(Cue Oasis' "Roll With It")

Yeah, so I'm sort of hung over this morning. I hate the feeling. Yesterday when I got home from work I turned on my new PC (the one whose first motherboard failed, causing me grief) and the damn thing wouldn't start up. AGAIN. sigh....

Of course, me being me, it really put a damper on my spirits (this is the diplomatic way of saying I shouted and cursed over it, hands shaking). I really don't want to have to re-build the damned thing but there isn't much choice. NewEgg is great about returns, and they are waiving a bunch of fees and shit so I don't go all Chernobyl 2.0.

So I went to my weekly Gordon's trip with Jerry, and had a nice mini-bender. I don't really do that anymore, but last night was a special occasion. I think I only spent $17 which is awesome. Sam Adams Winter Lager is great out of the tap. I managed to make it home okay. The Sabres lost in OT, but I was too busy talking to some Union employees about the County Executive race to pay much attention to the game.

By the way, the union folks I talked to were cool. They want me to vote for Keane, because, you know, he's a Democratic, and he's for the people. Democratic For The People. Hmm. I like that, a take on the REM album title. Anyway, I respect the proletariat, but they say that they "want to give up NOTHING" in negotiations, which is sort of not how negotiations work. There comes a time when you either have to be realistic, or you're all going to be out of a job (just ask Delphi).

I hate how politicians here frame things - they think of people and businesses strictly as tax revenue. Sam Hoyt does this often. How much can we squeeze out of them? You see, we have recently had NEGATIVE private sector growth, to go along with our brain drain and population loss, a slow bleed that is going to kill us. Of course, last year we have done better, with a private sector growth rate of 0.1 percent. Yes you are reading that correctly.

We all want great stable jobs with great benefits, but we don't want the business activity here to generate those things. Elect a Democratic to codify private sector fisting. Business is the devil. I guess that's fine, if you want to struggle for another 50 years, or if you have a cushy Public sector job and don't give a shit. I want Buffalo to flourish and prosper. I don't want another union crony. Don't get me wrong, Unions are important, businesses aren't always going to do the right thing on principle, but does anyone else see that Union people have a seriously vested interest in their company being healthy and successful? The message I receive is that they don't give a shit as long as they get their fat pay and benefits.

Sorry to be so long winded. I guess I don't care if it's a (D) or an (R) as long as we move past the cronyism and hand-wringing, and start to get serious about administering CPR to Erie County and Buffalo.

As for the hangover, I'll get over it. Adversity builds character, and I know I could use a good slap now and then. People, I <3 you all.

How was your weekend, peeps? I hope you all had a good time. Especially those on programmer retreats. Four women, haha. That's about right. I will say though, I will say......I have "dated" a pretty good looking female programmer. It didn't work out, but at least I know there are legit dork girls out there. Fun times.

Speaking of women, I'm compelled to produce a comment to e:Ajay's latest:

The confidence/arrogance thing leads us back to exactly what I referred to with my little fictional character with the right look, car, etc, and whatnot. Things, as they usually do, come full circle. What people say they want, and what they actually respond to, are not always the same, and people are easily fooled, which easily explains one of the reasons why it has become cliche to say "Why are there no good men?"

e:Ajay is exactly right (with age and experience comes wisdom) in that a confident man does not need to broadcast his awesomeness to the world, but somehow an arrogant SOB who does broadcast it will still often be confused for the confident man. It is not just about the material things (which if we're honest, are always important to some extent and do play a role), but what those things represent, and how his ego is projected. I can't say I fault you for this ladies, because the difference is subtle at first. Eventually, people become who they are.

Misandry, while politically correct and socially acceptable, is also about as much of a turn on as rotten foot smell, but hey that never really stops anyone.

A little story for you guys. On Friday we went out (a friend came from Philly to visit) and my best buddy brought one of his women along. Nice girl. She brought some friends along, who proceeded to drink up a nice big bill, but weren't so willing to pay for what they drank.

Now, there are a few ways to handle it. You can demand they pay for what they consumed, which results in being labeled cheapskate, regardless if you even know the people or not. You can just pay the big bar tab, but then you are an enabler and a first class chump, although you look like a "nice" guy.

If you're curious, one alternate way is to just pay over double what you owe, and make your buddy pay the rest. Morally correct? I really don't know. The whole situation was freaking weird. What would you have done?

Oh yeah, e:Ajay - way to go out there in SF!!

I continue to ruin my future political ambitions with every journal I write. But, hey, I really wasn't too sure what to call this post, but I wanted to run with the topic since people seem to be interested.

I really won't get into the dynamic of the relationship between my friend and said hottie in too much detail, and I can't be the judge of whether or not he's getting "value" out of the relationship. What I will say though, is that if it were MEEEEEEE...........I probably would bail. But, hey, what do I know, his results are a lot better than mine. I am not really willing to put up with BS anymore (which becomes offensive to people sometimes who aren't used to it), and I'm alright with saying goodbye.

I haven't spoken with him to determine exactly how he feels about it, but I can only imagine he wasn't too happy about it. I at least helped absorb some of the pain. I know I wasn't going to pay for those drinks in full, but right or wrong, if you make a stink the jerk becomes you, instead of the entitled birds who should be the target.

See, I have no problem being nice and offering a drink to someone. The problem is that some people think of it the wrong way. They think of it as, how can I get drunk on this bastard's dime? This attitude is fairly rampant in certain circles. It is an entitlement, not a nice gesture to appreciate. This makes me turn really, really sour. I don't think people should be treated that way. I can tell you, when a chick buys me a drink it is a huge shock, and my reaction is always positive and grateful.

It's almost like people have forgotten how to do something good for someone else. They expect some kind of down payment first. they expect to get one over on someone, and they're okay with it. That's not the way I want to go through life....how about you?

Be thankful, don't take it for granted. Drink it up like a frothy orange bottle of Spa....errr, some booze that someone besides me likes.

Gramma said life would have ups and downs. Kinda tougher to deal with when you're wearing ankle weights. Just got some news and it looks like some worries of mine are going to fade.

And, before anyone thinks I'm going all soft and mushy, fuck the golddiggers.

Thank you for your support.

Bring me a bottle of whiskey when you pick me up. Por favor.

Even though I've been rather anxious lately, there is always something that comes to your attention that makes you realize your problems aren't that bad after all.

A friend of mine who plays basketball in England is in serious doo-doo. He got into a car accident and he is now unconscious. Signs are good so far, and there is reason for cautious optimism, but it is still troubling. It was only maybe a couple of months ago he was here with us at Faherty's having drinks, me congratulating him over his championship season (btw - don't ever date a girl whose best friend is a bartender at your favorite bar - you lose no matter what).

See, when you think of a pro athlete, many things come to mind, not all of them good. Arrogant. Womanizer. Full of his own shit. Brian is a solid guy, nothing like that, and sometimes I wonder how it could happen to him instead of me. I've been rotten at times. I deserve it a lot more than he does. He's laid up, and I just have certain monetary issues to deal with.

So, if you're faithful, or even if you're not, send out some good vibes to my friend Brian, who is in England right now battling.

First of all, I want to say "You're welcome" to e:Twisted, and I'm glad you went to see Of Montreal and had a good time. I haven't seen a live show since Band of Horses a couple of months ago.

One thing I didn't get credit for was the phrase "dong count" referenced in Lilho's latest entry.

Of course, "dong count" was used in one of my more satisfying journal entries a couple of years ago concerning types of "Nice Girls" :

If you read the comments in that post, you probably noticed that e:Twisted mentions how we should tally up the dong counts instead of our school loans. Things, as they usually do, have come full circle.

I would tell you my number, but I have to pump it through the formula that enhances my studitude first. It is being run through the UB supercomputer right now. I'll get back to you.

Going back to the musical theme - I have been entertained by The Hives lately. SPIN magazine likes them, and this time I think they have decent judgment. Frankly I'm weary of the mopey, effeminate, delicate, sensitive guy type of music that has been so popular lately. I have been starving for a more base, fun style of rock and The Hives deliver in spades. I'm glad I bought Veni Vidi Vicious back in 2000. Of course, the complaint is that many of their songs sound the same, and they do, but at this time it really works for me. I would rattle off the rest of what I'm listening to, but I'll save that for another time.

Music doesn't have to be so damned moody all the time. I need (demand) variety in my intake. If I hear one more pseudo-male hipster singer-songwriter crooning about chicks I think I'll go ape-caca. Women don't really respect pussies anyway, unless they are famous musicians. Plus it is hard for me to believe that The Hives are actually Swedish, and I won't lie, there is a little bit of ethnic pride coming into play. I love how they don't take themselves too seriously. If there is one rock band I would want to see live at this time, it is probably The Hives. We missed them, unfortunately, as they were in Toronto in early October, but will not be back around until February or March.

I might as well chip in.....well....I'm not a noob, but I'm not a man-whore either. I've tended to always have cycles of having a girlfriend, then going through a period of self-pity and self-doubt, overcoming it, then going in for more punishment. We aren't as brilliant a species as we think, really.

I'm not the kind for a random hookup with a stranger. Sorry, just not my thing. Random hookup with someone I know, now that's different. I also am not someone who makes it a goal to see how many vag's I can pound. You will not hear me refer to women as "fresh tail" or something like that. I do not think of women in terms of how many of them I can fuck before I die.

I guess you can attribute part of that to the fact that I'm sort of introverted and standoffish. I don't go out of my way to be sociable and meet new girls. It just doesn't seem important to me, and hasn't for a few years now. I've always had something bigger and more important looming, which makes it tough for me to be bothered. Plus, there's that whole thing of me not being boyfriend material. Go ahead and ask around, none of the ex's are fighting with each other to win me back. There are still things to be accomplished.

Wow, I can tell I'm already talking about things in terms of relationships, instead of who I want to fuck. If I'm going to have a girl around, I want something more than a pincushion. I've done alright for myself, don't get me wrong, but I probably could have done a lot better if I had taken advantage of all my opportunities. Mark it down to not giving a shit one way or another. Is something wrong with me?

I thought it was just happening here! Not so!



Maybe someday I will have a protected status! Probably not. Even when it's not the patriarchy, it will still be the patriarchy, according to the article. Too bad.

You know, if push came to shove, I don't think I would mind being Mr. Mom, just as long as I got a little sports car restoration project to work with on the side.

Ah, a new category. Hello!

e:Joshua is gone for the week, and that means that I have to feed myself. Normally, I don't do very well alone. I don't know what sautee means (rough guess: heat in pan w/oil?) or how to make pancakes, but to my surprise Yahoo had a link to a page of a "week full of EASY recipes" - Hallelujah!

Smiling because I had hope I wouldn't be eating PB & J for a week, I flipped over to Monday. What are you eating today, Jason? Stir-Fried Noodles and Pork. Cool, I know how to put some oil in the pan and heat some shit up. I looked at the recipe and saw SIXTEEN, count em, SIXTEEN ingredients. No lie.

What are chuka soba noodles? Can I get slivered ginger at Willies? Shiso leaves? Mung bean? When they say match stick, do they really mean match stick? What kind of chilis? I'm more of a six ingredient guy, including water and butter/oil.

Needless to say I clicked over here instead of reading the instructions. My hands are still shaking. I'm pretty sure booze can sustain me, at least until I can get some canned soup and some easy mac. Bon appetit!