The Airport Meet/Meat Market?

I've been traveling a lot for business lately and I'm spending way too much time in airports.  It seems that flights these days rarely take off when they're supposed to.  Much of my travel is between NYC and Chicago, two super-busy travel hubs and I've learned to just assume there's going to be a big delay.  

Most days,  I make my way to the Airline Lounge because it makes being delayed a little less painful.  The Lounges are more pleasant surroundings, there's decent food and drink available and even free coffee and cookies!  They're spacious with a number of seating options, from living room-like arrangements to cafe tables to workstations. And no lines at the restrooms.  They're certainly a much more pleasant place to bide one's time than sitting at the gate. 

And you know what else?  They're full of men.  I hadn't thought about this until a friend mentioned it to me, because I'm usually too busy pouting that I can't get to where I'm going to even notice.  But once I did notice, I wondered if I could use some of this "forced free time" to scout the fellas.  Why not?  If he's in the Lounge he probably has a job so that's a pretty good first step.

So the other day, instead of sitting at a workstation answering emails and being annoyed that I was stuck in an airport, I sat at the bar.  I ordered a salad and a glass of wine and was soon chatting with the guy who sat down next to me.  Turns out we were both waiting for the same flight so we killed the time with another glass of wine (this time, on him).  He was an entertainment lawyer and we wasted a little time laughing about pop culture and some of his clients and celebrities-for-no-reason that we see and read so much about.  He was well-informed, funny ...and married.  That's ok.  He was a great companion for two hours and made the delay a lot more tolerable.   

So I think that'll be my new modus operandi when I'm stranded in an airport.  Sharing a drink at the bar with a gentleman certainly beats pouting over my computer by myself.  Thanks American Airlines!

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Burning the Mortgage!!

A couple of weeks ago I did something that made me prouder of myself than anything I've done in awhile.  I paid off the mortgage on my house! 

For as long as I can remember, I'd fantasized about having two homes.  I was a voracious reader as a child and would often read stories about people who had more than one home (although I didn't know anyone who did).  I thought that was terribly cool and wished I could say one day "I'll be at the country house this weekend".  I loved this notion of having a place in the city and one in the country, and thought it must be the true meaning of "the best of both worlds".

As I got older, I would spend summers with friends in "share houses" in the Hamptons, where a group of us would pool our money and rent a place for a month or the season.  It was fun but I always thought it would be even more fun without all the extra people.  And ya know what?  It is.  Eventually, I was able to treat myself to  what some people call a vacation home, but I just call my other home because I go there more often than I could ever go on vacation.   I had an apartment in the city and was now buying a home in the country...just like I'd dreamed about but never really thought I could pull off.  One mortgage is a big step; two mortgages is even more daunting.  But I did it. 

It was tough sometimes.  My co-op in NYC has a super and I had gotten very used to that.  There's no super with a house and I --being single and all-- couldn't call upon hubby to do the things a super typically does.  And trying to get the boy-of-the-moment to do it can be tricky.  Some are more skilled in that regard than others, so it's a little uneven.  Nevertheless, having a second home was (and is) every bit as wonderful as I imagined it would be.  I love my place in the city, but it's small.  My house in the country allows me to entertain family and friends (yes, even their kids) and it brings me a lot of joy to be able to do that.  And the dog is delighted to have a yard he can run around in on his own and without a leash.

I bought the house in 1996, made accelerated payments and just paid that baby off.  When I mailed in the pay-off check a few weeks ago, it didn't feel like that big a deal.  Now, it's sunk in and it's a huge deal.  When I say I'm a homeowner, I actually mean a homeOWNER.  It's mine, not the bank's and it feels great.  It's one of the most grown-up things I've ever done.  A very Spinsterlicious move!

NOTE:  If you like "Spinsterlicious" and want to be notified of new posts, please (re)subscribe in the box on the right -or- if you have a Google Account, you can click on "Follow Me" also on the right, near the bottom.   You'll receive an email each time there's an update to the blog.  (It's a new service; if you registered earlier, you'll have to do it again.  Sorry...and Thanks)

Spinsterlicious Shoe of the Week: Did He Cheat?

I was in a very long line at Whole Foods, having stopped in after work to pick up what would pass for dinner.   The “express” line was the longest line I’ve ever seen in my entire life, so I got in the regular line even though I only had a couple of things: light yogurt and an assortment of berries, my very favorite snack…and, in this case, my dinner.  If you didn’t know I was single before, you’d know it by looking at my basket. 

As I stood in line, I wondered how it was that all of New York City happened to be in this particular store at this particular time?  It was ridiculous.  I searched my purse to see if I had my iPod so I could at least listen to music to help the time go by faster.  I had it, but it was dead. I can never remember to charge the dang thing.   So, I’m standing there staring into space trying not to look like the crazy impatient nut that I was feeling like.  (There’s something grammatically wrong with that sentence, but I can’t fix it.  Work with me). 

A few minutes in, I heard a deep voice behind me:  “It must be my lucky day to stand in line behind the woman who can rock those boots”.   It was a little cheesy but when I turned around I liked the way he looked so I forgave him.  I laughed.  We struck up a conversation about nothing much and by the time we got to the cash registers I had agreed to have a drink with him.  We went to a restaurant about two blocks from the store and drinks turned into dinner because I can’t drink without eating…unless I’m trying to get drunk, which I wasn’t.

He was married with children, which I knew before we left the store but I didn’t mind because he seemed interesting and made me laugh.  I assured him I don’t “do” married men (my one hard-and-fast, never-wavered-from rule), and he said he wasn’t looking to be “done” and that he was just killing a little time.   And that’s what we did: ate, drank, laughed and had some good spontaneous fun...all because he liked my boots.   And that’s why they are this week’s Spinsterlicious "Shoe". 

After a couple of hours, we kissed good-bye (on the cheek) and went our separate ways,  not even exchanging contact information.  Yet a friend of mine felt that what he did was wrong.  She said if her husband did that she would feel like he’d cheated on her.  I didn’t agree because it seemed pretty innocent to me.  What do you think?


NOTE:  If you like "Spinsterlicious" and want to be notified of new posts, please (re)subscribe in the box on the right -or- if you have a Google Account, you can click on "Follow Me" also on the right, near the bottom. .  You'll receive an email each time there's an update to the blog.  (It's a new service; if you registered earlier, you'll have to do it again.  Sorry...and Thanks)

A Life-List for The Spinsterlicious Chick

Every popular woman's  magazine has, at some point, run a column about things a woman should know. One of my favorites, by Pamela Redmond Safran, ran in Glamour Magazine a few years ago (http://bit.ly/dFQgwf).  In honor of her and every other list-maker, here's my version of what every Spinsterlicious Woman should know, have or do:


Know

• A few people she can call when she wants to share news --good or bad-- or she just wants to talk
• How to cook a weekend's worth of great meals, at least one of which can be served in bed
• How to sew on a button, repair a hem...find a good tailor
• Which color lipstick makes her eyes glow
• A "placeholder" kind of guy
• How to open a bottle of champagne...without the cork putting somebody's eye out

Have

• An up-to-date passport
• A pair of great-looking heels
• A dress that makes everyone go "wow"
• A job she enjoys
• A couple of ex-es who can still make her laugh
• A roadside assistance service

 Do

• Take a fun vacation alone
• Take vacations, in general
• Mentor a girl/young woman
• Flirt every now and then
• Buy her own home

Help me build my list.  What should we add?

Single During the Holidays -- What's Good About It?

What's good about being single during the holidays?  Well, for Kathryn Harvey --big-time advertising exec, sassy lady, good friend, and Spinsterlicious Babe of the month--  lots.    Here's how and why...in her own words: 

News reports say that the holiday season is tough for a lot of people.  Often, the single and childless (but fabulous!) fall into this category.  While I don't look forward to the time between late November and early January as much as I do summer beach weekends, the holidays aren’t all bad.  There’s the parties, the gifts, the music.  And some things about being single are actually better during the holidays.   Here are a few of mine…

• I don’t have to get a tree. Trees are festive, but the needles, the watering, and the space it takes up in a NYC apartment…well, they’re a lot of work.  If I had children, or even a husband, I couldn’t get away with not having a tree.  Way too bah humbug.  But when you’re single no one really expects you to have one.  Score!

• I  don’t have to bake or cook.  And if I do, people make a very big deal about it.   And just as good, no one expects me to send holiday cards.  These days, holiday photos of well-dressed children and/or children placed in really cool, interesting spots (at the family beach house, Macchu Picchu, etc) are the norm.  Since I don’t have any children, I don’t have to send a card.  No postage, no paper waste and no idea-generation on cute outfits or cool spots for the pictures.  If I was married and didn’t send cards, I’d be stricken from every card list, no matter how old or dear our friendship.  But as a single person, no one seems to mind and I still get the cards with the cute kids and the cool locales.  Keep ‘em coming!

• A favorite personal tradition: Every year at Christmas time, my friend, Michael and I have a fancy dinner at a new restaurant. And at these dinners, Michael gives me jewelry.  After one of my break-ups, Michael proclaimed that he’d give me jewelry every year until I had a man in my life.  I don’t think Michael (or his partner, Randall) ever expected this little tradition to last as long as it has.  And while it would be nice to have my boyfriend do this, Michael has really great taste and knows my style.  His selections are always a hit with me and complimented by my friends.  I’d miss all this since I’d probably have to be at my mother- in-law’s between Christmas and New Year if I was married.  Nice!

• Lastly, my sister, Anne, recognizes that I give her, her husband, her 4 children and sometimes her dog, a Christmas gift.  And I travel to her house.  The ratio is way out of whack.  Anne compensates by giving me a larger gift than she gives married family members.   Note to other married-with-children folks: This is a really nice, thoughtful thing to do.  While this isn’t really something that’s better about being single, I couldn’t help myself and had to share this tip.

There are a lot of things that aren’t better about being single, but hey, it’s early in the season, no point to dwell on those now.  They’ll come up soon enough – say, December 31^st.

Happy Holidays!  No trees, no cards, no cooking! 

I (Eleanore) would add to Kathryn's  Good-Things-About-Being-Single-During-the-Holidays list:  I don't have to accompany my husband or kids to parties I don't really want to attend.

Anything you want to add to the list?