I'm Really Trying...

...to like this place. Really. I've tried to make friends with everyone my boyfriend knows and I'm doing well there. I've also tried, and accomplished, making friends outside of his circle. So what's the problem, then? Well, no one is like my silly, insane, crazy friends from back home. Everyone is awesome, don't get me wrong, but they're missing the "chisp."

Chisp: (n. adj.) 1. to have chispa, a Spanish word meaning spark.
2. used to describe a person with a very energetic, sarcastic, fun-loving,
prankster, and general "ready for anything/throw caution to the wind"
personality.

There you have it. And here I don't have it. There's only so much chisp I can throw around and have hit a cement wall, before I feel a bit down in the dumps. Oh well, I have to keep trudging along and waiting for some people who don't mind getting together for a louder than usual happy hour which may or may not turn into a dance party attended by only the members of said happy hour group and which consists of dancing to whatever music might be playing (even if it's soft rock).

Now that would take some chisp.

This Isn't Winter, Yet?

Haaaaallo! A few things. It's starting to get cold and I've been informed that this is not Winter but, rather, Fall. Autumn, a transition period between Summer and Winter. Now, I don't mind the cold as much as some of my Floridian friends so I've been jolly about the whole matter. I'm now wearing scarves and coats and gloves. The whole look is so much more put together and I'm having a lot of fun with it. The problem is that I've convinced myself that this 30ish degree (only in the mornings) weather is as cold as it's going to get. I think I'm lying to myself. It apparently snows here. I know, can you believe it?!? And not a few flurries, either. Loads of it that stays on the ground for more than a few hours. I'm excited about the snow but worried about the frigid temperatures day in and day out. Oh well. I'm ready for it so bring it on.

In other news, I chopped off 10 inches of my hair and gave it to Locks of Love. I have a love/hate relationship with the new hairdo. At times I think it's very sassy and fun and at other times I think I look like a boy and/or a 12 year old. I sometimes miss the allure and femininity that comes with the long blonde hair. Hmmm, maybe I'll just grow it out again. I am happy that I was able to donate it to a good cause so that's that.

Moving along. I just had my 32nd birthday a week back and I'm under the strange impression that I'm getting old. I wonder where that's coming from? I still act young and lively but it seems like my bedtime is inching backwards ever so slowly. If I don't get my drink on early, say I have a long dinner with friends first, I cannot be expected to want to go to a bar afterwards or to even stay awake much, for that matter. The solution is clear to me. Just skip the boring dinner if I want to continue the night in a festive manner. I grow older and new rules are required. Umph.

In relation to getting older I'm also noticing that I'm not looking as photogenic as I'm used to, which isn't saying a lot since it's common knowledge among my friends that I definitely look better in person than in my pictures. That being said, what do I do now? Now people might take one look at a picture of me and think the worst. Maybe I'll find a way to track those people down and show up on their doorsteps, "hi, this is what I look like. Just in case you were wondering." Not doable and I guess it really isn't so important. I'll have to just explain the turning point to my grandchildren down the road.

So, St. Louis is still not giving me any crazy fun girls to hang out with but I did find a cool spot to go to, London Calling at Upstairs Lounge. The crowd's a little young but the music and the concept is absolutely great. Think British indie rock, synth pop, new wave-inspired tunes that are coming out now and have been for most of the '00s. Eclectic, hipster crowd. And, yes, DANCING! I'll post a link here in case you want to stop by when you're in "the lou."

http://londoncalling.us/

Well it's been quite some time since my last posted item and things have changed for the best. I'm now living in St. Louis with my beau and happy as can be. Now, I do miss my girls and my family a lot. That hollow feeling creeps up about once every 2 weeks and I just have to make sure I plan some trips to Miami.

Life here is simpler and calmer. That can be a good thing and a bad thing, though. Sometimes I wonder when I'm going to find some crazy fun girls around here so I can let loose. Other times I'm okay with how calm my life is and I wonder if I'm not just growing up (gasp!). Nah, it's just that I'm not used to the low passion levels of the midwesterners. Do they have any strong feelings about anything? Once I'm back with the Cubans in Miami, the wildness should seep right back into my bones.

In other news, I have a few trips lined up. I always need to have some sort of travel on the horizon or else I feel stuck. So, I have a trip to Kauai, HI coming up in two weeks with the beau and also a return trip to Miami for Christmas. After that, a ski trip (my first!) to Lake Tahoe, NV in late February.

Now all I have to do is start buying amazing boots for winter and figuring out the whole layering and boot wearing techniques. I'll keep you all posted and, Aloha!

My Midwest Adventure

I am back, and I am happy. Not what you think, guys. I'm not really happy to be back but rather to have even gone in the first place. All my fears are quelled (well, not all) and I'm so happy with the way things turned out!

At first, I admit, I wasn't sure if the spark was there. I mean, it had been almost a month since I had first seen him and talking on the phone and emailing doesn't exactly cut it when it comes to first getting to know someone, at least not the chemistry aspect of it all. But, soon, it came back in full force.

The midwest was COLD! This tropical bird was out of her element for the first night. I'm talking 9 degrees here. I suffered but it was worth it. The next few nights were in the 20s and 30s which I can definitely handle and I actually look forward to.

What can I say? He's so put together, unlike some other boys I've tried things out with. He's almost so put together that it makes me wonder if he'll figure out how messy and out of sorts I can sometimes be and run away in a state of complete horror. His life seems to be in order and really stable. What girl can resist stability? Let's get back.

The town was great. It reminded me of my old college town with its charming local joints and altogether friendly nature. I long for that peace sometimes and then I wonder if my own adventurous, restless nature will long to break out of the calm and I'll become dissatisfied. Okay, this is a topic for another blog post.

His friends were right up my alley, too. Very open and friendly people with great personalities. I just had the most amazing time. I've made plans to visit again next month and he'll be heading south in March, hopefully.

What does this all mean? I don't know. What will come of this and is this one of my naive endeavors? Am I dreaming and hoping for the impossible here? Am I making more of this because I am so attracted to adventure and the unknown, so attracted to change? I can't answer these questions right now so I guess I'll keep rolling with this and see where it goes. The fun loving fool in me is telling me to go for it and you know I ALWAYS listen.

Flying Off Into The Sunset...Or Disaster

So in my usual foolish and devoid-of-any-logic ways, I'm flying to the midwest to see a boy. That doesn't sound so bad, does it? Well, it's a boy I met this past New Year's Eve (yes, only 22 days ago) who was visiting town.

He's only 2 years younger than I am (cradle robbing is one of my specialties) so that's not bad at all. Now, we did meet in a drunken stupor but he was interested enough to ask me out, in my own town, for the following day. After dinner and some ice cream we vowed to keep in touch and see each other again. Yeah right!

Well here we are 22 days later, many emails, text messages, and phone conversations later, and I'm leaving in 2 days. (I just noticed a lot of 2s in this post. Anyone with expert knowledge in the science of numbers and all that numerology stuff that is suddenly aware of a disastrous pattern here PLEASE LET ME KNOW) Getting back, this whole trip could be amazing fun or a disaster waiting to happen.

I mean, I have 3 nights and about 2 days and a half in a completely new place with kind of a completely new boy. He seems really nice but let's hope those end of the year sparks are still ready for ignition. If they're not I'll be a tropical bird in a frigid climate for a weekend. That does NOT sound like fun.

Wish me luck and I'll keep you posted...