Celebration: the End of Movember

November 30 marks a glorious day: the end of Movember. 

For those of you who don't know what Movember is (my mom), here is the description from the official Movember website, "During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in the US and around the world. With their Mo’s, these men raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men."

You guys, I effing hate Movember. Sorry, "men's health," but moustaches are gross and make almost any guy look creepy.  Yet, for some reason, guys LOVE Movember. It's like finally they have an excuse to grow out their facial hair and style it in "fancy" ways (and by "fancy" I mean like a child molester) and then take ridiculous pictures of themselves "being men." 

My favorite is how by the end of the month, even the boys are sick of their Mo's. Yet they still "tough it out" and keep them 'til the end, even though I'm pretty sure a lot of them barely even did any fundraising.* So really, they're just doing it for "awareness," which is kinda good, I guess.  But remember when girls were posting their bra colors of fb for "breast cancer awareness?" That was dumb.  Okay, now I'm just sounding like a bitch.  I know: Movember is not the same as posting bra colors on fb.

But back to Movember.  I guess prostate cancer is a "good cause" (and I'm pretty sure you can still donate if you're interested, even though the month is over, hallelujah) and Movember is a fun idea.  It's just that moustaches are so gross.

Boys, seriously.  Nobody wants to make out with you when your face looks like that.


*This reminds me a lot of how my little sister used to scream, "Stop it! I love it!" when she was being tickled as a child.  It also reminds me of how my mom complains about decorating for Christmas every year and then willingly transforms her entire home into Santa's workshop extravaganza, loving every minute of it.

text flirting

You guys, I'm bored. It could be that I've been sitting alone studying pharmacology all day (likely).

Or, something else could be putting me to sleep: texting. I never thought I would say this, but texting is kind of boring. And do you know the most boring version of texting of them all? Text flirting.

Calm down. I am aware that there are people out there who love text flirting. And I'm sure they will let me know how great it really is (I know a certain D, who claims that text flirting is her whole game and with the right emoticons, she can even text make out. Which sounds... weird). I agree, sometimes it can be fun... sometimes. Mostly it's totally boring and a waste of time.

First of all, let me define what I mean by text flirting. To be clear I do not mean sending gross "sexts" (sorry D, though I'm not sure if your emoticons would even count as sexts). I think of text flirting as the early form of communication between two people who may or may not be interested in each other. It's a great(?) way to gage interest: presumably, if he/she responds then he/she is interested... at least enough to respond.* Plus, talking on the phone is so personal... and can be "awkward" (in my old age, I disagree with this, but whatever).

A friend of mine (and Master Texter) once said about extended text flirting, "I don't do that. That's like hanging out at Make-out Point and not making out." Oh, Master Texter, this is so, so true! (Also, MT was clearly referencing Chick-fil-A, which is kinda great).

My major problem with text flirting is that it's usually about nothing, because 1) you don't actually know each other that well and 2) you can only make joking references to your mutual friend and/or that one time you hung out for so long and 3) you are forced to make witty yet pointless comments when restricted to the 160 characters of a text message.

It also usually goes on forever... because you're texting about NOTHING and there is no logical end until someone gets bored and decides not to respond. The other alternate (and preferable) ending is that you make plans and actually hang out. But chances are, if you're in extended texting mode, the other person is either not that into you or kind of a chicken and so the "making plans" part may never happen.

Sure, text flirting can be fun and there is definitely strategy involved (one day, I'm hoping that Master Texter will share his expertise/ridiculousness on LAMe!). But this is really only at the very beginning. When it turns into a text-conversation... about nothing, I say "make out or get out!" Okay. No I don't. But I should!

On that note, I have to get back to Pharm (so lame and definitely more boring than text flirting).

Wait!! One more thing! I know I just bagged on texting a little... but if I already know you and we're getting into a texting conversation, this is NOT text flirting: My "make out or get out" policy (probably) does not apply and I'm most likely bored and would like to be entertained. So humor me :)

*And this may not even be true: Just last night I classic text flirted with a guy (I'm not interested in) for like 30 minutes (straight up text-conversation style) because he kept responding to my boring one-liner texts with questions and I didn't want to be a bitch by not responding. I finally ended it with "I have to study. Have a good Friday night!"

HVD!

From now on, I think I'm going to say "HVD!" instead of Happy Valentine's Day. Mostly because this sounds like some kind of virus (HPV? HSV?) and that feels a little more appropriate.

Okay, before you get all, "Whoa, calm down, single girl!" on me, I'm just going to let you know that I'm not a bitter Valentine's Day loner or anything. I just kind of think VD is lame (both Valentine's Day and Venereal Disease, for the record).

There's a lot of pressure involved.

If you're in a relationship there's pressure to be super romantic. Or even if you're not going big, you probably have to at least make dinner reservations or cook a fancypants dinner and that can be a pain. You also have to get/make a gift, which can also be super stressful (Unless you're my mom, who got my stepdad a card... and then turned to her friend and gave her a card AND a stuffed animal. That had to burn for my stepdad).

If you're starting out a new relationship (or something along those lines) VD is mostly awkward. (OMG, what does it all mean?! Does he actually like me or is he just being nice? He got me jewelry... I got him a card. Does this mean I should sleep with him? STRESS!)

If you're a single girl, there's the obligatory "we're single girls and don't need valentines" dinner. Which can be fun. But also feels a little contrived at times.

In defense of VD, here are some things that I love about it:

• At Obligatory Single Girls Dinner, someone usually shares some good dirt (fine, usually it's me. Whatever).
• It's a great excuse to wear pink. And red. AT THE SAME TIME.
• All of those cheesy gifts/stuffed animals are pretty cute.
• Back in the good old days, I used to make my own Valentines and VD cookies, which was pretty fun (Ah, I used to be so artsy and domestic).
• I'm totally fascinated by quasi-scientific articles like "The Science Behind Kissing"

On that note, HVD! Whether you hate it or love it, at least you don't have to worry about it for another year :)

Excuses

I guess you could say I'm kind of an over-analyzer.

This is usually a good thing. For example before making a big purchase, I think to myself, "Do I really need this ____?" If the item of debate is an expensive pair of shoes, I might pass. However, if it's a pink and white striped OnePiece Jumpsuit special ordered from England, the answer is YES.

While it may be good for my wallet, I've recently realized that my tendency to over think everything may be getting in the way of my love life. Here's what happens: As soon as I think I might like somebody, I think about any consequences to pursuing it, and then find/make an excuse for why it shouldn't happen/wouldn't work. And then I wonder why I'm home alone reading Jane Eyre while I can hear my roommate having sex in the room across the hall.

You guys, I'm an excuse-maker!! Big time!! For kicks, here are my top 5 excuses for not making out with someone (and why they're dumb):

5. "We're in the same class... things could get weird." Okay, sure. In med school, we see a lot of each other and that could be awkward. But with time, these things pass (and really aren't that big of a deal).

4. "2 years ago, my friends got in a big fight over him/both hooked up with him." Actually, I think this is still a legit excuse.

3. "When he told my roommate he was interested, she responded with, 'She has too much dignity to hook up with you.' And then she told me." Right.

2. "I don't want to ruin the carpool." While this might sound ridiculous, I just need to say (in my defense) that this was a really good carpool. As in 110 North Carpool Lane through Downtown LA during morning rush hour good.

1. "I don't want to ruin the friendship." This is my most common excuse. And it's total bullshit. Chances are, I'm not that good of friends with the guy. And if we really are that close, our friendship will survive anyway.

So there you have it... here are my top excuses. What are yours?

Romance! (or not)

Remember when LAMe! used to be super fun and I would blog about my exciting life as a single twenty-something?* I know, LAMe! has been a little lacking in the romance department lately. It's just that my life has been mostly romance-free (damn you, med school!) or I haven't wanted to write anything that could potentially be traced back to people you know (once again, damn you med school!).

Well you guys, you're in for a treat! Recently some events have taken place that are just too ridiculous for me not to blog about.

I guess I'll start at the beginning. I met this guy through my roommate and after a few (like a couple of months) friendly hang-out sessions, we went on a "date." The date went... well, it was kind of weird. First of all, we ate dinner at Chick-fil-A and HE DIDN'T PAY. Umm. Chick-fil-A?! And he didn't pay?! This threw me off a little, mostly because there was no possible way we weren't on a date and paying is pretty much part of my definition of a date. Like, if you're ever confused about if you accidently went on a date with someone, you think back to if he paid or not and there's your answer (this isn't always true, like if you're clearly with friends who happen to be guys and they pay, this does not mean you're on a date). Whatever, the Chick-fil-A situation was kind of a minor detail and I didn't really care, because it was pretty much hilarious to me. (You guys! Chick-fil-A!!!)

After dinner, the plan was to go up in the big orange balloon at the Orange County Great Park. This is actually a pretty cute date idea. Unfortunately, it was a Wednesday and the Great Park was closed (wah wah). Luckily, he was thinking on his feet and he said, "Since we couldn't go up in the balloon, I'm going to take you to the Top of the World instead." Totally cute. Oh, and for those of you not in the know, the Top of the World Park is in Laguna Beach and has beautiful panoramic views of both the coastline and Irvine. Oh, and it's a total make-out spot.

So there we were, taking in the views (it was a crystal clear night), gazing at the stars, and NOT MAKING OUT. After a lovely time at the Top of the World, we're heading down the hill back to Laguna when we see these crazy looking boats... so of course, we go to the beach. Where the waves are gently crashing and the stars are bright and we're still not making out. Later, we go back to his place where we continue to not make out.

That's cool. It's technically a first date. No need to rush into these things. Fine. I'll admit it: I'm pretty awkward and I'm not super touchy-feely and I pretty much never make the first move. But still! Here's a tip for all of you "shy guys" out there: if a girl is a super busy med student and she spends like 4 hours with you (the week before an exam) and you weren't "friends" before, she's probably into you and you can probably make a move without any risk of getting rejected. It's not a guarantee, but a pretty safe bet.

Even though the first date was kind of weird and we didn't make out, I still had a pretty good time. Naturally, we went on a second date. To Wahoo's. And he didn't pay for me. HA! This mostly made me laugh because my roommates and I had just spent a week making Chick-fil-A jokes and now we'll be able to add Wahoo's to the material. Then we made our was back out to the balloon and it was CLOSED AGAIN!! Again, this is hilarious (of course it was closed!!). And so, of course we didn't make out. We then went back to my place to watch CSI with my roommate and after she went to bed we hung out for like another hour on the couch... without making out. In his defense, he did say he "had a sore throat" and "didn't want to get me sick." Fair enough.

Up to this point, I was feeling so-so about the situation. I did have a good time with this guy. But is it in a romantic way or a "just-friends" way?

Which brings me to last night. Last night my roommate and I were supposed to go to see It's a Wonderful Life with him at the Lido Theater, which is the really cool "old-school" theater in Newport. My roommate came home like 10 minutes before we were supposed to leave and says, "Did he call you?! Because I was just hanging out with his ex-girlfriend and she invited herself to the movie and she's coming too!" WHAT?! So the four of us went to the movie and it was kind of awkward, but mostly because it felt like my roommate and I were crashing their date.

My interpretation of the "ex-girlfriend group date" is that it's a pretty clear sign that he's not that into me. Right? My roommate insists that he's told her he's interested. So, um. Is he just a total pussy (won't make the first move, let's his bitchy ex invite herself to the movies, etc)? Total confusion!

So here are my thoughts: Sorry, buddy. I'm pretty busy and don't have the time or energy to eat Chick-fil-A, not make out in really romantic places, and watch classic movies with you and your ex-girlfriend for hours on end (in any order/combination).

There you have it. I hope that this is enough romance to hold you guys over for a while. And to all of you potential suitors out there: no, I won't share the details of our dates with all of LAMe! Nation (HA!!!). Unless you act like a retard. Then I will.

*Okay, you probably don't, since that was a long time ago (before med school). If you have some time to kill, here are some classics: Elite Status!!, check all that apply, and How to pick up boys (this can barely be considered "classic," but it has some great tips on how to pick up boys, so I included it).

Say Anything

Last night I watched Say Anything:

1. Say Anything might be my favorite '80s teen movie.

a. My other favorite '80s teen movie is Sixteen Candles.

i. Molly Ringwald may or may not be a natural redhead, but she rocked the ginger look for a while, so I've always liked her.

b. Breakfast Club is good, too.

2. John Cusack was super cute in 1989.

a. I totally would have made out with him.

b. Unfortunately, he did not age very well.

i. Still love him, though.

3. Loved loved LOVED the late '80s style!

a. Fluffy hair, yes please!

i. My hair was born for that look.

b. Hey John Cusack, nice trench coat.

4. Kickboxing IS the sport of the future.

5. This movie made me wish I were dating a boy like Lloyd Dobler. Or any boy.

a. Could someone please make out with me?

i. I am pathetic.

6. The scene where Lloyd stands outside of Diane's window, holding a boombox over his head, playing their "song" is kind of overrated.

a. Also overrated is The Usual Suspects, which we watched before Say Anything.

i. "Oooh! Who is Keyser Soze?" Turns out once you know, the movie is pretty boring.

7. I've been working on an outline on Amino Acid Metabolism all night and I've become a little too attached to outline format.

LAMe! Goes Global!

I have a very exciting announcement: Tomorrow morning, I'm taking LAMe! Global.  And by "global" I mean to Europe and by "Europe" I mean France and Italy.

Anyway, tomorrow I embark on Eurotrip '09!  As my boss put it: "Europe?!  What, did you just graduate from high school?"  Yes.  In case you didn't know, I'm a late-bloomer and I just graduated from high school.  Or maybe I wanted to travel before going to med school, but didn't have anyone to go with and I felt safer going to Europe on my own.

Okay, but I need to focus because I have an early flight tomorrow and it's getting late.

I'm going to Europe for a month and I'm going to try to keep everyone updated through LAMe!  So check it out and hopefully I'll get a chance to let you know what I'm up to (most likely it will be making out with cute European boys... just kidding, mom!).

Here is my itinerary (roughly):

June 8-9: LA-Paris

June 9-13: Paris

June 14-20: Cycling trip around Provence

June 21: Provence-Tuscany

June 22-27: Cycling trip around Tuscany

June 28-July 5: Northern Italy

July 6: Milan-LA