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84,000 Different Delusions

Posted on by Carla Jean Whitley

DixieMedley: We’re so stalking the band today. I told Alisa my plan and she’s all for it
Susan: lol
Susan: yay for stalking the band!
DixieMedley: Heck yeah. 😀
DixieMedley: Oh Seaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan… NOTICE ME!
DixieMedley: or somethin’. 😉
Susan: HAHAHAHAHA
DixieMedley: I have to decide what to wear.
Susan: you just have to be all casual-like if they come into the coffee shop
DixieMedley: Oh yes.
DixieMedley: Eye them for a second. Whisper to Alisa “there they are! There they are!” check my reflection to make sure I haven’t sprouted a new zit or got coffee all over my face.
DixieMedley: Then calmly cross the room and introduce myself.
DixieMedley: The music will swell.
DixieMedley: (of course, it’ll magically change from the new rock station to something more romantic.)
DixieMedley: I’ll shake hands with Chris, then Sara.
DixieMedley: And then I’ll turn my attention to Sean.
DixieMedley: I’ll smile.
DixieMedley: Coyly, of course.
Susan: oh, how I want you to blog this 🙂
DixieMedley: And when I introduce myself… he’ll melt.
DixieMedley: What will my opening line be?
DixieMedley: “You sang me to sleep last night, Sean. But I was in dreamland before those final notes… wanna try again?”
Susan: LOL
DixieMedley: I’ll blog it… but the cops might come after me. 😉

I am so kidding, I promise! Except for the part about studying all day in the coffee shop… I gotta get ready to go. 😉

Watch out boys, she’ll chew you up

Posted on by Carla Jean Whitley

I made an important self discovery the other day.

I wear diamond studs in my ears most days. They were a gift from my parents on my 21st birthday. They’re simple, they’re classy – I dig ’em.

But on occassion, you’ll spot me with silver hoops dangling from my ears. Sounds innocuous, sure.

Guess again.

Those hoops are a secret code – a warning of sorts. If you see those rings in my ears, you better watch out, ’cause I’m in a flirting mood. The bigger the hoops, the bigger the trouble.

Tonight’s gonna be a silver hoop night.

The theory/the curse/the blessing

Posted on by Carla Jean Whitley

I have a habit that my best friend and I refer to as “making up stories.” (Really, I came up with the term – she just knows what it means.) If I wonder about the nature of something or how something came to be, I’ll theorize about it until I have an explanation that works, in my mind. It doesn’t have to be accurate, mind you – it just needs to satisfy my curiousity.

With that explanation, I have a story I’d like to share with you. 🙂

I’ve noticed something of a trend in the past few years. It’s not clearly defined; there are several categories of gentlemen to whom this theory applies. But, as fuzzy as those defining characteristics are, there’s a definite pattern that has emerged.

Let me elaborate, because I’m certain I’m making little sense.

The categories:

  • Guys I’ve dated – these, of course, are those I’ve had an actual relationship with. Only three men fit this category, and they have not all proven the theory correct.
  • Guys I’ve liked – these fellas are those that I’ve had a crush on, but nothing ever happened between us (for whatever reason). A sub-category here is “guys I thought were really cute and played with the idea of liking, but never developed a full-blown interest in.” (Yes, this is the way my mind works.)
  • Guys who have asked me out – I think that’s fairly self-explanatory. Because they’re not in the first category, I think it’s fairly obvious that my answer was no.

    • Now that we’ve cleared that up – let me explain to you the actual theory.

    If you fall into one of those three categories, you run the risk of marrying the next woman you date.

    Does the title (the theory/the curse/the blessing) now make more sense?

    I thought so.

    For your consideration, I submit several items of evidence:

  • Jason – If I had a high school sweetheart, it would’ve been him. Of course, we only dated for three months (that’s as long as it takes for the curse to bestowed upon you!), so that term is completely off. In any case, Jason didn’t date anyone seriously for years. Now he’s dating a girl who was my best friend in high school, and they’re madly in looooooooooooooove. There’s no ring on her finger – yet – but they hope to prove my theory correct.

  • Jon – Jon’s a category two who (foolishly) refused to believe that I was interested in him. We were close friends until he started dating his fiancee. (Along with picking men who aren’t quite right for me, but are primed for meeting their wives, I have a tendency to befriend men who will drop me after they find a girlfriend. I’m still good friends with Jon’s brother and sister-in-law, though! And I spoke to Jon on the phone a few months ago. That was pretty fun, as well.)
  • Kevin – Remember that sub-category I threw in? Kevin’s the reason. I never really liked him, but he was a looker and I was intrigued. I wasn’t the only one, either! 😉 There was great mourning among the Crusade girls when he announced his engagement.
  • Matt – It was a silly crush, but yep, I was interested in Matt for several months. He was so notorious for the way he avoided leading women on that we now will categorize a man as a “Matt ———-” type. When he left for seminary, he started dating a sweet gal he met up there. They’re engaged now, and I don’t think there’s one of us who is surprised.
  • Benjamin – Have you ever been asked out by someone that was so awesome that you only wished your answer would be yes? That’s how I felt in this situation. I was cheering for him to get together with a friend of mine for months before it happened. Now they’re in looooooooooooove – we’ll see what comes next!
  • James – My final piece of evidence is also the reason for this entry. Several mornings ago, I received a phone call from my buddy. He had been dating this girl for several months, and he’d told me that engagement was on the horizon. Sure enough, he is now an engaged man! When we discussed the impending exchange of the ring a few weeks prior to the actual event, he both apologized for fulfilling the theory and celebrated that he is, in fact, proving it correct. I bet this category three is glad that I said no. 😉

    • There are several guys who have slipped through the cracks, of course. I can think of at least… three who are exceptions to this otherwise accurate rule. Of course, one of those has only been free of me for a month, so it’s a bit early to determine whether the curse took hold.

    Now fellas, I fully expect flowers and candies arriving at my doorstep. If you wish for me to enact the curse/blessing on you, it’ll take some wooing. 😉

    *Some names altered
    **This was written with a smile on my face, not with bitterness in my heart. Just so you know. 😉

    Keeping time

    Posted on by Carla Jean Whitley

    I’ve got a little habit that I’ve only recently realized is strange.

    I celebrate the anniversaries of all sorts of things – mentally, at the very least. Let me give you a few examples.

    26 April 2004 – 2 year anniversary of college graduation
    24 May 2004 – 23rd birthday of the guy I liked for three years in my early teens
    4 June 2004 – 12 year anniversary of that time we went to Disney World in sixth grade
    1 July 2004 – 7 year anniversary of getting my braces off
    25 Oct 2004 – 2 years since one painful DTR, 3 years since another
    2 Nov 2004 – 5 years of walking with the Lord
    12 Nov 2004 – 9 years since I performed in a NFL halftime show

    You get the idea. Some of these events are rather significant; I’ll probably tally the years since my college graduation and since I got real in my faith for decades to come. Although some of the events I remember are silly, the others have served as mile markers for me. I can look at some major points in my life and recognize how far I’ve come since.

    I remember the freedom that I felt at Providence Canyon. That was the day that I decided I wasn’t going on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ (two years ago this month). I remember the tears I cried on the drive to Matt Schoolfield’s graduation party. I can’t forget driving through the streets of Trussville and bawling as “Somewhere North” filled my car.

    And if I’m wise, neither will I forget the lessons that Jesus has taught me in the time since.

    Ah, spring.

    Posted on by Carla Jean Whitley

    I’m spoiled rotten.

    As I drove home from class earlier this week, I spotted daffodils growing alongside a nearby fence. I sported a wide grin that lasted as I drove the final couple of blocks home and climbed the stairs to my apartment.

    I'm in love!

    The next day, I noticed that my entire “neighborhood” (if you will) was covered in flowers. Daffodils had been planted in several locations, pansies were abundant and various other blooms popped up at random.

    Isn't it charming?

    Spring has come to Alabama. I’m thrilled. 😀

    But wait – the story gets better! I went with a couple of guys to pick up my roommate from the airport last night. She had promised me some sort of surprise from California. All I knew was that it was fragile, so when she handed me a Starbucks bag, I was kind of confused.

    “Open it,” she urged.

    I pushed back the paper to find five bunches of daffodils. 😀 She’d purchased them that morning and carried them across the nation for me. How did I get such a great friend?!

    Following some crazy rain dancing in the parking lot, I divided the flowers into a variety of vases. They’re now scattered about our apartment, and I beam whenever they catch my eye. The bunch that has opened the most so far is in my bedroom. 🙂

    Morning beauties

    Oh, but you thought my flower-inspired ramblings ended there? No sir!

    I took a walk to the mailbox a few minutes ago, because what I had to send wouldn’t fit in ours. Whoever thought I should have a digital camera just caused the world tons of trouble. (Thanks, Mom!) I’m sure that passers-by found me a bit strange as I sat in the road and on the sidewalk, capturing images of these flowers to bring smiles in days yet to come.

    Ah… spring.

    Sunshine