I have to say that even in this "down" week of sports on TV due to the quiet media week for the Super Bowl & the NHL All-Star break I have to say there is plenty to keep me occupied. First off I never realized how much I would actually get sucked into the Winter X-Games. (e:metalpeter) is on to something on that one, although I can go to the next time over and see a bunch of crazy necks drive around on their snowmobiles, it does take it to another level. My favorites have been the ski races. There is just only so much half-pipe tricks that I can take with snowboarders and other mid air flip stuff.

Now since I have been kind of hiding since Friday night due to me taking a spill when I went out to see a band it lead me to just stay home and watch late night sports on TV. So yea I just didn't want to deal with the outside world so I stayed home and enjoyed myself on the couch. The other event was the Australian Open, which is always a good time. Unless that is if you got caught in the middle of that Bosnian/Serb fight last week...

I've been meaning to respond to (e:jason) 's post

But I think this is going to be a little longer and/or more personal so at some level I would like to have it easily accessible to me so I could read it at some point for my own personal use.

Yea I hear you with being an isolated outsider. I had my one married w/kid friend's wife attempt to set me up with anyone she worked with just so we could "go out as 2 couples." For a while I was seeing their co-worker, but I broke it off for my own reasons after I realized that she may have been trying to really emulate their relationship, if you know what I mean.

At times I delude myself into thinking that I should have stayed married. This comes from the cold hard fact that my living situation and just how I am personality wise in this dating pool of WNY just dooms me to being alone. Yea I have realized that I could just play the game and "find someone" to put up with my bullshit, but in the end I just realize that I would just be using them as a prop for other people to appear that I'm doing the "family" thing or even worse just a warm body for sex. Plus when I deal with people who have money problems I realize what a "cinder block around your neck" it can be if you're with or even married to someone that brings the trouble with the business of living problems to your life. Then I realize how being alone isn't so bad after all.

Would I love to be with someone that I am attracted to and can love? Of course I would as it is one of our basic needs of being human. It's just that for the most part I have just thrown in the towel, or at least for as long as I live in WNY. With a decade of dealing with the demographics and having my chances diminish with every year I get older, I just have had it with doing things via "going through the motions of the mating dance." Heck with Feb 14th coming around I even am planning on getting out of Dodge that weekend. Seriously I don't even want to be around here when love is in the air. For me I would rather be lonely loser somewhere else where no one knows me ;-)

Yea, since it was snowing for the most part I just spent the majority of the weekend at home. So other than making a mess of the house cooking I watched quite a bit of TV. There are two women that I came across that just sucked me right in from the first moment I was flipping through the channels. The totally weird unexpected part of this whole experience is that these women are actually my age & not the latest 23 year old flavor of the month hottie from Hollywood.

1. Rhonda Mitra

I just can't stop watching Doomsday as it has been on heavy rotation on skinaMAX. A part of you thinks that it is ridiculous shot'em up fiery action film, but the movie gives you enough other niblets that you just go along for the ride. But back to her, yea, a ripped athletic looking chick or at least when she filmed this right before she shot Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. All I can say is WOW, it has been quite a long time since I was sucked in by some actress.

2. Chelsea Handler

I never saw her show Chelsea Lately until this weekend. She's pretty darn funny to say the least. Yea she's kind of a sexy Joan Rivers but can't help not to laugh when she's talking trash about other celebs. I'll defiantly be DVRing it during the week.

Yea I heard that (WIKIPEDIA - Ricardo Montalbán) passed away yesterday. Here's a few of my favorite clips in how I remember him.

Fine Corinthian Leather



Da Plane, Da Plane!!!



KAHN !!!! sort of...

Yea, you think you're going to Charlotte & you end up doing the polar bear swim. One of my earliest memories is a crash in D.C.

Hopefully these people got out in time before it sank.

You have about 10 minutes max in that kind of water temperature on a day like today??? Yikes!

Hope everyone got out on those ferry's before it sunk.

I've just realized that I just watched the recent Trifecta of British apocalyptic movie offerings recently.

V For Vendetta
Doomsday
Children of Men

Are the premium cable channels trying to tell me something?

Shitygroup may be more after it falls below $5 a share.

Now we are going to have TARP II since the first one didn't work? All I can say is that if you're buying stocks these days you better be on the 2035 Plan, since that is the year that you are going to have to sell them to get even. What do you think is going to happen to the economy when in a year or so we our National Debt equals our GDP? Yikes!

Yea it looks like we are going to need it to get anywhere South or West.

Although it's been a vision of mine that we are going to see Civil Unrest this year due to the economy and taxes I didn't think it would be so close to Buffalo so soon. I remember 1997 and that was no Joke. What is scary this time around is that the State is totally broke & they need every penny they can get. Also Patterson wasn't elected and who says he will seek office again, so he may just pull the "nuclear option" which he may feel is the right thing to do in his mind with no re-election consequences.

I just wonder if they pull another 90 blockade, if anything will happen at the Casino?

But yea, this is why we need another route out of here. What are you going to do if I-90 is gone? Go through Canada? In the 90's when Quebec had Oka going on, they ended up building a highway around the reserve without any environmental studies or any red tape just due to a road that went through the native territory that was shutdown for over a year during the dispute. Is that the reason why the started the 219 project, since they knew this day would come again?

It's something that I haven't done for a while. In years past I have done it just to try to alleviate a case of seasonal affective disorder. Nothing lifts the spirits in the cold freezing dark Buffalo winter than coming out of a tanning place after a session complete with a bit of sweat. The way I figure I am not getting any vitamin D when I'm in my pod at work during the 7 hours of overcast daylight we do get. That's why I have a light box sunlamp at my desk. Plus with some wacky skin stuff I do get in the winter I've read that some UV radiation does some good actually.

Plus I think (e:metalpeter) is right it does "But it could make you feel better and hotter..." I remember when I first hooked up with my Ex, we were in some "no-tel motel" over in Canada by the "places" over on the Lane. Well the room featured mirrors on the walls and thinking back I did feel pretty hot in comparison to her as she's kind of an albino in the sense that she has no color & burns extremely easily and I did tan kind of regularly back then.

I had a very good 2008 and to be honest there is a part of me that is afraid that this year won't stand up to last year. I don't know what motivates women, but for guys the negative is more of a motivator that positive reassurance. I guess it comes down to sports and the "I'll show your ass" mentality that we learn early on in life when the other team runs smack or someone criticizes you. Just look at the NFL playoffs the top 4 top awarded people are out golfing & the two most badgered are playing next weekend. Heck I think of the bowl games only UB didn't cover the spread as an underdog or win outright.

Anyway I have a ton of work to do this year. As I was looking back the only things that would have made a great year into a stellar year would have been me getting married &/or having a kid.

Here is a list of things to do:

1. Get mentally healthy

2. Go to a chiropractor

3. Start being more assertive & take more risks in social situations

4. Go tanning at least once a week to keep my current color going.

5. Work some OT to continue building savings

6. Lose 10 pounds to get back to my "ideal" weight

7. Enter into a healthy relationship some some woman
Simple enough right? Well the OT is not guaranteed, I know you can't bank on something that is out of your control, but from the indication I got today, we may be in for a repeat of last year since I didn't get settled yet back into the job today when the question was popped!