Will you negotiate with me?
I read this article on my plane ride from Singapore to Hanoi today and enjoyed it enough, I wanted to post it. Borrowed from the Weekend Journal of the Wall Street Journal
In 1972, on a park bench in Birmingham, Ala., Garner Lee Green’s father proposed to her mother. The proposal came out of the blue. She said yes.
“That doesn’t happen to people anymore,” says Ms. Green, who is 30. And it certainly wasn’t the way her husband asked her to marry him several years ago. The two of them talked for a long time about how and when the proposal would happen. “I was ready before he was, so we had to come to a meeting of the minds about a time frame. The negotiations lasted about six months,” Ms. Green says.
She is not the only one who missed what used to be a classic big moment. Those romantic tales that get passed among friends and relatives—”One day he just showed up with a ring! I was completely surprised!”—are vestiges of the past. We’ve gone from popping the question to a long conversation, hammering out the details of when and how the engagement will happen.
To read the rest of the article, click HERE.
My own memory…
It was a quick romance. We shopped for the ring together. And I knew exactly when he was going to propose. I was 24. The surprise came on a Tuesday night, three months after the ring. We broke up. Actually, he broke up.
Blip & Fizzle
Evidence of a home cooked meal
Guys, listen up: If you cook for her, she thinks you like her. If you are not sure about her then don’t go to her house and cook her dinner!!! Keep all dates in a neutral zone so you don’t give the wrong impression!!! Don’t be a jerk!!!
Wonder why I am a bit cynical about my love life? Why I just don’t care so much anymore about finding my dude? Why Project Shanna 2009 is no further along in the month of September than it was in January? I’ll tell ya…because even all the way over here in Vietnam it’s the same. Same scenarios, same stories, same games and same nonsense. I am 39 years old and I have had my fair share of dating experience. And frankly, I’m tired. I don’t want to have to worry about whether I played it well, or am too eager to move forward or any of that nonsense. Straight forward, no bullshit, please. If you like me, tell me. If you want to see me again, make plans. If you have something to say, positive or negative, just say it. I’m a super cool girl and I am really not that complicated. If you lead me on to think that you are into me, don’t be surprised when I respond to your actions, words and intimacy. Don’t run the other direction after I’ve taken the bait. That’s not cool and I do not deserve that.
As if you couldn’t tell…there was a romantic blip on the screen, folks. It had lots of potential, or so I thought, but it quickly fizzled. “It’s not you it’s me” was the general tune. Yawn. Snor. Without a doubt, I am simply not interested in “hanging out.” I don’t want a casual relationship. I don’t need a !!!! buddy. I want a boyfriend. I want to become a “we” (not now, not tomorrow, not next week even…at its own pace). I want to have a hell of a good time together. Is that really too much to ask? Is it?
For crying out loud…..Where IS he???
A week in Saigon
At the tail end of a busy week, jam packed with meetings, we attended The Guide Awards and picked up one each for the Emeraude and the Press Club.
The week was a busy one with 6-8 appointments throughout the day and in various parts of the city. One thing I will say about Saigon – it made me appreciate living in Hanoi. The traffic in Saigon is horrendous. A sea of motor bikes and cars squishing together on tiny roads, as there is lots of construction in the streets, and all over the place (I think they are fixing the sewer system). I can definitely appreciate Saigon for a better selection of restaurants and shopping venues, but the noise and pollution from all that traffic makes Hanoi look like a green zone. World of difference!
The week ended with a dinner and award program for Vietnam’s The Economic Times Guide. It’s pretty much a thank you to all who advertised during the year. While I was happy to do my duty and attend the event, I was not so happy that it made me miss Friday Night on The Terrace. This is the biggest social event of the month in Hanoi and I love our party for the meet-new-people factor and for the possibility of a step forward with Project Shanna 2009. Having to sit this one out really irked me.
For those of you who have not heard about Project Shanna 2009, it doesn’t take much imagination to figure out what the goal is for this year. I should probably name it Project Shanna +1 so that we are all clear. Or Project Shanna +The Dude, so that we are even more in sync. It’s six months into the year, and by missing a big event like Friday Night on the Terrace, I almost feel like I’ve missed a whole month of efforts! Yikes!
Anywhoo, June will be busy with a move into my new apartment hopefully on the 10th and then a trip to Laos, two visits to Saigon and who knows what else which may be thrown in my direction. My job keeps getting busier and busier! I love it, but there are just not enough hours in the day!
The important thing is that I’m ready and I’m game. And I’m not talking about work!!!
On the Bright Side,
Shanna
An Affair to Remember
It was New Year’s Eve. We said hello. Our eyes met. We clicked!
We went upstairs to the Press Club party. We talked. We danced. We kissed! Repeat.
We was on vacation. Bummer he doesn’t live in Hanoi. Or Vietnam for that matter. He lives in Aachen, Germany. I said a few times, “I’ll be in Berlin in March.”
E-mails exchanged. Flights reserved. Ready to go!!!
We met at the airport. OMG. Even cuter than I remembered. Three days together in Berlin. Such a beautiful city. What a great guy. Fun fun fun!!! I totally needed that! A fabulous weekend, for sure.
I’ll be in London in November! How about a weekend in Dublin before that?
On the Bright Side,
Shanna
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