The Politics Of Life

I’m up, I can’t sleep. A friend called me and woke me from my beauty giving slumber. You know I can use all of it I can get. I don’t feel much like sleeping right now though. Friday wasn’t good for me. The past week wasn’t good for me. My life is a little out of control right now.

Friday night was a short one for me. I ate at Rock Ottom, big surprise and came right home and went to bed. I just wasn’t feeling things this evening. My friends were in different moods than I was and I wasn’t having it.

Saturday looks better. I have a BBQ and I’m making a Fruit Pizza. I can’t wait to taste it. Just like Mom makes, yum! Better yet, I can’t wait for some of my friends to try it. It’s a different circle of friends.

At any rate, we’ve been through the national conventions for both the Republicans and the Democrats. Now, people are starting to really take sides in this election. Since I’m part of the media, don’t expect to get my stance on everything on this blog. I think I’m good at keeping my opinions out of my writing at work as well. I have my own ideas about things but I don’t let them leak into my stories.

I’ve written something like this in the past about entertainers not getting political. If you’re a singer, sing. If you’re an actor, act. You get the picture. I just don’t like to get caught up in politics. Everyone feels strongly about what they believe and I’ve never been a great debater so I don’t like to argue about such things.

I love hearing about past Presidents and their accomplishments. Cleveland Bachelor will attest to that. I picked his brain for hours one night. CB, I’ll do it again too anytime you’re ready!

Partisan talk wears me down. I don’t like to get involved in such discussions. I don’t mind others talking about them. Just don’t be shocked if I wander away from the conversation if it involves Republicans vs. Democrats. I’d rather talk music, pop culture or why that woman over there is wearing a dress with a print was better left on the side of a zebra.

I haven’t claimed table 241 at Rock Ottom for nothing, it’s called people watching, folks!

Love Stinks! Can You Smell It?

Two of my friends recently broke up. I have known one of them longer than the other but they both are important to me. One of the two is probably hurt and feeling lousy at best. I don’t know for sure because I’ve only had a short text conversation.

This all got me to thinking about relationships, break-ups and taking sides. I remember after my split with my former fiancee, I cut off all interaction with her and her family. Over the course of our relationship, I became very close to one side of her family. I hate still to this day that I can’t see them or their children who really loved seeing me. To see them again though would bring up bitterness and scars I choose not to relieve. I can’t believe it’s been two years since I last saw them.

I hate that one of the two people in the aforementioned couple isn’t communicating with anyone that I know right now. I understand where that person is coming from as they deal with the break-up but it’s tough. You come to know people, get used to them in your life then when they aren’t, you feel like a little part of your life has been taken away.

I know that person reads this blog so I’m hoping they’ll see this post and know that people understand their feelings. I know first hand how tough break-ups are. I suffered, rebuilt my life slowly and now I can finally write about such things without feeling hurt. All of the cliches apply.

  • Time heal old wounds (or takes the sting out of them)
  • Live one day at a time
  • Everything happens for a reason

I stumbled across this site a long time ago and it helps with coping with the loss. I just wonder if they have one for lost friends.

Camp Nolan

If you check out the picture, you’ll see a helicopter next to the house. Who has a chopper land at their party? That’s the fun for at least two years in a row at my friend, Nolan’s party.

First, it was great getting to see some of my former co-workers. I live in the same city, work in the same industry but get to see them so infrequently. I guess it takes a party with something like cars, choppers, food and libations to bring people together. I got to see Newshutr and meet Mrs. Newshutr along with enjoying some dinner talk with them at the picnic table. I work for the competition of many people at this party but they all seem like family.

I got to meet the daughter of one of my friends. I got a lot of e-mail photos and picturemail but never got to meet Olivia in person. She’s cute and loves the water even though she got her dad’s shorts soaked. Soaked shorts suck!

Two of the radio stations were represented. The Buzzard and that Majic station showed up for the party.

It’s always great to see my friend’s mom and her husband. She’s a social butterfly at these events. Everyone who hasn’t met her, wants to. I saw her pulled in a hundred different directions about five or six times throughout the night. I don’t know how you couldn’t love her.

I love it when people you don’t know ask you your age and then come way low. I can never tell if people are being polite or telling the truth. You get the truth from me so if I guess old, well, I don’t have a degree in guessing people’s ages so don’t worry too much about it. I digress. The boyfriend of one of my friends and I got to talking him about getting older. He was older than I guessed. He was divorced. I didn’t get married, we stopped short. Anyhow, he told me how he dropped 30 pounds right after the break-up. I laughed. He didn’t understand until I told him I did the same thing. He said he’s working out a lot. I laughed. He understood. It’s fun sharing life changing information with people you don’t know.

I spent time with one of my former directors, Mark, and his wife, Julie. They are a riot. Their kids are grown-up enough to take care of themselves while Mom & Dad are away so they had a good time. Mark has always been supportive of my work. He’s one of the people always asking me when I’ll come back.

I have to admit getting a little old my bodyclock was getting the best of me at the end of the night and left around 10:3opm to go home. I arrived back downtown around 11:15 and was sawing logs around midnight. I argued with myself this morning when the clock read 7:15am. I woke up again around 10:30am. My body needed the sleep.

Is that another week and busy weekend staring at me?

Embracing My Singleness

One of the hardest things for me after I got out of a long term relationship was figuring what the heck I’d do with my time. I didn’t have someone wanting me to do this or that anymore. My life was again my life. It wasn’t something easy for me to comprehend, I’d forgot what it was like.

Last week, as noted in previous posts, I worked days and kept a busy schedule after I left my employer. I did Cleveland things, grilled out on the Superior Viaduct, went to a production at Quicken Loans Arena and got to see Omar at Progressive Field. Friday night, I went to Rock Bottom. The restaurant has anchored the Powerhouse for years.

I didn’t clear any of those visits with anyone. Anxiety didn’t fill my mind about deciding my priorities, I just did it. On Saturday, I volunteered at a non-profit organization and I loved every second of it. There’s confidentiality involved so I probably won’t detail much about my altruism. On Sunday, taawd rested.

At times, people have nicknamed me the “Mayor”. I know a lot of people and probably do too much a lot of handshaking and hugging around town. I’m proud of the people I know, I guess you could say it’s a hobby of mine. Meeting good people is my priority. That’s not something easily accomplished. You can meet a lot of people, but meeting quality people doesn’t happen often.

Those people are the ones who help me decide what I’m doing with my time. They’re the people who make me laugh, hope and leave with a smile on my face. If I want my alone time, it’s my decision not to answer the door, pick up the phone or return the text messsage. However, that sort of thing doesn’t happen that often because I love being around other people… good, quality people.

this blog entry partially inspired by my fellow blogger at the Cleveland Bachelor.

The Battle Of The Sexes

There have been books written, TV documentaries produced, studies conducted (see my thoughts on studies a little later in this post) about the battle of the sexes. I have to take exception with the constant comparision between men and women. I’m so sick of things being a “guy” or “girl” thing.

“Girls get over relationships faster than guys.” someone will say. “Guys get over relationships faster than girls.” someone else will counter. We’re all human, people, we all deal with life in our own ways. Stereotyping one sex a certain way is just that, a stereotype. We are all human!

In one of her recent posts, Mom2Amara blogged about “girl talk” and how a new study says it’s bad for women to do. Focusing on the negatives and trying to one up the other person with their story of misery. Side note: I think we should study the amount of studies being done out there.

As I commented on her blog, it’s not just a girl thing. Again, we are all human and everyone out there likes to know they’re not the only people out there who are suffering or feeling miserable. What do we share more often, our happiness or our discontent? I’d argue the latter.

How many time have you heard on the phone, at work or at home these kinds of phrases?

  • “I work too much”
  • “I didn’t get enough sleep last night”
  • “I have so much to do”

Conversely, when was the last time anyone of us started our sentence with “Hey, what’s up, i’m having a fantastic day”? If you do that, people will think you’re mentally unstable. We’re for the most part, a negative group, humans, that is. In fact, most times at work when people ask me how I’m doing I normally answer back “Fantastic” but it’s not in a believable fashion. It makes people laugh, mostly and allows me not to lie.

Do you believe all of these studies? Do you think men and women are that drastically different?

Men vs. Women

A new Indiana University study turns up some interest findings about attractions between men and women. Researchers looked at the behavior of 46 people taking part in a speed-dating session. Speed-dating is becoming an increasingly popular way for people to find someone.

During the study, attractive women got more attention from men. Potentially wealthy men got the nod from women. The participants said they hoped to find someone who was like them. The study shows men sought the more attractive women and the women were drawn to material wealth and security.

Lead researcher Peter Todd said “While humans may pride themselves on being highly evolved, most still behave like the stereotypical Neanderthals when it comes to choosing a mate.”

Dr Glenn Wilson, a relationships expert at the Institute of Psychiatry in London said “It is well known that men select women for fairly superficial reasons, whereas women think much more about the long-term and the qualities and resources needed to bring up children.”

“Men will often find themselves falling into relationships by default after starting off looking for sexual adventure.” he added.

So apparently, the best thing for women to do is worry about their looks. The best thing for men to do is worry about their careers so they can pad their wallets.

Is this study indicative of relationships or just a fluke? What about poor guys and ugly girls. Are they bound to be hooked up and continue this phenomenon?

You can find out more information in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Some of the above information comes from the BBC article: Women ‘choosier’ over partners