a lot to be thankful for...

out in sonoma for the week, spending thanksgiving with my bestie from highschool. thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays for so many reasons: i mean the food, of course... nothing better than stuffing face for hours and drinking endless amounts of wine; but family; friends; loved ones; life. it's one of those holidays that makes you close your eyes and sigh with joy. when it was my turn, i couldn't help but break out quite the poetic graduation-style speech as we all sat around the thanksgiving table professing what we were most thankful for. to my left, my best friend and her boyfriend of 9 months, to my right my friends parents of closer to 29 years, and in front of me my best friend's little brother and his high school girlfriend of what seemed like something close to a lifetime--the way young love can often look and feel.

and then there was me... single girl strikes again. no pitty needed here. i had a great time with this company. but no matter how confidently single i am. there was apart of me that couldn't help but feel just a little bit lonely. despite their little couple spats and little relationship flaws (the ones that us single people look for in all relationships to justify why we don't want to "get serious"), i couldn't help but wish there was someone holding my hand under the dinner table or snuggling under the blanket next to the firepit at the end of the evening.

i will not lie. after a riveting game of catchphrase, i snuck down to the guest bedroom and sent a few texts to a few special someones that were on my mind. i'm pretty sure u can guess who.

happy thanksgiving.


ADH

wine and cheese

mr. berkeley met me after work for dinner in nob hill before wine night. was actually really excited to see him, and even got a few of those wonderful little butterflies when i saw him peering at me across the table in the dimly lit restaurant. after we finished eating, we headed up to v.w.'s bf's place for wine night. wine night is a monthly tribute to the wine gods... or our excuse for mid-week drinking. we each bring a bottle of our choosing and share about the wine--winery, tasting notes, pairings, b.s. that we come up with to sound fancy... you know, wine talk. (hilariously, it started out as a couples wine night. however, my date to the first wine night cancelled on me. so, it's always been just couples and me... bridget jones style.) this wine night this cheese was not standing alone.






mr. berkeley fit right in. discussion about sports with the guys, family talk with the ladies. he seemed to say all the right things. with questions, he was charming. with our ridiculous sassy jokes with one another, he laughed... and at one point got in on the fun and cracked a joke about his height. even when the question was posed about our meeting, he responded with perfect ease... "we met on match, but i feel like i've known her for longer." it was kind of one of those comments that made my heart skip a beat. as the night went on, the couples got cozier as they typically do once the booze sets in... a kiss here, a love rub there. i thought this part of the night might get awkward, but appallingly it didn't. he comfortably and confidently put his arm around my back and tenderly rubbed my shoulder. it was nice and natural. i didn't feel like pulling away or running in the opposite direction as i have in the past.

as the night came to a close, i walked mr. berkeley to his car. he gave me a good night kiss. great kisser. and as i stood up on the curb, i confessed, "i've never kissed a guy this short." his retort, "i'm sure u can get used to that." i smiled and was impressed. as i walked away, i thought about what a wonderful, relaxing evening it had been. i really couldn't ask for anything more. and unlike the lasagna that m.v. insisted was "not going to last," i thought to myself this might go somewhere. and somewhere good. for now, just taking it one night at a time.

ADH

the fortune of mr. j.crew

so a quick catch up before the action begins this week...

the past week has been quite actually eventful. i'm feeling slightly champion-like, which fits right in with the feeling in the city with the giants world series win. after feeling some kinda bad on wednesday for turning down 45 for wine night this week, i went out for a drink to celebrate the giants victory with v.w. and her b.f. while out, we ran into a former classmate of v.w.... quite a charming, preppy fellow (something like what would have been my type in high school, when i was naive and boy crazy)... we'll call him mr. j.crew--he was also a rower in college so a bit of double entendre there. from what i can remember amidst the cheering and champagne popping of the evening, we possibly had a nice conversation (or really it may have been a run-in in line at the bathroom... i can't really remember). but anyway, he asked for my number as i exited from the bathroom. awkward some would say, but a number is a number. in a bathroom line or not. and guess what? the next morning, i woke up to a text, "hi, here's my number." wow! usually guys wait a few days, this one was eager. and i didn't hate it.

friday night rolls around. and who do i receive a text from? none other than mr. crew. i already had plans and proposed to hang out later in the weekend... wanted to make him wait. instead, went to a cocktail party in russian hill with p.k. and then popped over to north beach to meet up with p.k.'s brother. no sooner than i show my i.d. to the door man, a young man walks up to me with bright eyes and perched eyebrows. indeed, it was...mr. crew striking again. fate, coincidence, or stalking? i'm going to go with the former. it's a small city and the stalker thing is just scary. as fortunate as the run-in was for him, it was quite unfortunate for me. umm yeah...i had no clue who he was.

you know those moments when you realize you are an alcoholic because you can't remember people you met less than a week ago. a bit embarassing. totally remembered his face but gosh darnit, just couldn't place him. so, i made up a bad lie to recover. and hilariously, he re-introduced himself and actually wasn't as offended as i would be. he even introduced me to his friends... all a nice bunch of lads. but fact of the matter was... i was tired and a bit overboozed from the night's activities. i politely informed him that i needed to return home before my carriage turned into a pumpkin (i.e. before they found me passed out in a corner of the bar). his response was he to try and convince me to go to the next bar. i pushed back. insisted that i had to go home and not waiting for his response, bolted out the door. whew... made my escape. clean break. and you won't believe it...dude actually followed me. interested or desperate? but maybe this is the kind of guy i need to be giving a chance... the kind that don't want me to get away... the kind that will chase.

"are you sure you don't want to come to the next bar?" he yelled. i shook my head with an apologetic smile. cab finally arrived. i waved goodbye. his eyes still fixated in my direction, he walked backwards to the bar. i slivered in my sequin skirt into the cab. so point of the story is that i'm not so sure how i feel about this one. but i think a sober one-on-one could be in the future.

have friends in town the end of this week. hoping to do wine with mr. crew sometime this week. and as a subin for 45... mr. berkeley is coming down for wine night! will keep you updated!

ADH