All posts by Wander Lost Blog

Wander Lost Blog is about the journey of A., a hapless 30something who has lived in Chicago, San Diego, LA, and currently resides in NYC.
The 12 Lessons of Christmas

Lesson #2: Just Say Yes.

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Lesson #2 of the 12 Lessons of Christmas: Just Say Yes.  Or as my friend D. says, “YOLO > FOMO”

While I was in Chicago (for 2 very long, cold weeks), my girlfriend emailed with the details of a Palm Springs birthday getaway that was set to start 15 hours after my arrival finally back to Los Angeles. The boring part of me said that I needed to spend my weekend resting and doing responsible things like grocery shop and spin class. The fun part of me said, “What the f–k; let’s go!”

So guess what — I said yes, packed my air mattress up in my trunk, and drove to Palm Springs.

I had the best 24 hours of recent memory.

In was raining, never got warmer than 57 degrees, and yet we all had some desert cocktails and had a blast.

There is something to be said about surrounding yourself with good people. You’ll find yourself smiling more than you had in the past 2 months. Take a chance when your mind says no and you may find yourself having the time of your life.

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Lesson #1: Appreciate the Small Things in Life.

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Lesson #1 of the 12 Lessons of Christmas: Appreciate the Small Things in Life.

I spent a week in my hometown of Chicago for Thanksgiving. Then my job told me that I had to spend another week there. So I spent 2 weeks in Chicago where the thermometer stayed around 25 or less (with the exception of one 55 degree day because – hey – that’s the mother f–king Midwest for you).

One weekday night, I walked to a Pilates class after a day that snowed that should have been an easy 10 minute walk. Instead, I almost slipped and fell 6 times on ice because residents in Chicago can’t be bothered to salt the sidewalk*. I actually caught myself slipping on black ice 45 seconds away from my destination.

Lesson of the week: I now fully appreciate the ice-free and danger-free sidewalks of Los Angeles. It is the little things in life.

* oh, you didn’t know that salting the street/sidewalk is a thing?! Go spend 7-10 months in the Midwest and you’ll learn how good we have it in Southern California.

dating, The 12 Lessons of Christmas

12 Lessons of Christmas.

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I’m going to be frank here, people. 2013 was not the best.

There was not a single event that personified the rottenness of the year. It was a combination of bad dates, bad professionalism, and a string of continuous letdowns.

With that said, I had a profound amount of time to reflect on what went wrong in 2013, and I realized that despite what I think is bad in my life, it is up to me to turn it around and make it better. I need a lesson in humility and learning to appreciate what  I have.

But you know what is better than one lesson – 12 lessons. With that in mind, between now and Christmas, I am going to give you what I have learned over the past few months and how I’m going to do my best to make it all better.

The 12 Lessons of Christmas. 

dating, on Los Angeles

5 Reasons Why I’m a Bad Date.

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We know I spend a lot of time here complaining about the men of Los Angeles. But I’m willing to admit the common thread among the ones I’ve dated was obviously me. Which begs the question – what exactly am I doing wrong in the dating game?

1) Things in my life have been difficult lately, especially work-wise. Sometimes, it’s hard to keep these complaints to myself. Maybe it’s time to acknowledge most people are very stressed about their jobs and to keep my frustrated thoughts to myself until date three or fifteen. You know who someone doesn’t want to date? Debbie Downer.

2) When I actually really, truly like a guy, I get awkward. Like spaz city awkward in front of him. Revert back to 5th grade (mouth chock full of braces, chubby red cheeks, and monster eyeglasses) awkward. I can see why this has frightened some Prince Charmings away.

3) I’ll admit it – I have some commitment issues. Signing a year-long lease on an apartment gives me hives. I don’t like to plan vacations more than 2 months in advance (and even that seems a little close…who knows what could change in my life? But guess what — life will be exactly the same in 2 months!!).

4) I have a short attention span. The minute the conversation turns to minute sports details I don’t know, I start to wonder “If I get home in 45 minutes, I can catch The Walking Dead on my DVR before it’s past my nerd alert bedtime…”

And finally…

5) I keep an online dating blog and karma is simply biting me in the ass.