Hotel, Motel, Holiday Inn

My brother and I are very similar in the fact that we love talking to strangers and making friends.  Over the weekend at our family reunion, he befriended some guys at the hotel bar where we were staying and introduced them to my cousins and me.  The first night I simply said hi and chatted for a few minutes, but the second night after all of my family had gone to bed I stayed up talking and being entertained by a few of the guys.  What I discovered was that apparently there is something about me that is charming.  The bartender proposed to me, the man with grandkids told me he would follow me back to San Francisco, the suitor said he had been talking about me since I smiled at him the day before, and all three of them offered to escort me to my room multiple times.  Fact: it's always fun being adored even if it's just pure silliness.

Before my brother wandered off the suitor kept complimenting me, said he wished he had asked my brother about me the night before, and wanted me to stay another day so he could take me out on a date.  I told him that he needed to work on his approach and not hit on a girl in front of her brother.  David pretty much rolled his eyes in agreement and walked away from us.  As the bartender, the grandpa, and the suitor playfully flirted and boosted my ego the suitor went so far as to whisper to me, "I'm going to be bold here..." at which point I politely stopped him and said, "It's great to be bold, but I'm going to stop you there.  I'm not going to your room, and you're not going to mine."  He laughed and said, "See, we have a connection; you already know me so well."

When it was way past my bedtime I bid the gentlemen goodnight, and the suitor asked once again if he could walk me to my room.  I allowed it but told him that he couldn't come in with me.  Outside of my door he asked if he could keep talking with me, so I led him to the stairwell where he proceeded to tell me all about his life (his childhood, divorce drama, his three kids, his job and how he is about to go overseas for a year for work).  Then we kissed...in a hotel stairwell.  Apparently I'm too much of a lady to go to a stranger's hotel room, however, not enough of a lady to stop myself from initiating a major makeout session in a hotel stairwell.  Classy.  Throughout that time of kissing and talking, he made several references to how much he liked me and wanted to keep in touch.  I told him I didn't think that was necessary.  I know that makes me sound like a jerk, but I didn't want to encourage his apparent thoughts that something was going to develop because I didn't see that happening.  I told him that we should keep it uncomplicated and just appreciate the fun hours we had.

Conclusion: I made out with a stranger in a hotel stairwell.  I really hope there weren't security cameras.

Walking on Sunshine (because being sad is no fun)

Fact: I'm doing all right.  After initially reading the "you shouldn't come to LA" email, I told my friend Rob that there was a 93% chance that I wasn't going to LA and asked him to please plan some fun to distract me from the potential sadness.  Bonus fact: my friends are terrific.  They kept me occupied and entertained with rafting, dinners, drinks, cookouts, and loads of silliness and laughter.  In addition to sweetly offering to punch Forty-nine for me (I politely declined those offers), they also drenched me with apologies and loving words that I think friends are required to offer such as, "He's missing out on a stellar catch," "Does he know that he just let go of the greatest girl," "You are amazing, beautiful, and strong," "His loss," "I hope he realizes his mistake before it's too late," "You are pure awesome and deserve only the best," "Didn't he get the memo that you're the best catch ever" and so on and so on.  If my ego was hurting at all before this, it was quickly mended.

I was busy and feeling fine (and by "fine" I mean that maybe my heart stopped for a second when my phone would light up with a call, message, or email in the hopes that it was him) until a week after it all happened when I had a day by myself while dogsitting; since I had nothing to divert my attention from the sadness, I made the silly decision to torture myself a bit and read through some of our messages from the past few months.  Sadness activated.  To distract myself from that downward spiral I turned on the TV and started crying when Fast and Furious was playing because he loves that movie.  I cried for a few minutes before I started laughing about the fact that I was crying over Fast and Furious because that's just nonsense.  I like to think Forty-nine had moments of sadness, too, though.  Not because I want him to be unhappy, but because it would be nice to know that he liked me enough to miss me and have second thoughts about his second thoughts.

Rather than being of the mindset of "his loss," though, I'm going to focus on the idea that both of us hopefully gained things while getting to know each other.  As I went through our messages one of my favorites was, "You are an interesting creature, Penelope. I'm glad we met."  I hope that he always feels that way because I'm definitely thankful that I met him.  However, if he didn't take anything away from our time together, at least now he has this blog to use as a reference for any future girlfriend who needs examples of why he's a great catch.

One of my friends said to me, "I'm hoping this is just one of those parts in a movie that has the viewer upset, but then it all works out with a happy ending." While I absolutely love that idea, I'm not going to sit around waiting for that scene to unfold.  I sent him a letter (along with a house-warming present that I had intended to take to him that weekend) briefly stating my feelings about "us" and eloquently quoting Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock.  And now, rather than sitting around with thoughts of "If only he had seen me shine at karaoke and dancing then he would have fallen for me for life" or pining away and waiting to see if he will respond to my letter, I'm going to do what I do best - live, dance, spread love to the world, and continue to walk on sunshine because I am surrounded by wonderful people and truly do have a fantastic life.

To be on the safe side I'll also avoid all Fast and Furious movies.