A Brief Recap of Season 9 of SYTYCD

My favorite dancer is still Allison.

Anheuser Busch

I figured I'd have an educational, historical experience whilst in St. Louis for a good friend's wedding.

I was told that they have a rigorous quality control test at the Anheuser Busch facility.  In the instance some of their beer does not meet their standards, they simply 'send it up to Milwaukee'.

Ground Zero

These are the new buildings from the World Trade Center site.  America - we might get knocked down but we can sure get back up again!

Salary Requirements For Dating

So, as my readers know, I occasionally do some online dating.  Yadda.

I am currently a member with an active profile of, ahem, two major sites, however, I have hardly been active lately.  Yawn.  I hate dating.

Anyhow.  I was browsing through some older 'gentlemen' (not sugar daddies, keep your mind in a good place) - older than me, if you will.  Let's say the 35-40ish range.

I noticed a recurring pattern.  On one of the websites, men can check off boxes preferring certain salary ranges (women can too).  In my experience viewing profiles of these 'older' gentlemen (who probably wouldn't enjoy such a label) - often times they put a minimum salary requirement.

This begs a lot of questions.  As usual.  Do women often put a salary requirement?  How do men perceive it when women do?  Is there a difference here between the genders?  When men say they only want a woman who is 'slim and slender', it rubs me the wrong way on behalf of women, if you will.  I would think men might see it the same way when women post that they need 100k+.  In online dating profiles, are women wise enough to not 'show their cards' on this one?

I am not sure I really care much either way about men expressing this requirement.  I can understand that maybe these men are advanced in their careers and either a) want someone else who is invested in her career or b) are used to living a certain lifestyle of traveling and going out and want someone who can keep up with it or c) don't want to have to support someone financially and want to be up front about it, and ultimately, this salary minimum is their way of conveying that in their profile.  However, I must say, I saw at least several profiles that set the bar pretty high.  I consider myself a financially independent adult who lives a good quality of life, and, well, I would have been 'weeded out' by their minimum.

What are your thoughts re:online dating and being upfront about a salary minimum?  Should one be upfront about his or her preferences?  Are men of all ages concerned about their future mates' salary, or is it more specific to the 35+ crowd?  Has anyone else noticed this trend?

Time for a Seinfeld Quote

According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”

This weekend, there will be some Jaime public speaking.  If there's public documentation and it's not too horrible, I'll provide it afterward.  When I was younger, I would have TOTALLY freaked out about something like this.  Now, at this older, wiser, more confident place - I'm only quasi-freaking out.

Shoe Time!

Hello, lover!

I got these shoes at Zigi in New York.  Well, I'm saying 'these shoes', but there's only one in the picture.  You can safely assume he has a counterpart.  They are oxford style shoes, which are apparently big for fall.

This brings me to a point, which I'll get more into later - everything old is new again.  Isn't it crazy how fashion cycles like the seasons?  Oxford shoes are popular, flare jeans seem to have gone out of style, again, and skinny jeans are the thing now, like they were around a decade or so ago?  It makes me think I should never give anything away.  It'll just come back in style and have that extra 'vintage' glow.

I am also looking for a version of this baby in black & white.  Please advise if you know where I can find this future friend.

A Little Fourth Grade Humor....

An intersection in NYC.  For no particular reason.  No big deal.

In the Words of Betty White

"Facebook just sounds like a drag.  In my day, seeing pictures of people's vacations was considered punishment." ~ Betty White whilst hosting SNL

I've been out of town for two weeks.  Get ready to be punished!