Things I have learned lately and not so lately

Topic 1: Not Remotely Zen and the Art of Automotive Maintenance

• Be wary of Google maps when they suggest a ‘faster route’ to your swanky restaurant date with your daughters (one cooking for you, one eating with you).
• Faster routes in Google maps can mean potholes the size of large bowling balls.
• Potholes the size of large bowling balls can mean tire blowouts/flats in questionable parts of Chicago at night.
• When changing a post pothole the size of a large bowling ball tire in questionable parts of Chicago at night be sure to turn your car lights off so the battery doesn’t get drained.
• When changing a tire at night in a questionable part of Chicago saying ‘Ok Google turn on flashlight’ to your phone works better that ‘Ok Google where the fuck is the flashlight?’ – the second will have Google autocorrect ‘fuck’ to ‘phone your ex who told you to stop swearing so much’ and no good will come from THAT conversation.
• When flat tires won’t come off even though you’ve removed all the goddamn lugnuts and pulled as hard as you can, you can try calling AAA, and you can try the police to help – because questionable area –  but do not try this  on the night the Cubs get into the World’s Series, because all of the police are at Wrigleyville and not in your questionable part of Chicago.
• When flat tires won’t come off, even though you’ve done every bloody thing correctly and you’re going to be late to your reservation using ‘Very Loud Creative Swears’ whilst yanking on the motherf’ing tire will, in fact remove the flat tire and send you a few feet back with a filthy tire on your trendy, I’m going to a swanky restaurant outfit and your ass on the equally filthy roadside, but you won’t care, because pulling that motherf’cker off was extremely satisfying.
• Once a goddamn flat tire is finally off the car, two motivated women can get a spare tire on in less than two minutes because Bitches Get Stuff Done and there was a swanky restaurant waiting for us.
• And just in case handling a flat Like A Boss wasn’t satisfying enough, the Chef comes out to greet us personally and gives us a tour of the kitchens because besides being cool and badasses, we also love eating exceptional food.

Topic 2: Dating or Dr. Really Strangelove and How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

• Never date musicians
• No good has ever come from dating a musician, so when screening potential dates ask first if they can play an instrument.
• Playing piano might be okay, but plays electric guitar in a band is RIGHT out – do not walk, RUN away.
• Never date Scorpios
• I’m certain there are some very lovely Scorpio men out there, but do not date them. Scorpio in any part of their chart, just to be safe. Scorpio Moons especially no.
• No more Latino men – no, no, no, no, and Hell no. Write this down, because apparently this is a smooth spot in your brain – NO Latino men. Mexican, Peruvian, Ecuadorian, Spanish doesn’t manner, don’t do it. It will never end well.
• Catholic Latino men who adore their mother. Just don’t. You can’t even. You will never ever even. You will be switched from Madonna to Whore and back so many times you will get whiplash. You will swear too much, smile too little, never cook as well, be respected too much or way too little. You will never be good enough. This is a fact, at least for you, it is a fact. For the love of your remaining sanity and shattered ego, don’t go there.
• Scorpio Latino Musician? Run.
• Never date Irishmen, especially if they’re poets. No good ever came from dating an Irish poet. Write that down in your journal till you remember it.
• Basically dating is a bad idea. Dating will invariably lead to adding another category to the list of men you are never to date again.
• You might think being a yoga teacher with long curly hair would attract suitable men to date, it does not. It does however, attract all manner of suggestions regarding flexibility and comments about anatomy.

Topic 3: Approaching Interesting Men with Beards in restaurants 

• DO IT. They could turn out to be a really cool band and invite you to come do yoga with them and go to their gigs
• Do not date them – see above. Hang with them, do yoga with them, be generally be cool around them.

Topic 4: Retail / Food therapy or Eat, Read, Love

• Buy the sweater, it will be warm and soft and gorgeous, feel like a hug and it will never judge you, tell you to smile more or to be more ladylike.
• Buy the book(s), they will be interesting, expand your thinking and always there for you and will never ignore you when you need them most.
• Buy infinity scarf with e.e. cumming’s poetry  i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart) all over it because poetry that some men write is so much better than most men.
• Reread Neruda, because poetry… so much better than actual men.
• Buy the fingerless gloves with that section from Wuthering Heights that you love because well-written words, so much better than…. men.
• Buy dessert, eat it whenever the fuck you want, and love every moment of eating it, because life is short and often needs chocolate. Also chocolate never judges you, ever.
• Movies – Go to them. Find a friend,  go alone. Put butter on your popcorn, eat it all. Movies where the creeptastic man meets a very satisfying end are especially good.

Also, yoga. Do some yoga, get sweaty, fall on your ass, get up again. Repeat.

moments before a less than graceful landing