#NerdsUnite: Comfort zone be gone! (three young girls walked into a British pub ...)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Chelsea. She's a newbie to our loverly state of California and is currently trying to find her own voice and find her own way. Gosh, aren't we all??? She's here today to talk about her journey in life, love, and all things nerd.  I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT CHELSEA!!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @chelofthesea

Nothing I love more than life deciding to remind me of something in the strangest of ways.  

Last week, one of my favorite people in South Florida and I planned to go get a drink. This friend, who I will call Babs, is someone I always have fun with. I really do wish she lived on the west coast because I know we would have the wildest adventures together. Whenever I’m in town, we make sure to set aside a night to catch up on each other’s lives, specifically our current boy situation. You see, Babs and I both got out of serious relationships at the same time and find we continue to have weirdly similar life experiences.

So after our usual hour of banter over beers, we ended up at a really cool spot in my hometown. One of Babs’ friends (we’ll call her Macy) decided to meet us there for what ended up being a wicked fun girl’s night.

Let me set the scene… Three young girls sitting at the corner of the bar at a British pub, being waited on by young, handsome bartenders. Due to the fact that it was pretty late on a weeknight, there wasn’t much of a crowd at the bar. Honestly, the only other people I remember seeing were two middle-ages couples gettin’ freaky on the stools next to us. As a beer noob, I ordered a beer sampler and asked the bartender to surprise me with what he thought I would like, letting him know I have a tendency to prefer Hefeweizens.  Babs was having weird food cravings and ordered a large side of celery, nothing else.

Needless to say: The lack of customers + our not so typical orders + copious amounts of giggling = LOTS of attention from the bartenders.

Halfway through our beers, and some discussion of Macy’s current romantic situation, we all realized the cutest bartender (we’ll call him Turk) was flirting it up with Macy. Logically the next step was for Babs and I to encourage Macy give Turk her number! Neither of us had ever done that, so in a weird way I think we were trying to live vicariously through their already obvious spark.

After the note was written, Turk walked back over. The series of events here is really important: He grabs the receipts (one of which is folded) and then starts to talk to us about his ex girlfriend. Yep, that happened. And when I say, “talk” I don’t mean casually reference… I mean POUR HIS HEART OUT. He told us how he was still in love with her and how girls at the bar always flirt with him but he’s not in the place to date any of them. He opened up about a death in his family, about how he fucked the relationship up, and about how badly he wanted her back. This conversation goes on and on. When it wraps up and we leave the bar, Babs and I literally erupt into laughter, even though Macy was obviously embarrassed. After flooding her with questions as to why she didn’t take the receipt back and exchange it for the other copy, both girls tell me I must go inside and tell him that she wrote it before the hour-long therapy session, and that they both would love to come back while he’s working without it being totally awkward. Being the good friend I am, and because I know it’s almost always better to acknowledge the elephant in the room, I obliged and Trey actually said he was quite flattered (duh).  

This seems like a lot of rambling about a story that might not be as funny in words as it was in person but I promise there’s a reason. It got me thinking… Sometimes going out of your comfort zone is scary. Sometimes you take a leap a faith only to fall flat on your ass. But regardless, you always end up learning something from the experience. I think Macy learned that she was ballsy enough to let a dude know she’s interested in him, rather than waiting around for him to make the first move. And ya know what? That’s rad! I mean, yeah, it’s not the biggest deal. She didn’t do anything other women haven’t done before. But it was new for her and took her stepping out of her comfort zone!

Jen talks about facing your biggest fear all the time. For her, it was skydiving. For me, my biggest fear isn’t quite as tangible. I know the idea of doing things alone has always made me shit my pants and that’s why I continue to force myself to face that fear on a weekly basis. I know I’ve always said no to situations where I thought I might feel uncomfortable or awkward, but no more. So that’s why I continue to force myself (though sometimes unsuccessfully) to say yes.   

With this in mind, and Macy as my inspiration, I’m ready to do at least five things I’ve never done before in the next two months. I already have a couple planned out that are going to be equally terrifying as they are fun. Of course, I’ll keep you all updated on my progress!

When’s the last time you did something that made your adrenaline pump and your palms sweat? Tweet me! I’d love to hear about it.

#nerdsunite

click here to follow Chelsea on twitter!

#YayLife: I now have tangible evidence that I am no longer emotionally unavailable

So, I'm currently in Florida as we speak. Say hello to the ultimate couch surfing ...

My parental units live in this BEAU-tiful condo on the beach, and I'm down here now to surprise my dad for Father's day.

Best. Surprise. Ever. My dad is impossible to surprise and we got him good!! =)

(Shot, and uploaded straight from the iPhone. The uploading options are literally idiot proof and super fast. Well done Apple!)

<tangent> My dad thought he was picking my mom's friend Patty up at the airport but low and behold I walked out. It took us a month to get everything together, but it was hilarious, my dad was the one that offered to my mom - "I can pick up your friend, sweetie." mwahahaha the nice fool that he is.

How cute are my parents btw ...

</tangent>

Anywho, so on Friday I got blown off for the last time by the duderino I was dating. We weren't officially bf/gf but we had been dating for a month and a half and were pretty into each other.

That is until he saw my response to getting blown off again via the published on Facebook text message.

He was ... let's say not happy.

I then explained to him that I had been EXTREMELYYYYY transparent with him from TEXT ONE - outlining EVERYTHING that I did for a living and my discussion of social psychology and social dynamics through first hand experiences.

ONE AND A HALF MONTHS of dating and literally everything I said went in one ear and out the other referencing this site. I was literally dumbfounded at how little he got that I did.

His exact words to me on the phone on Friday night were something along the lines of, people have blogs - but this is REALLY different.

Either way, Saturday and Sunday I had my fun (even got to kick it with one of my fav VJs for brunch on Sunday), but on Monday afternoon to my surprise, I got a text from him ...

My iPhone didn't time stamp it - but I stared at the "I want to take you" for a solid 20 minutes without responding. My impulse was telling me HELL THE FUCK NO since our last conversation regarding my lifestyle ended so poorly - however, the "say yes to everything" Jen that is trying to break all of her old impulses told me that I should explore the space and see what he had to say.

I then sent the "that's very nice of you ..." response.

It genuinely was extremely nice of him. He's SUCH a great guy it's not even funny.

So, this was at like 3pm (my time stamp says 6 but it's only because I'm on the east coast right now), so it sucked because for the REST OF THE DAY I had HARDCORE anxiety over what he wanted to talk to me about.

Taking someone to the airport is such a boyfriend/girlfriend thing ... I can't date this guy, nor do I want to at this point having been blown off twice. If this is his "courtship" what the hell is dating going to be like when he's off of being on his "best behavior?"

Why else could he want to take me to the airport though?

I had no idea, but I was extremely curious.

At 10 pm he picked me up. See, my flight wasn't until 6 but having a flight that early means getting picked up by Super Shuttle by 3:30 am and at that point I can't justify sleeping - so I decided to instead just take the city bus, get there before midnight, cop a squat in the airport for the night and get my "full night sleep" a few hours later on my cross country flight. 

(Here's how to do it safely btw)

The guy giving me a ride definitely made things a bit easier for me, but I was still spooked.

He then texts me at 10pm that he is "here."

I gave my roomie a hug as I was literally shaking walking downstairs.

I had NOOOOOOOO idea what this guy wanted from me. Was he going to say he had rethought my lifestyle and was willing to accept it?

Would I even want to date him at that point? Getting blown off twice is super douchey.

But then again I did feel butterflies for this guy and statistically speaking that in and of itself has a ratio of less than 1/10 guys.

Bah.

Bah.

Bah.

I place my backpack in his car, and sit in the passenger seat. No kiss hello, no hug - just my normal excited HELLO, Jen voice.

We make it down to the end of my street and I decide to cut through the bullshit and ask what was up.

Did you rethink things? Why am I here right now?

What do you mean? he asks shutting off the radio. I didn't think we were going to go into this after our discussion Friday.

I then stare back at him, he said that so cold.

Wait, please don't think I want to discuss this more either - I could not be more done over everything, but why else am I here? I ask SO GENUINELY confused.

I wanted to make sure you had a ride. I don't just want people out of my life when I care about them.

I know, I said, I'm the same way - but you have to give someone more than 48 hours to come to this conclusion. I need you to go away for a bit before I see you again.

I understand, he lamented.

I seriously WISH I had cameras in the car documenting our discussion. It was so non-emotional, and matter of fact ... this is what happens when you date a guy in finance.

I wanted to thank you though, because of our discussion on Friday I do genuinely have a disclaimer on the site now for all guys that are interested in dating me. This way they don't have to read every day what's going on, or know even 5% of the past - but in black and white (and even bolded if it's too much for them to read) they can see all of my bottom lines.

He laughed, that's great.

Our conversation lasted maybe ... 10 minutes? Less?

The drive to the airport from Hollywood is about 35 minutes. I had to then sit and make "small talk" for 25 minutes.

Most. Awkward. Small. Talk. Ever.

At the end of the day I really really liked this guy, so of COURSE I would eventually like to still keep talking to him, but the chick in the here and the now that is sitting indian style in his car wants nothing more than to just BOLT.

We then got to the airport and he got out of the car and gave me a hug.

It was so adult, and that is something I am so not.

I give this guy a lot of credit, it was incredibly sweet of him to still offer to give me the ride, but I'm also not a charity case. Yes, I take the city bus everywhere but it is because of WHO I AM and the adventures and stories that I get from it ... I felt like this was just yet another instance of us genuinely not being compatible. (This is what happens when you date a guy who texted you via the wrong number vs an OKCupid algorithm.)

I then got through security and thought about the lessons I learned from this guy:

1) I was extremely grateful that no matter what he allowed me to have an understanding of what it is like for guys looking into my life and my lifestyle; I have a feeling that disclaimer is going to be very handy in the future- which in theory will allow the dating process to move along smoother. IN THEORY

2) Congratulations!! You, Jen Friel, are no longer emotionally unavailable.

Do you have any idea how HUUGGGEEE that is?? This guy was SUCH a romantic and SUCH a great guy the fact that I felt butterflies with someone like that is HUGE HUGE HUGE and leaps and bounds from where I was last year with the 103 dates in 9 months.

HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGER THAN HUGE and a direct result of my work with the Modern Day Shaman @realityadjacent!!!

This guy and I from start to finish could not have been more different. He's in finance and didn't even want to get on Facebook until VERY recently. He is EXTREMELY private and what this told me is that dating a Taurus in finance prolly isn't a good idea for a Sagittarius lifecaster.

So, what's next?

No clue. I'm genuinely curious to explore the tech space actually. I've been hesitant about dating guys in the tech world because two entrepreneurs = no free time, and a WHOLE LOTTA STRESS ... but who knows, maybe if done right something great can come of it.

If anyone knows of any good mixers in Santa Monica or Venice in the next month hit me up!! I'm ready for you Silicone Beach!! =)

#nerdsunite

#NerdsUnite: Around the world with @HeatherReusz

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Heather. She's a nerd who is currently living in Japan by way of Chicago. Yep, talk about a culture shock. She's here today to talk about her life, love (which she is currently balancing long distance) and all things nerd. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT HEATHER!!!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @HeatherReusz

This weekend I went to my first Japanese baseball game. I’m a big baseball fan so this was always on my bucket list. I’ve also heard that Japanese baseball games are very different, super fun, and basically a party so I really wanted to experience one.

I gathered a couple of friends and we headed to the closest stadium in Yokohama to see the local team: the Yokohama Baystars. They were playing the Sendai Eagles. Both teams, in all truthfulness, kind of suck. The Baystars are in last place in their league. The good part about that is the tickets were cheap for a professional game. We got some amazing seats in the front section on the first baseline mainly because we were hoping that we could catch a foul ball which didn’t end up happening though.

The party starts before you even enter the stadium. Here in Japan, you can actually bring outside food and drinks into the game. We ran to the nearest convenience store to get some beers. We got a couple of cans each. There was a catch though, which we were not aware of. You had to pour all of the beer from the cans into their provided stadium cups. We ended up having to carry three cups each into the game. We looked completely ridiculous compared to everyone else but we did what we had to. I think we were just hoarding the beer in fear of ridiculous stadium prices. Prices actually weren’t that bad in the stadium. They had to compete with the outside food so things were pretty reasonable.

We got there a little bit early to scout out food, souvenirs, and to see the pre-game shows. The mascot of the Baystars is a hamster, I think, named Starman. He has this adorable white star on his face. I ended up buying these cute little hamster ears with a mini Baystars baseball cap attached. Gotta love Japan.

The pre-game show was typically the same. There was a mascot race and a kids throwing contest. After the contest things got a little interesting.  The kids were ushered off the field and music started blaring over the speakers. Out came a large group of cheerleaders. We were laughing so hard. None of us had ever seen cheerleaders at a baseball game before.  They danced around for a little while and then lead everyone in singing the Baystars theme song. I didn’t find this strange coming from Chicago where the Cubs have their own theme song but my friends thought it was hysterical. After the theme song, the first pitch was thrown. Now, it did throw me a little that we didn’t sing the national anthem before the game started but I guess that the Japanese are not quite as outwardly patriotic as the Americans. Was still a bit strange though.

Then things got a bit stranger. As soon as the game started, all of the fans were constantly cheering and singing songs. Each player had their own chant and their own song. It was so awesome! Everyone knew all of the songs and cheers. We quickly caught on to the majority of them as they were partially in English using expressions like “Let’s go”, “win”, “get a hit”, “strikeout”, etc. The atmosphere was electrifying. Everyone was up, moving, singing, chatting, or shouting. It was borderline distracting. I definitely feel like I missed half of the actual game because I was so absorbed in crowd watching. Because the fans are so dedicated to their teams, they actually seat people by team. There were separate ticket stands and everything. It was pretty cool to see the separation of colors and all of the flags and signs people made to wave at the other fans across the stadium.

The game itself was pretty good. It went by pretty quickly with all of the excitement. For most of the game, the Baystars were losing 2-1. Then in the 8^th inning, the Baystars pulled out this fantastic five run rally. Everyone was beyond excited! We ended up winning 6-2. It was a BLAST!

#nerdsunite

click here to follow Heather on Twitter!

#NerdsUnite: Play on playa! (Breaking down the world of sports so you don't have to!)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Derek - I met him when I was professor for a day at CSF. Really rad dude, and he wants to come on board to help explain to us nerdy folk the wild world of sports. Smart dude, and knows his shizzy shiznat. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT DEREK!!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @DerekJ_AllDay

It's nice to be here writing for all of you once again this week! Last week’s article was stuck in limbo as the NBA and NHL playoffs slowly developed towards their finals, but we have finally reached the climax of these epic stories. As I had planned from last week, today's post is going to be the wrap-up of the NHL playoffs which ended last night (Monday), and the introduction to the NBA championship series which begins tonight at 6pm/9pm PST/EST on ABC. 

The NHL is known for it's never ending parity. As long as you get to the big dance, you have a great chance to make a deep run into the postseason. This has never been more true than this year when the eight seed and lowest ranked playoff team, the #Los Angeles Kings, made their seemingly impossible run into the #Stanley Cup championship series. Unfortunately for the Kings, this parity has never once favored them and their franchise is without a single NHL championship. Maybe their luck would change this year?

The first challenge that this team of destiny faced was the number 1 seed and highest ranked playoff team (by record) in the Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver entered that series as the obvious favorites, and left as the clearly overrated losers. There was hardly even a fight in the series as the Kings advanced by a 4-1 game lead (series was best of 7 games). The hockey world was left slightly stunned. They are used to seeing upsets, but any time a number one seed is beaten it is shocking.

The Kings advanced and their next opponent was the number 2 seed St. Louis Blues! Experts favored the higher seeded Blues, and they didn't believe there was a way these Kings could pull off a second upset. On the other side, the Kings were sitting in their locker room saying, if we can beat the one seed, we can definitely beat the two seed. The Kings could not of been more right. They swept the Blues by a series score of four games to zero, and actually improved on their spectacular showing in the opening series. At this point, nobody could deny that the Kings were a team of destiny.

The team that the Kings had to play for a spot in the Stanley Cup finals was the third seed Phoenix Coyotes. The Kings once again dismantled their opponents and didn't even allow the Coyotes a moment to breath. They beat them by a score of 4-1, and after game five the eight seed LA Kings walked into the Stanley Cup Final with ease. If you hadn't noticed to this point, the Kings were required to defeat the number one, two and three seeds in their league in order to advance to the Stanley Cup finals. Not only did they have the most difficult path possible, but they won with ease and never looked back.

Finally, after the dust settled and the majority of the battles had concluded, two teams remained. The eight seed LA Kings representing the Western Conference and the six seed New Jersey Devils representing the Eastern Conference. Amazingly, once again, the Kings didn't even blink! As I wrote in my previous post, they won games 1 and 2 by the same scores of 2-1 in OT. Then, as the Devils fought for their lives, the Kings crushed their hopes once again and defeated them by a huge score of four to zero.

Then, out of nowhere the Devils showed signs of life and won games 4 and 5 to put the series at three games to two. Then the Kings put a foot down and decided to stop messing around. Last night, to win the Stanley Cup, they defeated the Devils by a score of 6-1 and took the first ever Stanley Cup home to a great hockey city in LA. As a fan of all local teams it's really fun to see the Kings win it all, but it's even better to see the fans who have never been able to appreciated a championship finally reach the promise land. Congratulations to the LA Kings on their first ever Stanley Cup Championship!

For the entire playoffs the Kings went 16-4 and only lost on the road once. Congratulations to the Stanley Cup MVP for the Kings, Jonathan Quick! Their goalkeeper was absolutely spectacular all playoffs and he goes home as the best player in the series.

As one series ends, another begins. The NBA playoffs feel like they are damn near as long as the regular season is. All the way back at the beginning of the playoffs many experts chose the #Heat and the #Thunder to match-up in the NBA Finals, and for once the experts were right. Neither team had an easy road to the finals at all. The Thunder lost the first two games of their semifinal series against the #Spurs and it looked like they were going to fizzle out in the playoffs once again. That young energy proved to be impossible to match-up against in time, and after the Thunder took a punch to the face they got right back up and won four games in a row to punch their tickets to the NBA Finals.

The Heat had an even more difficult path to the finals. The veteran, experienced Boston Celtics are always a threat once the playoffs begin and that proved to be true once again. Even though it is obvious that the Heat have more pure talent, that wisdom of the Celtics was enough to counter that. The series was pushed all the way to a winner take all game seven, where the Heat prevailed in a game that really came down to the last few minutes.

This gave basketball fans everything they dreamed of. The two most exciting teams in the NBA have to be the Heat and Thunder. Both teams are insanely fast, talented and flashy; and that is exactly what basketball fans love to watch. The problem is, most of the team these flashy teams aren't actually good enough to make it to the finals. For once, that flash and swagger has produced not one, but two phenomenal teams that will now face off in a seven game series for the rights to say they are the best basketball team on the planet. May the best team win.

My prediction is going to be the Thunder in seven games. Both teams are so good that I don't see how it is possible to pick the series at anything less than seven games, and at that point it is basically a coin flip to determine who takes home the trophy.

Congratulations to the Stanley Cup MVP for the Kings, Jonathan Quick! Their goalkeeper was absolutely spectacular all playoffs and he goes home as the best player in the series.

Tweet me your picks @DerekJ_AllDay and I will get back to you. Thanks for reading!

#nerdsunite

#NerdsUnite: The Ramblings of a Raconteuse (Bucket List of Randomness)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Helenna. We met on twitter not too long ao, and she's totes mcgotes one rad chiquita banana with a flare for all things flair! That's right, Helenna here is what we call an artsy fartsy nerd. She's a poet, into all things dramatic arts, and she's going to come on board to write each week about her love of said drama. Well not like actual drama drama, like some cat fight shit - but you get the idea. I only have one thing left to say ... HIT IT HELENNA!!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @Helslevy

I’ve been thinking a lot of about all of the random things I want to do and I figured that I’d share some of those things with all of you.  Some of these things are life goals, industry related dreams, career ambitions, and/or just plain fun. 

So here it goes in no particular order…and if anyone reading this has suggestions, connections, or cheap ways to make anything on this list happen, please do share!

1. hug a gorilla (but I’m not a fan of zoos so this might be tricky)

2. do a crazy fun photo shoot or film shoot out in the desert and at the Salton Sea

3. “high five” Joss Whedon

4. dance with Ellen

5. find the best fish tacos in America

6. grow a garden

7. FINALLY go to New York 

8. run a half marathon

9. read one novel every month, fiction or non-fiction

10. rescue a dog 

11. become a skilled archer and swordsman…er….swordswoman

12. be “styled” by Ilaria Urbainati who gives me a major “stylegasm”

13. sit on a panel at Comic Con

14. act along side Anna Faris in a female driven comedy

15. cook with Jamie Oliver

16. get really good at surfing

17. drink wine in Paris

18. tag along with a street artist as they…tag

19. meet the Dalai Llama

20. tell Craig Ferguson that he’s a “cheeky monkey” in person

21. fly in a private jet

22. star in a great horror flick, zombies preferred

23. go to the Hollywood Bowl (yes, I live in LA right now and have never been. *le sigh*)

24. go on a yoga retreat for at least a week

25. sponsor a child in the Philippines

26. play a gigantic game of hide and seek in a forrest 

27. take a two month road trip across America

28. start a fire with just two sticks

29. hike the Grand Canyon

30. do voice and motion capture for a video game

31. be a spokesperson for a charitable organization

32. go to Burning Man

33. give blood

34. rescue a wild animal

35. volunteer at a soup kitchen

36. go with my mom to Peru 

37. ride a camel

38. go to Fiji and stay in an uber swanky hotel

39. drink at an Irish pub in Ireland

40. fly in a helicopter

41. drive a motorcycle

42. get really good at shooting a gun at target practice

43. play a superhero 

44. spend time in the Philippines getting closer to my roots

45. volunteer with a non profit

46. go to the Taj Mahal

47. go to New Orleans

48. learn to scuba dive

49. star in a project where every one is a “minority” but not cliche character

50. play a kick ass sexy character like the girls in “Sucker Punch” 

And More!  To Be Continued in a later post…and if you share any of these items in your own “bucket list of randomness,” I’d love to hear about it!

#xoxo hels

tweet me at: @helslevy

browse me at: helennasantoslevy.com

email me at: contacthelenna@gmail.com