I complained earlier that there was too much babysitting in my life...I'm trying to draw boundaries but it's not working. Four days out of seven, there are babies here.
Today my mom had my sister's kid in the morning, and around 3 in the afternoon he went home and my brother's two babies came. That's 12 hours of babysitting. My dog cannot handle 12 hours of babies in his house. I was out most of the day, but when I came home it was madness. The new baby cried non-stop, which set off the dog and the one-year old. I didn't eat dinner. I understood why people shake babies.
Last Monday was a holiday in Canada. My sister still had to work but her husband had the day off. He 'had stuff to do' so they asked if Mom would still take their son as usual on a Monday. Apparently my mom and I don't have stuff to do. I actually had an illustration to finish that was two days late and I was very stressed about it. When the kid was napping I went to work on it. And I had facebook open, shame on me, but I saw that brother-in-law had posted that he was making muffins on his day off! I was so mad. Why can't he man up and be a father to his kid?
I have to move out. I have to move out. I have to move out.
Other bits and bobs:
Job interview tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
Walrus and I go on being friends. It is what it is.
We went to a protest last weekend. Yes, getting political! Unfortunately, only about 30 people showed up and it fizzled out within an hour. I mention it because a couple came near the end, and he (the male component of the couple) looked familiar. I think he had a prolife on OKC, and even on Plenty of Fish when I tried that two years ago. I sorta was thinking about messaging him. However, he looked happy with his girl and I was glad he'd finally found someone. He's not the first person I've recognized in real life from their profile. What is the etiquette for that anyways? Pretty sure it's best just to pretend you don't know anything about them. I'm not really sure what the point of this story was. Just the weirdness of internet dating is made even more apparent when you see someone that you think you recognize from three blurry photos....
There was a brief flurry of activity in the OKC world for me. Two men wrote to me this week. They both were the type to answer IMMEDIATELY after I wrote back. Damn smart phones! (I usually wait a day to respond, just as a general rule, a rule I've made up based on who-knows-what.)
One man was local, three years younger than me, fairly cute, 92% match. Conversation wasn't amazing but it was going alright. I was weirdly not into him being younger than me. I mentioned that I went to some local community place for an event and he said he wouldn't go there because it was gentrifying a low-income neighbourhood. I'm somewhat insulted and disagree on this issue (local politics....) I haven't written back. I'm not that interested, just not feeling it, even if he is cute. Do I have to say 'thanks but no thanks' after three messages exchanged or do I just not answer?
Man #2 is from another nearby city...let's say 2 hours away. He's 35 I think and an 88% match. I put too much stock in these numbers. Walrus was 89%, if I recall. Anyways....the conversation is interesting and slightly weird. He asks those conversation-starting questions that seem fake and sorta annoy me but I admit they work. Also he said 'Just putting this out there, I was impressed that you listed [classic 50s film] first on your list of favourites.' Why did he have to say 'just putting this out there'? Does he know how obnoxious that phrase is? Why is necessary to say that? Can't he just say 'I like that film too.' It's not a sign that we're meant to be together if we both like this old movie, FFS. Also he described himself as a free spirit. I read somewhere, probably on Captain Awkward, that one would do well to avoid people who describe themselves as 'quirky' or 'feisty' on dating sites. I think 'free spirit' is high up on the list of adjectives to avoid. I'm not sure 'free spirit' is strictly speaking an adjective. Oh well. I'm very tired.
I didn't really intend to blog every message I ever got from online dating, but it's been slow in that department. It's all just so weird and makes me freak out and not want to do it.
Oh please let me get a job soon so I can start Operation FML and get away from my family and be independent and feel awesome enough to date again...
I know I mainly just comment on the dating-related stuff, but I do think it sounds cool to have an "Operation FML" plan and I do wish you well in getting a job. 12 hours of other people's babies sounds brutal.
ReplyDeleteAs for the dating sites: it does sound a bit like you're coming up with ways to avoid going on dates. I don't think it's necessary to wait 24 hours before responding to any message. I also think that if you're waiting for someone who won't ever use a phrase which you find obnoxious then it may be a long wait, although if you'd prefer to wait anyway then that's fair enough.
I guess I think that the "avoid" tips from Captain Awkward are aimed at people who go on lots of bad dates - I still think it's worth trying out meeting some of these people (in a safe environment) because you've already seen that somebody can seem different in person. I think part of the weirdness of online dating is trying to make the jump from online interaction to real-life interaction, and that jump gets weirder the longer you converse online before meeting. I'd suggest just two or three messages back and forth, then maybe a phone call if you want, then meet in a safe place. Get five of these under your belt and then see if it changes your perspective at all. Just my opinion.