The Golden Cow of Doom

No one tells you that after you graduate and start your career that
finding friends and a social life is like... trying to use a lighter when you don't have any thumbs.
Incredibly hard.

When I first moved to Utah I commuted an hour each way to my job.
I had no life.

But it worked for me at the time.
It was as time consuming and hard as I expected it to be.
I knew it wouldn't last for ever and it would be worth everything ten times over.

So when I made my move to the city a year and a half later
 I moved into a spacious apartment with one roommate.

It was exciting, scary and everything I wanted for myself at the time.

Turns out my roommate has a lover boy and because of such I see her (maybe) once a week.

therefore I practically live by myself and then every once in a while 

she comes home and we have a slumber party.

Which is like the freaking golden cow right?
Because the end goal is to get my own apartment someday and now I do with half the rent.

So here I was in my golden cow apartment.
With all this free time I hadn't had in a solid year and a half.
I thought it would be paradise.

Except I had literally been in survival mode for a year and a half.
I had absolutely no idea how to shut it off.
Let alone figure out how to have a social life.

Someone should've given me a pamphlet.
A cheesy pamphlet with awkward titles and horrible coloring.
 But contains 5 easy steps and maybe a help line.

I mean who wants to parade around a room and save face?
No one.
No one wants to campaign for friendship.
Especially at 24.

So how do you start having a life outside of work?
How do you do it?
I mean it's so overwhelming and somewhat depressing because it's all so new.

To be honest I didn't really know who I was as a career woman.
Do I like going out?
Shopping?
Do I like to go to movies?
Am I more of an at home chef?
I didn't know!
 I hadn't really indulged in myself in a year and a half.

It felt like a freaking free for all.

And let's face it telling your parents during your weekly call home
 that no, I haven't been out this week doing anything fun.
Nope, don't mean to disappoint but I haven't met the love of my life this week either.
I'm sorry to report we are no closer to grandbabies then we were last week.

It doesn't really fly well.

Hi mom :)

But on top of everything else I found out that I freaking hated living in an empty house.
My golden cow apartment was now the golden cow of doom.

Talk about joy kill.

I mean I am Miss Independent y'all.

Miss Independents don't need nobody.

But the facts were a such.

I had become the girl that works hard and well... didn't play hard.

I had become a hermit.

I know.

the realization shocked me as well.

I was in a real slump and it wasn't changing any time soon.

It was time to figure how to be less lonely and grumpy in an empty house and maybe find some friends too.. if possible.

So..
Operation: Reconnaissance: The Golden Cow
began.

Because I'm worth it

*que dramatic flip of hair and dashing smile.

ANYWAYS.
Phase One: #TastyTuesday

It's exactly how it sounds... this time.

Tasty Tuesday was the very beginning of this journey that I'm very much still in the middle of.

The journey of getting me out of my house.

I have a friend that lives out of the city and she was talking to me one day about how she wanted to  come up and see me and go out to eat.

She wanted a night on the town.

Quickly and with the most dignity I could muster I said

"Yes please, I'm desperate"

subtly is my specialty what can I say?

Anyways we set up a time and I hounded her for where she wanted to eat.

Her response was incredibly boring

(no offense. you know I love you.)

She wanted to do Café Rio.

Which OKAY yeah.

It's good.

But she could get Café Rio ANYWHERE.

This girl was going to drive 45 minutes into the city to eat somewhere she can eat at home.

I mean that's nice but.... no.

So I made her pick the type of food she wanted and I'd would do the rest.

There are TONS of wonderful restaurants in this city.

Plus, I'm a deprived foodie.

It was time to self indulge a bit.

She picked Greek and I did the research and we were in business.

After our first #TastyTuesday at a Greek restaurant down town.

We booked the next 3.

Every first Tuesday of the month she comes down and we pick some random genre of food that we've never tried before and we adventure together.

Because I am such a sucker for adventure... and food.

.