Downside & Upside

Two weeks ago as I was about to leave the bank I happened to run into a former co-worker and one time crush from the second place that I worked following completion of College. She seemed really happy to see me and all, which I found odd, seeing as I had not seen or heard from her in close to six years, during my time as her co-worker she would flirt with me on a daily basis whenever she came over to my work area while on her way to and from the snack bar. I did not think much of it as I knew that she already had a boyfriend, and women like that were what I termed as being ‘Off Limits’ to single guys like myself. The last thing I needed was to have some jealous boyfriend hunting me down to do some serious bodily harm. However, she was good on the eyes, the type that would make you find new ways to look at her as he passed by while not letting on that you were looking. Then I noticed some strange things that she was doing, for starters she was chasing after one of the guys that worked in my area; apparently she and her boyfriend had a on again off again type relationship.

Then there was the rumor and confirmation that she had hooked up with a friend of mine that worked in the same area with her.

Soon her flirting turned into pestering about why I had not asked her out as yet? What was I waiting for? So one day out of the blue, before she could go into her flirt routine I asked her out and much to my surprise she accepted. Well needless to say, the date never came off, she wound up canceling on me four times in a row; three of those times she called ahead to cancel, on the fourth occasion I was stood up and left standing in the rain outside of a cinema, because I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. Not too long after that I resigned from the job and went elsewhere. When I ran into her at the bank that was the first time I had seen or talked to her in a long time. After the usual pleasantries she reminded me that she still owed me a date from all those years ago; I told her it was no big deal and tried to leave. But she pleaded so I accepted, we had agreed to meet the following Friday to check out a movie and get something to eat afterwards.

For most of the week leading up to the date I had considered canceling the date, but I figured that I would once again give her the benefit of the doubt. When Friday finally rolled around my mood was one of anxiety as to if she would be there or if she would cancel on me yet again. I showed up relatively close to the time we agreed to meet and made my way to the food court, whatever anxiety and uneasiness I had been feeling seemed to drop off of my body as I saw her sitting by herself at one of the tables. Before I could even get within range of her my cell phone went off, it was her. As I was about to tell her to turn around she proceeded to tell me that something came up at home and that she would have to cancel once again. This was puzzling? Why was she telling me this? The answer soon revealed itself, it came in the form of another guy who took a seat next to her. Apparently she had made a date with some other guy, and waited till the last minute to cancel on me, how do you like that b******t?

I let her go on with her apologies and stuff, before I let her know that I was there looking directly at her and the other guy. She tried to apologize and wanted to explain, but I was not in the mood to hear any of it, after hanging up on her I turned off my phone and went straight home. For the remainder of the evening I was not in the best of moods, for the most part I felt so stupid for agreeing to go out with her again. I should have known that she would have done the same thing again, in the six years since I last saw her she has remained the same, if not gotten a whole lot worse in how she treats guys. I remember seeing her run after a guy that was ignoring her and treating her like crap, while ignoring guys that had been treating her with nothing but respect and courtesy. Not me and that woman ever again, never again will I allow that to happen.

For a while I was just about ready to give up on the women of my country, as it was beginning to seem as though I would not have a prayer in the world of getting the attention of the decent ones. Instead I seem to draw the odd, crazy, off tilter, semi-insane ones; why can’t they just ignore me like the normal rational ones do? Does the stealth effect wear off whenever they are around?
As Saturday rolled on I found something that helped to improve my mood, I had come across it earlier in the week while surfing around on the net. It was posted online as an essay/rant from a student attending The Wharton School of Business. Whoever the author may be, I for one am grateful for this essay as it talks about everything that guys like me have to go through from time to time. Here it is:

“Ode to the Nice Guys

This rant was written for the Wharton Undergraduate Journal
This is a tribute to the nice guys. The nice guys that finish last, that never become more than friends, that endure hours of whining and bitching about what assholes guys are, while disproving the very point. This is dedicated to those guys who always provide a shoulder to lean on but restrain themselves to tentative hugs, those guys who hold open doors and give reassuring pats on the back and sit patiently outside the changing room at department stores. This is in honor of the guys that obligingly reiterate how cute/beautiful/smart/funny/sexy their female friends are at the appropriate moment, because they know most girls need that litany of support. This is in honor of the guys with open minds, with laid-back attitudes, with honest concern. This is in honor of the guys who respect a girl’s every facet, from her privacy to her theology to her clothing style.
This is for the guys who escort their drunk, bewildered female friends back from parties and never take advantage once they’re at her door, for the guys who accompany girls to bars as buffers against the rest of the creepy male population, for the guys who know a girl is fishing for compliments but give them out anyway, for the guys who always play by the rules in a game where the rules favor cheaters, for the guys who are accredited as boyfriend material but somehow don’t end up being boyfriends, for all the nice guys who are overlooked, underestimated, and unappreciated, for all the nice guys who are manipulated, misled, and unjustly abandoned, this is for you.
This is for that time she left 40 urgent messages on your cell phone, and when you called her back, she spent three hours painstakingly dissecting two sentences her boyfriend said to her over dinner. And even though you thought her boyfriend was a chump and a jerk, you assured her that it was all ok and she shouldn’t worry about it. This is for that time she interrupted the best killing spree you’d ever orchestrated in GTA3 to rant about a rumor that romantically linked her and the guy she thinks is the most repulsive person in the world. And even though you thought it was immature and you had nothing against the guy, you paused the game for two hours and helped her concoct a counter-rumor to spread around the floor. This is also for that time she didn’t have a date, so after numerous vows that there was nothing “serious” between the two of you, she dragged you to a party where you knew nobody, the beer was awful, and she flirted shamelessly with you, justifying each fit of reckless teasing by announcing to everyone: “oh, but we’re just friends!” And even though you were invited purely as a symbolic warm body for her ego, you went anyways. Because you’re nice like that.
The nice guys don’t often get credit where credit is due. And perhaps more disturbing, the nice guys don’t seem to get laid as often as they should. And I wish I could logically explain this trend, but I can’t. From what I have observed on campus and what I have learned from talking to friends at other schools and in the workplace, the only conclusion I can form is that many girls are just illogical, manipulative bitches. Many of them claim they just want to date a nice guy, but when presented with such a specimen, they say irrational, confusing things such as “oh, he’s too nice to date” or “he would be a good boyfriend but he’s not for me” or “he already puts up with so much from me, I couldn’t possibly ask him out!” or the most frustrating of all: “no, it would ruin our friendship.” Yet, they continue to lament the lack of datable men in the world, and they expect their too-nice-to-date male friends to sympathize and apologize for the men that are jerks. Sorry, guys, girls like that are beyond my ability to fathom. I can’t figure out why the connection breaks down between what they say (I want a nice guy!) and what they do (I’m going to sleep with this complete ass now!). But one thing I can do, is say that the nice-guy-finishes-last phenomenon doesn’t last forever. There are definitely many girls who grow out of that train of thought and realize they should be dating the nice guys, not taking them for granted. The tricky part is finding those girls, and even trickier, finding the ones that are single.
So, until those girls are found, I propose a toast to all the nice guys. You know who you are, and I know you’re sick of hearing yourself described as ubiquitously nice. But the truth of the matter is, the world needs your patience in the department store, your holding open of doors, your party escorting services, your propensity to be a sucker for a pretty smile. For all the crazy, inane, absurd things you tolerate, for all the situations where you are the faceless, nameless hero, my accolades, my acknowledgement, and my gratitude go out to you. You do have credibility in this society, and your well deserved vindication is coming.”
Fu-zu Jen, SEAS/WH, 2003

I think that just about says it all. After all that happened last Friday, I’m not going to cast blame on all the women of T&T. Sure they may be the ones out there that will treat the decent nice guys like crap while they themselves get treated like crap by the stud, model, buff type guys. However there are the ones that will appreciate decent nice guys, and will eventually come around to notice them.
So to the ladies I say, the day will come when you will realize that the right one for you has been right in front of you all along. Just hope that it won’t be too late and you wind up loosing him so someone else, and to my fellow Nice Guys, our day in the sun is approaching. I really can’t say when, but as sure as the sun rises each day, our day will soon be here. All those long periods of being ignored and overlooked will soon come to an end, for not only will we get our just and right reward but we will also know what it will mean to be truly grateful for the good that has finally come out way.

By the time I post this, it will be my first day back out to work after some fifteen days of vacation. Twelve of those days being spent in Atlanta Georgia at my aunt’s place, I’ve already written about the horrid trip from Trinidad to Atlanta and my dislike for the Miami International Airport along with my promise to never fly with American Airlines ever again. This recent vacation trip has been a learning experience in that along with my brother and his two co-workers and under the advisement of my mother know how to better prepare for next years trip to DragonCon. For starters:
1. As this is September we should/will start saving for next years convention from now. If we each put aside somewhere between $400.00 to $600.00 per month between now and mid-August of 2007, we should each be able to save from $4,800.00 to $7,200.00TT {$755.00 to $1,133.00 US}. Which should be able to cover transport, accommodation and spending money for the entire four days of the convention. By early to mid June we should make advance hotel reservations for a room at either the Hayatt or Hilton to stay arrive there a day or two before the start on the convention, and leave a day or two after the convention. As there would be between four to six of us in attendance staying in one room, it should not cost as much for each of us.

2. Instead of flying into Atlanta via way of Miami, we wil/shouldl fly into NY and most likely stay at my Uncle D’s place. When my brother and his co-workers went to Baltimore, and encountered some difficulty with finding accommodations for the funds that they had. My Uncle told them to get on the next bus to NY (which is a three hour bus ride), and he met them at the bus station. They stayed there from Friday into Saturday, and they were well take care of. On Saturday he drove them to Baltimore to drop them off at the Baltimore Comic Con while he went on to the Carnival. As it would be no problem to stay with him for a day or two, we would then take the bus from NY to Atlanta GA.

3. As there is the possibility that there will be a lot of things that will catch our interest from vendors, it would be best to save some additional funds from our regular salary. At least that way, we would each have some additional funds for extra spending on items, hotel accommodations, meals etc

Next year hopefully, I should be able to pat a visit to my friends in Upstate NY. I tried t0 get in contact with one or two, but was unsuccessful. I spoke briefly to my college roommate, at the time he was about to watch a movie with his daughter and promised to call back when he could. Guess the demands of the job and other stuff must have kept him really busy. No big deal, the same could be said of my friend from Berkeley, he recently started working with the College in their alumni relations department, and the demands of the job probably demand a lot of his time. There is always calling cards and e-mail.

After some three/four years of loyal service, my beloved Dell Laptop finally gave out as its motherboard burned out. Good thing I was in the states, and not too far from two Best Buy stores. On the 10th September accompanied by my aunt, I went to one of the Best Buy’s and as it was Sunday, it just so happened to be the day when they had their sales. I purchased a Compaq Laptop for $600.00, with a three year warranty for $149.00. So far it has been working quite well, and I now finally have a laptop where I can watch DVDs, along with burning info onto CDs. Should come in handy for work and other stuff.

Last Monday I celebrated my 33rd birthday in Atlanta, my aunt took me out to see “Accepted” to dinner at a Thai restaurant and to Boarders Bookstore to get a book of my choice. With all that the 11th of September has become known for, it should be noted that two of my school mates from St. John Fisher College, Mike and Kim welcomed their second child into the world. I wonder if they know that their second child shares a birthday with me? Just today in one of the local papers was a list of famous people that were born on the 11th of September. They are as follows:

DH Lawrence 11/09/1885
Ludacris 11/09/1977
Moby 11/09/1965
Harry Connick jr 11/09/1967

Others born within this month/planet (Virgos):
Ruben Studdard 12/09/1978
Jacqueline Bisset 13/09/1944
Fiona Apple 13/09/1977
Ben Savage 13/09/1980
Sam Niel 14/09/1947
Tommy Lee Jones 15/09/1946
Prince Harry Windsor 15/09/1984
Oliver Stone 15/09/1946
Lauren Bacall 16/09/1924
Jennifer Tilly 16/09/1961
Marc Anthony 16/09/1968
Anne Bancroft 17/09/1931
John Ritter 17/09/1948
Cassandra Peterson aka “Elvira Mistress of The Dark” 17/09/1951

Interesting don’t you think. Well, time to go, back to work tomorrow.

Long Road To Vacation

On the 28th August I left work thinking that this would be the last time I would see my place of employment for the next two weeks, as I was due to fly out of T&T the following day. However, mother nature well more like one of her nephews threw a monkey wrench in that plan. With Hurrican Ernesto heading for Miami, all flights heading there on the 29th were either pushed back or cancelled. Which was the case with my flight on American Airlines, originally my brother, his boss and I were supposed to have travelled on the 29th, instead we were pushed back to the 1st September. Which kinda worked out seeing as one of my brother's co-workers who was supposed to travel on the 30th would now travel with us on the 1st. As she had never travelled to the States before, having us around would make it a whole lot easier for here and her parents. In the meantime, I had to go back out to work for one more day, mostly to make arrangements for a shuttle bus to take us from the airport in Atlanta to my aunt's house. That was alll arranged and our route was supposed to look like this:

1st September T&T to Miami with a connecting flight to Atlanta.

This too was to have another mon key wrench thrown in the works. This time it was mostly due to the inefiencey of American Airlines. For starters, they are soooooo cheap, instead of meal we were offered a snack. You know what it was? A pack of Ole Corn Chips, one pack of burbon biscuits and a hotdog roll with cheesepaste. Even BWIA does far better than that! There was a dleay in takeing off due to the baggage still being loaded onto the aircraft, and there was a delay in landing due to bad weather in the vacinity of the airport. By the time we landed sometime after 6:35pm, we had a small window in which to make our flight and there was still customs and baggage claim to go through. Due to the rain and lightening the baggae handlers were not going to unload anyhting until it passed.

By the time we collected our luggage and made our way over to the counter to find out about our flight it was already too late. The flight had long departed and there would not be another one to Atlanta till the following morning. They had offered us a voucher for a hotel, yeah right. All the hotels in the area were booked up solid as it was labor day weekend. So the four of wound up spending the night in the airport. We got ourselves a little something to eat...hot dogs and chips, then found an area to settle down and wait till the following morning. Luckily the spot where we were camping out was right in front of a newstand, so we were able to get a few snacks, water and juice to tide us over. I don't think I slept at all during the 12+ hours that we spent at the Miami international Airport, as it was a group of us travelleing together it made the whole thing a bit bearable.

Originally we had been booked for an 11:18am flight to Atlanta, but tried to get on the 8:15am flight as stand by's. Out of the four members of our party, two were confirmed on the 8:15am flight, while my bother and I were still on standy by. There were a lot of folks on stand by that were trying to get on the flight, so it did not seem like my brother and I would be on the same flight with the others. As they were near the end of boading, they had called a few names who were not there. Just as I was about to tell my brother let's go and get some pizza for breakfast, they called us. YES!!! We made the flight.

From this trip I have decided that based on destination I will not travel with American Airlines ever again. I would sooner stick with BWIA and their cramped seating, or catch a connecting flight through either Barbados or Puerto Rico to my destination instead of going through the Miam International Airport.

After landing and makeing our way to my aunt's place, we had a brief rest before going on to DragonCon, which is a four day Sci-Fi convention, we had already missed the opening day, but we were able to get a ticket pass for the remaining three days. After staning in a seriously looooooooooonnnnnggggggg line populated by people in costumes of every make and type that seemed to go on forever, my bother and I finally got to the ticket counter and got our passes (his boss and fellow co-woker were volounteering for the event, so they did not have to join the line), and went to check out the event.

Compared to the ones that I had been to in Trinidad , this one was the motherload. There were a lot of vendors that offered a wide array of itmes from comics, novels, action figures, dvds, models, game stuff etc. You name it they had it. We picked up a few things on our first day there, then got some more itmes during the remaining two days. I had an opportunity to talk to several vendors, authors and such about my plans for a business and was even able to exchange business cards so I would have my contacts when it comes time to start shopping for the business.

As I've already made a pre-registration payment for next year, the plan is as follows:
1. Leave at least two to three days before the start of DragonCon.
2. Arrange to stay at one of the hotels where they will be holding the event, thay way during the course of the day we could always go back to the room to rest during the day.
3. Save up more money, a definite, thankfully I did not spend all of my vacation money at the event and still have some left for the remainder of my time here. But nevertheless, I plan to save more for next year's event.
4.Fly to Barbados then connect with a flight to Atlanta.
5. Come up earlier to go and visit my friends in NY and NJ before the event.

Inspite of the difficulty that was encountered on the way here, DragonCon made up for it in many ways.

FOUR THINGS ABOUT YOURS TRUELY

FOUR THINGS
Four things about me-things you may or may not have known about me, all present in no specific order:

A). Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Camp Counselor
2. Telephone Operator
3. Duty Receptionist
4. Accounting Assistant/Merchandiser

B). Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
2. Dodge Ball
3. Flash Gordon
4. Shaun Of The Dead

C). Four places I have lived:
1. Scarborough Tobago
2. Glencoe, Carenage
3. Rochester, NY
4. Little Falls/West Patterson NJ

D). Four (current) Television shows I watch:
1. 4400
2. Eureka
3. Battlestar Galactica
4. Attack of The Show

E). Four of my favorite singers/bands
1. Michelle Branch
2. Faith No more
3. Weird Al Yankovich
4. Blessed Union Of Souls

F).Four places I have been on vacation
1. Disney World
2. Grenada
3. New York
4. Montreal

G). Four Websites I visit daily
1. www.amazon.com
2. www.hi5.com
3. www.fanfiction.com
4. wangtastic.blogspot.com

H). Four of my favorite foods
1. Pizza
2. Beef Roti
3. Chicken Fingers
4. Cereal (Fruit loops, Apple Jacks, Pops)

I). Four places I would rather be right now
1. In a country where the crime rate is low to non-existent, the politicians actually put the interests of the country first, and the local currency is equal to or more than the US dollar
2. Working at a job that I actually like and look forward to going to
3. In a world where Fundamentalist ******** were treated like a treatable STD (easily cured by vaccinations or through abstinence)
4. A place where your education actually counts for something

J). Four friends I think will respond
1. Jenn
2. Rob
3. CJ
4. Michael

Surprise Surprise Still Alive

Well I'm still in the land of the living! Just figured that I would take some time away from the blogg until the feelings of frustration, bitterness and resentment departed for other parts. Some of it is still with me, but not as much as before. I'm still at TGS and doing my best every day to keep busy until 4pm, waiting to hear what is going to happen regarding the redevelopment of South Quay and when we will have to move. The last I heard was that we had until the end of September to move, now I am haering that one of the other tennants has asked for a one year extension on their lease, if they manage to get it then it means that we can get the same, which will allow for the purchase and development of some land out on the highway in the El Socorro area. Okay! As long as nothing sneaks up on us and catches us off guard. Hopefully the other business thing will move into prep mode, which means that not only will I be working in an area that I will know and like. But it also means, if we get a space in Trincity Mall that I will no longer have to get up at 4am on a daily basis. Sure it means going to work six days a week and having only Sundays and public holidays off, but it will be worth it to be doing something that I enjoy for a change

Will try to write more next month....which is tomorrow. See you then!!

Its been over a month since I last wrote anything here. To be quite honest, i really did not see the point in doing any more writing seeing as hardly ANYONE even visits much less reads anyhting that I write about. I was just about ready to say "Screw It All" and never return to this blogg again, but then this morning I got to my job extra, extra early; and seeing as I had no immediate e-mail correspondances to reply to I figured that I would make a quick post here. Well here it goes:

Since I last wrote the body count for the year so far has crossed the 100 mark, and oddly enough I found out something interesting. Women now outnumber men here in T&T. Young males in T&T are fast becoming an endangered species, so I guess when women say that there are so few good men left here in T&T, they really mean it. However, there are still many assholes out there, so they will still be in the spotlight while the "good men" like myself will be doing our best to avoid trouble, find a good woman that will apprecaite us, try our best to keep on doing right and trying to stay alive.

Governement has decided that the area where I work needs to undergo an urban renewal. They want to put up high rise apartment building and skyscrapers; so all business and residents located within the South Quay Area of POS has until the end of May to vacate before the begin demolition of the area. I am convinced that the current government is :
1. Is Comprised of idiots.
2. Wants to loose the next general election.
3. Does not give a crap about the people of this country.
4. Is Comprised of idiots.
5. Have the intelligence and character of a dung bettle.

Moving means that TGS will be undegoign a change from our regular mode of operation and that some of us.....like yours truely, may/will be going into another area of work. Lets just say that it will be an area that I will be familiar with, as compared to where I am now.

TBC

Valentine's Day & Carnival 2k6

Valentine’s Day has passed (Thank God) and won’t be back for another year. While I did not get to go into POS to unleash my reign of destruction upon the flower shops, card stores, flower delivery vans, and those stores selling those ridiculous stuffed animals. There is always next year! (I’ll have more time to stock up my implements of destruction and plan my campaign) As for the stupid couples, I’m still going to be out there doing my best to avoid you all. However should you get in the way of my daily routine, delay me in any way shape or form, or heaven forbid get the last of some edible item that I’ve been craving; heaven help you bastards and bitches. Once again, I’m not ticked off at Valentine’s Day and Couples because I’m single, far from it. I just can’t stand that stupid day, and as for the couples…you just annoy me and sometimes make it difficult for me to get things done when you pause to do some stupid crap that only couples tend to do. Here is a bit of advice, save the displays of affection for the bedroom or someplace private. Okay, enough ranting about Valentine’s Day until 2007.

As this is the week leading up to Carnival 2006 (2k6) I’ve been noticing that people have been doing a lot of stupid things. Traffic going into town yesterday was bad, today it was even worse and folks were not exactly being kind to one another either. I must have heard the word “asshole” used over sixty times while running errands this morning. But, fast forward to next week, and these same men and women that were being most impolite to each other will be linked arm in arm jumping, chipping, wining and grinding to the latest Soca song as they make their way up and down the length and width of Port of Spain. For now, they are all praying for Friday to get here as soon as possible, as it will mean:
(1). Payday.
(2). Start of a long four day weekend.
(3). A wide range of parties and fetes to choose from.

From Friday to Sunday there will be a whole bunch of parties, concerts and fetes all over Trinidad & Tobago. Some of the more popular ones of course will be held in the West. Which for those living there will mean excess traffic of people going there. (Thank God I live in the East). Trinis will be tired from Friday night, but will find that extra burst of energy to head out again on Saturday night, Sunday night into Monday morning for Jouvert and Carnival Monday, followed by Carnival Tuesday, the big day when they get to don their $3,000.00 plus costume, which is nothing more than a beaded bra, thong panties, some glitter, a headpiece and maybe a standard of some sort…then again do bands even use standards?? Part of the $3,000.00 plus that they pay also goes to cover food, drink, security, medical, P-Truck (yes there is a truck that they trick out with a few portable bathrooms for masqueraders, particularly females to go and do their business…dudes can go up on a wall, bush or wherever) and other sundry expenses.

When Ash Wednesday rolls around, these same people that have been living for Carnival since the previous one, will either miss work altogether on Wednesday or take it off to go to the beach. But for the most part, they will be in Carnival withdrawal just like any addict whose main fix that brought them so much joy and pleasure, has gone and will not be back for another year. That however will not be me, I only look forward to Carnival for the four-day weekend and the opportunity to catch up on sleep, reading, movies etc. Back when everyone was getting into the whole Carnival thing and going out to parties and stuff. I was at home on babysitting duty, for part of High School I lived over in Tobago. When Carnival rolled around it meant two things, the Friday before when other schools were having Calypso Shows and Jump-ups, we would be running cross country; and that I would be heading to Trinidad for the next few days to return to Tobago on the first flight up on Ash Wednesday morning. I never really got the opportunity to develop any sort of dance co-ordination when it came to dancing. So when I moved back to Trinidad for 4th Form, to a school where being un-coordinated was akin to an unforgivable sin; I just never bothered with going out at all during Carnival.

Anyhow, no big deal as I have my books and movies to keep me entertained during the four days. Come Ash Wednesday I’ll be among the few that will be on their way to work dodging the Carnival Zombies, piles of debris, and having to contend with the smell that will permeate Port of Spain for the majority of that day and part of the next. The smell of spilled beer, spoiled food and urine, I know its not a pleasant thought but that’s the truth of the day after Carnival. Then there is the mad rush to Tobago; locals and visitors alike flood the harbor and airport in search of a means to get to the sister for a few relaxing days following the hectic pace of the past few weeks.
I’ll probably go over to Tobago sometime next month and spend a few days with my father. In the meantime, I have some new books to read (including a few that have been on hold for some time), my pay Cheque was deposited this morning and will be accessible on Friday. In time to pay my phone and cable bills, maybe even pick up a used book from the used book people who will be in City Gate again on Friday. Along with trying my to get some creative writing done to post to my journal space site, and work on the Fan Fiction set in the Axis of Time books. Fun, Fun, Fun!!!!!!!

Once again, the day that I loathe is almost upon us single and unattached people. The ads are all over the place, and going into a stationary store or candy shop the reminders are overly blatant and pretty much in your face. To those that are not aware, I’m talking about Valentine’s Day (14th February) the one day when I’m forced to bite my tongue and hold my temper when I’m walking through town and have to dodge flower delivery people, or love sick suckers with their arms overflowing with cards, flowers, balloons, stuffed bears (or any silly looking stuffed animal), chocolate and perfume on their way to deliver these items to some female that they desire at her place of work. In the hopes that this outpouring of gifts and affection on their part will win over the hart of said desired female. Instead, said female will take it from the gullible sap and tell her friends back in her work area that some other guy gave it to her. Along with being bombarded by petals from some bouquet of flowers that get caught in the wind stream of the maxi taxi that I’m traveling in that afternoon. Then there are those stupid couples that are so wrapped up in each other that they get stupid and forget how to do simple things. Such as walking hand in hand and blocking the path of the single angry, fed up people that are trying to get by them. I have a hard enough time with couples on a daily basis, but on Valentines Day they just annoy me even more. Here is a hint,
“GET A FRIGGIN ROOM AND GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!!!!”

There was once was a time back when I was young, gullible and stupid; when every Valentines day I would shell out mucho dollars on cards and the odd stuffed animal(s) to give out to female friends and acquaintances. In the hopes that at least one would be so impressed that she would want to get something more out of it. One year it did work, and I got a girlfriend that I was with for a year and six months. Since then, I’ve not been able to duplicate the same result; and following graduation from College I sent out cards to one special person hoping that maybe she would someday return the same feelings to me. No such luck! Eventually I gave up on the whole sending out cards thing and became a bit of a cynic on the whole Valentine’s Day Hoopla.

If you have been single for as long as I have, tried to do right, kept it honest and been a general good person. And have been forced to watch as the jerks, assholes, and “Bad Boys” get all the attention from women while you’re ignored and relegated to the background like wall paper. Been forced to listen to women complain that “All Men Are Dogs” and “There Are No Good Decent Men Out There.” It tend to turn one into a cynic, that becoming an asshole starts to look like a damn good idea. But since its not in your character to become like the ones that you despise, you instead turn inward and dodge the couples with the public displays of affection, contend with female friends and their complaints about their ignorant/stupid/jerk of a boyfriend, while doing your best not to loose it and go on a rampage.
While I would love to avoid work on the 14th, I have no choice but to go out there and face all the love struck stupid couples and their maladies. I’m just hoping that the books I ordered will get here by then; their arrival should lessen the sting and disappointment that many single people face.

Last night I was looking through a folder which and came across an e-mail message, which contained the following which I am going to post here and share with you all. The original date on this is listed as June 10th 2003 while I was still at the Business School in New Jersey, reading it again made me realize that the majority of the women at the school were very much like the ones mentioned in the following, now here is the essay “Why Assholes Get Girls and Nice Guys Finish Last.”

“Always, man…It’s amazing that assholes can get girls. Actually, now that I think of it, it’s not that amazing. They are assholes at heart, but to meet girls they lavish their undying love. IT’S A CHARADE. They act nice, friendly, and they listen, until they get into what they’re after. Their prey thinks they are in love with them, however when they realize what assholes their predators really are, they pretend like the asshole is really nice inside. The girl tries to change the asshole into a nice guy, but assholes will always be assholes. She gets upset and goes to the nice guy to complain about the asshole. But she claims to love the asshole, now this is where the theory begins. She doesn’t want to look like she is easy so she won’t dump the asshole right away, instead she will stay with the assholes.

Girls are idiots. They don’t realize that the nice guy has been there all along. He never had to pretend to be a good guy to get girls because he is naturally like that. However, girls don’t see it for some reason or another. They look at the nice guy as a friend, a trusted companion to whom they can tell their sad story to about their asshole boyfriend. But the nice guy isn’t THAT naïve. He was trying to score with the girl he listens to all along. The problem is that since he is a nice guy he keeps listening. Since girls get attached to things that pay attention to them, they think of the nice guy as a friend. A FRIEND. They don’t say, “Oh he’s hot”, or “I want to have his children” about the nice guy, they just want the emotional support. When they get the emotional support from the nice guy, they don’t need it from the asshole. The nice guy gets the shit end of the stick while the asshole gets all the action.

I am starting to wonder if being a nice guy is really the route to take to get action? I have been down this path for all of my post-pubescent life and it has gotten me NOWHERE, at least not in the women department. Perhaps another reason why girls fall for the asshole is because assholes ignore the girl they are with. The women wonder, “Why isn’t he paying attention to me”, so they explore why. They start to get easier with each attempt to get closer. The asshole finally says, “I’ve let this beauty dangle long enough, time to boat this bass.” It is then he puts on his charade and the girl feels like she has won him, even though all she has won is an asshole.

Once you have gone down the path as a nice guy or a “listener”, you can’t turn back. The girl will always go after the assholes because there are always nice guys there to listen. Once you realize that you are a “listener” you can’t do anything about it, just pack up and close shop. There is no way you will get into her pants, ever. There is and never will be a situation where the nice guy will get the girl he has a crush on. It just doesn’t work like that. The girl won’t “come to her senses” and realize what an asshole her boyfriend is like in the movies, instead she will just go after another asshole, and unless you stop being a nice guy, she will never go after you.


Women complain that there are no nice guys in the world. Right. They are obviously not looking hard enough because there are nice guys EVERYWHERE!!!! Girls aren’t looking for nice guys! They say they are, but they’re not. They are looking for the perfect asshole, but there is NO SUCH THING as the perfect asshole. All in all, the nice guys get the shaft.

To all the girls out there with boyfriends that don’t treat you with respect, they don’t listen to you, and that don’t care about you I say this: look next to you. The guy that has been standing next to you the whole time is the guy you have been looking for. He is what you want your asshole to be like. He knows more about you than you know about yourself, because he has listened to it all.”

Cute Girl+Me=Klutzy

I highly doubt if this happens to anyone else but me, but sometimes whenever cute women are around I seem to turn into a complete klutz of some sort. On Friday I had to go over to a shipping company to pay some fees on items that the store has coming in by ship. Behind the counter sat a prime example of exotic beauty that Trini women are known to possess. She was already attending to a customer, so I went to the next available agent/teller.

From time to time I noticed her looking my way, I’m not too certain if she was looking at me or at the clock on the wall behind me? Anyhow, time comes for me to leave and my subconscious starts saying,
“Okay Val, there’s a really cute chick sitting over there. Don’t do anything stupid in front of her. Just get up, go to the door and leave. That’s all you have to do.” Instead I knocked over a nearby chair, which was just number one of my klutzy moves. After setting the chair back into the upright position I was in such a hurry to get out of there, that I walked into the wall next to the door, not one but twice. As I scrambled down the stairs my subconscious was yelling, “Val! You’re not listening!”

I swear if I’m not walking into things, tripping over stuff, I’m either dropping stuff or saying stupid things at the wrong time and in front of the wrong people….i.e…cute women. Or I get caught checking them over when I should be looking elsewhere.

Why do these things always seems to happen to me? Why can’t these things happen to the jerks and assholes? Why must they happen to the nice guys, average Joes and shy types? What did we do to have this dumb luck heaped on us like an un-wanted flu the day before a Sci-Fi convention.

Your Ideal Relationship is Friends with Benefits

You're not looking for anything serious... just something hot!And you're little black book (or cell phone) always hooks you up.You want nothing more than friends with benefits. No strings.You also don't mind benefits without the friendship!

What's" Your Ideal Relationship?

Dateing Purity Test

Your Dating Purity Score: 79%

You are an under-experienced dater. This doesn't mean you're unexperienced - far from it. It just means that there's a lot of romance left to discover!

Dating Purity Test

That's a good way of putting it, seems to be dead on.

You Are An Invisible Ex

You're so over your ex, you hardly even remember you have an exYou prefer leave all of the baggage behind you - far, far behindAs they say, indifference is the opposite of love!

What Type of Ex Are You?

That sounds just about right. Out of my three ex-girlfriends I only hear from one, and she does most of the calling. Did I mention that she is married?

Another New Year

Well, once again another year has ended and yet another has begun. Did not do anything all that spectualar, stayed home, checked in on the dog when the wogs started to set off their fireworks for a non-stop 20 minutes. At the end of it all, the dog was okay, the air was cloudy with smoke from the fireworks, and I was once again wondering why the authorities does not make a formal ban on fireworks. Every year they say the same thing, but don't seem to do jack crap.

Anyhow, I have tomorrow off from work and will be back out to work on the 3rd, which is the very same day when school re-opens...oh Joy!!! With Christmas out of the way, all efforts will be dedicated towards that events leading up to Carnival 2k6 which falls on the 27th and 28th February. Which means extra time for people to go out to parties, get drunk and skip work the next day. Which will mean fewer commuters the folowing day.

As for what I am looking forward to in 2006:
1. Season 3 of BSG.
2. New episodes of Lost, Invasion, Surface, NCIS, E-Ring and The Amazing Race.
3. New books from Ian Douglas (Feb 1st), David Sherman and Dan Cragg (Jan 31st) John Birmingham (?) and Harry Turtledove (July/August 2006).
4. The possibility of ending my drought in the dating world........yeah right.

Well gotta run, hope all goes well with you all for 2006 than it was in 2005.