Time flies
So there's this guy. You all know him. And it was just about a year ago today that we had our first date. I was just going to write up how we first met, and I actually did and erased it, because I've written it so many times over the last year. Jeff says he was taken with me from the very first. I was seeing someone else at the time, and bored with that, so I suppose I wasn't looking for anything. I wasn't even sure if the first time he asked me out, if it was for a date or as friends! But there was definitely something there, and in him I found all the things I was looking for but could never find. I once wrote that I was looking for someone who was adventurous, kind, intelligent, not addicted to video games, and if there was a God, taller than me and living in Los Angeles. My friends laughed at me. Well HA. I found him.
If I knew relationships could be like this, I wouldn't have wasted my time with anyone else. We support each other, encourage one another. It's the first time I've been with anyone and had them be so much a part of my life. Other than people who live out of the area or out of state, he's met pretty much all of my friends. Even some of the out of area and state people. He is always a consideration, always a factor. That's very new for me, she of the super-independence, self preservation and non-commitment. Very early on when I was thinking of schools I might like to go to, I realized I wouldn't go anywhere Jeff wasn't interested in; there are lots of colleges, and only one Jeff. He is just such an involved part of me life. I love being a part of "we". I love having a +1. Certainly, these have been challenges and adjustments and I still struggle sometimes with feeling like I'm losing my independence to be part of a couple.
I remember how it was when we first started dating. We'd stay up til 6 in the morning talking on the phone, then try to sleep for two hours before work. We still talk til after midnight, but a girl has gotta sleep! I;ve always heard of the magic wearing off, and I know a year isn't that long, but we've only gotten better. Sometimes those phone conversations were painful. Jeff confessed he wasn't much of a phone person, and sometimes there was uncomfortable silences. We were often awkward with each other and I wondered if we'd ever be able to relax and be comfortable. When we were out with other people, even his friends, he'd clam up or get lost in thought and I'd have to nudge him to get him to participate. I can only imagine what I was like! I freaked out a lot, over things like us not knowing how to do our own thing together, and when his roommate left for a week he said we'd get to "play house". I worried when I took him to Catalina for his birthday, that we'd only been a couple 6 weeks and we were going on A TRIP, and again when we went to Oregon because I had never traveled with anyone before. A year later, we are very comfortable with each other, we've learned how to have an argument, how to be in the same space but not directly interacting. We cook together, go lots of places, explore forests and lakes and random stretches of Los Angeles. He says I am domesticating him. But in a good way. I'm sure he's teaching me to be more optimistic and kind. My friends think he's great, his like me as far as I know. I steal the blankets worse than ever and he still thinks it's cute. We hold hands all the time, even under the dinner table, and we rub noses in public. I have a great man, and I love him.
I did not do a year in pictures for 2008 but aside from things like the Reno-Tahoe media tour, volunteering at the Aquarium, getting Reef Check certified, switching jobs and moving into my new place, most things of importance I did with Jeff.
Left to right, top to bottom:
1. Before Lucent L'Amour 2. Getting off the ferry in Two Harbors, Catalina, for Jeff's birthday 3. 5th LA Burner Gathering 4. In Santa Barbara when he took me home to meet the family 5. At Lightning in a Bottle 6. At Beth's steampunk birthday party 7. Multomah Falls, on our trip to Oregon 8. Detour Festival in Downtown L.A. 9. Seeing Sigur Ros at the Greek Amphitheatre 10. 3 miles into the Great Western Walk 11. In Lake Arrowhead after Thanksgiving 12. At Eric and Kat's for Bad Movie Night during Christmas in Santa Barbara 13. New Year's Eve and Day at Lake Castaic
If I knew relationships could be like this, I wouldn't have wasted my time with anyone else. We support each other, encourage one another. It's the first time I've been with anyone and had them be so much a part of my life. Other than people who live out of the area or out of state, he's met pretty much all of my friends. Even some of the out of area and state people. He is always a consideration, always a factor. That's very new for me, she of the super-independence, self preservation and non-commitment. Very early on when I was thinking of schools I might like to go to, I realized I wouldn't go anywhere Jeff wasn't interested in; there are lots of colleges, and only one Jeff. He is just such an involved part of me life. I love being a part of "we". I love having a +1. Certainly, these have been challenges and adjustments and I still struggle sometimes with feeling like I'm losing my independence to be part of a couple.
I remember how it was when we first started dating. We'd stay up til 6 in the morning talking on the phone, then try to sleep for two hours before work. We still talk til after midnight, but a girl has gotta sleep! I;ve always heard of the magic wearing off, and I know a year isn't that long, but we've only gotten better. Sometimes those phone conversations were painful. Jeff confessed he wasn't much of a phone person, and sometimes there was uncomfortable silences. We were often awkward with each other and I wondered if we'd ever be able to relax and be comfortable. When we were out with other people, even his friends, he'd clam up or get lost in thought and I'd have to nudge him to get him to participate. I can only imagine what I was like! I freaked out a lot, over things like us not knowing how to do our own thing together, and when his roommate left for a week he said we'd get to "play house". I worried when I took him to Catalina for his birthday, that we'd only been a couple 6 weeks and we were going on A TRIP, and again when we went to Oregon because I had never traveled with anyone before. A year later, we are very comfortable with each other, we've learned how to have an argument, how to be in the same space but not directly interacting. We cook together, go lots of places, explore forests and lakes and random stretches of Los Angeles. He says I am domesticating him. But in a good way. I'm sure he's teaching me to be more optimistic and kind. My friends think he's great, his like me as far as I know. I steal the blankets worse than ever and he still thinks it's cute. We hold hands all the time, even under the dinner table, and we rub noses in public. I have a great man, and I love him.
I did not do a year in pictures for 2008 but aside from things like the Reno-Tahoe media tour, volunteering at the Aquarium, getting Reef Check certified, switching jobs and moving into my new place, most things of importance I did with Jeff.
Left to right, top to bottom:
1. Before Lucent L'Amour 2. Getting off the ferry in Two Harbors, Catalina, for Jeff's birthday 3. 5th LA Burner Gathering 4. In Santa Barbara when he took me home to meet the family 5. At Lightning in a Bottle 6. At Beth's steampunk birthday party 7. Multomah Falls, on our trip to Oregon 8. Detour Festival in Downtown L.A. 9. Seeing Sigur Ros at the Greek Amphitheatre 10. 3 miles into the Great Western Walk 11. In Lake Arrowhead after Thanksgiving 12. At Eric and Kat's for Bad Movie Night during Christmas in Santa Barbara 13. New Year's Eve and Day at Lake Castaic