Why does it have to be so hard?

Well, this past weekend was absolutely incredible.  I participated in a wedding for one of my best friends, and I was honored to be a groomsman in the wedding.  It was a beautiful wedding and the bride was absolutely gorgeous.  I am really happy for them.  The planets aligned that day for the bride and groom but it seemed like my stars were on a crash course to humiliation.

It all started with the Macarena.  Everyone knows how that song continues on and on and on.  Well, when the dance floor was cleared of participants who were tired of shakin’ there hips, my buddy, and fellow groomsman, and I decided to tough it out and stay out on the floor until the end of the song.  Such dedication doesn’t go unnoticed.  The DJ announced that he had a special assignment for the two of us.  We had to pick two lucky ladies out of the audience and bring them to the dance floor.  Of course, we picked the groom’s mother and grandmother.  It was cute!  The Assignment was to start a train.  That’s right!  The dance floor needed to be full again. 

I was the conductor of this human train, and after a quick pass threw the gregarious crowd, the line was astronomical.  Just before reentry to the dance floor, I noticed the brunette bridesmaid who will remain the “brunette bridesmaid” until later in the story.  She was gracefully standing off to the side.  I didn’t know her name but all I did know that she was one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen who would be the perfect addition to this fleshy locomotive.  I asked her and she kindly obliged, stepping into line right behind me.

The assignment was complete and I felt accomplished for not only filling the dance floor but for getting to dance with the infamous brunette bridesmaid.  We finally introduced ourselves to each other and I asked her for the next dance.  Unfortunately, the following song was the “Cha Cha Slide” by DJ Casper.  After one too many “slides to the left” the song was completed and I thanked my lovely assistant for taking the time to dance with me during this song.

I said, and I quote, “Thanks for the dance Jennifer!”  I’m just as surprised as you! I can’t believe I said that either.  What I said wasn’t as surprising as her response though.

She replied, “My name is Stephanie” and my stomach dropped through the hard wood maple floor.  How could I do this?!

I tried to reason with her and said, “you can’t expect me to remember your name after one dance.”

As she turned to walk away, she said, “Thanks for the dance, John!”

My heart sank, but after only a few minutes of sulking, I scraped my guts off the dancefloor and continued to have a good time.  I think she noticed my solid recovery and we later danced two slow songs, mind you, in a row.  She made me nervous not because she was a pretty brunette bridesmaid but because she was THE pretty brunette bridesmaid.  And after strong encouragement and slight persuasion from the Maid of Honor, I finally got her number. 

I was sure that this story would end up being another tale of my shortcomings, but I think it all worked out.  I couldn’t believe that she still wanted to talk to me after the mishap.  I hate to be so optimistic but I hope something can develop.  But that is neither here nor there.  The point that I am trying to make leads me to one question: “Why does it have to be so hard?”

Love me like a dog

I remember back in my childhood days, my family had a dog.  She was the most beautiful dog, part dalmatian and part cocker spaniel, and her name was Dixie.  She had all kinds of black spots with floppy ears and a black head with a little white stripe running down her forehead between her deep black eyes.  She was never one to chew things up that weren’t meant to be chewed like my shoes, or a pair of my dad’s slippers, at least I have no recollection of that.  We taught her to smile too!  Every time we approached her she would smile because she knew we would pet her and love on her.  Unfamiliar people would be afraid of her because when they would walk up she would show her pearly whites and they thought she was being mean.  I remember my mom said one time, “the ultimate sign of trust from a dog is when they show you their belly.”  However much that may be true, Dixie would do that for the dirtiest, meanest person who was about to hurt her and she would drop to the ground in hopes of a good belly rub.  She was the sweetest dog who didn’t care who you were or what you had done to her.  She loved you no matter what.

After she had her first litter of puppies we started keeping her in the house most of the time, especially in the snowy winter months.  However, when we kept her outside, we were forced to keep her on a leash.  Her doghouse was located inside a tall wooden fenced in area.  Occasionally she would jump on top of her doghouse and peek over the wooden fence to where all we could see was her head on the other side.  I hated the fact that she had to be on a leash but at the time I thought that the enclosure was very suitable.  She seemed to like it. 

As I look back now I can’t help but realize that her life must have been horrible.  I can’t imagine going through life waiting on a leash for someone to bring you attention.  She was happy when we were there playing with her but what did she do the other 90% of her day.  Waited…

It’s such a sad story but it seems relavant because right now I am spending the majority of my time in life just waiting.  A lot of my friends and coworkers are very busy people, and it becomes more of a hassle to hang out than sometimes it is worth.  I have never had that one person that has withstood the test of time that I can constantly rely on to be there for me, or that I just enjoy spending time with.  It is easy for anyone to play that role for a short period.  The hard part is that I have to keep filling that vacancy with new people all the time. I have been lucky filling that position but the realization is setting in that one of these times the vacancy will remain empty for a long period of time. 

Now the time has come and I am feeling pressure to fill that position.  Who in there right mind would dread a four-day weekend?  But when you just sit at your apartment or maybe go to the pool, it becomes real boring.  Maybe it is karma biting me in the butt for the way that my dog was treated.  I don’t know, but it feels like I go through life just waiting.  Waiting like Dixie for someone to come and rub my belly.

I hope this post doesn’t sound like I go through life in pure misery because I don’t dwell on this issue much, mostly just when I am approaching my four-day weekend.  This is purely an outlet for me to release some pressure that is building up inside.  Or maybe the imaginary audience that “reads” this blog will always be my only one true friend…

Office Plinko

Wednesday was the best day I had ever had a work.  It was a typical day at the office.  Eight hours had passed and there was still nothing to do.  You can only tour your hometown on Google Earth so long before you start to pull your hair out.  My idle mind had discovered a brilliant new office game.  Armed with just a handful of push pins, a cork bulletin board, and a couple of pucks made from cardboard coasters, I collaberated the first Office Plinko.  Everyone remembers the greatest The Price Is Right game ever.  Finally it is available for office use.  It was as close to the real thing except Bob Barker.  Don’t you dare say Drew Carey.  He needs to stick to Whose Line Is It Anyway, but that is neither here nor there.

The board was set up with sheets of paper tacked to the bottom of the board with denominations to represent each section that the pucks could fall in.  The tournament style gameplay rendered three in the final round where the victorious scored the highest possible score, 200 points.  It was incredible and possibly the most fun I have ever had at work to date.  As soon as I get the video from my phone to transfer to the internet I will gladly post the video for your viewing pleasure.

Pinto?

I was off work the past couple of days and now I am starting my five day stretch.  My two days off were somewhat disappointing, however.  Friday was supposed to be the day that I became not just your typical classic car owner, but a 1972 Ford Pinto Sprint owner.  This car was amazing, and rare!    He only wanted $3400 for it and it was worth that and much more.  Unfortunately, the owner sold the car before I could pick it up.  He told me that he would hold the car until Friday but that was a joke.  Luckily I called before I drove five and a half hours to pick up the car.

It wasn’t all bad though that he sold the car.  I had just run into a semi large sum of money, and it seems that every time I run into some money, I spend it as fast as possible.  I was hoping to finance this car but was prepared to pay cash for it.  Well, like everything else in life right now, things didn’t work out as planned.  I couldn’t get a bank to work with me on this, even with a cosigner.  Anyway, I was really anxious to “lose” my sum of money even though I would have absolutely loved the purchase I made with it.  The search continues…

Social Slacker

I think that I am losing my social skills slowly from day to day.  When I was in college, I remember talking to many different people everyday.  From school to work at Wal-mart to the grocery store, I was socializing with anyone and everyone.  Since my college days are over now, I feel that my social life is sliding between my fingertips.  I live by myself in an apartment complex and I don’t talk to more that a handful of people in a given day.  Maybe it’s just me but I feel that the kids in the complex are more friendly than the adults are because they are the only ones that ever talk to me.  Probably because they think I am cool. 

I certainly can’t talk to women.  The other day I was sitting at Bruno’s in West Lafayette with a bunch close buds when unexpectedly a group of three chicks walk in and are sat at the table next to ours.  Maybe if I offer to pick up their tab they will take my number.  I discreetly called the waitress over and proposed my offer, and she kindly obliged.  The end of the dinner neared and the check was brought to me.  After I gave my card to the waitress, she ran it and it returned “DECLINED.”

“What the…”

I had just gotten paid and there was several hundred dollars in my account.  About a half mile away was the nearest ATM atop a steep hill.  I ran like the wind, withdrew $40 and fled back as fast as possible.  To this day, I have no idea why my card was declined.  Unfortunately, by this time the waitress had already received payment for the hot chicks’ dinner even after I urged her to wait for me.

I was left in shambles, ashamed of my own defeat.  The waitress had told me to talk to the girls because they were about to leave, but I was not going to face these people after what I had done.  The gig was up and I swallowed my pride and introduced myself.  They were very cordial and honored that I would do such a thing but nonetheless, they laughed. 

In the end, I had given $40 to the waitress before she told me that they had already paid for their meal and I was too distracted by the chicks to realize that I hadn’t gotten the money back.  I guess the moral of the story is try to minimize the number of times you are a loser in one night.  And certainly don’t get caught paying for some chick’s dinner even after they have already paid.

It’s Been a While…

Well, it’s been a long time since I have taken the time to post a comment here on my page.   I just started a new job about 5 months ago, and I have a lot of down time.  So what better way to use my time than to do what I love and that is to write on my blog!

The only thing that I regret about not writing in the past year or so is that I missed so much.  I like to write because when I go back and read my old posts I get to view a snapshot of my thoughts during various points in my life.  Unfortunately, the past year has been a remarkable year littered with life changing events.  I graduated college in May of 2001.  Of course this was not only the culmination of my hard work as a student but it marked the end of my reign as president of the student body, and I got the privilege of speaking at my graduation.  During that summer, I had my first big break up from a year and a half long relationship, which ultimately led to the purchase of my first motorcycle.  Honda VTX 1300 C.  Great motorcycle!! I got the opportunity to work at my favorite music store, Sound of Music, for the Christmas season.  This just reaffirmed my desire to own my own business one day, especially a music store.  I moved out of my parents house, FINALLY!  Lastly, I started a new career with the Indiana Gaming Commission.  I actually graduted an abbreviated version of the police academy which is sort of my dream but this job hasn’t met the par that I have set for my law enforcement potential.

These are just a few of the significant events that have occurred in the past year or so that I have missed out of, but as I think about it, I would have missed out on a lot because I spend so much time writing.  I think that this new job, though, caters to my desire to write since I have so much down time.  As a matter of fact, it is 9:07 in the morning and I have been here since 6:00, and I have done nothing but surf the internet all morning.

Anyway, I will talk to you soon!!