Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? and First Solo Dinner in Public

Filet. Beer. Book. Yum. (4/17/2013)

(started reading on 4/16/2013, finished reading on 4/19/2013)
BookfessionsChica’s Rating: ***
BookfessionsChica’s Thoughts: Loved, loved, loved this book. I’m sure you’ve all heard of The Mindy Project. Well, I have to admit I was not a fan at first. That is until I read her book. Then I just straight up fell in love with her. This is also the perfect book to read in an airport or to take on vacay. I brought this book with me to DC when I went for work. It was my very first business trip EVER. It was also the first time I had dinner at a restaurant alone, like a big girl. I felt like such an adult at the hotel restaurant with my Stella and medium-rare filet mignon. I remember I was super nervous, too. I kept telling my self to chill out and just read my book. It also helped that at every few tables there were other people on business also eating alone. Some didn’t even have a book! I totally gave them a mental high five.

The following description of Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?was borrowed from goodreads.com: In Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Mindy invites readers on a tour of her life and her unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood, with several conveniently placed stopping points for you to run errands and make phone calls. Mindy Kaling really is just a Girl Next Door—not so much literally anywhere in the continental United States, but definitely if you live in India or Sri Lanka.

Below are some of my favorite quotes/passages from Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?:

BookfessionsChica’s Heads Up: The first three quotes/passages are references to Harry Potter, Beyoncé, and Twilight. And this is how I know Mindy and I would totally be good friends.

Introduction

I thought I’d take a minute to answer some questions:
What else should I know?
(1) There is no sunrise so beautiful that it is worth waling me up to see.
(2) I would like to be friends with Beyoncé Knowles. p. 5

Alternate Titles for This Book

Here were some titles for my book that I really liked but was advised strongly not to use.
…Harry Potter Secret Book #8 p. 7

I Am Not an Athlete

A handful of bad experiences when I was small have made me a confirmed nonathelete. In psychology (okay, Twilight) they teach you about the notion of imprinting, and I think it applies here. I reverse-imprinted with athleticism. Ours is the great non-love. p. 30

All About The Office

…you may idly think, Meh… p. 122

BookfessionsChica’s thoughts: Further proof that Mindy and I would be awesome friends, I also use ‘meh’ on a daily basis.

Men and Boys

…It’s really hard when you realize the guy you’ve been dating is basically a high schooler at heart.
Until I was thirty, I only dated boys, as far as I can tell. I’ll tell you why. Men scared the shit out of me.
…Because what I was used to was boys.
…But they suck to date when you turn thirty.
…That’s one of the weirdest things I’ve noticed about being thirty-two. It is a lot of women and a lot of boys our age. That’s why I started getting interested in men.

BookfessionsChica’s thoughts: Now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure I’ve only been dating boys for the last few years. This wasn’t a conscience decision by any means. It just sort of happens. What I would really like to know is where all the real men hang out. Is there a certain bar or club house they’re at? Is it a secret location? Is that why I don’t know about it? Although, in the last few months, I have started dating real grown up men (finally!) And all it took was for me to join an online dating site.

Married People Need to Step It Up

As my mom has said, when one person is unhappy, it usually means two people are unhappy but that one has not come to terms with it yet. Sandy hadn’t realized how unhappy she was until he was gone. She told me that her husband leaving her was the nicest gift he ever gave her, because she would never have seen clearly enough to do it herself. p. 184

BookfessionsChica’s thoughts: If you’ve read some of my previous posts you are aware that I’ve written about heartbreak. There’s always so much more to a story, isn’t there? This passage in particular reminded me of some of the unhappiness I was feeling in my relationship before the breakup. Now when I look back on it, it’s difficult to recall exactly how unhappy I was and how long I felt that way. For some reason the trauma of a heartbreak is more vivid. And he was clearly just as unhappy, if not more, since he initiated the breakup. I think we may have been in denial about how unhappy we actually were. I remember feeling as if I was putting in more effort than him, I remember feeling unappreciated, I remember us not being able to communicate effectively. We bickered all the time. We were also very similar in personality and temperament, so I think that also played into the bickering. He would say that my expectations of him were too high, but I think they were realistic. I also recall being exhausted, mentally and emotionally. Too exhausted to communicate, too exhausted to argue, to exhausted to care. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t all on him. I have my faults and I’m well aware of them. I’m moody, passive aggressive, sarcastic, and I know I’m always right. But I loved him regardless. And there was nobody else in the world that I would’ve rather been arguing with than him. I’m also not at the point where I can say that his leaving me was the best thing he did for me. I’m just not there yet and I don’t know if and when I’ll ever be.

Other chapters you MUST check out:
Don’t Peak in High School
Best Friend Rights and Responsibilities
Franchises I Would Like to Reboot