*SNEAKY* Airport SURPRISES!

Feb 14 2012
Marks the 2nd day this year that i have surprised friends at the airport on their Melbourne arrival!
Why do i do it? Because its FUN!
Its the unexpected. The thrill. The excitement of it all!
The first time, i was carrying an arm load of brightly coloured balloons.
The second time, i was wearing a big red bow tied around my body like i was a present.
I love surprises!
More importantly, i love it when i am the one giving the surprise.
In the lead up to the surprise day, you get to be all sneaky & be like a secret agent trying to find out much needed information so that it will all run smoothly on the day.
I started working this out about 2 weeks in advance.
Observe:
You need to put your friends off the trail completely before they are even on your trail.
'So, when do you get home? Cool story. Let's go get a beer.'
~seems random, but you found out the date they come home.
'So, what time do you get home? Cool story. Let's go get a beer.'
~seems random, but you found out the time they get home.
Next, you need to work out what airline they're flying with, if it's a domestic flight or international flight & where they are flying from. 
'So, is Jetstar taking you home via Perth again? yuk!'
~seems random to ask that specifically, but you still find out the needed information in your friends reply.
It seems everything is in place & ready to play out.
Excellent.
Oh! How could i forget to tell you this.. while all of this has been going on, you inform your friends on the day they are due to arrive that you 'don't want them back.'
Ofcourse you are only joking, but it does add a little more depth to the surprise i think...
The day has finally arrived.
At the airport with a carload of friends, sipping some beers, snacking, chatting & laughing away at how terrible we look wrapped in a big red bow.. you decide to go for a wander, thus separating yourself from your 3 friends.
'I'll meet you guys at the gate in 10 minutes!'

You check with airport staff about flights.
You go to the gate.
There is no one as far as the eye can see.
It's now 10 minutes after they supposedly landed.
You are alone, at the opposite end of the airport, wearing a big red bow & ignoring the strange looks you are getting as you walk through security.
cue *PANIC SWEAT*
Then.
THEN.
There's that heavy feeling in your gut.. no, not from what you just ate... 
Where the hell are they? Have i missed it completely?
No. Surely not.
Hell no. It was planned to a TEE.
It was PERFECT!
You decide to head back to where you left your other 3 friends.
On your way, you make a quick phone call & are told 'Yeah, we're here with them now. Where are YOU?!'
..and then there's that awkward moment when you realise you are at the wrong gate, you got told the wrong airline, which in turn makes you nearly burst into tears & you show up 5 minute's after everyone else has done your big SURPRISE!
FAIL.
No, you weren't there for the initial surprise.
But your friends were stoked to see you.
So i guess at the end of the day.. mission accomplished?!
xox

Marry me off. I dare you.

To my single friends:

Do people- friends, relatives, work colleagues- try to marry you off to random strangers?

It happens to me all the time.

For instance, last week a tradesmen came to my work to pick up something.. no, not me, & the lady i work with decided that he was a 'bit of alright' & that i should show some interest in him.

I didn't look twice at the guy.

The lady who made this suggestion is in her 50's.

Why do i suddenly get the feeling she is living, or atleast attempting to live, vicariously through me??

Perhaps it's because over the last few weeks whenever a new guy has come into the office, whether they be a young tradesman or someone signing some paperwork, she gives me the old wink from behind her computer screen & informs me 'Ooh, he seems like a nice young man for you!'

Darling.

What in the world makes you think that 1: i would take you seriously, 2: that i would take you seriously! or 3: that you know what I'm looking for.

Only i hold the key to that.

And i hold that key very close to my heart.

It also might make you wonder when people do this to you that 'hey, wait a minute.. do you think i am not capable of trawling through people to find someone who I actually really want?'

Are you dissing me as a person?!

That's a little extreme & honestly, i don't think that myself.

But do you sometimes think along those lines?

Does my friend/ work colleague think i am not capable of finding someone amazing & in turn making it quite clear that, YES! I am interested in them?

But then, when you do actually like someone, there's those people who tell you 'Oh, you deserve so much better than that person!' or 'You could do so much better than him, you deserve someone amazing!'
(Yes. I too am guilty of verbalising this on rare occasions. Yes I am protective to my friends & loyal.)
Even my boss said to me recently that any 'Prospects' will have to 'get passed him.'
Whats interesting is the people who make these remarks, never actually have a 'better' suggestion. They're purely telling me i 'could do better.'

The most annoying thing is, whenever i have liked a guy, i have always been told that he wasn't good enough for me & that i deserve much better than him.
Every guy I've ever liked, every one of them.

Are you serious? Who's to judge that?
Ahh, scusi' i know that comes from the kindness of your deep, deep heart, but if I'm interested in someone, it's not exactly any of your business.  And, shock horror...

To me, they are an amazing, smart, funny person.
That's why i like them in the first place. SURPRISE!
It's not some huge secret. I'm actually pretty easy to please.
If you wow me with life stories, you make me feel inadequate because of the big words you use (but i am secretly in awe) & you make me laugh, really laugh, from the depths of my soul...
You're in!

xox

ps- Don't get me wrong.. I'm open to any suggestions you may have! Go on, marry me off. I dare you.