Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone in a New City: What I Learned in Week Three of Summer of George
I could have done all of this from home.
That's the question I kept getting asked once I told people I was spending the summer in Los Angeles as part of my Summer of George series. Couldn't I have joined a gym in Scottsdale? Couldn't I have worked from a coffee shop there? Technically, yes. But I wouldn't have. And that's the whole point.
How to Put Yourself Out There When You're Dating in Your 40s
I'm in Los Angeles for a few weeks, and this week I did something that surprised me a little. I texted a guy first.
That sentence might not sound revolutionary. But if you know me, you know I'm a traditional dater. I want the man to make the plan. I want him to pick the place. I want him to hold the door. So when I reached out to someone I'd met on Instagram a few months ago — someone who lives in LA, someone I'd traded voice notes with before life pulled us in different directions — pressing send was the whole point.
Back on Dating Apps in Midlife: One Date, One Ghoster, and a Lot to Think About
I swore I'd never get back on a dating app. And then I did.
This is week one of The Summer of George — my commitment from now through September 30 to say yes more, date again, and meet new people and get out to see what the world has in store for me. I'll drop a quick recap every Friday on how it's going. Here's what week one actually looked like.
Dating Again in Midlife: The Summer I Decided to Say Yes
I matched with a guy on a dating app. We planned a date. Thirty minutes later, he unmatched me.
That's how I'm opening The Summer of George.
I named it after the Seinfeld episode where George gets let go from his job, ends up with a three-month severance, and proclaims it the summer of George. That's me right now. Not unemployed, but standing in a quiet moment after four very busy months, looking around my house in Scottsdale, and deciding to do something about it.