The First Day of the Rest of My Life

Sunday, September 30, 2007

THINGS TO BLOG ABOUT WHEN I HAVE MORE TIME:

- A breakthrough two years in the making.
- A new plan with my new friend.
- A decision I'll be making in a few months.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

A classic reason why my friends kick ass...




One of my friends will be more than happy to explain the above illustration.

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Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Good news.

Looks like my dad's PSA levels are just fine.

whew...

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Monday, September 17, 2007

My latest meme, courtesy of Raelyn...

If you comment on this entry...
1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll challenge you to try something.
3. I'll pick a colour that I associate with you.
4. I'll tell you something I like about you.
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory about you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something I've always wanted to ask you.
8. You must post this on yours.

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Sunday, September 16, 2007

Oh yeah, been meaning to put this up here.

My dad has more tests to go through this week. Apparently, his PSA is going back up.

I should be worried more than I currently am, shouldn't I?

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Saturday, September 15, 2007

GOOD THING: Getting to leave work an hour early on Tuesday so I could buy cleats for my big debut.
BAD THING: Having to make up that hour this morning.

GOOD THING: Stopping by Whataburger for a breakfast treat.
BAD THING: Having to wait behind some guy and his three special orders, nearly making me late for work.

GOOD THING: Getting tickets on the floor to see The Police in November!
BAD THING: Figuring out whom to take and how to pay for the tickets.

GOOD THING: Getting to see my Longhorns in action with fellow UT supporters.
BAD THING: Almost seeing them upset by Central Florida. Suddenly, 2005 seems like ancient history.

GOOD THING: Visiting a dance studio where a friend of mine teaches.
BAD THING: Only getting to dance for a few songs. I did check out some cool belly dancing and tribal dance.

GOOD THING: Planning on finally meeting up with my date from a couple of weeks ago.
BAD THING: Hearing a phone call from her while at the studio. A friend of hers was in an accident last night. Apparently, she had stayed with him at the hospital all night, and had only went home tonight. If you're the praying type, could you say a few words for her and her friend?

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Tuesday, September 11, 2007

THINGS I'VE LEARNED THAT I'M NO GOOD AT
(BY EXPERIENCE)


- College.
- Time management.
- Crowdsurfing.
- Talking to strangers in social settings.
- Pitching softball.

Guess which one was added to the list tonight?

In an effort to become more active outside of work, I signed up to play on a team in my company's softball league. Rain forced the delay of our season opener by one week, giving our team a bit of extra practice time. Maybe we needed a bit more.

In a managerial decision that could only be referred to as "curious," it was decided that I would be the backup pitcher for our team if our regular guy couldn't go. I found out this afternoon that he would get the start, but leave to go to another game. During the rest of the day at work, I looked for as many pitching tips as I could find on "teh Interwebs." On the way home, I called a softball-playing friend of mine for advice. But, before I knew it, I ended up taking the ball in the 3rd inning, down 2-1.

I don't remember much else after the first pitch, other than a lot of balls and a lot of deep hits to left. While the other team (the league champs from last year) was pouring it on, I remember one woman who decided to talk a bit of smack to me when I was given a call by the ump. I don't remember exactly what she said, but I wasn't a happy camper when I heard it. So, even though it was my first time on the rubber, I did the only thing I could do.

I threw at her head. (Okay, I didn't actually hit her, but I had to make a point somehow.)

The top of the 3rd ended with the score 8-1 (I think), and our side to bat. Adding insult to injury, the manager decided to replace my bat with the DH's. We went 1-2-3, and headed to the 4th. Again, for whatever reason, the skipper sent me back out to pitch.

I did get a pretty sweet fielding play. On a groundball towards the first base side, I ran down the ball. When I got it in my glove, I fell and rolled a couple of times. I ended upright, saw I was a few feet from the 1st baseman, and tossed the ball to her for the out. Some more charity calls from the ump came before the top of the 4th ended, ∞ - 1. Our team put up two more runs before we were mercy ruled.

I didn't stick around to hang out with the rest of my team, or even to drink the beer that I had brought. Guess I wanted to escape the scene of the crime as quickly as possible.

I'm hoping this is one of those life moments that I can end up laughing at in the future. If nothing else, I'm REALLY hoping our pitcher has no conflicts the rest of the season.

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Monday, September 10, 2007

Time to fill in some details...

You remember how excited I was about my date? Looks like the excitement may be short-lived. I haven't spoken with her since that night. I left a few voicemails and text messages before convincing myself on Tuesday to stop. The bride told me that, after talking with my date's sister during a hair appointment, she found out that my date hasn't had the best luck with guys. She might not have called due to being scared. After a weekend of successfully not thinking about her, I saw the following on my phone this morning:

"Good Morning Greg. Sorry I havnt clld. Had lots going on all @ the same time. Didnt mean 2 be rude. Hope u have a good day! Talk 2 u soon. :)"

True to form, I texted her back earlier this evening, and followed it up with a phone call voicemail. Followed by lots of analysis.

Is she really "scared"? Is she always this bad about returning phone calls (to hear her cousin tell it)? Does she even like me? Should I just forget about it?

The possibility that my first good prospect in months may be stopping things before they even get started is not doing wonders for my self-esteem right about now.

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Sunday, September 09, 2007

THINGS TO BLOG ABOUT WHEN I HAVE MORE TIME:

- Carrying a flame for a week.
- Carrying a bat Friday night.
- Carrying on Saturday night.
- Carrying a boom mic today.

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Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Uploading on the Downlow: On Being a Blogger And An Introvert

A week ago, Arianna said, "You can't have a blog and be an introvert. If you say you are, you're a damn liar."

Two days ago, Sandra said, "...well he pegged me pretty well as an introvert."

So who's right? I figure the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Allow this blogger to offer himself as an example.

Up until the summer before 11th grade, I was quite shy. 10 days at a church camp in the Hill Country changed that quite a bit, but my shy moments do seem to pop up quite often (e.g. the Chinese New Year party I went to last year). According to the comments, I'm not alone in my shyness.

Blogs serve one main purpose: for the blogger to share with the rest of humanity what is important to them. For those that, for whatever reason, aren't able to control a conversation with others, they can contribute to one in their own way through a blog. Now, most of the blogs I read are of a personal nature, and I think that's why they've taken off so much in the past few years. It gives a person carte blanche to talk about themselves and their observations on the world.

Depending on the person, it either gives the blogger a chance to extend their gregariousness into HTML, or a chance for them to finally let loose in a way they would not (or could not) be able to do in real life. I find myself coming down a little bit in both camps. At times, I'll share memorable moments that I've shared with those close to me. Other times, I use this blog to vent, rant, and let loose thoughts that I normally wouldn't be able to share, due to possible embarrassment, incrimination, or prosecution. I'm sure there's more than a few people that go through the day thinking to themselves, "This is definitely ending up on the blog."

Some bloggers are stars, others, not so much. The beautiful thing about this blogosphere is, all are welcome. To have a blog, you can't be totally selfless. A little bit of ego is required if one is to publish a site all about them. Not that ego and extroversion are one in the same, of course. But it's probably a safe guess that if one isn't really an outgoing person in real life, they can play one on the Internet.

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Monday, September 03, 2007

Can't sleep, might as well blog.

Instead of boring you with another long post, I'll just give a brief update with things with my new friend. We went out Friday for dinner, dancing and drinks. Actually, it wasn't so much dancing, she got a bit nervous when seeing some of the more skilled dancers at the bar we went to.

A good portion of the night was spent at a bar where she's a regular. (How well do they know her there? She didn't get carded by the doorguy, and had a Jack and diet waiting for her when she sat down at the bar.) We met up with a few of her friends, and I ran into an old pal of mine, Erick the Smart-Ass AP.

We left the bar, I took her home, and we kissed. Nothing too big, in reality, but momentous enough for me to do a silly dance after she closed her front door.

During the night, I actually started doing a compare/contrast piece in my head between her and the ex. It got started when she referred to me as a "nosy Rosie" when I asked about a text message she got from the groom's brother talking about a Mana concert he went to that night. That phrase was so cutesy, that instantly triggered some memories of the saccharin things that would come out of my ex's mouth, so that was one strike against her. (Kidding.)

A couple of things that she does have over my ex: fashion and friends. Our only two times hanging out were at a wedding reception and a first date, so obviously the trend skews to the nice side, clothes-wise (on both our parts). But this gal knows how to wear an outfit, my ex was never really a clothes-horse. Also, during our night at the bar, I met a lesbian couple who she was friends with. I wouldn't say my ex was homophobic or anything, but any mention of guy-on-guy or girl-on-girl was met with a reaction similar to a five-year-old's reaction to a mention of brussel sprouts.

Now, I've been driving myself crazy about what to do for a second act. I haven't talked to her since that night, only getting a text from her yesterday saying she was out of town at a concert. Ironically, in what can only be described as uncanny timing, I was to host a friend from out of town yesterday, but cancelled on her due to being guilted by a friend of mine. (Question: is it cheating if we've only been out once?)

I need sleep now. If anyone has any suggestions on what I should do from here on out, please feel free to share with the class.