Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Tricky tricky!

I have been hit on before, and I feel like over time I have become less oblivious. However, I was recently taken off guard and, I feel, tricked.

I recently attended a Yelp Elite event. For those who aren't familiar with the terminology, a Yelp Elite is one who posts a lot of reviews, is active on forums, etc.

I didn't know the majority of the people that were attending, but after discussing dressing up on the forums, I arrived in a super cute outfit ready for a fun-filled day.

We had all been given name tags, and were mingling in the lobby of a hotel after going on a tour. While standing around, I tried (for the zillionth time) to check in on Yelp. Stupid Verizon let everyone else check in, but not me! Grrr. After putting my phone away in defeat, I was approached by one of the young men in our group. He complimented me on my outfit (which, as previously stated, was super cute), and started chit chatting with me. The exchange was pleasant. He said blah blah blah, I said yada yada yada...until....

"So, is your boyfriend an Elite?"

"I don't have a boy-" Oh. Oh yes, he was clever indeed.

GRRRRRR,

~K

Friday, March 2, 2012

For Lent I've given up...

...well, it was going to be alcohol. Even though I'm a protestant rather than catholic, I like the idea of giving up one's vices in order to devote more time to working on a relationship with your creator and becoming the person that you were created to be.

So I gave up alcohol. I've never been a lush, but I do drink socially and last year it proved to be more difficult than I would have liked. So I figured that I would do it again.



According to Wikipedia (a truly credible source, I know) "The traditional purpose of Lent is the penitential preparation of the believer—through prayer, penance, repentance, almsgiving, and self-denial."

This goes to remind us of the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting, praying, and enduring temptation from Satan.

Giving up alcohol for me missed the mark. I was doing it more as a challenge to myself than for its true purpose. I've always enjoyed seeing if I'm capable of doing things, even if I am disappointed in the conclusion.

After recognizing my own agenda behind giving up alcohol, I've revoked the dry spell. I never want to say that I'm doing something for one reason but really doing it for another. To say, "look at what a good little Christian I am by giving up booze for God", I was in denial.

If I choose to give something up or set forth a challenge, I want to do so with very clear reasons and never say I'm going to do something for God when I'm completely focused on myself.

Still learning,

~K