Reality TV Love

Almost two weeks ago, my wonderful friend, Alaina Burd, decided to change her name.

She was a stunning bride. Postively glowing. Especially when she looked at Nathan.

I felt so blessed that Alaina would include me in the most exciting day of her life thus far. It was such a treat to see and feel her excitement along with all those closest to her, and to be completely caught up in emotion as I watched her walk down the aisle to the beaming groom.

Their committment to each other and the Lord is so encouraging in today's world of short romances. It's refreshing to see one that will last.

***

I didn't want to do it. But I did.

I got sucked into The Bachelorette last night. And furthermore, I have three top picks for the love-starved girl. William, PJ, and Ryan. How pathetic.

I got to thinking during the show, as I built up an annoyance at the professions of love in the previews of what was to come, about what the real problem with this show is.

For a reality tv show, it is surprisingly short on realistic circumstances. Ok, that doesn't narrow it down enough- it's not realistic for someone to fall in love with 20 guys at the same time. So forget that part and look at just one couple out of the 20.

This particular show is jam-packed full of highly romantic, once in a lifetime kind of dates. The couple is always doing something exciting, or in a magical atmosphere, or simply just away from all other influences in their lives.

I don't believe that you find... I hate to say "the one," but it will do I guess.... You don't find "the one" through a series of extraordinary moments. "The one" makes ordinary moments extraordinary.

***

Jered and I spent the first two weeks of knowing each other, not on outlandish dates, but doing homework in Johnson Hall Lounge. Do you know JHL? It's a dingy, out-dated lounge in the Johnson Hall dorms. It is NOT a candlelit picnic under the stars with flowers and wine and whatever else makes up a romantic date.

But it was real.

It was real life, with a real person, who wasn't trying to impress me AND the rest of America's ABC viewers with his great accomplishments and sensitivity.

But it turned doing homework into a memorable and magical experience.

I know, I know. Jered tells me all the time: I'm such a sap.

Well... here's another confession: I will most likely continue watching this season of The Bachelorette. Stupid and infuriating as it may be, it's a little addictive.

And besides that... I want to see if the masked man ever takes off his mask.

The Good Times Rolled

Heads up: I'm feeling a bit unconventional tonight. We'll see where this leads us.

I raced up to Trinity again last Friday after I got off from work. (Mom paid me eight dollars to get out the door because I may have been singing along to Moulin Rouge and driving my family crazy.)


How many times have I driven to TIU? Well, I could probably figure it out if I wanted to, but I'm not that diligent. Let's just say, "enough." Enough to not get lost. Well, I missed my exit and ended up driving right through Chicago. Fun start.


No worries- I made it. First thing on the agenda: sushi.

I know, not what I would have chosen either, but it actually turned out to be a great choice. It was pretty good, and there were lots of friendly faces that I had missed dearly.

I accidentally came up with a fantastic nickname. (If I may say so myself!) Pallory.


That's Patrick and Mallory together, in case you didn't know.


This obviously led us to label Jered and me as Jaimee/Ared and Jeremy and Kelly as Jelly. I know... You're probably jealous and wish you had such a nickname. We can work on it if you like.

Well, the eating did not stop there. Nooo sir. In fact, that seemed to go on all weekend. In abundance. Jered and I had a lovely Denny's breakfast, complete with a peach smoothie for me.

Ignas suggested shrimp for our evening with friends, which turned out to be a hit.

Ignas is our friend from Lithuania. After graduation, he's going home, and I will surely miss him. He always makes me laugh. He asked us to go shopping and help him find gifts for some of his friends back home.


While Iggy shopped for gifts, Jered bought a wonderful Christmas sweater that he wore for the rest of the weekend.

I bought some fabulous new running shoes. Motivation? We'll see.


I wish I had been able to wear these while I was at the mall because I did not have suitable walking shoes. While walking, Jered and I purposefully stayed a few feet behind Iggy to watch the reactions to him. He is extremely tall, and people have no shame when it comes to staring. Hahaha.

Well, shopping makes everyone hungry, so of course there is more food to this story. Jered suggested Rainforest Cafe. Brilliant. I felt like I was on vacation. The atmosphere is amazing, as was the food. We didn't try anything crazy, but it was lovely anyway.
















Notice the sunburns? Those are from the baseball game.


We watched most of the game, ate gummy worms, Jered shared his thoughts on dandelions, he saw his first live homerun, and we went back and forth from being cold and hot the whole time. At least we got some sun to show for it.

We met up with Bam and Myriam later that night. I was glad Bam and Iggy were still friends. Curious? Alas, that story is not mine to tell. You'll have to ask one of them...

Myriam and I had a good laugh when Iggy tried to explain the longest Lithuanian word to us. Ahem, let me see if I can remember... "It's like when you're walking home and you see a rabbit cabbage..." I don't know if that's all of it, but it had something to do with that. Like I said... he keeps us laughing.

For example: Once, Jered and I were watching someone try to parallel park this really tiny car. They took forever. We were both laughing and laughed even harder when Iggy was the one that stepped out of the car.

That was last year, but this weekend also brought driving-related laughs. Jered taught me how to drive stick shift. They were probably more nervous laughs than anything. I was terrified, and he was patient. He's a good teacher, but I don't think I'll be driving us around in the Honda anytime soon.



















This may have led to our mutual daydreaming that teleporting, or apparating, was possible.

While that dream will probably never happen, another dream was remembered when Jered saw a German Shepherd puppy at the mall. He was in love- I am positive that someday we will have one.

Well my friends, I think it's quite an accomplishment if you've made it this far. I was a little sans focus this time. (Molly, I meant to accept your challenge to use that word a looong time ago, but I just now got to it!) Maybe next time, my thoughts will be a little more organized.

I suppose, if nothing else stands out in this hodge podge of notes, let this: this weekend I was one happy camper. Laughter, love, and contentment were abounding, and I'm already anxiously awaiting the next occasion.