This Guy Could Not Hang

For someone who planned to do close to nothing this weekend, I sure went all out last night. Up until this point, I had never been out in Long Branch. Hell...until they built this chic, over-priced, horrible case of eminent domain luxury shop outdoor mall - Pier Village - Long Branch was nothing to write home about. Well, things change.

So I'm going out to this place called Avenue Nuit...whose website makes it look like a scene out of The Hills and I'm not gonna lie...I was pretty intimidated. Is there going to be an insane cover? Do I absolutely have to buy a bottle of Grey Goose for $400? Am I going to be underdressed? All of these things are running through my head as I'm on my way out.

Nevertheless...me and my trusty sidekick head out to Long Branch. We get there...it's absolutely freezing outside and we have to wait on line for a couple minutes. Still not sure why but that's not the point. We get in (NO COVER :) ) and we head up to this rooftop bar. Gorgeous. Absolutely the most beautiful place that I have ever seen. Half inside...half outside. The outside looks right onto the ocean...has a huge fire going, heat lamps...and a friggin' pool that is blocked off because no one should be swimming at a bar/lounge. Actually it was blocked off because it was freezing out.

Anyway, I'm rambling here just because this place was gorgeous. So I'll get to the point. The music is awesome. I'm dancing like everyone knows I would be dancing. Pulling off moves that I didn't know I had in me. It was a fantastic time. So we meet up with the people we'll meeting up with (crazy...I know) and these guys have just come from a wedding. We're all dancing like crazy. Now... I know the one guy from another friend's party and we are putting on quite the show. Pseudo 'battling' if you will. He dips me to the floor (which I love) and whatever..we're just having a great time.

Enter little Italian guy: So the third guy in the group gets up and he wants to dance with Erin. Ok super. He's 5'5...maybe 130 pounds. But I'm all for anything so let's go. Well, therein lies the problem. This guy tries to do the same thing that his friend just did with me and straight up drops me on the floor...and then proceeds to fall right on top of me. My initial reaction is to try to brace my fall with my left arm and I swear I thought I had broken my arm. This hurt so bad (and still does) and all the while I'm lying on the floor of this chic lounge and everyone is staring at me!!! Awful. Absolutely awful.

But...the good sport that I am I just get up and rub some ice on it and continue dancing. This guy was mortified but in all honesty I was not too happy with him. Nice guy but come on pal. I'm towering over you in my 4 inch knee high boots...and no light fare...what in God's name were you thinking?

It doesn't even end there....Later on in the evening we're still dancing and one of the other guys accidently bumps into my face. Now I'm thinking I have a fat lip. JESUS! No wonder I never go out to these trendy club/lounges. These people were beating the shit out of me!

Regardless of all of these injuries, I had an absolute blast. I would definitely go back to this place (preferably as soon as possible) and I wouldn't trade the injuries for the world. Especially because it caused probably one of the funniest comments to come out of my brother's mouth this morning when I'm telling him this story:

"Er...you go out with rich people and they beat the shit out of you."

He doesn't say much but when he does...it's usually gold.

Gotta ice my forearm. Enjoy this gorgeous day!

Tip of the Day...Moreso for the Ladies

Now I know I haven't given tips in the past, but I feel as though it would be a disservice if I did not share this beautiful piece of wisdom with all of my lovely lady friends.

We are all well aware of the every day maintenance that goes into being a woman. We have to shave everything under the sun...or under our necks, pluck this, wax that..I mean it can be intensive labor. One thing that just erks me like no other is plucking my eyebrows. Now I know I can go and get them waxed..or even threaded these days - which completely freaks me out - but I don't want to spend the money. At my salon alone it's gotten up to $15! That's insane.

So what do I do, I pluck...for what seems like every single day of my life. Not good. And to top it off, I have crappy tweezers (3 pairs...all of which suck) and horrendous lighting in most of the rooms in my house. I even go as far to move from room to room to see what I'm missing. Well...you can imagine my exhilaration when I discovered that one of my favorite stores had a hidden gem.

Anthropologie... the very trendy, hippie, chic store that has graced my area with its presence happens to not only have adorable clothing BUT the most A-M-A-Z-I-N-G mirrors in their dressing rooms. So amazing that I actually went there today SPECIFICALLY to pluck my eyebrows. I mean I did go through the motions. I brought clothes into the changing room...tried them on...of course found yet another pair of Citizens for Humanity jeans that I want but can't buy (eeehheemmm..afford)...and showed my mother all of the outfits. All the while..I am plucking the shit out of my eyebrows. And boy had I missed a TON!

And so I offer up this amazing bit of information from one woman who is so tired of hair removal to the rest of you who probably feel the same. Next time you are in need of a really good plucking of the eyebrows -- do yourself a favor and hit up Anthrologie's dressing rooms. I promise it will look like you'd gotten waxed.

Happy plucking!

Do You Tell the Truth...or Sort of Lie?

I struggle with this on a regular basis. I'm not sure if it's because I'm constantly being told that I'm overwhelming, or intimidating or really really ridiculously tall, but I feel like in some way or another it's been hinted that I should not let so much of me go up front that I currently do. And here in lies my dilemma.

Should I really be obligated to 'tone it down' when talking to someone who I don't know all that well but might be sort of interested in for fear that he will run away? I know I wrote about something like this before, but I hadn't had the same experience that I had tonight (which wasn't something to write home about..so don't get all excited)...so please don't accuse me of repeating.

What is the appropriate amount of information to give to a person when having a casual conversation? Should people really care? I'm of the opinion that if someone doesn't want to know or gets turned off by something honest that I have to say to him..then that's not worth it in the long run anyway. Maybe that's why I'm single though. Who knows?

The point is this: are people really interested in getting to know a person when they meet them out side of work? Or are they more interested in someone who says what they want to hear? Someone who just looks cute and might give it up by the end of the night? I don't know the answer because I have not been successful in this area.

So let's hear it. What do you ideally talk about with a person...say at a bar...that leaves you wanting to maybe take that person out on another date..or at least leave you interested in a potential second encounter? I really want to know.

Thanks for the input.

Night night.

You Know Things Have to Get Better When...

I'm not gonna lie...I found the timing of today's event absolutely impeccable. As we all know, due to my lack in sex-related or even guy-related posts that things on the friskiness front are not exactly too hot to handle. That being said, it should come as no surprise that I had the following conversation with the man who works at the dry cleaner/alterations shop that my mother and I have been going to for years now.

I walk out of the dressing room with my bridemaid gown and heels on.
Mr. Patel: Wow. You are a great height.
Me: Yes. I'm very tall..I know.
Mr. Patel: Yes. You really are. You must have a hard time finding a boyfriend.
Me: You are absolutely right, Mr. Patel.

It was at that very moment that I realized that things have got to be turning around for the better if my dry cleaning man is recognizing the dilemma I am having meeting guys...even if we are just referring to the height situation.

And with that, I have a few general questions - mostly for the male readers.

Is it safe to say that taller women are intimidating and you associate them with very harsh, demanding personalities that make you wanna run away rather than run to the bedroom? If that is the case, then is it safe to say that men are relatively insecure...for the most part? Or maybe don't like rejection? At this point...being that I have been 'inactive' for quite some time now, rejection is a nice way of putting how I feel. And it's gotten to the point where I want some answers.

I know that I need to be more proactive because if I am correct in my statements above and men are insecure and/or afraid of rejection - I'm never going to meet someone. So what is a girl to do?

Here's the answer that my mother would say: "Erin...next time you go out just sit down the whole time. Maybe someone will come up to you because they won't be afraid of your insane dancing." This is coming from the same woman who told me to write love letters to David Carr because she thinks that as Eli Manning's back-up...he must be single and looking for a random psychopath to marry. Thanks mom.

Anyhow....as I head out for what will probably be one of the most fun nights out with the girls...I would like some answers. To be blunt, how can a girl make herself more approachable? Obviously I can't make myself shorter...nor would I want to. But I am also semi-tired of hearing about how tall I am. I'm well aware.

Thanks for the input and enjoy the weekend.

-Erin

Cornhole.

If you are offended by that title, then I will question if you have been somehow living under a rock for the past year. I have to admit that I have not been partaking in this glorious yard game as long as someone like my brother has...but now that I have started I do not anticipate stopping any time soon...well...until winter.

Cornhole is a glorious game that can be simplified by calling it a bean bag toss. It's relatively easy, somewhat competitive...depending on who you're playing with...and it's all in good fun. I would say that any party can be made significantly better if this game is included somehow. Nowadays I find that people are either sick of beer pong and flip cup and just want to drink...and drink hard. This allows you to do that with minimal effort.

Over the weekend, I was fortunate enough to get my brother's friend to let me borrow his cornhole set. Sounds dirty, doesn't it. It wasn't. Saturday was the big day...Oktoberfest. The glorious day of multiple kegs, BBQ and jam band that I have been waiting for for almost a year at this point. My boss (I say boss very loosely as he is a big little kid) throws this party every year and it's just a nice day filled with food and friends...and beer and outdoor games.

Words cannot express the impact cornhole had on this day's events. It was a bit chilly so I think everyone was shocked and dressed inappropriately so they needed something to take their mind off of their coldness and maybe beer wasn't doing it.

Cornhole to the rescue. I made friends with people instantly! It's as if this amazing game brings out the friendliness in people or something but I would go as far as to say that due to cornhole there was some good baby-making music that night...and I'm not referring to me...of course.

So I encourage you all to visit www.corntossfun.com and either invest in a set or at least take a look at what it's all about. I promise you will be happy that you did.

Maybe we can start to say 'Sack it up' and have people not take offense. Who knows?

Have a good one.

Can Singles Be Friends with the Married?

You know this comes up all the time, so I have decided to address it right here on Blindfolded. I struggle with this topic because we all know that I am not married, but I have had mostly guy friends my entire life. This was never a problem because luckily, over time, all of them have had very nice girlfriends and my friendships with them have never been an issue.

As I move beyond my close-knit group of friends, however, my friendships with men have become increasingly complicated. And when they go on to get married...forget about it. It becomes nearly impossible to remain friends. I can't quite figure out why this is the case. I've never been the cheating type. Sure there was one instance in college where I may have had a slip up, but that wasn't even a big deal. It's not like we slept together. Minus that one instance, I am of the impression that I'm a pretty stand-up person. I'm extremely open and honest with just about everyone I meet and I would think that that would mean that I am a trustworthy individual.

Why is it then that these wives, fiances, mothers of wives even...seem to have such a problem with me? I'm not going to get specific with these instances, but are people really this uptight and insecure about their relationships that they need to worry about their husband or boyfriend or even guy that their dating's friends..who happen to be girls...for fear that they will what? Hook up with them? Sleep with them? My god. If you have these types of concerns when you're married (and I can make blanket statements like this because I'm not married) I'm thinking that's not a good thing.

Now I know there are certain reasons to feel insecure or what have you. I would think that the majority of the time this is because maybe the girl/woman doesn't know me very well and just has the wrong impression. But I have been reminded of the fact that it's 'not normal' for married men to hang out with women other than their wives...without their wives. And even vice versa. A married/engaged woman apparently should not hang out with a guy by herself...without her significant other. I don't see why not and I want to know what the reason for this is.

Are people assuming that men cannot bring themselves to think about anything besides sex while being in the same vicinity as someone of the opposite sex? If that is the case, that's just dumb and I would find that hard to believe.

I want answers and I want good answers. Thank you for reading.

G'night.

Walking on the Highway

It's been quite some time since I wrote about something unrelated to my personal life or personal experiences I should say, but this has been on my mind for quite some time and I'm feeling the need to share it with my loyal listeners. Now I know everyone goes through a daily routine during the work week...or for the purposes of this blog I am assuming that we all do. And our daily commutes are probably very similar from day to day as well. I, unfortunately, have not been blessed over the years with a pleasurable commute. Rather, I have had the 'pleasure' of driving at least 50 miles each way to work for the past 4+ years. You know you're jealous.

As it turns out, I have come to notice one very common occurrence in the morning. People are walking on the highway. Highway 35 to be exact. For those who maybe not be familiar with this road, this is what I will consider the busiest highway in my area- maybe even all of Monmouth County. I cannot seem to wrap my head around actually walking on a highway. And so, over time, I have developed some assumptions as to why these people are endangering their lives on a regular basis.

Assumption #1: They are dealing with some sort of DUI/DWI situation in which their license was revoked and so now they have to walk everywhere. Believe it or not, there are buses that will take you around my area, but what do I know?

Assumption #2: Their car was repossessed and they have no other means of transportation.

Assumption #3: They are partaking in what will now be known as the most shameful walk of shame in the history of walks of shame. Because you wanna hear something crazy? This isn't even always men walking on the highway! Women are apparently out of their minds as well.

I'm not sure which of these, if any, is accurate, but I sure hope it's #3 because that makes this funny instead of sad.

Either way, just wanted to get that out in the open. I'm sure that you will now notice more people walking around your area on the highway thanks to reading this, so your welcome. Please feel free to provide me with some assumptions of your own in terms of why these folks aren't in cars or buses or what not. Who knows? Maybe this big energy..let's all be 'green' bandwagon has people taking things to the streets...literally.

Enjoy the lovely weather Everyone!