Maybe it was the sake talking... Wait, nope, he's just that awesome

Scene: Rad Boyfriend and I are having dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant.

RB: You know, I was thinking. Your birthday is coming up.
Me: It is.
RB: And you just lost your phone.
Me: I did.
RB: And you're not exactly in a financial position to be buying a new one.
Me: ...yeah...
RB: And this whole you-not-having-a-phone business is really inconvenient for me.
Me: Haha oh is it?
RB: It is. So I was thinking.... what if I get you a new iPhone as an early birthday present?
Me: No way. Are you serious?

A few minutes of "no way" and "you deserve it" and "are you sure" and "of course I'm sure, baby" ensue before I get up in the middle of restaurant, walk around to his side of the table, and hug him and kiss him and tell him how rad he is.

My bearded man

I've mentioned the Rad Boyfriend in passing several times on this here weblog, but I've never gotten into how we met or came to be Rad Boyfriend and Awesome Girlfriend. And I probably won't, not for a while. I am, however, dedicating this post to one of the many reasons why Rad Boyfriend is so Rad.

Several weeks ago, I hurt my back. It's unclear how exactly I hurt it, but I did. And I ignored my body for those several weeks and continued lifting heavy laundry baskets and boxes, and continued to get down on my hands and knees to scrub the kitchen floor. My body didn't like this so much, because I woke up on Sunday morning and literally couldn't move. Every motion of my body, no matter how slight, made me hyperventilate with pain. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to blink, it hurt to lay still. I somehow made it out of bed to use the bathroom, and promptly burst into tears after I laid back down in bed. This was NOT good.

I happened to be house-sitting at the time, and the owner of the house happens to be a helicopter EMT who just happens to have some pretty sweet prescription drugs in the guest bathroom. Quick lesson in whatever sort of back injury I have: PAIN KILLERS DO NOT HELP THE PAIN. Neither prescription-strength ibuprofen nor Vicodin did a thing to help ease my agony. I gimped around all day like a gimpy gimp and it was miserable.

Miserable except for one thing: Rad Boyfriend. I'd been complaining about my back for several days by that point, and he realized the magnitude of my pain when I came back to bed that morning in tears. He immediately took over, and for the next two days, he did EVERYTHING for me. He helped me get dressed, he unloaded the dishwasher, he brought me drinks and snacks, he fed the dog that he's allergic to, he went to the store for me, EVERYTHING. He even went to the airport to pick up a friend for me! If he saw me lean towards the coffee table, he asked what I wanted and got it for me. When I dropped my phone (or glasses or remote control) he picked it up for me. He even spent an extra night with me knowing he'd have to wake up early the next morning to go home and get ready before work. And at the end of that day? He came back with my favorite snacks. He loaded the dishwasher and did the dishes and fed the dog. He had dinner with me, we watched a movie together, and when it was time for him to go home, he checked all the windows, locked the doors, tucked me into bed, and told me to call him in the morning if I needed anything.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Reason Number 970,687 why Rad Boyfriend is so Rad.

Oh. My. God.

There are no words. Just watch.

Broke, single, and loving it!

It's spring break for my little punks, which means it's spring break for Teacher Danielle as well. Teacher Danielle, however, doesn't get compensated nearly enough for teaching her little punks and is looking for supplemental employment. So while it's technically spring break, my job this week is to look for another job. ::Sigh::

In between selling myself (in the non-illegal, non-naked way), I happened to stumble across a post from Red over at Gingers is the Watchword. She lists 5 Signs You Know You've Been Single Too Long, and I'd like to supplement her post (like I'd like to do with income, BOOYAH!) with a few reasons why being single is totally AWESOME:

1. You don't have to worry about anyone else's social calendar. Seriously, how annoying is it to have to check with someone before committing to plans? It's different when you live with your S.O., because, really, don't you want an evening away from them once in a while? But that whole I-want-to-see-you-this-weekend-but-I'm-not-sure-if-you-want-to-see-me-so-I'll-just-wait-to-see-if-you-call-me-before-I-commit-to-plans-with-my-friends-but-something-tells-me-I'll-end-up-staying-home thing? SO over it.
2. I don't know about you, but I love sleeping alone. The older I get, the more I realize what a luxury it is to sleep in your own bed, undisturbed. And that luxury comes few and far between once you start dating someone seriously. At first it's all cute and cuddly and sweet. But after a while, the "Hold me, honey" turns into "If you don't stop snoring, I will smother you with that decorative pillow." Again, I don't know about you, but I'd prefer my relationships not to end in homicide.
   
3. You save money. Modern society, modern dating rules, right? Sometimes he pays, sometimes she pays, sometimes you split it. But no matter what that "it" is, someone is spending their hard-earned cheese. (And I don't care what anyone says, there's only so many times I'm willing to sit home and watch a movie with my boyfriend before I start hinting at how good the sushi is at Tao.)
   
4. No commitments, no being tied down, you can pick up and leave whenever you want. Let's say you have a supercool job that requires you travel all the time. Or let's say you have an uber-shitty job and you've found a new one across the country. If you have a significant other who is gainfully employed and has no interest in moving to a suburb of Berlin, then chances are you won't be moving to Berlin, either. But if you're single and unattached, then the entire world is at your fingertips. You want to teach English to kids in Vietnam? Go right ahead! You want to work for the Peace Corps and travel around Africa? God speed! Chances are, that person with whom you passed the occasional weekend before you left will still be around when you get back. And if not, there are plenty of people in Australia that would LOVE it if you came to visit. Just sayin'.
5. You don't have to field endless questions from your friends and family about your "new person." Introduce them to ONE friend, take them to ONE wedding, mention their name to ONE cousin and it's all over. First it's questions like, "How's so-and-so, are you bringing him to dinner?" Then later, expect comments like, "So I hear it's getting pretty serious!" and "OMG if we both get engaged this summer, we could have our weddings a month apart!" from all your attached friends. And really, who needs that?

I have been single now for quite some time and I couldn't be happier. I can go on the occasional date and have the occasional drink and not worry about what to get them for their birthdays. I can see Albert on Monday and Barry on Tuesday and Chuck on Wednesday, and they never have to know about each other. And best of all? At the end of the night, I get to kick my heels off in the middle of the floor, remove my makeup with the door open, and crawl into bed wearing my biggest t-shirt, all while NOT wondering what my mother would say if I married someone named Chuck.

Awesome

Every time I see one of these, I wonder who I can contact to participate.