Thursday, June 30th, 2011
July 10th is Jewish Community Day at Nat’s Park! Tickets are $35 and you receive an Outfield Reserved ticket, kosher food sampling, pre-game Jewish music, special JCD t-shirt (first 500 fans), and a $10 concession credit.
Pros to attending the game:
1) You can impress people with your baseball knowledge
2) Shielding your date from a foul ball (better yet, catching them a foul ball!) could earn you points
3) You get to schmooze with other Jewish community members while dancing to Jewish music
4) You can use your $10 concession credit to buy someone special one drink
5) If the Nats lose, at least you got to work on your tan
I’ll be there, will you?
For tickets and additional information CLICK HERE
Sunday, June 26th, 2011
Those who know me well know that there are not many things I love more in this world than my dog, Shana. Since the day my best friend surprised me with dogs for each of us, I knew that she was meant to be in my life, and I haven't let her come second to anything since. Unfortunately for me, that includes relationships. Shana is a wonderful dog. She is as sweet as can be even though she is considered a "bully breed". She loves people and tolerates other dogs. In fact, she loves people too much. So much that when they are over my house, she doesn't leave them alone and will whine and cry until all attention is paid on her. I haven't determined if she does this because they are new and she is trying to get their attention, or if she is so obsessed with me, that any new person that comes in the house is clearly encroaching on her territory. I also think she can sense non-dog lovers, and she torments them by sitting in their lap (she's 55 pounds!) to try and get them to like her.
A couple years ago my mom's friend sent me a book called How to Raise a Jewish Dog by The Rabbis of the Boca Raton Theological Seminary as told to Ellis Weiner and Barbara Davilman. At first, I thought this was funny. After reading a couple chapters, I realized how truthful the book is and how it explains so much of Shana's personality. There is something unique about Jewish dog owners. We treat our dogs the same way our Jewish mothers treated us as kids. There is nothing wrong with it, it's just different. However, in my case, I think it has made Shana way too attached to me and therefore pretty much ruins any chance of me ever dating a non-dog friendly Jewish guy. It limits the pool of guys I can date because they have to like dogs, period.
Determined to find dog-friendly men, I called up my co-worker and invited her to the dog park with me. Aside from getting the dogs out of the house, we also thought it would be a good place to meet single men who like dogs. Since my friend doesn't have a dog, she borrowed our boss', who also happens to be a Jewish dog. We got to the park and let them off their leashes and off they went! Or so I thought. Shana refused to leave my side and my boss' dog walked around the park like he owned the place. It was official, once a Jewish dog, always a Jewish dog.
I felt like a bad mother. I was urging her to play with the others but she just looked at me like this was a punishment for her. Needless to say, we rarely go back to the dog park. It puts a little bit of a damper on my social life because I don't get the social benefits of having a dog. Even walking in my neighborhood is a bit of a challenge because she won't get near other pets for fear that they might actually try and play with her, ruining her mission for sniffing every blade of grass outside. I'm sure there are plenty of nice dog owners that I could be friends with and have play dates with, but no, Shana and I are destined to be us two forever. My co-worker and I also struck out. The park was filled mostly with couples and the singles there were about 20 years our senior.
I determined that I need to get more specific in my search for a nice dog friendly man. He has to be a Jewish dog owner. Only a Jewish dog owner can really understand the unique relationship between Shana and I. Recently I joined a group for Jewish dog owners online. They go to dog parks, dog happy hours and other pet friendly activities. I am hoping it will help socialize her and me with other dogs and dog owners. There will be more to come on that as I venture out into the dog dating world!
Related Links:
How to raise a Jewish Dog
Fairfax County Dog Parks
GesherCity
Thursday, June 16th, 2011
Growing up in NOVA has made it hard for me to find the type of guy that I'm generally interested in. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of great guys from this area, for someone else. Due to my upbringing I am definitely more comfortable with people who are from northern states. I know, I know, NOVA is Northern VA. But let's be honest, it's below the Mason Dixon line, and we are in the South, people. My parents grew up just outside Philadelphia and my entire family still lives there. My childhood consisted of traveling to PA to go to Phillies games with my dad, listening to the Eagles on the radio in the car on the way home from softball games, and mourning with him when both teams inevitably disappointed us (93' World Series anyone?). These are things I have shared with my dad my whole life and it is a part of our relationship that is unique to us. There is still no one else in the world I would rather watch a game with on a Sunday afternoon. My name is Samantha, and I am a daddy's girl.
My relationship with my dad got me thinking about the type of guys I am interested in. How much has he influenced what I am looking for? The other day I found an article that I think articulates just that. I was surfing the web and came across an article from Self Magazine that caught my eye; Did you 'Marry' your Dad? The article discusses a book written by Dr. Peggy Drexler called, Our Fathers, Ourselves: Daughters, Fathers, and the Changing American Family, about relationships between daughters and their fathers and how it affects their choices in finding a mate. I thought that this is very timely considering that father's day is just around the corner.
Dr. Drexler says in the article that her research found that a father is definitely an influence on who we date, but it isn't necessarily in the form of dating someone who is just like the man who raised us. She states that women are more likely to date someone who embodies the best qualities that their father has and forces them to stay away from the undesirable qualities. I think in my case, this is definitely true. I already talked about how my dad’s northern upbringing has influenced the kind of people I get along with, but I would love to meet someone who has the ambition, success, has and desire for family bonding and Jewish traditions that my dad has. I could also do without his lack of decision making, corny jokes, and random breakouts into song.
I also have a different theory on what Dr. Drexler was referring. When our parents were growing up, they were raised usually with the mother at home and the father as the family's breadwinner. This probably resulted in more women having the same qualities as their mothers. So naturally, they would be looking at someone who provided them with the same things as their fathers provided their family. Now, families are unique. Dads are more hands on and present in their children's lives for more than just monetary support. My dad not only coached all my team's growing up, but also never missed a recital, science fair or pet funeral (yes, we had those). I spent hours and hours with him watching sports and movies. We would listen to oldies and Motown in the car on long trips. Needless to say, as a result, I developed many of the same interests that he has. I am very much like him, good qualities and bad. I also inherited his stubbornness, lack of decision making and his ability to overanalyze everything. Because I am so much like him, I think I am more interested in finding a partner who is not exactly like him, because they would be too much like me. I need someone who can bring something new to the table.
I think it's easy to say that I haven't found anyone who meets up to the kind of person my dad is.  If I can find someone who has half the drive, accomplishments, and genuine love for family and friends as my dad has, I will be a very very lucky girl. It's a lot to live up to, but I believe and hope that there are more men out there like my dad.
My dad and I at my college graduation. Happy Father's Day!
