??!!??!?!?! Well, not like I can change the biology of how men think, I just don’t agree with it…at all. (Maybe that’s why you are still single ::the tiny voice in the distance whispers rudely at me:: Shut up voice, no one asked you!)

Now, on my search for THE ONE, I have found there are SO SO SO many toads, and pigs, and alligators, and walruses, and snakes, and over aggressive lions, and weasels, and little fresh birdies….you have any idea how many damn dates I have to go on to find a DECENT man? A man, I mean it, not a boy, not a little kid dressed like a man, and not a man that says he’s a man and somewhat sorta acts like a man but does drugs like he is a teenage rebel without a cause. The answer to that question is WAY TO MANY! So…again I am sitting at that bar with my close group of friends and someone asks my guy friend, “So man how did that date go last week?” And his response, “Which one?” They laugh and joke, call him THE MAN and congratulate him on his macho show of manliness. He had three dates in one week, bravo sir, absolutely bravo.

The double standard…I had two dates that same week and the response I get, “Honey, you really should take more time for yourself. Stop caring so much about finding the right guy, you should just do things that make you happy and not worry about dating so much.” And this was all said in the same night! Why does my guy friend get the congrats when I get a pat on the back in a fashion of, “oh honey, you are trying too hard, you look so desperate.” How is that even fair? My friend is doing the same thing that I am, looking for someone to share adventures with, looking for a person that is like me, that I can discover new things with. Why is it that men go on a handful of dates and look like Joe Cool, whereas I go on two dates and I look like a desperate aging woman? I don’t date because I am desperate for a man, and I don’t date because I hate being single. I actually love being single, it’s complete freedom and totally exhilarating, but I dare you to find more than a handful of engaged couples you are even a little bit wanting to dive back into the dating scene. We all agree, it sucks, but we do it because we want to find our person. In a friend group of mostly couples, it would be nice to have my own cuddle buddy, and my own dinner and movie partner. The only people who don’t understand this are people who are in a long term relationships and forget (or don’t even know) what it’s like to be single for longer than a year.

This is where the people reading this will either think, “Preach it SISTER!!!” or the other side will think, “Man, all you do is complain complain complain. Such a feminist.” There is a line, and most people cross it, with me I see it in massive ranges of color not black and white. Just because I am a girl doesn’t mean there are specified rules of how to do this. I do things my own way, and yes maybe that is why I am still single, or maybe it’s because I live in LOS ANGELES surrounded by men who are only looking for the next best thing. Some great advice I got from a close friend of mine was, “it’s a numbers game. There are thousands out there that would give you more than the time of day. Go out there and find them yourself, guaranteed the right one will show you he is worth your time.” I think she is right. Now…off to hunt in the wild jungle of Los AnHELLes.

SS: The Black Cat

I feel that our lives are a Mobius strip of events, one leading into the next in an infinite road map of possibilities. One singular decision can make or break your future. I have always considered myself a cautious decision making person, I weigh the possibilities and examine the lengthy outcomes. Moving to LA changed that way of thinking though, I had to think quickly, on my feet; I had no choice but to decide. If you don’t say yes or no, the possibility of amazing will literally zoom past you without even a single glance back.

The sun streams through my window at a relentless tone, overly bright and evilly crude. I want to throw my pillow at the window like I would an annoying alarm clock, but that wouldn’t shut off the brightness. I would only succeed in losing my pillow. Not the best start to a horrible day. I made the decision yesterday to go on a date with a guy I wasn’t wholly interested in. It’s not like most would assume, I don’t go for the free dinners, and I don’t go because I am lonely. I go on these dates because I am looking for something, and I know for a fact that even if I don’t see it right away I might see it differently the second time around. Basically, if someone has the nerve to say hello to me and ask me on a date in a gentlemanly fashion I will say yes. (I don’t take too kindly to lines like: Hey baby, wanna get a drink over at my place? Then I will say no, no, and hell NO!!)

This particular guy asked me out last night via text message, he wasn’t too keen on talking over the phone. (There’s a clue if I have ever seen one; if he doesn’t like talking to you on the phone, you won’t really keep his interest all that long in person either) Typical to my dating life, I met this guy online. He seemed sweet in an awkward I am not wholly attractive but have a great personality sort of way. I am not keen on meeting people who are model attractive, I don’t really need to be around a man that sees himself as the canvas of art to gawk at, I don’t need to pay him compliments though that type of man always fishes for them. This guy, seemed different. He had a sharp wit, outgoing attitude, and at first I really didn’t care that physically he wasn’t my “type.” (Yes, I most definitely have a type, but no I don’t always follow it)

Work was typical, if anything it zoomed by and before I knew it I was on my way to a local-ish bar called the Black Cat. It is as hipster as it sounds, which tells you something about this mystery online date man, but to be honest it was also my kind of quiet but busy place to meet on a first date. I parked close enough to not make walking a big deal even though the two inch heels I wore dug into the back of my ankle ever so slightly. The things women deal with to look attractive on the first meet up. My hair was slightly curled (meaning I had to wake up a good 30 minutes early to achieve the carefully tousled locks) and my make-up was as perfect as it was going to get after a full 10 hour work day. I walked straight up to the door and felt my body slide into the intimacy of the bars lively surroundings. It was dark, but atmospheric, and I could smell the hint of orange and basil. They made great cocktails at this joint, I could tell already.

My eyes darted up and down the long bar as my date texted me that he would, “be sitting at the bar.” I walked casually past the patrons scoping out each single looking man and realized if the man I thought was my date, was indeed my date, he most definitely did not resemble his pictures. In the nicest way possible, he looked like he was wearing a sweater several sizes larger than what his pictures painted him to be. I am not a person that goes on looks alone however, I want to know the person for who they are. (Here is where you find another tiny WARNING sign. He lied about his appearance, and it wasn’t a tiny lie, it was at least a 60LBS lie. That doesn’t bode well for this person telling you the truth) I looked straight at the back of his head for about 15 seconds before I zoomed straight past him and headed for the restroom. I suddenly really needed to pee aka, think through my decision.

I texted him, “I’m here,” just in case the man at the bar wasn’t actually him and I mistook him for someone else. But no such luck, he responded with, “I am at the bar wearing a blue sweater.” I sighed resolutely, washed my hands with as much soap as possible counting down the seconds as slowly as I could, then I headed to the bar.

“Hello there,” I said easily. He turned and flashed me a brilliant smile. Perhaps he was a little over weight and not what I expected, but he had a kind face, really straight white teeth, and beautiful eyes. Surprisingly we had a huge amount in common and our conversation flowed easily for the next three hours. Usually I don’t stay on dates that long, but it was easy to accomplish. Our first date turned into two, then three, and before I knew it we were dating.

I need to reinforce the overview of this little story, that my decisions could lead me down a good road or a bad road, in a lot of aspects its completely up to me. I hesitated to go on this date, but then I started dating a really out going, fun, decently attractive (to me anyways) man….who also owned way too many sneakers in my mind, hated talking on the phone, didn’t like being around my friends, insisted that he drive everywhere even if he had had a little too much to drink, introduced me as his friend, never opened my door, always split the bill with me (even though he made way more than me), told me in private that he wanted me around all the time but professed in public that he would never settle down…..the list goes on. My problem at the time, I enjoyed the fun aspect of what he had to offer. I didn’t think of the consequences of my decisions because I was having too much fun.

Guys like him don’t want security, they want flimsy excitement, something easy to toss out with the weeks trash. I didn’t push hard to say I wanted more, but I slipped up and said one little sentence that completely ruined everything. He had invited me to spend a weekend with him and his friends in Palm Springs, and of course I was stoked! Me and him went up the night before and spent a night swimming in the Jacuzzi, listening to great music, making dinner and drinks. It was an experience I could get used to. The whole weekend was a blast, and for the most part it was one of the first times he brought me around his close friends, I felt ultimately privileged, but three hours before we left for home I made a terrible mistake. I invited him to my home town the following weekend.

“To San Diego, that sounds fun. Where would we be staying?” he asked as he packed up the last pair of sneakers he brought (to make a total of five sneakers for a three day trip….just saying).

“With my parents.” The three little words ruined absolutely everything, and I felt it the minute the words escaped my lips.

Fun and outgoing turned into dropped plans and massive lengths of silence. Two weeks after our fun trip in Palm Springs he told me via text, “I am just not looking for anything serious.”

I argued with myself over this situation for many months;

I made the mistakes, it was my fault

He made the mistakes, it was his fault!!

In truth, we both made mistakes and he didn’t want what I did, and I didn’t see the truth he was obviously telling me. Being single and dating teaches you many lessons, but I think the one I have learned the most is that my decisions ultimately change everything. I can make the choice, and I can choose to listen to the signs or I can ignore the signs and destroy my buoyancy of hope and excitement several weeks or months down the line. In truth, I started to really care for him and his short and brutal let down really got to me. I allowed him to have something that wasn’t his to own; my happiness. 

Now I know what you could say to this, “It wasn’t your fault that he was an ass hat.” “It wasn’t your fault that he treated you wrong.” “It wasn’t your fault that he wasn’t the guy for you, he’s a jerk!” But…to some degree it was my fault that I let him get that close. I think that is was dating is all about though, learning, understanding your strengths and weaknesses and learning how to say no, no matter how lonely or neglected you feel. He taught me a very valuable lesson that I carry with me strongly today. Don’t settle, don’t be afraid to do what you know you want, and don’t ever feel like you have to always say yes. It’s really hard being an independent woman looking for someone to share a life with, but it’s not impossible, and I won’t give up.

SS: Online Dating and Pepper Spray

 

My mother told me when I moved to LA that I needed to be careful in every situation. I took that to heart in a lot of ways, but it’s really difficult to be one hundred percent safe when jumping into the abyss of online dating. I try mainly to keep my perimeter safe; crowded meeting location, not too dark, keep the first date relatively short, always always keep pepper spray on hand, and wear pants.

 

I would never profess myself an expert, if I was, I probably wouldn’t still be dating. I would however qualify myself as an experienced “first dater” because I have been on so many random, horrible, awesome, ridiculous first dates that most people wouldn’t believe me if I told them. I am just a typical girl though struggling to live in the big bad city of Los Angeles. Never would I say I’m the typical LA girl though, I’m far from it. My name is Grace Parker, I have reddish brown hair that falls down just below my shoulders, bright green eyes that change colors depending on the weather, fair skin and a good amount of freckles, longish legs though a slightly short torso and a decently sizable upper torso. Yes, all of this I somewhat highlight in my profile, paints a great picture doesn’t it? What I don’t say…I am not the skinniest girl ever though I wouldn’t call myself fat. I would put myself somewhere in the middle, curvy though confident with what I have. I don’t have a “decent backside” but I never stop doing squats because I am told again and again that that is how you “work that booty”…whatever that means. You see my point is; online profiles don’t tell you everything.

 

Like right now, I am sitting at the bar top because it’s way too cold to stand outside. I don’t care what people from the Mid-West say to me, I know I am in Los Angeles, but I am from Southern California. Sixty degrees with a slight wind chill wearing skinny jeans and a flimsy top is considered cold to me.

 

Shaking my head in annoyance that I left my overly heavy peacoat in my car I try to shake off the chills of the slightly full bar. There aren’t a whole lot of people, but the bar itself is dark and crowded in the small space allotted. Not my usual digs either, though I would never turn down a dive bar I typically go for places that have more than three beers on the tap list, especially if those beers end in “Lite”.  A sharp throat clearing from behind me grates into my ear and I turn my head to find my date.

 

First impression, oh dear god what did I get into. Second impression, I swear he didn’t look that short on the profile.

 

“Hi,” I squeaked out. Yes, I squeak, and surprisingly it pulled a smile from mister short stuff.

 

“Hey there, you look beautiful tonight.” His eyes did the whole dart down my body and slowly slide back up thing forgetting to look me in the eyes again for several long seconds. He wasn’t bad looking at all, in fact he had a really cute way about his style. I would put it somewhere between punk, surfer, and college frat boy. “Can I get you a drink?” He asked after his eyes found their way back to my face.

 

“Sure, I’ll have an Old Fashioned.” Though I might need two to get through this one. His eyes were already doing that wide open saucer gaze meaning that in about five minutes I would have to figure out a way to distance myself from his groping hands. Actually it took less than three minutes.

 

After one old fashioned and a complimentary shot of Jameson by my over eager date and I was ready to leave. Not leave with him leave, just leave, run away and never see this guy again. In the span of 20 minutes (I still can’t believe I lasted that long!) he asked me to join him back at his place for a threesome, because coming back to be with him, a virtual stranger, wasn’t already extremely strange. He wondered where I was from because I was so exotically beautiful, which makes him (as my grandmother would put it) fecally impacted with bovine manure. I am from Southern California, I am Scottish/Irish/English/with a dash of Native American. I am not exotic, I am a white girl with freckles which I feel like is highly common in the wild outback of…Los Angeles. Exotic my arse! He told me that he would love love love to have a girlfriend as beautiful as me which he followed up with flickered of eye contact toward my shirt and a biting/licking of his lower lips. Gross.

 

“You are the most beautiful thing,” he said with a slight slur. The alcohol was definitely getting to him.

 

“I am not a thing, I am a person you know.” I replied snippily. I couldn’t help it. It was the hundredth time I pushed his hand off my upper thigh only to have him slip his hand down my lower back. I no longer cared about being nice, or being a sweet first date, I was getting angry. I was all for a little mild flirting, but I have boundaries, and mister hands on tactic had crossed over the line. “I really actually need to be going.”

 

“No, you can’t, you haven’t been here nearly long enough!”

 

“Funny, I feel like I have massively overstayed my welcome.”

 

He didn’t find that funny at all, the pursed lips and scrunched eyebrows that made him resemble a frustrated child showed proof of that. “You haven’t finished your drink, and if you leave before you do, you can pay for yours yourself.”

 

I sneered at him, and honestly if I was a dragon he would have been burnt toast after that comment. “You ordered these drinks, and your card is up at the register. Remove your hands from me, I am leaving.” I stood without caring what he said, or even what he did. I was in a bar full of people, there wasn’t much he could do to harm me, but just in case I pulled my pepper spray from my purse and held it tightly in my hand.

 

I started toward the door but didn’t get all that far before a hand yanked on my elbow from behind and I quickly found a sharp corner of the wall at my back, and a short yet surprisingly muscular body at my front. “Leaving without finishing your drink is rude sweetheart, leaving me without a kiss goodnight is just down right mean.” At this point, the panic started to taste like bile in my throat. This man child was beyond ridiculous, he was actually leaning in toward me for a kiss.

 

“You must be joking,” I replied, though failed to keep the blatant shock from my voice. He totally wasn’t kidding.

 

“Well if you aren’t going to kiss me,” he said as his hands pulled away from my body giving me a momentary moment of relief. That is until I saw where his hands were traveling. In the loud atmosphere of the bar I couldn’t actually hear it, but I knew that the zipper to his pants was being pulled down. I saw him reach into his overly tight man skinny jeans. “If you aren’t going to kiss me,” he reiterated as he pulled out his proportionately sized member to his smaller stature, “then you can at least touch him for me?”

 

I think I laughed, though maybe choked on air would be a better explanation of my reaction. Regardless, I smiled, looked him straight in the eyes and lifted up my cute little pink bottled pepper spray. “If you don’t move away from me, and put that little tuna can you have there away, I will happily spray your junk with my pepper spray.”

 

Shock, horror, and bewilderment crossed his overly tanned face before his hands flew up into the air leaving his pants splayed wide open and his little member flopping back and forth in equal amounts of surprised terror. “Whatever you say bitch, just don’t shoot me!”

 

Of course me standing up for myself makes me a bitch. Of course everything I did until that very moment was seen as an invitation. I didn’t care, because I hadn’t done anything to deserve what he was putting me through, and I wouldn’t take what he had to offer sitting down. I kept my finger on the trigger and backed away toward the door before I pushed I open and slipped out into the night. I felt exuberant and disgusted with the evening, horrified and amazed.

 

I walked back to my car (I would say a nice clipped power walk to be safe) with my keys in my hand, my pepper spray still gripped between my fingers and a smug smile on my face. No one would ever force me into anything I didn’t want to do, and if they did, I wouldn’t hesitate to spray their junk. Best line of the night…

 

 

 

 

Prologue: Potholes

Everyone has a story that needs to be told. Everyone carries the puzzle around that makes up the entity of their life, a growing mash of pieces shoved together to make you who you are. Some stories are typical, some are appalling and scary, but my story can only be explained as ironically normal and strange. I don’t life a weird life, and I would never consider it out of the ordinary, but the short stories I want to share with you will add up to where I am today. One at a time isn’t so bad, but as I look back and review each tale in sordid detail I am starting to realize, my life is not ordinary, quite honestly my life is extremely comical in the most depressing and lonely way.

 

Don’t worry though, I’m not sad, though I repeatedly reminded that perhaps I should be, I am in fact not. I don’t really have much to complain about; I have a decent job though it doesn’t pay fantastically, I have phenomenal friends that I hang out with regularly, I have a beautiful apartment and share it with an amazing roommate, I own the most adorably annoying and perfectly doggish Pug named The Dude, I have a wonderful family, awesome siblings, super supportive parents….in a nut shell I am truly amazing blessed. So where does the comedic tradgedy come in? Well two things actually.

 

1)      I have a completely abysmal dating history, like seriously completely atrocious.

2)      I have come to realize that I am the living female version of Good Luck Chuck (from that movie with Dane Cook and Jessica Alba, basically everyone who dates me finds the PERSON OF THEIR DREAMS right after we split)

 

I mean this honestly, I have stories upon stories of HORRIBLE dating experiences that I can no longer keep to myself. I have been told over and over again that I need to share them with people, not just for the comedic value, but also maybe to shed some light on the insanely ridiculous crap I have had to put up with. Maybe, if enough men read this, they will see the pain they cause, they will understand the wrongs of their actions and make a change. Maybe I can let them in on the “how to not mess up a first date,” “how to not comes across as a tool,” “how to not seem shy even if you totally are,” “how to KEEP YOU HANDS OFF OF ME UNTIL WE ARE ATLEAST 10 MINUTES INTO THE DAMN DATE!!!!!” Or, maybe they will gloss over these words and continue down the path of lonely rude man that treats women like a piece of meat.

 

I don’t use this blog as a yelling source, I am sorry if I SHOUTY CAP every now and then, but sometimes I feel like I really need to make a point. This is a very big point, I am a 27 year old single female living in Los Angeles, and I have yet (in the whole three years that I have been here) to find a genuine man that is what I like to call, “A good match.”

 

Here is where a lot of outsiders say things like:

-You don’t need a man to be happy

-Screw them stay single

-Wouldn’t you rather be single than be with the wrong person

-Why would you want a relationship, being single is so much fun!

-Marriage isn’t real, love isn’t real, get used to it

 

I think now is the time to share my stories, share my experiences and puzzle pieces with you. Maybe you will hear something in them that helps you see the truth….we are all looking, some of us just found the route of extremely bumpy messed up roads. I think I found the worst road possible, right now I’m stuck on a particularly nasty pothole.

 

When did dating turn into this?

I am going to Preface this with a small note: I don’t need to explain to you why I am single, but I feel maybe other women want to hear they aren’t alone in the issues that crop up when you are a strong independent single woman.

 

I am going to follow that up with a small message: I don’t appreciate when I tell a guy I want to take my time, and get to know him and he automatically assume I am rejecting him and tell me…and I quote… “maybe you should go find some dumb ass meat head who only wants to get in your pants, maybe you just want that anyway.” Doesn’t that also mean that you are turning your hate on me because you are lonely and…also I quote…. “just want to be with someone, anyone, it doesn’t matter who as long as she wants to be with me. I don’t want to be single, and I want to find someone who also doesn’t want to be single.”

 

Yesterday I was asked a very simple question, one I know I have been asked before but for some reason when this question filtered through my synapses into my brain, it really irked me. The question was: “Why are you still single, is there something wrong with you?”

 

Now, to explain the situation, on this date were discussing the difficult position of being single when February hits. I, on one hand, would love a sweet romantic evening, but at the same time I don’t want that from any joe-schmoe. I would love to be with the person I love and care about, but if I don’t have that when the infamous hallmark holiday comes around I don’t get sad. I don’t worry about being alone, and I don’t care that I treat it like any other normal day. I actually enjoy being single, I enjoy the freedom and the carefree way I am able to live my life. Now, that isn’t to say being in a relationship sucks. If you are in a healthy relationship and love your S.O. then awesome for you, and I am happy for you!! I am only trying to get the point across that whether you are in a relationship or you are not, you should love living your life and enjoy what you have. Being single comes with many perks, as does being in a relationship, but when someone actually makes the point to stab at my singleness like it’s a disease, it makes me a little annoyed.

 

I am not single because I am forced to be, I am single because I choose to be. There is a very big difference between the two. I would rather be happy on my own than be in a miserable relationship because I am afraid to be by myself. Just because I am alone, doesn’t make me terminally lonely.

 

Something else that has happened more recently;  I am finding a lot of men take me trying to “be friends first” in a negative way. If I don’t meet a guy in the normal organic way, and we meet with the precedent of going on a date, they almost automatically assume that if the date went well I will be their girlfriend by the end of the week. I’m sorry boys, it doesn’t work that way. Even worse, they expect that if the date went well and I show interest, they assume they will also get lucky by the end of the night. I really really don’t understand that logic. (Now, disclaimer….of course this isn’t every date. I have had some seriously great dates, have amazing guy friends, and have dated some wonderful men that I am still really good friends with. Those are the men that I share with the people in my life, of course you don’t really hear about these guys that I am referring to because they rarely last longer than a week on my radar. Just needed to clarify.)

 

Look I like going on dates, I like meeting new people, and I like making new friends in the wild search for my one “true partner in crime.” The problem is, that once you do something that the guy you’re on a date with doesn’t like or agree with you immediately get dubbed the slut, the bitch, the crazy, the overly sensitive…they go from telling you they are beautiful to calling you a crazy psycho bitch in less than 30 seconds.

 

Now I am not knocking the dating scene, or first dates, on-line dating, or anything that involves dating. Like I said, I do enjoy the random outing, but I am more and more amazed at the reactions I get from guys when I tell them something they don’t want to hear. The list of things they usually get upset with……

1)      You are really nice, and thank you for the date, but I really think I should go home instead of going back to your place

2)      Well I have only known you for less than a day really, I don’t think being your girlfriend right now is a good idea

3)      I like to take my time and get to know a person before I become romantically involved with a person

4)      The first date was fun, but I don’t think you are what I am looking for in a relationship

 

Actual responses to these statements

1)      I thought you were fun and easy going not a stuck up bitch

2)      I thought we were really great together, we had so much fun. I guess I was wrong about you though, you just aren’t up to par of what a perfect woman should be

3)      Does that mean you play the field and sleep around, because I don’t date whores

4)      Fine, whatever, go sleep with all those other ass bags who treat you like crap. You probably like them for that anyways, sluts normally do.

Talk about defensive, crazy critical…..and RUDE!!

 

I know your reaction might be….”Jessica, why are you taking this so seriously?” Well, to be honest I am not taking it to heart, but I think I am more amazed at how many times this has happened in the last three years of me being single. This isn’t a onetime thing, this has happened repeatedly. Those men who swear they are the last gentleman alive, but then call you a total bitch and whore because you didn’t sleep with them. It seriously boggles my MIND!!!

 

The truth of the matter, I don’t need a man to be happy. I don’t need to lock down a boyfriend ASAP to make myself feel fulfilled. I don’t need someone else telling me who I am, and how I should  live my life, and that they think I am a shitty person. I know who I am, and I won’t apologize for also knowing what I want.

 

I am a single woman.

I am independent.

I am happy…and no one can take that away from me.