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Mrmike's Journal

mrmike
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02/03/2009 14:08 #47619

She's just not that into you.
Category: miscellany
Had a great conversation the other day with a woman close to my own age and for a second or so, I had room for optimism. She's a nurse and told me to check back with her Monday when she got her schedule for the next month. She'd be able to figure out when we could get together for the first time.

I called and got a "have to go" response, which was fairly understandable. Not every employer is cool about that stuff, she might have some actual important thing that needed done. I felt bad because I caught her at a potentially bad time. So, after unnecessarily beating myself up, I wrote an apology for the intrusion.

It's gone unanswered. Left a message, gone unanswered. Got a feeling I should just leave it there. Did I screw that up before it even got off the ground? Or should I just shut up and be patient.

Stuff like that can color your whole day.
hodown - 02/03/09 16:19
Oh ok one message is good. Then you totally did the right thing. If she doen't call back though- bad news..
mrmike - 02/03/09 16:10
It was actually one, but I see your point. I called thinking too much time was slipping by and I didn't want to appear like I didn't care.
hodown - 02/03/09 15:56
I'm going to say the two message apology is a bit too much. I say this coming from a woman's perspective. Next time just wait for her to call you back. If she doesn't try one more time, then just call it a wash.
theli - 02/03/09 15:52
There's also some amount of chance that she's just testing you. Thinking that the other person isn't really serious about dating unless they call back enough times.

Yeah, doesn't make that much sense to me either. If there's no apparent interest at all from a person, then why waste time on them? Meh.

Do some people give out their number because calls from people they're not interested in make them feel better about themselves? Maybe.
tinypliny - 02/03/09 14:46
Maybe she is really busy... So she will get back to you! Good Luck!!
tinypliny - 02/03/09 14:45
I write apologies left, right and center. It makes me feel better. So you know what, if she is graceless enough to take offence at this very sweet gesture, well, then its her problem, not yours! Apologies + honesty -> ROCK BIG TIME!

01/31/2009 15:36 #47584

The dreaded 25.
Category: random
I don't know why this stuff can permeate you so, except for the fact I'm a sucker for a pretty face and (e:imk2) tagged me and well, you know. So, just what you weren't waiting for:


1. I still dream about what life would have been like had my brothers been born without their disabilities.

2. I know a lot about a lot of things, just none of it is terrifically financially rewarding.

3. Despite being able to professionally fake sincerity, I am pretty socially inept.

4. I 've spent far too long worrying about what other people might be thinking. That only made me unhappy and it took way too long to get comfortable in my own skin.

5. I used to read way too much, now I worry that I'm not reading enough.

6. I liked "old man" bars long before I started becoming one.

7. I want to shave my beard off, but I'm afraid of what my chin might look like after 20 years (and that there is still just one there).

8. Been working since I was 15 and finally got a job that I like.

9. Bright eyes and a killer smile will make me stop in my tracks, although I sometimes wish I was twenty pounds lighter and 6 to 7 years younger.

10. I used to put stock in retail therapy, but the euphoria is quick to end and ultimately didn't make me happy in the first place.

11. I'm proud that I dealt with an illness and kicked it on my own. Not that there wasn't help available, but my inner control freak wanted to smack Bell's Palsy around on my terms.

12. MRIs made me realize that I'm a bit claustraphobic.

13. I know the difference between red and white wine glasses, but still prefer a well-poured good beer.

14. I listen to all kinds of music all but there is a regular cadre of people I regularly gravitate back to.

15. I write for a living so I know Number 14 ended grammatically incorrectly, so shaddup.

16. I am enticed and afraid of heights at the same time.

17. I want to see and experience more of everything instead of worrying about the petty shit that keeps me back.

18. I want everybody who gave my former spouse and I shit for the end of our marriage to fuck off already. She never deserved it and I might have, but not for that

19. I love motorcycles but I think my skills are best left to a Vespa instead of a Harley.

20. I still fantasize/dream.

21. I miss my Dad-in-law because he was such an unapologetic booster. He was one of those types where five minutes into your first conversation with him he'd be looking for "Ways to help you shine."

22. I'm too self conscious to dance very well.

23. I drink and I mellow. Most irish guys get more cantankerous. Not me, I just chill and enjoy the arguments among the other drinkers. Anything else is too much work.

24. I'm pretty proud of the paths my kids are on. They have the ability to make me nuts, but I think they are on the right road. I like to think I had something to do with that.

25. I make mistakes, lots of them, in glorious fashion, yet the world keeps turning.
theecarey - 02/06/09 13:48
  1. 21. ..He was one of those types where five minutes into your first conversation with him he'd be looking for "Ways to help you shine."

I love people like that, and I aspire to be someone that can do that.
mrmike - 01/31/09 18:21
nah, i've trimmed it pretty close before
metalpeter - 01/31/09 16:25
Well I posted a comment on the other people who did their 25's so I'll ad one thing to yours. I think it was #7 about shaving the beard. I wonder if after all the time you have had it if you shaved it if it would look like you still had one. Sometimes do to what ever like the sun and stuff in the air our skin changes color and so the stuff under the hair might look different. I'm not saying that it would, but I know someone who shaved the mustache and that part still kinda looks like it is there.

01/29/2009 15:12 #47563

How to turn the Media to Jelly
Category: work
Baby photos of cute animals. Works like a charm.

image

A nineteen day old baby giraffe named Melia charmed the socks of all three tv news organizations and our daily periodical. At a young age, she was walking within an hour of birth and was quite taken with the attention from the tv cameras.

It's a good day when you can tell your boss that you are helping the Giraffes meet the media with a straight face and be taken seriously.
hodown - 01/29/09 17:29
She is so cute!
mrmike - 01/29/09 16:16
Not everything here can be 6'2 and charming. I have enough work in getting the 6'2 part down. Wait till the next baby unveiling, that will make the crustiest, hardened observer melt with "Awww."
james - 01/29/09 15:58
If only you had a set of dwarven animals, you would have a constant supply of baby media charmers.

01/28/2009 09:13 #47539

Semi-Intelligent Design
Category: humor (i hope)
image

A little girl asked her mother: 'How did the human race appear?'The mother answered, 'God made Adam and Eve;they had children; and so was all mankind made.'Two days later the girl asked her father the same question. The father answered, 'Many years ago there were monkeys from which the human race evolved.'The confused girl returned to her mother and said,'Mum, how is it possible that you told me the human race was created by God, and Dad said they developed from monkeys?'The mother answered, 'Well, Dear, it is very simple. I told you about my side of the family, and your father told you about his.'


theecarey - 01/30/09 19:54
hahahahaha

01/23/2009 11:53 #47499

Inaugural Afterglow & other oddities
Category: random
So, went with the ex-wife and kids to the inauguration. We had talked, given the kids racial makeup that it would be a good thing for them to see it all upclose. It should be noted that the ex has an aunt who lives in a spacious brownstone in the Dupont Circle area of DC which made this whole notion feasible. I was a little concerned about crowds. The girls are starting to get tough as far as that is concerned, but number one son at ten is still learning. But we made the arrangments with the aunt (who was positively giddy at our whirlwind tour) and Monday morning, off we went.

After caffinating at Spot, we headed into the snow where for the next seven hours, I kept wondering about the true level of brilliance to this whole concept. We took the Pennsylvania Turnpike and ran into a hour's delay for an accident there that involved a flamed out tractor trailer. Got on 270 headed toward dc to see one of the most dramatic accident scenes I've ever witnessed. Picture Delaware from Gates Circle through the S curve covered in emergency vehicles. It's snowing, blowing, a dark curvey highway. I'm driving with my entire body at that point. We made it to DC by 8, ecstatic that temps were in the 30s, we were done driving and that my uncle in law bought me beer.

Tuesday was one for the ages. Setting the candidate aside for a second, the atmosphere was one I think anybody could appreciate. We didn't get crazy and with 240,000 ticket holders, there was no point in trying for proximity. We got a map from that morning's Washington post and hiked down 16th street, where it wasn't too long before you ran into the curbside capitalists. I purchased a button for the occasion. 16th does run into the Mall, but it was a ticketed area, so we went up I street which had so many vendors it was Obamastock. Given the amount of people, everybody was very nice, celebratory. Without trying we wound up moving past St. Johns Church about an hour after the Presidental prayer service finished. Instead of following the throngs, we walked down 19th street, which send you past the Dept of Interior building (who decorates?) and down toward the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool area. For the unitiated, this places you just on the other side of the Washington Monument. We arrived there about 11:45 and found a ridge overlooking the reflecting pool masses and their portapottys.

Got there and saw the speech (kind of ordinary), enjoyed Aretha and her hat for the ages. With the staggered sound system, the delay sounded like she had her own backup singers. What they don't show you on tv is instances like when that god-awful poem was read, our section disappated. Kids were chilly so we headed out.

Watched a little tv back out the house and the network tv coverage pretty much sucked univerally. CNN was too absorbed in their digital mosaic of "The Moment" and their satelite shots. MSNBC was too up the new President's tuckus to be of any use and FOX was still trying to extricate itself from the former President's. DC does have its own news channel (not beholding to any cable company) that actually was pretty useful. When there was nothing to say, they did the amazing thing and shut up Kids were whipped but my uncle and I took a stroll down to see the first part of the parade (largely so I could say I did--as after the president goes by, luster goes down hill in a hurry). I saw the new ride, nice car and called it a day. I have some pictures on my facebook page, but I won't repeat them here as they aren't that great.

What stuck with me was the overall vibe in the city. DC isn't as intense as New York, but it does have its own mindset. There are definitely two towns in one. The drive home was problem free. It was sunny, roads were clear, no troubles till we got to Buffalo where everything turned grey & depressing looking.

I think I'm done now, but it was a good thing for the kids to see
libertad - 01/28/09 13:59
It just struck me that maybe I have crossed paths with your ex many times in the Elmwood area. Does she have glasses and a contagious smile by any chance?
metalpeter - 01/23/09 19:38
even with the craziness of the drive there it sounds like a good time. I think there is something to be said for seeing History live and in person.
tinypliny - 01/23/09 16:59
That's a nice reality-check personal account. :) I would have loved it if my parents had taken me to a republic day parade back home! (btw, they never did but we snuck out to the parade ourselves and got into trouble. hee hee)
vincent - 01/23/09 14:09
That PA Turnpike drive is always an adventure, No real shoulders to speak of, it kind of makes me wonder how it got an interstate designation with the whole thing being built upon an old railroad. I've always found I-270 to be the most annoying part of that drive, especially with that hairpin turn off of the PA Turnpike though that strip of gas stations.

Glad you & the kids had a good time.