Pencil Skirts, Day Drinking and Mad Men

Oh, how I do mourn for the past (obvs. I mean, just check out my previous blog entry)! I didn't grow up in the 60s, but I think I would have loved it. Yes, things were harder for women. Yes, it was a turbulent time. However, it was a time of great social change. People just seemed to CARE more, you know?

This article isn't about social change or caring. However, it is about good manners. And if we're all nice to each other, maybe we can change the world that way.

New Fall 2011 Trend: Chivalry

Choose Your Own (Life) Adventure

Recently, I've begun writing a screenplay. I KNOW! It's incredibly Hollywood of me. I've never thought of myself as a screenwriter and, frankly, I may totally suck at it. I'm going to give it a go though. I have a story in me that needs to be told. I've been going through some "life stuff" lately. It's too painful to write about in its purest truth, so I need to create a fictional metaphor to deal with it. Hence, the screenplay.

I sat down today and tried to write. I managed to write a mini-treatment so I was sure I knew where the story was going. Beyond that? I sat and thought, not only about the story, but about all the roads not taken.

We all have things that we didn't do in life. Maybe you didn't ask the cute boy to the prom in high school. Maybe you really wish you'd majored in interpretive dance like you secretly dreamed of doing. Whatever it is, we all have our regrets.

I began to wonder if maybe there are just too many options. I know, the world's my oyster and all that. Sometimes I just wish that I had a manual: if you do this, this will happen. Take this road and these doors will open...

What if I'd joined the Peace Corps like I'd wanted to? How would my life be different?

What if we'd never left Chicago?

What if I'd studied abroad?

What if I'd gotten my master's degree?

And so on and so forth.

When I was in grade school I really enjoyed the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books. (Did I just date myself? Are those overwhelmingly 90s?) I always cheated. Don't like outcome of the story? Quick, go back and take the other path! Choose a different ending!

I guess the point of this rambling post is that sometimes, just sometimes, I wish I could turn back time and choose a different ending. Or at least, see what might have been.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled lives. Hope you're happy with your adventure.

Our New Little Addition

The Boyfriend and I have been together for a good long tme. I'm not going to reveal how long, lest I reveal our true ages, but suffice to say that we've been together through the return of bell bottoms and skinny jeans. We've lived together in LA for nearly four years and we decided the time had come. We were going to make that commitment. We were going to expand our family.

We were going to adopt a dog.

We'd been thinking about it for a really long time. Almost four years, in fact. I've always wanted a pug and The Boyfriend was totally down with that notion. We're both hippies at heart so we decided on a rescue as opposed to going to a breeder or a pet store.

(Side Note: Seriously, please don't go to a pet store. I'm not one of those crazy PETA people, what with my love of a good steak and a leather bag, but puppy mills are major no nos. No animal lover wants this to be the reality for their four legged friend.)

We did our research. Oh, boy, did we research. The Boyfriend is obsessive about information. It's a good quality, but exhausting, too. We have a 29 gallon aquarium and he painstakingly researched every type of tropical fish that went into it. What they liked to eat, what fish they'd get along with, even their personality traits. He is nothing if not thorough.

Our research lead us to Pug Rescue of San Diego County. Yes, I know that we live in Los Angeles. Yes, I know that San Diego is two hours away. And, yes, I know that there are pug rescue societies in LA. However, PRSDC had Mushu an adorable 3 year old pug who had been relinquished by his family because they recently got a more dominant dog.

I fell in love with Mushu right away. The Boyfriend fell in love with Mushu. We immediately contacted the society and they put us in touch with Mushu's awesome foster mom. After speaking to her, we knew that he was the perfect pug for us. And that, gentle reader, is how I would up getting up at 5am on a Saturday, driving to San Diego for a pancake breakfast, and returning with a pug.

I have to say, I'm a tad terrified right now. I imagine people with newborns feel the same way. You're so thrilled with your new baby. He or she is everything you've ever dreamed of. But now there's this living thing. And it depends on you. This, my friends, is going to be an adventure. I'll keep you posted.