Just Give Me a Reason: Bridezilla Edition
For whatever reason, Aron and I were discussing bridezillas. You know, those wild-eyed women who take being Queen for a Day straight to hellions with tiaras, seemingly desperate to make everyone around them miserable? Yeah, I know. Weird date conversation. “Just…what’s the point?” he asked me, as if I had some magic key to unlocking […]
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Dismissiveness in Dating Culture
This status update appeared in my Facebook Newsfeed recently. I say appeared as if the apparition was magic, but of course, there was no bibbity-bobbity-boo involved; just someone I vaguely used to know wanted to share something. My jaw dropped a little. Here’s a woman […]
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What Will You Find When You Look Inside Your Heart?
My heart hurt so God-damned much in that moment. Every other beat felt like it was knocking on my ribcage, begging to escape. I should have been so lucky. Alicia of seven months ago would have started texting, calling, emailing, writing, Instagramming, Facebooking, or drinking (or some to all of those -ings) as a means […]
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Ideas Grow and Magic Happens #WDS2014
So. A few weeks ago one my freelance bosses had an idea I’ll call Come to the World Domination Summit in Portland! The name pretty much says it all. Adventure-seeking Alicia thought, “Booyah!” while hermit-crab-who-fears-flying Alicia thought, “Oh dear.” The former won my internal battle, mostly due to something I wrote to my friend Richard: …I’m […]
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When You Accidentally Send Nude Photos to Your Ex…
One of my favorite coworkers is remarkably taciturn. His bark has (hilarious) bite, but he’s more likely to keep mum than not. He probably adheres to that “if you don’t have anything to say, don’t say anything at all” adage (that’s how it goes, right?) which I clearly far too often forget to subscribe to. […]
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Achievement (Almost) Unlocked: Redefining Dating Success
Caitlin and I were walking home. To one side of us, trees. The other, commuters desperate to return home and buses who vote liberal with their horns. “It’s amazing to me how when I wasn’t dating, I didn’t care about being single. I didn’t think about it.” Caitlin had spent the better part of a […]
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The Math of An Awkward “Hello”
Greeting Russell was awkward, mostly because upon reaching up to hug him, I managed to swipe the tip of his nose with my thumb. Thankfully, I didn’t make it into his nostril, but I definitely grazed from one exterior bulge to the other. Being a gentleman (and for all I know, a scholar), Russell didn’t […]
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My Most Recent Note
I went on 50 first dates, one in every state, for a few reasons: because I wanted to prove dating didn’t suck. Because I wanted something to write about and dating was prevalent in my life anyway. Because talking to strangers makes me ridiculously happy and energetic. Because dating sometimes equals kissing. Most of all […]
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Oh Hey, Vulnerability!
I’ve had a cold this entire week. Being a phlegm factory isn’t my favorite (I say that like there is a person out there who goes “WOOT! MUCAS!” To be fair, I’d probably be that person. And to be fair, there are some silver linings to listening to something assuredly yellow rattling around between your […]
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A Conversation About Independence at the Water Slides
Some days my heart feels like it’s being squeezed the way one longs to squeeze a tube of toothpaste: from the middle, letting all the minty-freshness bulge on either end, while simultaneously being twisted like a washcloth being wrung out before being applied to ease a migraine. In those moments, the least thing I feel […]
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