My grandmother died in December of 2007 and, at that time, I volunteered to take her two animals - a dog named Ranger and cat named Tiger.
Now, Tiger, affectionately called Tiggy by everyone, was a white and orange cat that my grandmother had found years earlier outside her house. She was tiny, skinny, and probably a few days away from death when my grandmother took her in.
I remember when she first told me about her new pet. “JP, she is beautiful,” my grandmother insisted when my mother and I arrived to see the new addition to the family.
There, curled up on my grandmother’s bed, was the most pathetic looking animal on the face of the earth. She had a watery eye, looked sickly, and her hair was matted down, probably because she was running a fever or had some sort of other illness. Sufficit to say, I didn’t see the “gorgeous” cat my grandmother did.
However, when I laid on the bed next to Tiger, she immediately looked up at me, purred, and nestled her head against my arm. She was affectionate, right from the start.
That beautifully warm nature would never change.
She was a pacular cat. She didn’t want to play with anything. It didn’t matter what kind of “toy” you bought, she would simply sniff it and move on. She also didn’t have any kind of a killer instinct.. My grandmother loved to tell the story of how, one time, in her finished basement, a small mouse came out of one of the vents and walked along the edge of the room. Tiggy noticed the varment, approached it, and simply slapped at the mouse a few times before leaving it alone. The mouse, she determined, was good people.
She also didn’t “meow” like other normal cats. Hers was more of a cackle, even at a young age.
While many cats are indifferent to their name, Tiggy would answer any person who called to her. In fact, you could normally have conversations with her by just repeating her name. She also loved to have her belly rubbed. When you would come over, Tiggy would slowly walk up, look at you, flop down about a foot from where you were sitting, and showed her belly.
When my grandmother died and her life was uprooted, it took Tiggy a while to get used to her new surroundings. She was used to a large home with an upstairs and downstairs, and a lot of room to roam. Suddenly, he stomping grounds were by more than half, but she adapted. She still loved to be pet and would jump on my bed at night to go to sleep.
The year before my grandmother passed, Tiggy was diagnosed with a thyroid condition. The vet suggested that medication was an option, although she couldn’t take the one that would do the most good, or surgery, although, at her advanced age, it was unlikely she would survive.
Eventually, the thyroid made her skinny and weak and, tonight, on my couch, Tiggy passed away. It was peaceful, as peaceful as a death can be, and I am grateful she didn’t suffer and didn’t have to be traumatized by being taken to a vet to be put down.
This morning, when I woke up, Tiggy was there, skinny and ill, but still talking, even with a weaker “meow.” Now, at 11 p.m. she is gone. A part of my life is over.
I have often wondered whether I take the death of an animal too poignantly. But, in truth, the cat that died tonight on my couch next to me has been a part of my life for nearly two decades. She was one of the last connections I had to my grandmother and to a simpler life when death didn’t infiltrate so many aspects of my life.
I am glad my little cat is no longer weak and suffering, and as naïve as it might sound, there is a part of me that believes she is, right now, somewhere right now, running around, fat and happy, answering once again to my grandmother’s call. All I know is that death, whether it be of a person or a beloved animal, takes a little piece out of you. It removes a little bit of happiness and love you have. Tonight, I feel somewhat empty, and I wish my cat would be there tomorrow morning when I wake up.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
A break from my life to talk about LOST
The one thing I know about myself is that I am a pretty cool person.
No, seriously, I am. People have told me this.
However, I have a lot of dork in me. I love the Star Wars films, the Lord of the Rings films, and like Star Trek. It doesn't get much dorkier than that.
It stands to reason, then, that the ABC television series LOST would be right up my ally. It appeals to all the things I love about the other movies I mentioned. I can't think of another show in TV history that did, or even attempted to do what LOST did. How many times has a television drama been appropriately described as "epic"?
Well, this show was epic, no question about it. The pilot episode was one of the most original, thrilling pieces of television I had ever seen and I was hooked right from the start.
So, as a LOST fan, what did I think of the final episode?
I loved it.
Now, let me say this: I wish the final episode had done more to give hints as to what, exactly, the island was and what the "light" that must be protected is. It seems like the creators went out of their way to explain the "flash-sideways" portion of the show but left everything up to interpretation as to what the island actually is. Considering the island was the centerpiece of 6 years of television watching, I would have liked at least a few more hints as to what it could be.
Having said that, the ending was a surprisingly emotional and satisfying end to the entire series because it really did focus on the characters we have grown to enjoy. I didn't realize how attached I was to all of them. I didn't realize how emotionally involved I would be watching them reconnect. By the end of the episode I was equally interested in watching all the characters "find" each other in the alternate universe as I was in watching whether the island was destroyed or saved. Each time one of them connected, the raw emotions seemed genuine, and the fact that the connection came at the end, literally, seemed even more poignant.
The beauty of this final episode, to me, was that it was so well crafted, so well done, at the end you didn't even care all that much about the "answers." While each LOST fan came into the final episode (well, the final few episodes) with a laudry list of questions they would have liked seen answered, mid-way through all you wanted to see was Jack kill the Locke monster and save the island, while everyone in the alternate universe connected again. I wanted to see Sawyer and Juliette connect, Claire and Charlie, and even Kate and Jack, the relationship that always seemed the most right, the one that had been left for dead, that had been beaten and battered, finally came together at the end.
I loved the semi-redemption of Ben, loved that Hurley was left to guard the island for who knows how long after Jack died, loved that all the characters made a comeback for that final hello/goodbye, and what I especially loved was the fact that they all seemed to be moving on in a new adventure together.
So, what is the island?
My feeling, the island is exactly what Jacob described it as to to Richard: the cork that keeps evil from explanding and overtaking good. The light is that good, that righteousness, what can be seen by the eye in the spirit world when it comes to that good and evil. Without the island, evil would be allowed to spread, and since it has no limits in terms of time and space, everything that has been or will be would be ultimately changed.
The protectors are those who take it within their heart to defend the light no matter what. They choose to, even if they believed it is forced upon them. Jacob chooses to drink from the cup, even though he is reluctant, just like Hurley. Jack is the least reluctant, rightfully believeing that protecting the island is his destiny. Hurley, like Jacob, takes it on reluctantly but, again, willingly. No one, not even Jacob, if forced into service for the island, which is a metaphor for good and righteousness. It is a choice, albeit a hard one and one that generates a multitude of problems for the person who takes on the responsibility.
Also, the fact that the island, and the light, can only be explained or thought of in very abstract terms also represents spiritual belief. No one on the island REALLY knows what it is or what the island is. The woman who raises Jacob and the Man in Black only knows that the light must be protected. She explains nothing else, only that if it goes out on the island it goes out everywhere else. Does she simply fail to divulge all that she knows or, rather, does she divulge all that she does know? I think what we learn is that for all of them, from the mother to Jacob to Locke to Jack to Hurley, it simply comes down to faith. They don't have all the answers. They don't know EXACTLY what they are protecting. They simply have faith that it must be protected.
They are pushing that button, like Desmond and Locke, because they BELIEVE they must.
The redemption comes in death, when all of their willingness to do for that cause, to take those leaps of faith, no matter how small or how great, ultimately lead them back together and on a path towards whatever concept of heaven you might have. Even their purgatory offers a level of redemption, as Sawyer gets to live life as a officer on the right side of the law, Kate professes her innocence to a crime she most assuredly committed in real life, Claire finds a family in the Shepards and gets to keep Aaron, Hurley becomes a man of extreme good luck, and Jack has a son.
In the end, in my opinion, they were rewarded for their committment to each other and their dedication to helping the island. It didn't come easy or painlessly, and it certainly didn't come without doubts or missteps, but it did come and, for that, they were carried over into the afterlife together.
As a fan, I came to a conclusion a while back about LOST: I could enjoy this show and the entertainment it brings, or I could nitpick it to death, demand it meet my expectations, demand it answer my questions, and allow those high (and ultimately unfullfillable) expectations ruin the whole situation.
In reality, how many shows do you get to enjoy for a full six years? How many continue to fascinate and challenge you? How many ask that you be more than just an audience, but an almost active participant in the story?
Why ruin that with some laundry list of what the show SHOULD do or SHOULD be? It was what it was, and that is pretty darn good and pretty darn amazing.
When people talk about disappointing endings for highly popular dramas, the first mentioned is always The Sopranos. Count me in the category of those who felt cheated by The Sopranos last scene.
Why? Am I being hypocritical in my love for LOST and criticism for Sopranos?
Nope. Here's why. First, LOST has been a consistently wonderful show, whereas The Sopranos had been mediocre at best for two seasons before the final year. There was a sense, in my mind, that the final season, and final episode, had to "save" the final part of the story for me. That wasn't the case for LOST.
Second, and most importantly, LOST did NOTHING in the final episode that deviated from the series in any way. Each season of LOST ended with questions, so why not end the series entirely with questions remaining? The series revolved around fans conjuring up their own interpretation of what was happening. The series ended as it started. The series delivered what it always had delivered.
The Sopranos? That show wasn't built on cliffhangers or questions about this or that, it was built on character development and mafia family narrative. Creating a scenario where Tony Soprano might be killed and then leaving that question unanswered was, in my mind, the ultimately cop-out. There was no need to end it that way. The only reasoning behind it was that Chase didn't want to completely answer whether Tony Soprano is killed or not, yet the show never hinged on that question. It was manufactured and then left unanswered.
In thinking about LOST, what I truly appreciate about the final episode is this: for so long, fans like myself believed that the attraction to the show was the unanswered questions and the cliff hangers. What is the island? Is everyone already dead? Who is Jacob? Who is the smoke monster? That is what made the show so unique and so fascinating.
However, what the final episode showed me, and I think a lot of fans, is that what really kept us coming back were the characters. Last night was about the characters we have gotten to know for six years finding redemption. It was about their ability to find each other and, in that, find peace and even love. By the end, I cared more about what was happening at that concert, and who would have the awakoning next, than I did whether Jack could save the island or not. That's because, by the end, I wanted to see this group together and happy. I wanted these characters to be together in a way that was impossible on that island. What, exactly, the island was, the light, the reasoning behind killing evil Locke, was secondary suddenly because something bigger was happening. I was realizing for the first time that I actually cared, really cared, about a group of fictional characters.
Maybe that is the true legacy of LOST. That it was so well done, so well crafted, it allowed the fans of the show to discover something about themselves theye didn't even know. Like Jack and Locke and Kate and Sawyer, the fans realized that, while they believed they loved this show for its sci-fi elements and constant twists, what we all really loved were the people. And, in the end, when Jack walks out into that Church, what matters isn't what the island is or what the light is, it is the people he befriended and came to love.
Well done, LOST, well done.
No, seriously, I am. People have told me this.
However, I have a lot of dork in me. I love the Star Wars films, the Lord of the Rings films, and like Star Trek. It doesn't get much dorkier than that.
It stands to reason, then, that the ABC television series LOST would be right up my ally. It appeals to all the things I love about the other movies I mentioned. I can't think of another show in TV history that did, or even attempted to do what LOST did. How many times has a television drama been appropriately described as "epic"?
Well, this show was epic, no question about it. The pilot episode was one of the most original, thrilling pieces of television I had ever seen and I was hooked right from the start.
So, as a LOST fan, what did I think of the final episode?
I loved it.
Now, let me say this: I wish the final episode had done more to give hints as to what, exactly, the island was and what the "light" that must be protected is. It seems like the creators went out of their way to explain the "flash-sideways" portion of the show but left everything up to interpretation as to what the island actually is. Considering the island was the centerpiece of 6 years of television watching, I would have liked at least a few more hints as to what it could be.
Having said that, the ending was a surprisingly emotional and satisfying end to the entire series because it really did focus on the characters we have grown to enjoy. I didn't realize how attached I was to all of them. I didn't realize how emotionally involved I would be watching them reconnect. By the end of the episode I was equally interested in watching all the characters "find" each other in the alternate universe as I was in watching whether the island was destroyed or saved. Each time one of them connected, the raw emotions seemed genuine, and the fact that the connection came at the end, literally, seemed even more poignant.
The beauty of this final episode, to me, was that it was so well crafted, so well done, at the end you didn't even care all that much about the "answers." While each LOST fan came into the final episode (well, the final few episodes) with a laudry list of questions they would have liked seen answered, mid-way through all you wanted to see was Jack kill the Locke monster and save the island, while everyone in the alternate universe connected again. I wanted to see Sawyer and Juliette connect, Claire and Charlie, and even Kate and Jack, the relationship that always seemed the most right, the one that had been left for dead, that had been beaten and battered, finally came together at the end.
I loved the semi-redemption of Ben, loved that Hurley was left to guard the island for who knows how long after Jack died, loved that all the characters made a comeback for that final hello/goodbye, and what I especially loved was the fact that they all seemed to be moving on in a new adventure together.
So, what is the island?
My feeling, the island is exactly what Jacob described it as to to Richard: the cork that keeps evil from explanding and overtaking good. The light is that good, that righteousness, what can be seen by the eye in the spirit world when it comes to that good and evil. Without the island, evil would be allowed to spread, and since it has no limits in terms of time and space, everything that has been or will be would be ultimately changed.
The protectors are those who take it within their heart to defend the light no matter what. They choose to, even if they believed it is forced upon them. Jacob chooses to drink from the cup, even though he is reluctant, just like Hurley. Jack is the least reluctant, rightfully believeing that protecting the island is his destiny. Hurley, like Jacob, takes it on reluctantly but, again, willingly. No one, not even Jacob, if forced into service for the island, which is a metaphor for good and righteousness. It is a choice, albeit a hard one and one that generates a multitude of problems for the person who takes on the responsibility.
Also, the fact that the island, and the light, can only be explained or thought of in very abstract terms also represents spiritual belief. No one on the island REALLY knows what it is or what the island is. The woman who raises Jacob and the Man in Black only knows that the light must be protected. She explains nothing else, only that if it goes out on the island it goes out everywhere else. Does she simply fail to divulge all that she knows or, rather, does she divulge all that she does know? I think what we learn is that for all of them, from the mother to Jacob to Locke to Jack to Hurley, it simply comes down to faith. They don't have all the answers. They don't know EXACTLY what they are protecting. They simply have faith that it must be protected.
They are pushing that button, like Desmond and Locke, because they BELIEVE they must.
The redemption comes in death, when all of their willingness to do for that cause, to take those leaps of faith, no matter how small or how great, ultimately lead them back together and on a path towards whatever concept of heaven you might have. Even their purgatory offers a level of redemption, as Sawyer gets to live life as a officer on the right side of the law, Kate professes her innocence to a crime she most assuredly committed in real life, Claire finds a family in the Shepards and gets to keep Aaron, Hurley becomes a man of extreme good luck, and Jack has a son.
In the end, in my opinion, they were rewarded for their committment to each other and their dedication to helping the island. It didn't come easy or painlessly, and it certainly didn't come without doubts or missteps, but it did come and, for that, they were carried over into the afterlife together.
As a fan, I came to a conclusion a while back about LOST: I could enjoy this show and the entertainment it brings, or I could nitpick it to death, demand it meet my expectations, demand it answer my questions, and allow those high (and ultimately unfullfillable) expectations ruin the whole situation.
In reality, how many shows do you get to enjoy for a full six years? How many continue to fascinate and challenge you? How many ask that you be more than just an audience, but an almost active participant in the story?
Why ruin that with some laundry list of what the show SHOULD do or SHOULD be? It was what it was, and that is pretty darn good and pretty darn amazing.
When people talk about disappointing endings for highly popular dramas, the first mentioned is always The Sopranos. Count me in the category of those who felt cheated by The Sopranos last scene.
Why? Am I being hypocritical in my love for LOST and criticism for Sopranos?
Nope. Here's why. First, LOST has been a consistently wonderful show, whereas The Sopranos had been mediocre at best for two seasons before the final year. There was a sense, in my mind, that the final season, and final episode, had to "save" the final part of the story for me. That wasn't the case for LOST.
Second, and most importantly, LOST did NOTHING in the final episode that deviated from the series in any way. Each season of LOST ended with questions, so why not end the series entirely with questions remaining? The series revolved around fans conjuring up their own interpretation of what was happening. The series ended as it started. The series delivered what it always had delivered.
The Sopranos? That show wasn't built on cliffhangers or questions about this or that, it was built on character development and mafia family narrative. Creating a scenario where Tony Soprano might be killed and then leaving that question unanswered was, in my mind, the ultimately cop-out. There was no need to end it that way. The only reasoning behind it was that Chase didn't want to completely answer whether Tony Soprano is killed or not, yet the show never hinged on that question. It was manufactured and then left unanswered.
In thinking about LOST, what I truly appreciate about the final episode is this: for so long, fans like myself believed that the attraction to the show was the unanswered questions and the cliff hangers. What is the island? Is everyone already dead? Who is Jacob? Who is the smoke monster? That is what made the show so unique and so fascinating.
However, what the final episode showed me, and I think a lot of fans, is that what really kept us coming back were the characters. Last night was about the characters we have gotten to know for six years finding redemption. It was about their ability to find each other and, in that, find peace and even love. By the end, I cared more about what was happening at that concert, and who would have the awakoning next, than I did whether Jack could save the island or not. That's because, by the end, I wanted to see this group together and happy. I wanted these characters to be together in a way that was impossible on that island. What, exactly, the island was, the light, the reasoning behind killing evil Locke, was secondary suddenly because something bigger was happening. I was realizing for the first time that I actually cared, really cared, about a group of fictional characters.
Maybe that is the true legacy of LOST. That it was so well done, so well crafted, it allowed the fans of the show to discover something about themselves theye didn't even know. Like Jack and Locke and Kate and Sawyer, the fans realized that, while they believed they loved this show for its sci-fi elements and constant twists, what we all really loved were the people. And, in the end, when Jack walks out into that Church, what matters isn't what the island is or what the light is, it is the people he befriended and came to love.
Well done, LOST, well done.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Sunday night
You ever feel absolutely shocked on a Sunday night that Monday is just a few hours away? As if it is utterly impossible that life would actually demand you that thing you did last week all over again?
I feel like that tonight.
Stupidly, I set up assignments for the morning and afternoon tomorrow, meaning I can't call out because, if I didn't have those things, I would be working on my best "sore throat" voice. Actually, at 32, I think I am going to start to pull out some different fake ailments to get me outta work when I absolutely have to head home. A guy in our office last week played the gout card. He is in his 50s, maybe even early 60s, so I don't know if I could pull that off, but maybe reoccuring migraines, or perhaps some sort of stomach condition, something where I don't have to resort to an 8-year-old coughing voice to call in.
I do think that, at some point this week, I am going to have to take some time, whether that be a full day off at the end of the week or a half day. I thought I was going to be able to make it to Memorial Day (that Monday off) but I don't think I can. I think I am going to have to take some time now.
Speaking of taking time, I watched the last episode of The Pacific tonight. If you're unfamilar, it is the HBO miniseries about the WWII battles in, well, the Pacific theater. Great series. Not as good as Band of Brothers but it might have actually been more powerful and certainly more somber.
Anyway, to my point: the last episode showed how all these guys came home and had a hard time adjusting. I can only imagine. You spend 3-4 years in combat, thinking you are going to die, watching friends get shot and killed, and killing as many of the enemy as possible. Then, within a few months of all of that, you are home and looking to get a job at the local factory? Wow, can't imagine.
But, I can't help but think to myself, whenever I watch these types of shows, of how these experiences are terrible but also noble and refining in a way. I have a hard time because in no way do I find war exciting or needed, but I do believe that there is a maturation that comes from that experience that is probably unattainable in any other circumstances. I think it probably gives you a purpose, a confidence, and a desire to live life more fully and truly because you have faced down death.
It also seems to leave a lot of nightmares in its wake, so I don't think I would like to go and join any time soon (and you only grow and mature if you actually survive).
However, there is no question these men who served did something grander than anything I ever have, and that has to be worthwhile in some way, right?
I feel like that tonight.
Stupidly, I set up assignments for the morning and afternoon tomorrow, meaning I can't call out because, if I didn't have those things, I would be working on my best "sore throat" voice. Actually, at 32, I think I am going to start to pull out some different fake ailments to get me outta work when I absolutely have to head home. A guy in our office last week played the gout card. He is in his 50s, maybe even early 60s, so I don't know if I could pull that off, but maybe reoccuring migraines, or perhaps some sort of stomach condition, something where I don't have to resort to an 8-year-old coughing voice to call in.
I do think that, at some point this week, I am going to have to take some time, whether that be a full day off at the end of the week or a half day. I thought I was going to be able to make it to Memorial Day (that Monday off) but I don't think I can. I think I am going to have to take some time now.
Speaking of taking time, I watched the last episode of The Pacific tonight. If you're unfamilar, it is the HBO miniseries about the WWII battles in, well, the Pacific theater. Great series. Not as good as Band of Brothers but it might have actually been more powerful and certainly more somber.
Anyway, to my point: the last episode showed how all these guys came home and had a hard time adjusting. I can only imagine. You spend 3-4 years in combat, thinking you are going to die, watching friends get shot and killed, and killing as many of the enemy as possible. Then, within a few months of all of that, you are home and looking to get a job at the local factory? Wow, can't imagine.
But, I can't help but think to myself, whenever I watch these types of shows, of how these experiences are terrible but also noble and refining in a way. I have a hard time because in no way do I find war exciting or needed, but I do believe that there is a maturation that comes from that experience that is probably unattainable in any other circumstances. I think it probably gives you a purpose, a confidence, and a desire to live life more fully and truly because you have faced down death.
It also seems to leave a lot of nightmares in its wake, so I don't think I would like to go and join any time soon (and you only grow and mature if you actually survive).
However, there is no question these men who served did something grander than anything I ever have, and that has to be worthwhile in some way, right?
Monday, May 10, 2010
Its good to have goals
So far, this blog is going at about the same pace as my John Rook life-rehab project — hardly moving.
It is difficult when you have a job and you feel sapped of energy everyday at 5 p.m. It is also hard to know exactly how to begin. What is that first paragraph of the book of the rest of your life suppose to say?
I guess, in my case, it is the constant desire to have desire. Actually, I should correct that: I have desire, I just don't have motivation. My desire stays bottled up, ready to burst out, but never seemingly finding the right crease from which to begin the escape.
I have to get something moving now, though, right? Okay, my set goal is for June 18. That's a Friday. The goal: lose 15 pounds (daunting, yes, but doeable), go on at least one date with someone, and write at least three columns/short stories to be sent out. I have more than a month to accomplish these tasks. That should be enough time, right?
It is difficult when you have a job and you feel sapped of energy everyday at 5 p.m. It is also hard to know exactly how to begin. What is that first paragraph of the book of the rest of your life suppose to say?
I guess, in my case, it is the constant desire to have desire. Actually, I should correct that: I have desire, I just don't have motivation. My desire stays bottled up, ready to burst out, but never seemingly finding the right crease from which to begin the escape.
I have to get something moving now, though, right? Okay, my set goal is for June 18. That's a Friday. The goal: lose 15 pounds (daunting, yes, but doeable), go on at least one date with someone, and write at least three columns/short stories to be sent out. I have more than a month to accomplish these tasks. That should be enough time, right?
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
To beard or not to beard
I don't have a full blown, unabomber beard going but I have a little more than a five o'clock shadow. It's a stubble. I've had it for a while and I have to admit I kinda like it, but I wonder if it might be something worth getting rid of.
The pros: hey, it makes me look like a man, man. Plus, I have a round, chubby face, and I think having the stubble gives me a little something to hide behind.
The cons: I don't really have a good read on how the ladies feel about the stubble. I have one female friend who absolutely loves a little stubble, another one who hates it, so it is really a crap shoot.
Plus, like long hair (which I don't have) you have to keep up with the stubble or it turns into so weird patchy thing on my face. That's the worst. Stubble can quickly go from a little hair paint on your jaw to something that looks diseased.
If I had readers, I would now open it up for some kind of discussion, especially to the ladies, to see where I stood but, in the end, I guess I'll just have to keep asking this age-old question: to beard or not to beard?
The pros: hey, it makes me look like a man, man. Plus, I have a round, chubby face, and I think having the stubble gives me a little something to hide behind.
The cons: I don't really have a good read on how the ladies feel about the stubble. I have one female friend who absolutely loves a little stubble, another one who hates it, so it is really a crap shoot.
Plus, like long hair (which I don't have) you have to keep up with the stubble or it turns into so weird patchy thing on my face. That's the worst. Stubble can quickly go from a little hair paint on your jaw to something that looks diseased.
If I had readers, I would now open it up for some kind of discussion, especially to the ladies, to see where I stood but, in the end, I guess I'll just have to keep asking this age-old question: to beard or not to beard?
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Rejected, cyberspace-style
I want a woman. Not in some kind of caveman, knock her over the head and have my way with her way, ala Ben Rothliesberger, but a woman in a relationship.
I'm 32 years old and the small, somewhat casual relationships I have had throughout my life just don't seem to be enough now. Some of my friends are married, or heading towards marriage, and some are even having kids. It seems like the grownup thing to do.
In all honesty, you get to a certain age and realize that, yes, you would like a family, and that you would like to start on all that stuff right about now. It certainly doesn't mean I want to get married tomorrow, or have kids next year. I have had somewhat of an aversion to both of those things, so the concept is going to take a little getting used to. But, a real, no holds barred, Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan relationship, I'm down for that.
As such I decided last month to do something different to try and meet girls. I have never really been one for the bar scene. I am just not the go up to the girl and ask her to grind in my crotch for three hours sorta guy. Most of the women I have dated have been friends of a friend whom I have gotten to know, like, then dated. It has worked out well.
But, as my friends are all now older and already in relationships, and since their girlfriends and wives have collected a mass of friends that either look like they have a weekend pass from the leper colony, or are already in a relationship, meeting someone through them seems unlikely.
So, I took the plunge, plunked down my money, and signed up for internet dating. un stuff.
Now, here is my theory about internet dating, and it probably doesn't bode very well for me in the future: I get why guys do internet dating. As men, we have to cast the biggest net possible. We have to play every angle. It is a tough world out there and you usually have just as good a chance of striking out as you do hitting a homer. Its like applying to a job. You don't just send your resume to one place and cross your fingers. And, if you're rejected by that place, you don't keep sending the application back hoping persistence wins out. In love, persistence usually lands you a restraining order.
So, for guys, utilizing every avenue to find someone is completely understandable. For girls, not so much.
Look, if you are a well balanced, somewhat attractive woman who isn't carrying around Kate Gosselin numbers of kids and don't have a hitman former boyfriend in your past, you should have a pretty easy time finding a guy. Don't believe me? Well, if you think you fit that description, take a step outside, find a small but heavy rock, and throw it. The first guy you hit will probably want to date you. If he turns out to be a jerk, repeat rock throwing until you find the right one.
So, when I see women looking for love on the internet superhighway, I automatically begin to think, "what the hell is wrong with her?"
Kind of a strange thing to admit when you're signed up for internet dating, right?
Well, beggers can't be choosers, and despite my misgivings, there are so many people doing it now, figured I had a good chance to finding someone interesting and normal.
The site I signed up for sends you "matches" each week and you get to look at their picture and profile and see if you "connect." In all honesty, all one does is look at the pictures, I think. Let's face it, dating on the internet and dating in real life isn't going to be all that different. You go up to someone and strike up a conversation based on how that person looks, and how attracted you are to them, not based on their likes and dislikes and whether their grandmother was the most influential person in their life.
After you find someone who looks interesting, you send out a series of questions to them, which they can choose to answer if they wish to begin communicating with you. If they wish that you would go away and die, instead, they simply don't respond.
What I have learned? Being on the internet just provides people another way to reject you.
What I have come to realize is that there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with women who sign up to date on the internet. It is the smartest thing in the world for them to do. Why? Because they put up their picture, usually one from a wedding or a party, one that isn't extremely suggestive but shows they are very visually appealing, write some nonsense about how they like to hike in the summers and snowboard in the winter, and then watch as the invites come rolling in. Their "mailboxes" on the site are probably filled every single day. And, they don't have to reject anyone, don't have to wait for some guy they like to make a move at the bar, only to be disappointed when he doesn't, and don't have to worry about being hounded by someone who just won't take no for an answer.
They simply peruse the profiles, pick out the most promising candidates, delete all the others, and start whittling down their finalists.
It begins to feel like your applying to colleges again when you are on these sites. You start out by sending your "invites" to the ones you really want. Then, when you don't hear back, you begin to look at "matches" that maybe aren't as appealing, but you still consider interesting. Then, when even those don't respond, you just begin to canvas the entire world, looking for someone, anyone, to write back.
We will see if that blanketing strategy produces anything. Right now, nada.
I'm 32 years old and the small, somewhat casual relationships I have had throughout my life just don't seem to be enough now. Some of my friends are married, or heading towards marriage, and some are even having kids. It seems like the grownup thing to do.
In all honesty, you get to a certain age and realize that, yes, you would like a family, and that you would like to start on all that stuff right about now. It certainly doesn't mean I want to get married tomorrow, or have kids next year. I have had somewhat of an aversion to both of those things, so the concept is going to take a little getting used to. But, a real, no holds barred, Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan relationship, I'm down for that.
As such I decided last month to do something different to try and meet girls. I have never really been one for the bar scene. I am just not the go up to the girl and ask her to grind in my crotch for three hours sorta guy. Most of the women I have dated have been friends of a friend whom I have gotten to know, like, then dated. It has worked out well.
But, as my friends are all now older and already in relationships, and since their girlfriends and wives have collected a mass of friends that either look like they have a weekend pass from the leper colony, or are already in a relationship, meeting someone through them seems unlikely.
So, I took the plunge, plunked down my money, and signed up for internet dating. un stuff.
Now, here is my theory about internet dating, and it probably doesn't bode very well for me in the future: I get why guys do internet dating. As men, we have to cast the biggest net possible. We have to play every angle. It is a tough world out there and you usually have just as good a chance of striking out as you do hitting a homer. Its like applying to a job. You don't just send your resume to one place and cross your fingers. And, if you're rejected by that place, you don't keep sending the application back hoping persistence wins out. In love, persistence usually lands you a restraining order.
So, for guys, utilizing every avenue to find someone is completely understandable. For girls, not so much.
Look, if you are a well balanced, somewhat attractive woman who isn't carrying around Kate Gosselin numbers of kids and don't have a hitman former boyfriend in your past, you should have a pretty easy time finding a guy. Don't believe me? Well, if you think you fit that description, take a step outside, find a small but heavy rock, and throw it. The first guy you hit will probably want to date you. If he turns out to be a jerk, repeat rock throwing until you find the right one.
So, when I see women looking for love on the internet superhighway, I automatically begin to think, "what the hell is wrong with her?"
Kind of a strange thing to admit when you're signed up for internet dating, right?
Well, beggers can't be choosers, and despite my misgivings, there are so many people doing it now, figured I had a good chance to finding someone interesting and normal.
The site I signed up for sends you "matches" each week and you get to look at their picture and profile and see if you "connect." In all honesty, all one does is look at the pictures, I think. Let's face it, dating on the internet and dating in real life isn't going to be all that different. You go up to someone and strike up a conversation based on how that person looks, and how attracted you are to them, not based on their likes and dislikes and whether their grandmother was the most influential person in their life.
After you find someone who looks interesting, you send out a series of questions to them, which they can choose to answer if they wish to begin communicating with you. If they wish that you would go away and die, instead, they simply don't respond.
What I have learned? Being on the internet just provides people another way to reject you.
What I have come to realize is that there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with women who sign up to date on the internet. It is the smartest thing in the world for them to do. Why? Because they put up their picture, usually one from a wedding or a party, one that isn't extremely suggestive but shows they are very visually appealing, write some nonsense about how they like to hike in the summers and snowboard in the winter, and then watch as the invites come rolling in. Their "mailboxes" on the site are probably filled every single day. And, they don't have to reject anyone, don't have to wait for some guy they like to make a move at the bar, only to be disappointed when he doesn't, and don't have to worry about being hounded by someone who just won't take no for an answer.
They simply peruse the profiles, pick out the most promising candidates, delete all the others, and start whittling down their finalists.
It begins to feel like your applying to colleges again when you are on these sites. You start out by sending your "invites" to the ones you really want. Then, when you don't hear back, you begin to look at "matches" that maybe aren't as appealing, but you still consider interesting. Then, when even those don't respond, you just begin to canvas the entire world, looking for someone, anyone, to write back.
We will see if that blanketing strategy produces anything. Right now, nada.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Now, let us begin.
When you decide that you're going to change your life around in a year, you have to start with day one. That's usually a Monday, for whatever reason. Maybe because Sunday is slow and boring and it lets you sit around all day thinking about what a failure you have been at life to this point. You can literally spend hours on Sunday doing nothing but think about how crappy your job is, what a fat-ass you've become, all the girls you could have had in college but never had the balls to speak to, how old you're getting, how little you've seen of the world, and how your dog doesn't even respect you.
That takes up about half a day, right there.
So, you committ to Monday. That's gonna be the day, you tell yourself. That's when the comeback begins.
That's what I did this past week.
I just turned 32. My job is okay but far from being exciting or fullfilling. It is a garden salad compared to a steak dinner I was always hoping for when it came to a career. I don't make a lot of money. I live wayyyyy too close to my parents. I haven't had a girlfriend in years and, what's worse, can't remember the last time I had a conversation with a woman where, at some point in our discussion I thought to myself, “you know, I have a really good shot of getting laid tonight.”
So, on Sunday, I made my descision. Monday was going to be my own personal Andy Dufresne Day. I was gonna climb out the other side of that shit-pipe like Dufresne did near the end of Shawshank Redemption, look up to the heavens as the purifying rain beat down, take off my shirt and spread my arms as a free man.
That's what you think when you start something. It's all farting rainbows and belching little cherubs. What did I imagine my Monday going like? Well, here's a little rundown of what I thought was possible:
Wake up at 6:30 a.m. and actually feel good that my alarm clock went off. Jump into the shower, singing a Bobby Darin song as my dog grew the opposable thumbs needed to feed himself for the morning.
Leaving for work, I would find a package on my front door. “You earned it, kid,” would be the only thing written on the note to the box while, inside, there would be exactly $120 million in very, very large bills.
Feeling so energized by my new found wealth, I would decide to walk the 42 miles to my job and, in the process, burn off approximately 60 pounds and do a significant amount of toning. Also, during the trip, the fresh air would suddenly make me look a lot more like Leonardo DiCaprio.
At the office, I would inform my bosses that, effectively immediately, I would be leaving. “That's fine,” they say, “as long as you can take today to train our new employee.”
Who is that new employee? Why none other than Jennifer Love-Hewitt.
“So, you're the new girl?” I say in my most charming, Leo-esque voice.
“I guess so,” she says, and we both smile wide, because our love is so deep.
After the day is over, I offer to drive Jennifer home and she accepts. On the ride, she informs me that she wants to go to my house, instead.
“You don't want to go home at all?” I ask her.
“That is my home,” she says, and we smile at each other because our love is so deep.
Arriving at my house around 7 p.m., a fully loaded 2011 Corvette, the only one made so far, sits in the driveway. “You're tops, kid,” says the note. I jump in and me and Jennifer ride around all night long, the top down, listening to music and pulling off to the side of the road to make out every once in a while, because our love is so deep.
That's sorta the day I had in mind.
What really happened?
Woke up at 6:30 a.m. and hit the snooze button, uttering some inaudible curse at my alarm clock in the process.
Got up, dragged myself into the shower, my dog taking the time by himself to sniff his own ass repeatedly, which is a true gift of his.
Got into work where some douchebag reader (I'm the editor of a local newspaper) decided to leave a nasty message about one of her insignificant press releases not making it into the paper. I immediately regret not calling in sick.
Around lunch time, I think about stopping at the gym next to my office, except for the fact that the walk from my desk, out the door, to my car nearly collapsed a lung. Twenty minutes on the treadmill would probably stroke me out.
At lunch, I chose between a nice garden salad and a hot-wing bar set up at the local grocery store for the first time. The salad looked like a plate full of night crawlers by that point, so count me in for some wings.
At night, I turned on the TV, settled in to watch some Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsey (so that I could watch other people have an equally shitty day as myself) and eventually got ready for bed.
Fantasy world – 1
Reality world – 0
I don't know if anyone is actually going to read this blog or not. I think a lot of it is simply for me and my own personal interest. If I write down all the things I am able to do, or not do, it might give me an indication of what I am doing wrong. I have to think of it almost as a life audit, and I think this blog can help.
What I want by April of 2011?
I want a clear vision of my career future, a lot of financial independence, to lose at least 60 pounds, and to find someone I can honestly, absolutely say I can love. So, to make it clear to anyone reading this, I want my life to resemble The Apprentice, Deal of No Deal, Biggest Loser, and The Bachelor (I will be soooo pumped if the next 12 months includes 25 hot and horny bachelorettes).
I don't think 32 is too late to change your life. I don't think 32 means that you are who you have been. I don't think the next 40 or 50 years have to be a series of second places. And, this year is as good as any to begin to do something about it.
How?
Very good question. I am gonna make it up as I go along, but I am hoping to chronicle it all if, for no other reason, than to amuse myself along the way.
It has been 32 years of me. I am hoping that stops now.
That takes up about half a day, right there.
So, you committ to Monday. That's gonna be the day, you tell yourself. That's when the comeback begins.
That's what I did this past week.
I just turned 32. My job is okay but far from being exciting or fullfilling. It is a garden salad compared to a steak dinner I was always hoping for when it came to a career. I don't make a lot of money. I live wayyyyy too close to my parents. I haven't had a girlfriend in years and, what's worse, can't remember the last time I had a conversation with a woman where, at some point in our discussion I thought to myself, “you know, I have a really good shot of getting laid tonight.”
So, on Sunday, I made my descision. Monday was going to be my own personal Andy Dufresne Day. I was gonna climb out the other side of that shit-pipe like Dufresne did near the end of Shawshank Redemption, look up to the heavens as the purifying rain beat down, take off my shirt and spread my arms as a free man.
That's what you think when you start something. It's all farting rainbows and belching little cherubs. What did I imagine my Monday going like? Well, here's a little rundown of what I thought was possible:
Wake up at 6:30 a.m. and actually feel good that my alarm clock went off. Jump into the shower, singing a Bobby Darin song as my dog grew the opposable thumbs needed to feed himself for the morning.
Leaving for work, I would find a package on my front door. “You earned it, kid,” would be the only thing written on the note to the box while, inside, there would be exactly $120 million in very, very large bills.
Feeling so energized by my new found wealth, I would decide to walk the 42 miles to my job and, in the process, burn off approximately 60 pounds and do a significant amount of toning. Also, during the trip, the fresh air would suddenly make me look a lot more like Leonardo DiCaprio.
At the office, I would inform my bosses that, effectively immediately, I would be leaving. “That's fine,” they say, “as long as you can take today to train our new employee.”
Who is that new employee? Why none other than Jennifer Love-Hewitt.
“So, you're the new girl?” I say in my most charming, Leo-esque voice.
“I guess so,” she says, and we both smile wide, because our love is so deep.
After the day is over, I offer to drive Jennifer home and she accepts. On the ride, she informs me that she wants to go to my house, instead.
“You don't want to go home at all?” I ask her.
“That is my home,” she says, and we smile at each other because our love is so deep.
Arriving at my house around 7 p.m., a fully loaded 2011 Corvette, the only one made so far, sits in the driveway. “You're tops, kid,” says the note. I jump in and me and Jennifer ride around all night long, the top down, listening to music and pulling off to the side of the road to make out every once in a while, because our love is so deep.
That's sorta the day I had in mind.
What really happened?
Woke up at 6:30 a.m. and hit the snooze button, uttering some inaudible curse at my alarm clock in the process.
Got up, dragged myself into the shower, my dog taking the time by himself to sniff his own ass repeatedly, which is a true gift of his.
Got into work where some douchebag reader (I'm the editor of a local newspaper) decided to leave a nasty message about one of her insignificant press releases not making it into the paper. I immediately regret not calling in sick.
Around lunch time, I think about stopping at the gym next to my office, except for the fact that the walk from my desk, out the door, to my car nearly collapsed a lung. Twenty minutes on the treadmill would probably stroke me out.
At lunch, I chose between a nice garden salad and a hot-wing bar set up at the local grocery store for the first time. The salad looked like a plate full of night crawlers by that point, so count me in for some wings.
At night, I turned on the TV, settled in to watch some Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsey (so that I could watch other people have an equally shitty day as myself) and eventually got ready for bed.
Fantasy world – 1
Reality world – 0
I don't know if anyone is actually going to read this blog or not. I think a lot of it is simply for me and my own personal interest. If I write down all the things I am able to do, or not do, it might give me an indication of what I am doing wrong. I have to think of it almost as a life audit, and I think this blog can help.
What I want by April of 2011?
I want a clear vision of my career future, a lot of financial independence, to lose at least 60 pounds, and to find someone I can honestly, absolutely say I can love. So, to make it clear to anyone reading this, I want my life to resemble The Apprentice, Deal of No Deal, Biggest Loser, and The Bachelor (I will be soooo pumped if the next 12 months includes 25 hot and horny bachelorettes).
I don't think 32 is too late to change your life. I don't think 32 means that you are who you have been. I don't think the next 40 or 50 years have to be a series of second places. And, this year is as good as any to begin to do something about it.
How?
Very good question. I am gonna make it up as I go along, but I am hoping to chronicle it all if, for no other reason, than to amuse myself along the way.
It has been 32 years of me. I am hoping that stops now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
