Felicity's #1 Fan

So since I am the most Highly Effective Teenager I know and "Put first things first" is Habit #3 for highly effective teens, I decided that getting a little dating done during my winter break would be smart. I made myself a profile the Friday before finals and by Saturday, had exchanged a series of promising emails with someone. My last Fullerton final was on Wednesday and following that, we had our first date.

The first date consisted of dinner at Cheesecake Factory at the Victoria Gardens. Other than the fact that I knocked down someone else's water glass, it went well. We had a lot of connections including the fact that he was the college roommate of a former colleague's brother. This guy was two years younger than me (which I tried not to think about) went to Harvey Mudd College and is a civil engineer for a small consulting firm in Newport Beach. Sounded promising! I asked him about his daughter before the night ended and found out that he drives down to San Diego on Tuesdays and Thursdays to visit her. Now, I won't turn down a guy solely because he has kids, but it is certainly something to think about before things advance.

Our second date was a lot of talking in the Starbucks of a local Target and later the front seat of my car. Again, we discovered more things in common (affinity for the Beatles and U2, for example). I also learned a little more about him. His ex-wife, mother of his 18 month-old daughter, lives in Escondido and is going to move up here soon to start a paralegal training program at UCR. Who gets divorced with a baby? How can I compete with this woman who is probably younger than me and the maternal mother of his child? This woman will be in his life for the next 16 1/2 years so I was definitely a little concerned about this, but not too much.

By the third date, I knew this would be his final chance to really impress me. We went to see Invictus and as we walked into the theater he admitted to liking "Felicity." I don't remember how it even came up, but it was enough to make me stop walking, turn around and make sure I had heard him correctly. Once we were sitting in the theater, I again had to ask him about this.

"Felicity." As he described it, it's about the trials and tribulations of a girl in college. If he had admitted to masturbating to scenes with the pink power ranger, even that would have been okay.

As we watched the movie, he was "cuddly" but in what I felt was a girly way. It was like I was the man and he was the girl. He would snuggle into/under me and then he would gently whisper in my ear "Are you comfortable?" It seemed like he took the submissive position when he cuddled. It made him seem like a little puppy dog or a little brother. Unfortunately, that really emphasized his younger age to me which already bothered me a little to begin with. When he laid his head on my shoulder, I knew I was done.

Starr Shower

The last time I tried to give a cat a shower was in May 2005. Moochie had been missing for a few days and I was really worried. I remember Justin and I came home from celebrating Mothers' Day and Moochie finally came home that night causing me to exclaim, "It's a Mothers' Day Miracle!" with delight.

That delight quickly turned to concern when I saw how dirty he was. He looked like he had been sleeping in a car engine (and based on what happened the next time he ran away, he probably was.) So Justin and I thought it would be a good idea to give him a shower. Moochie would always come and poke his head through the shower curtain when the water was running, we figured, so he must not hate water too much. Oh, how wrong we were! Justin got a long scratch to remember the event and I was amazed a few days later when Moochie had completely licked himself clean from head to toe.

Fast forward to July 2009 as I'm driving the cats home from the PetHotel to our newly painted condo. Within 3 minutes of pulling out of the parking lot I realize that Starr has gone to the bathroom in her carrier and that it won't be pretty when we get home. I pulled her out in the garage and carried her straight upstairs to my bathroom. I put her in the shower and quickly took my clothes off to get in with her.

I decided to use body wash because I was washing her body plus my shampoo is for Brilliant Brunettes, not dirty kitties. I managed to wet her, lather her up and somehow, rinse her off. I think she was more scared than anything else because at one point she let me hold her like a baby under the water. That, I believe is where Justin and I went wrong with Moochie. He tried to throw him instead of getting in with him. Maybe the fact that I was in there with Starr made it a little more bearable for her. Or maybe she just couldn't believe what was happening to her.


I don't think that cats were meant to be drenched and maybe that's why they go to such great lengths to avoid water. Nonetheless, it was a bonding experience and after what I went through today, I don't think I need to be reminded that I cried when I almost didn't get her. I'm sure that when I cuddle with her tonight she'll smell like Dove Deep Moisture Beauty Body Wash. It's a win-win situation when you really think about it...



This blog is dedicated to Dave for encouraging to sit on my ass and blog already!