MODERN IFIGENIA

Dating has not been easy-mostly because I have two principles that are conflicting. I am extremely cheap and extremely well traveled. Men who travel tend to spend a lot of money at price points I don't care for; people who are cheap tend to not travel. So in my dating endeavors, I found this man who went on a trip on his own. He stayed in a hostel and the next day I spoke to him. He had trouble sleeping. I asked why and he explained that he was sharing a room with four others and in the middle of the night someone came in making a ton of noise waking everybody up. He said that in the middle of the night he just kept thinking why didn't he pay an extra $15.00 for a private room. He then said "but don't worry, when we travel together this isn't going to happen" I asked "oh, so if we travel you are going to splurge?" and he said" splurge? no, I mean, I'll make sure everyone knows not to wake you up." I really think this one might just ...

"Why don't you use the photo where I look 45lbs thinner, because I was 45lbs thinner when I took it"

Woman: I am sorry, this just isn't going to work out, thank you for your time though. Man: Well, I am a great catch, no wonder you are single if you are that demanding. Woman: Yes, that is how single-hood works, I stay single until I find somebody that makes me not want to be single anymore, you don't make me want to be not single, capisce ?

Okay, okay, okay-I have a major dilemma and it is only January. By now you have probably heard of the cheap tickets to Iceland offered by WOW -what you probably don't know is that those prices also apply to Copenhagen, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Bristol, Frankfurt, Dublin, Dusseldorf and Stockholm-yes, for around $300.00 you can visit any of these destinations from Washington, DC/Baltimore. So here is my problem, if I go to any of these locations I will have to pay for room and board, which is now more affordable because I own an American Express card which is giving me $25.00 per $100.00 I spend on hotels anywhere in the world. Nonetheless, I would still have to pay for hotels if I go to Europe. I could also go to Turkey because the spring typically brings low rate flights (around $450.00) and I can have free room and board from a friend. The problem with Turkey is that I have already been there, though re-visiting it would help me learn my Turkish. For once in my li...

Have you been asked this questions a lot? Well, maybe you haven't been asked the question this way, but I often find men attributing negativity to the women I am most impressed by and deem the most positive. I decided to write about this because the long-established inverse relationship between competence and likeability for women that Sheryl Sandberg has discussed rather frequently, seems to play out in the dating world as well. I am not going to talk too much about my life's accomplishments, but I am in mostly male dominated fields and I am a high performer. When I started dating, I found myself in situations where men would make statements like: "I am so proud of you and of knowing you" or "I can't believe I was lucky to meet someone like you" or "do you know who you are?" These questions would be followed by the explanation as to why we could not continue dating. I chucked it all to chemistry or lack thereof. There wasn't animo...

I am not sure where my friend pulled this line from, but when she said it, I almost broke down into tears. I was sharing with her that I have been feeling jealous of everyone lately. I have never been jealous before so I didn't understand what that was all about. She then explained that jealousy was shame covered in anger; when she articulated it that way, she spoke a truth to me that really hurt, but really healed. Thanks god for wise friends.

Over the weekend I decided I needed a new curtain to separate my living room from my dining room. Instead of buying a curtain, I figured it would be just as easy to sew one. The problem is that I haven't sewn anything in over seven years. For some reason I felt very domestic this particular weekend and with much hesitation, I opened my closet and pulled out an old sewing machine. I sat down, cut the fabric to length, ironed it for the perfect creases and got ready to sew. It turns out the sewing machine did not work and I disassembled it and reassembled it, resulting in my ability to sew and complete the project. These were all such very mundane tasks, but I was surprised at how meditative they were. I was in no rush or urgent need to get them done, so I could take my time and be careful. Ironing re-connected me to my youth where I would iron all of my school uniforms and could remember how happy I used to be to see my classmates when I arrived to school. There is a smell that ...