20s and "Dating" in 2013

I'm single (duh). I'm happily single in fact. I often think that maybe I SHOULD be dating - that dating is something I SHOULD want in my life. And then I meet some guy. It goes okay and then I remember how much I hate dating. How much I hate the games.

Girl: "Cool if I text you later?"
Guy: "Sure"

"Sure" actually means hell no you crazy bi-otch. But guys say sure because they think it'll get them some sort of credit for not being a total jerk. NEWSFLASH. It doesn't. It makes you look worse and if the girl hadn't already made a voodoo doll of you - she is making one now. Just say no. Just say, "ya know you seem like a great girl but I don't think you and I mesh well." Will she hate (aka be dramatic and think the world is ending even though she probably wasn't interested either) you for a little bit? Well yes. It is built into the extra X chromosome to be a little dramatic. We're entitled to it. But down the road she will thank you. No games. Honesty. I swear guys would have it so much easier if they would just man up and be honest. Use words like yes and no instead of probably, sure, and okay.

Online dating has become the biggest secret app on every smart phone. Well maybe if I spill my heart to a thousand strangers my true love will find me because surely he too downloaded this free app. I think online dating can work, don't get me wrong. A couple of my favorite couples met online. But I have to say I'm fully amused by free apps for online dating. It's like a feeding ground for schmucks. The pick up lines are quite amusing - Do you have a quarter? {why} So I can call my mom and tell her I just saw the girl of my dreams. And the sexual innuendos or outright "compliments" are nauseating. But the most amusing part is how accurate Brad Paisley's song, "Online," is. You really never know when you walk into that coffee shop what will really be waiting for you. Is he the Leonardo DiCaprio look alike you saw on Plenty of Fish? Or does he look more like a cross between Justin Bieber and Golum?

But none of this is my biggest issue with dating right now. Somewhere along the way guys lost their cajonas. I'm a very independent 23 year old. I have my own business. I don't need a guy in my life. So if I'm going to go on a date I want a guy to say, "Hey are you free Monday at 6?" Why yes, I am. "Awesome I want to take you to a movie and dinner." Fabulous, can't wait.  I don't want, "Hey when are you free" aka I have absolutely no idea what kind of plans I want to make but I'm going to ask you to pull out your planner and tell me when you're free just so I can waste your time. What is with the indecisiveness?! Why do the ladies now have to make the plans? Hopefully I'm just finding or dating the wrong guys but the general reaction I'm getting from my other single early-20s friends is that this is a common trend.

It may sound like it, but I'm really not high maintenance. I would be happy with a guy who can respect my independence, is honest, caring, intelligent, and can make some freakin' plans. But dating in 2013 is a whole new game and often it's hard to justify even coming up to the plate.

edit: Love you all but this is in no way meant as a woe is me I'm not dating. Just an amusing perspective on current dating trends and the annoying games. And my comment about plans - intended to be about guys having no idea what they even want to DO even if the date needs to be negotiated. ;)

A New Year

Last post July 2012 - how is that possible?! It continues how fast time moves without anyone really realizing it.  It isn't like we sit there and go "Oh that minute went by rather quickly." No, it's months and years that fly by without us realizing it.  I always thought that time went faster when I was enjoying life - such as while on vacations, but recently I've come to realize that it's when we're doing the same thing day in and day out that time slips by. I mean really. It's the weeks that I do nothing but my 8:30-3:30 job that seem to go by the quickest.

But anyways.  It's a new year.  I love new years.  There is always a sense of refreshment.  It's a clean, 365-day pallet that we can scribble whatever the heck we want on.  Of course most of us start with resolutions - and most have broken them by the third day in - but the point is people feel new.  It's always about this time that I feel ready for some sort of change - be it a new pair of shoes or wanting to move halfway across the country - there is always something.

In 2013 I do hope to move.  I'm really ready for a new adventure.  I don't think I was meant to sit still. I love travel and though I did a lot of traveling in 2012 I hope 2013 holds something even bigger than that.  I don't know where I want to go but we'll see.  I have started applying for jobs across the country and just figure I'll end up in the right place.  Heck, the worst thing that could happen would be that I would have to move back and Maine really isn't all that bad. ;)

The worst part of January? Realizing how little I documented for my home business taxes in 2012.  If I have one resolution - it's to keep track of my expenses every month.  Next year I hope to not be saying the same thing!

So I ask you this - What are your New Year's resolutions? What are you going to do with this blank canvas labeled 2013?