East Coast/West Coast Men: West Coast Perspective

Okay...totally my bad for being MIA for like two weeks. Here's my case study on how West Coast Men treat women. I think you're gonna like what you read:

So far I've formally interviewed one guy for this "psychoanalytic experiment" on dating guys on the West Coast. Let me take you through my Friday night (2 Fridays ago)- mind you, my first official night out in L.A.

The beginning of the week started with the guy I met at the beach calling me like 3 times a day. We will call him guy #1. Okay, let's start with Monday- call #1 was to see how I was doing and to tell me that he's going to talk to his buddy about going out Friday night and would have details later in the week. Okay, that was cool. Call #2 was to tell me that he still hadn't talked to his buddy but will let me know when he does. Umm, yeah, you told me that in call #1. Call #3 was to tell me that he spoke to his buddy and that he may be out of town but there's a good chance he wasn't going to go. He would let me know.

It started off with Kyrin and I running a little late to head out for the night. The plan was to meet this guy I met at the beach and his friend a the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood and walk over to the club. I was told we were on the list, so that was a good start. In the cab, I received a text from guy #1 saying his phone was dying but they were walking to the club already. In my head, I'm like WTFuck, that's rude! So I re-route the lovely cabbie to the corner of La Brea and Hollywood, at which point we begin walking aimlessly since neither of us have been to this club. We finally see it, and at this point it's about 10:30pm. There's a huge crowd outside and we're standing in the back looking around for the guys. I don't know what guy #2's name is, nor what he looks like. So I'm looking for the tall guy #1...nowhere in sight. Within 15 seconds I get a phone call from guy #1 saying they're already inside. I'm about to throw in the towel and leave at this point because first they walk over without us, then they go in without us?! I'm not getting a good vibe from this and in my head all I can think about is "Wow, West Coast men really are egotistical douchebags".

We go inside, get a drink, pick a spot, and just start talking. Mainly we're talking about how annoying that was and how we're not even going to try to look for them because that's such an "asshole" thing to do. And as far as I know, it's such a "Georgia guy" thing to do. Hey, that's all I know!! As we're having this discussion, a guy looks at me and goes "Sophia!" Yeah, it was him. Beach guy, aka guy #1. It was awkward for a hot minute but then things ended up great. We didn't pay for a single drink the rest of the night- and I'm pretty sure we all had at least 5 mixed drinks and two shots each.  They racked up a DAMN tab and I didn't care one bit! It was fantastic! I can't remember the last time I didn't pay for at least one drink of mine. It was so refreshing to actually be treated like a lady! We all talked for hours, hit the dance floor.....TWICE...aaaaaaaaaaaand then I met "Puck" from "Glee". And yes, he's as hot in person as he is on TV. He was also running away from me...I can't remember if this was because I was drunk or because people were started to bombard him. Let's go with the latter...it makes me feel better about myself.


LOL- so the interview pretty much went as planned. I cornered guy #2 and basically explained what I was trying to do here. I didn't give him any insight into East Coast men and/or dating rituals, but I just asked him straight up "walk me through a date with a girl in L.A....from when you meet this girl the first time to when you take her home at night on the first date." He gave me a funny, yet understandable, response: "Are we talking about someone in "the industry" or not?" I found this to be quite interesting because here that's pretty much how you're viewed- either you're in "the industry", be it acting, modeling, producing, writing, representing, public relations, fashion, etc., or you're not. He went on to tell me that it's pretty much a lost cause if you try and date someone who's not in "the industry" and you are. Your schedules are polar opposites and your partner most likely won't be able to get used to it. Now, don't go looking at Ari Gold and his wife because she used to be an actress so she knows how it is. You have to be ON 24/7...you may not be needed the whole time, but your switch has to be ON. Anyhow, he took me through a date with someone in "the industry". He said he'll notice a girl at an event- most likely not a club or bar. There are a ton of industry events every week so that's usually how people meet other people. So he'll see a girl, go and talk to her, get her number, and walk away. About one to two days after that....none of that three day rule shit... he'll call her and ask her out for "a drink". I was told that in L.A., "a drink" actually means dinner and drinks. Good to know! He said they'll go somewhere nice like the Roosevelt Hotel or the Four Seasons, have a nice meal, and then if all signs point to GO, then he'll suggest they go dancing or something similar! How awesome is that?! A guy will actually ask you to go dancing???? Isn't that what we all want? A guy who isn't afraid to show his moves on the dance floor? Well, I'm like that. Anyhow, if things aren't going well he'll politely take her home and say goodnight. He also informed me that a movie is always reserved for the 4th or 5th date- it's not personal enough. And he NEVER kisses on the first date. I then asked him if all guys were like this and he told me he was born and raised in Los Angeles, still lives there, and everyone he's ever known is pretty much like that. There's no doubt you'll come across your "I'm better than you" douches, or the "You're lucky to be out with me" assholes, but you also have to be aware of your surroundings. If you're meeting someone at a club and he's dressed in a suit? DOUCHE. If you're meeting someone at networking event and/or Coffee Bean? Chances are you're on a better track. Just make sure they have a job. L.A. is hella expensive!

Okay, I'll say this. Neither of them tried to hook up with us, and beach guy's friend, guy #2, (more to come on him...he's a permanent fixture now....aka RULL good friend) walked us out to a cab, said "great to meet you; hope to see you girls again. Get home safely!", and that was that!

We ended up....well, I'll speak for myself, IIIII ended up having a fantastic time! And I made a really important contact out of it! Beach guy's friend, guy #2....we'll call him Jake. Anyhow, he knows everyone there is to know in this city and suuuuriously, I couldn't have met a better person when it comes to my professional AND personal life.

More to come shortly! And again, sorry for being such a bia and being MIA for so long. Won't happen again!

-Soph

East/West Dating Debate

So being a 20-something, college-grad, real-world, functioning member of society, there is one thing that is constantly on my mind: 20-something and 30-something men. More specifically: dating. A lot of it has to do with friends who are tying the knot. A lot of it has to do with my parents who were happily married for 2 years when they were my age now. And a lot of it has to do with being a horny, 20-something. Now me, being a born-and-raised Atlanta native, I've really only ever been exposed to one type of dating style - East Coast/Southern in the 2000s. I've never really dated any other type. And I was too young to date in the 90s. And to make that pool even smaller - every guy I've ever dated has had a similar background (born-and-raised in the South, save for one pseudo-dating-relationship). So these southern east-coast men are the only men I've really ever known. So I naively assume that their dating style translates across all state boundaries. But living with two girls who are not Atlanta-natives, I've been informed that all men are not created equal, and that different regions of the country yield different manners and dating expectations.


Christy grew up in the mid-west, and she says that southern men have it all wrong. They charm you with their polite good-ole-boy manners, but when it comes to following through, they leave you with a broken heart full of disappointment. I, of course, find that judgement and description appalling because my best guy friends ARE southern boys! And deep down I know that they are charming and polite and they understand how to treat women because their mamas raised them right!  And I can't believe that any of them would fill such descriptions that Christy mentioned! But then I think back on my dating experiences with said men and I'm suddenly humbled to realize that I've been through exactly what she just described, and to that, I must say touche. They were charming and sweet at first, but when it came down to the nitty-gritty, important stuff about the relationship, most of them left much to be desired. Lily, from the northeast, has had her fair share of dating northern men. But right now she's smitten with a south Georgia boy who fits the positive side of Christy's southern boy description. He's charming and polite and sweet - a very bring-home-to-mama type. And he's been dating Lily for over 2 years so he must be doing something right!


My limited experience with northern and midwestern boys hasn't yielded me much insight. So it's hard for me to truly know (from experience) what the differences seem to be between southern, midwestern and northern boys. I do know this much though: The one northern guy that I semi-dated/hung-out-with did not open my door for me, had a rude sense of humor and was bold enough to ask me to drive on our "dates". Am I old-fashioned for believing a guy should pick you up for the date, hold the door open for you and ask to kiss you goodnight? Maybe. But I also don't think it's too much to ask for/expect either.


Now the one group of men I haven't touched upon yet are the Cali-boys. Because for whatever reason, not many people move to Atlanta from California. Or at least I haven't met them yet. But I'd really like to know what those types of guys are like. If they're anything like Spencer, Brodie, Jason or Justin-Bobby from The Hills then I feel sooo sorry for Sophia and the next 10 months. But, as mentioned in her last post, Soph met a guy who's FROM Cali but went to school at Auburn that could maybe have some potential. So I'd LOVE to hear all about her adventures for tomorrow evening! I know it's not an exclusive "date" - maybe more of a "goup-hang" but I think it's safe to say that Sophia will at least begin to understand the way guys operate out there in LA based on how they treat her and any other girls they come into contact with tomorrow. The way guys act in a bar scene can be indicative of the type of guy they are outside of the bar scene so I'm definitely interested in comparing East Coast to West Coast next week with her.


That being said...what are your experiences with guys from different regions? And...Check us out next week for Sophia's take on the West Coast Man. I think this could turn into a topic that we discuss on a regular basis, based on our experiences over the next year. What do you think?

Connected to the World once again

Holy schnikes Batman, I have Internet! And cable, which means I will NOT be missing Glee tonight! That's an A++ in my books. I must admit that as happy as I am that I'm now connected to the World once again, I absolutely detest Directv. Their customer service is one level lower than sub-par and WTF they don't do set-up on the weekends?? #fail.
The apartment is coming along nicely, although we're still sans living room furniture. It's okay, we know we have a deadline for when my biffle, Leigh, and Nicole get in!! I absolutely cannot wait! I'm alone all day and since I don't really know anyone, it kinda sucks. I did some exploring yesterday- I've learned my way to Target, the grocery, and the nearest Shell station. Hallelujah. Imma need to get my act together and start making my rounds around the city. Okay, I'm determined to do that tomorrow. Done and done.
Life in LA is a lot different than Atlanta- the people aren't as nice and welcoming, everyone seems very private, and the smog is killing me. Wait, one more- the drivers SUCK AT LIFE. If you signal to change lanes, chances are you're gonna get run over. Don't signal, just go. For sers, it's a nightmare. I do miss the simplicity and politeness of the South, but I'm learning to embrace the differences. One thing I'm excited about is that I have plans on Friday night!
Here's the story- So, the last night we were at the beach, I started talking to this bartender at the resort- let's call him Blake. Blake was really nice- we started talking because I found out he went to Auburn- a natural SEC connection. Anyway, he grew up in Huntington Beach, now lives in the Newport area, and frequents LA. Of course the first question came about: Why would you move to the South for school when you grew up in sunny California?? Answer: Baseball scholarship. Cue the "oh's" and "ah's". Anyhow, I got his number because I'm trying to meet some people to hang out with! So yeah, the short of it is we're going out on Friday. I told him to invite some people since I don't know anyone. And I think I'm taking roomie's sistah with me. Hopefully he didn't think this was going to be a one-on-one deal. Hsst!! That's awkward. Which brings me to my question: What if you were kind of talking to/seeing someone before you moved, then you moved, and you never really talked about what's happening in the interim? My move is temporary, but there is still 10 months between now and when I get back. So what's protocol? I'm a confrontational person by nature so I could just ask, but is that awkward? I mean it's not serious, but the potential is there...definitely not right now though. So what, do I date while I'm here? I wouldn't mind it, but then again I'll be moving...AGAIN. What is up with me and long distance shit? I should just give up on boys for the next 10 months and just concentrate on school. On the other hand, a girl's gotta eat! I could use a free meal now and then to support my love of food and my lack of funds. I could use some advice here. I like this guy back home in that "I'm-still-getting-to-know-you-but-you're-fun-to-hang-out-with" kind of way, but I keep hearing from people that I shouldn't take it seriously. As much as I value my friends' opinions, I always rely on my personal feelings toward the subject. Sure, I've steered myself wrong on many occasions, but the fact of the matter is that I came to that decision myself so I have no one else to blame but myself. I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket, but maybe 2 out of the dozen. Does that sound reasonable? Maybe I just need to be slapped across the face for literally writing a paragraph on this subject. Eh, whatareyagonnado?


Okay so I leave you with that, readers. Let me know what you think- whether it's "wait and see what happens when you get back" or "you're the dumbest person I know and should most definitely be slapped across the face". I welcome any and all suggestions. Have a happy Tuesday! WTF, it's only Tuesday? Oi vey....




Soph

Hey kids,


Happy Monday? Is there such a thing? Not really. And definitely not when you consider the fact that Sophia and I have officially been separated for 9 days! It's been super tough so far but luckily we've each had some things to distract us over the past week. Soph had a nice little vacay with her fam who just left yesterday and I've been distracted with the Backstreet Boys and car troubles.


In case I haven't previously mentioned, I have another blog here that I've been posting to for about 7 months - and I don't think I'm quite ready to give up that one yet. Idk. It's hard to blog on 2 blogs but I think it can be done. Because I have THAT much to say about life, right? Right...Maybe we should figure out who our audience is for this blog and cater our topics to them? Hmm...decisions decisions.


Soph and I spoke briefly earlier today about our itinerary for when I come into town w/ Leigh and Nicole. One thing has been decided: we're going to see the Eclipse premiere (hopefully) the night we fly in at midnight. I caught a few new trailers for Eclipse recently and let me just say DAMN. I'm so excited. To give you a little preview into how my love affair with the twilight saga began, check out this blogpost from my other blog and it should all make sense. There are multiple trailers out for Eclipse now and I am pretty stoked to see the movie. I'm in the middle of re-reading the book right now and it's getting good. But I can already tell you that the trailer shown at the MTV Movie Awards last night was a disappointment because they didn't really stick to the book very well with the Bella/Jacob/Edward feud after Bella and Edward return from their trip to Jacksonville.





Not totally right with the book but...I guess that's to be expected. Stumbled across this trailer today too:





This seems to be the most complete trailer so far. I know Soph will be stoked when she actually gets to watch these! She is sans internet until tomorrow in her new place.


Anyway, so back to our itinerary. We're obvi going to see Eclipse. We want to do some celeb stalking, find out if there are any movies being filmed that we could possibly stumble onto. Hit up the beach and the pool. Run out and get 3 Pinkberry's. Because that's good. Smart. And it's totes the best hund cal fro-yo.





Minute 2:52. And you're welcome.


Anyway, so what do you think? What else should we add to our itinerary? What's a MUST-DO in LA? Anyone know of any movies being shot out there that we should check out!? Any good restaurants we should go ahead and get on the guest list for? Let us know!

I can't believe this is it...

Whatup peeps...Sophia here, officially blogging from California. I meant to write earlier, but things got really hectic with packing and uh, socializing. Aaanyhow, my parents and I got to L.A. on Saturday evening but didn't begin to move me in until Sunday (my sister oh-so-conveniently is just flying in for the vacation portion of the trip...ass). It was a full day of running around the city trying to find the best deals at Target (pronounced Tar-jay) and Bed Bath & Beyond (B cubed, if you will)- staples when moving into a new apartment, albeit temporarily. Of course I'm not going to splurge on anything or buy anything that I can't take back with me because there's a 99% chance I'm not staying in Cali after I graduate. I want to move back home to Atlanta or to NYC (my first love...). That's why I'm renting furniture! It better be good...I'll find out tomorrow when it gets delivered and let you know. Let me forewarn you that this post may be all over the place (as you can probably already tell) since my brain is just now starting to settle down and take it all in.
I have to say that the only reason I didn't absolutely cry my fucking eyes out in the plane is because my biffle, Blaire, drove all the way to the airport just to give me one last hug and say goodbye. I can't tell you how much that meant to me. Wait a second, nevermind, I did in fact cry my fucking eyes out. I miss my friends so much and can I just say that this 3 hour time difference totes sucks!!
Okay, back to the moving part--we actually finished everything on Sunday, and I found room to store all 56 pairs of shoes I brought with me! Ha....no, I'm not joking. Seriously, stop laughing. What can I say...shoes are the greatest because no matter what you've eaten in the last week, they always fit :-)
So everything's ready to go, including the living room TV- we got a badass 42" 1080p Plasma HD from Best Buy...holler! Wait, I'll be studying all the time so I guess I won't be watching much of it.


Now I'm in Newport Beach staying at this ridiculously awesome resort called Pelican Hill. I mean for sers, this place is paradise. All I can say is "Thanks Dad!" If he weren't a stockholder in a certain company, we wouldn't be here right now. I think I could get used to to the beach views, 24 hour staff, and automatic fireplace....ahhhh, this is the life. Aaaand before I know it I'll be back in L.A. waiting all day for the cable guy to show up and living off of Ramen and water. Back to the student life!


I'm trying to get a job out here so I'll let you know how that turns out too. One thing I can say about LA is that the drivers are worse than in Atlanta. The key is not to give your signal because if you do, they'll just speed up and not let you in. You have to have the mentality of "move bitch! get out the way!" otherwise you'll end up always missing your exit. Trust me. Oh, and I must invest in a Bluetooth because they have a Hands-Free Driving law here...I refuse to be one of those people who doesn't ever take out their earpiece though...God, that's annoying. Especially in planes! Why the fuck do you still have your earpiece in?! You're clearly not talking to anybody!


Okay, I can see that I'm getting carried away...I think I'll head down to the beach for a walk. I'll see y'all later or I'll see y'all on another time.


Soph

The Trailer

Hello World! Blaire here - yes I will be blogging in green in case you didn't catch that on the side bar-->
So, the first post of the new blog! I imagine that most of you who will initially read this will be followers of my other blog and followers of Sophia (and/or her old blog). So this is kind of like a sequel. I feel like there have been a LOT of great sequels out there recently, and that's not normally the case. Usually you can never top the original but let's examine a few - just for shits and giggles, shall we?


How many of you out there are Twi-hards? No? No one? Ok fine, don't raise your hand but you know you secretly yearn for Edward's pasty white, ice cold skin to touch yours, his cool breath on your face and his stone lips to press against yours. Or, if that's not quite your bag, you know you secretly yearn for Jacob's 108 degree body temperature to warm you during the coldest of months, for his rock-hard abs and cut biceps to wrap around you and do naughty things to you that only a 17 year old werewolf can do. Still no? Dammit, well don't lie to me and say that the sequel to twilight wasn't good. Yes there was a little bit of over-acting in it, but it's a young cast! And they're all still kind of fresh on the scene. And truthfully high school can be an extremely awkward time so I think they did a pretty awesome job of excecuting teen angst and uncomfortableness. And let's be RULL honest about one thing - it was definitely a better-made movie than the original. Maybe not as great because Edward's time on-screen was cut quite a bit from the first movie, BUT, the story line in the second movie is better to me than in the first (so there IS hope for this blog!).


Iron Man 2 - I've heard RULL good things about this movie. Haven't personally seen it myself, but anyone who I've talked to that HAS seen it has been RULL impressed. RULL.


Sex & The City 2 - Helllloooo!!!!! I'm not sure HOW it can top SatC1 but I do have extremely high hopes. I know this much: Aiden is back and he was one of my ABSOLUTE favorite characters from the series so I just KNOW that the sequel to SatC is going to be Epic. And I think the girls travel to Abu Dhabi and their clothes look fabulous!


Regardless, there was a TON of hype about these sequels and by-god there's gonna be some hype about what's to come in the sequel of Blaire and Sophia's blog! First let's start with where we are in life right now and where we expect to be over the fabulous summer that is rapidly approaching:


We both happen to be exploring the trials and tribulations of mickelove right now. What's mickelove, you ask? Mickelove is a term that refers to that initial feeling you get when you have a crush. You have really high hopes because everything is brandnew and the possibilities are endless! This new guy could turn out to be any of the following: a fabulous boyfriend who treats you like the queen you know you are that eventually turns into a husband, a new best guy friend that you can really connect with and who gets along with your friends, a fabulous lover that you not only connect with on a sexual level but someone who also happens to be funny and smart and sophistocated, or all of the above - the possibilities are endless and those butterflies seem like they're here to stay. That's Mickelove. This is not to be confused with "I'm McLovin It" from McDonalds, OR McLovin from Superbad. While both are near and dear to our hearts, this is totally different. You see, it's way too early for you to actually be falling in love with this guy, you've known him, what a month? 2 at best? But you are totally allowed to Mickelove them. It's not nearly as serious as loving someone because, let's face it, how well can you really know someone after 2 months? But basically, you're starting to fall, and falling fast. But to bridge that gap from completely going head over heels, you slow down and mickelove them and perhaps even mickelove TO them. (did you see what i did there?? yeah??) So there will be lots of mickelove talk in the coming months. I'm sure of that. Because what's a life without love? (ok i'm ending the cliche's...sorr about the bag)


As you probably know from the "About the Authors" section, Sophia is moving to LA to go to fashion school and dammit if that's not going to be something to talk about! Moving to a new city and knowing 2 people to help you get acquainted? Hhhsst! That's a little scary! (Zack Morris Time Out: You should know that "hhhsst!" is the sound that your mouth makes when you keep your teeth together but suck in a huge "gust of wind" (if you will) and it makes that sharp hssing sound. Sophia and I created the spelling of this word via gchat one sunny afternoon while stuck in our respective offices, but we must give props to Billy and Adam from The Harvard Sailing Team (minutes 1:25 and 1:34, for the "huge gust of wind" and the face made during the "hhhsst" sound, respectively). Sophia and I will likely both use the "hhhsst!" a lot in our blogging so get used to it. kthanx. Zack Morris Time In!) So yeah, lots of stories to be told about Sunny LA and all the beautiful people and Sophia's adventures with Meredith Seacrest (yes, that's one of the 2 people she knows out in LA, rough life -- love you Soph!)


And I plan to keep livin the dream here in ATL. My family is from here and MOST of my friends are still here or have moved here so the social life is always bumpin. I'm sure that I'll have plenty of stories to tell about the losers I date and the great guys I meet who happen to be gay and the nerdy boys that I have no interest in and who won't leave me alone. Should make for some good stories!


So please, check in on the Adventures of Sophia and Blaire. My guess is that things will be a little slow to start since Sophia is packing up her life over the next two weeks but get ready for the month of June; you might need a helmet because we don't want you to make a mess when we BLOW YO' MIND!


Whatup!
Blaire, out!