You’re totally attractive, just not to me?

Okay… Those people who know me realize pretty quickly that mincing words is not my strong suit. Blurting my first thought, then shrugging… Yeah, that’s more me.

I was just “corrected” by a dude online. He wrote that he hoped he would still be attractive after a few beers. I replied that, while I didn’t want to be rude, I didn’t find him attractive. Harsh perhaps, but I didn’t want us wasting time. I’ll ignore the fact that he assumed I found him attractive to begin with…

He suggested I should have said “You aren’t my type.” or “I’m not interested.” But that mostly, suggesting he was unattractive was unfair to him. Now, initially I laughed, but typographical laughter is so subjective. To quote myself, “‘Unfair to the other person’ is so subjective as to be ridiculous. …such phrasing is why being PC is a farcical nightmare of hyper-sensitivity.”

If I had said either of those other two would it have truly been better for his feelings? Now, I am sorry that his feelings were hurt, as much as my de-sensitized programming that a non-PC lifestyle has allowed me to empathize with another.

Seriously though, semantics are tedious…

 

Beer Tastes: Leinenkugel’s Classic Amber

Leine’s is another fave brewery of mine… They always seem to do a good job. They’re not always impressive, but they do always do decently.
This is on that level.

Beer Tastes: Spaten Oktoberfest

I’ve always been impressed when I try a beer by Spaten, a Munich brewery.
I didn’t know who the brewery was til I moved to Chicago, & randomly found a beloved beer at a liquor store one night.
As I write this, I’m not sure what I want to write about… This beer, which is amazing, or the night I first tasted an Optimator, another Spaten brew.
Oktoberfest is one of my faves… Good annual brews… This is truly one of the smoothest I’ve ever tasted.
As I think about it, that’s a Spaten constant. So far, eveything has been smoooooth…
That out of the way… The memory that tugs at me every time I see the Spaten name is Corey & I having our 1st Optimator together in a tent surrounded by redneck Colts fans. We were so crazy for each other & trying to play cool for the straights…
Sweet memory…

So those were gunshots…

So I was feeling restless again tonight. I decided I needed air, & went to the lakefront to read.
While I’m sitting there I hear these pops. A whole lot of pops… I suspected they were gunfire, but was also thinking maybe it was just fireworks remnants.
I just passed twenty squad cars… Guess that answers that.
I’ll be picking up a paper tomorrow… That was at least ten gunshots.

Um…

Anyone else read this so it sounds kind of like mistake-o?

Sabotage!

I’m a man of ideas, a great adventure that never quite happens.
It sounds good, but there are responsibilities… Yet I never quite meet those because… I have an idea, a dream… I run off on a tangent. Isn’t it better to live, than plan?
Nice… Only… I’m still planning…
Sometimes it feels like my real life is passing me in these bubbles of possibility, just slipping by as I watch…
So I plan. I dream of that escape, planning how I can make it happen. I never do, but then… Things come up, right?
I will…
I can stop myself with a glance of the calendar. But then there’s the status quo… Better to slide than risk failure. Life sucks, but just imagine what would happen if I stopped sliding…
So, I find myself defined, trapped in a shape I let settle around me. Don’t let me slide though… I saw the mold coming. I let it.
It was easier…
Isn’t knowing where you’re headed always easier to follow? If you’re the only one saying left…
Now…
There’s both good & bad in knowing who you are. People can change, but it’s rarely easy. So… When you know who you are, it’s great at first. You’re sure of where you want to end up. You are you. But then… You are you…
You know where you’ll fail, & why. You know both sides & how to win either one.
This is what’s driving me crazy! I know the costs. I know all the f*cking costs!
I know I’ve made an insane choice. But, it’s a f*cking choice. I could keep sliding… I’m a pro at waiting…

I’ve been dreaming of running away…

But who hasn’t thought of that though, right?
Even as adults, how many of us sit in our cubicles, stand in our “comfortable shoes” all day, or just try to avoid scratching that damn hair net, all the while, dreaming of just running away? How sweet would it be to just stop playing along with everyone else? How perfect that sigh of relief when you just turn away…
Yet, we stay.
That dead-end job won’t miss you, nor you it. In time, someone else will rent your box of an apartment. The electric company won’t turn off all the dials if your monthly check doesn’t come in.
So… In the end, why do we stay?
Why do we stay, when the only sure thing is more of that mundanity? The very same that breeds those greener pastures into our daydreams…& yet we never run away.
‘You can’t run away from your troubles.’–’The grass is always greener on the other side.’–’Hang in there!’ Or maybe it’s Annie’s fault, “The sun’ll come out- Tomorrow!”
But what about…
‘Go for it!’–’Just do it!’–’The journey of a thousand…’ Yada yada…
Sadly it was easier to come up with arguments against change, than for it. & that’s what I’m talking about here; Change…
That voice that whispers, “F*ck her iced tea! Run while you have the chance! Don’t you see the sun shining out there?” Why is that always running away? Yeah, life’s hard, the grass is always greener, & since everyone has your social you can never escape your debt… But the glorious Constitution, that document of freedom that we steadily whittle away to mere words, promised us the ‘pursuit of happiness’, not just getting by. & can’t that voice also just be reminding you of that?
Maybe some last shred of your identity is screaming out, “Hey a**hole! Why the f*ck are you still doing this, if, at the end of the day, all you can sigh is, ‘At least I paid the mortgage another month.’? Get out! Get out while you’ve still got balls, or your boobs aren’t touching your belt! This is not life!”
I look around my apartment, taking in the DVDs, books, CDs, all these collections, touchstones that are proof of time passing. I remember how that flick was funny, that book made me cry, the Tv proved I was building something. This is the life I’ve built, & it bores me…
& I feel guilty for that thought, & sad. & that’s also the life I’ve built.
I’m not pursuing happiness, or even living. I’m getting by, & dreaming of running away… ‘When I get these bills caught up, I’ll be free.’–’Next month, I can afford to go back home for the weekend.’
Tomorrow truly is another day, but at this rate… Hehe… I’ll never get to it.
So… Is running away such a bad thing? If I picked up my check next week, & rode off on my bike… What would I miss? Would the things I left be replaceable? Would I want them replaced?
I’m thinking there’s only one way to find out.

Behold!

For thus are the youth inducted into the society of & forsaken to the hydra.
Am I pretty?

Capitalizing on the i–)>

Ads like this make me wonder if they’re trying to subtly attach the glamour of the iPhone to the boutique (in this case).
Notice they have it in landscape view as well…

Sad commentary…

Ah, what will become of Maury now?
When it becomes worthy of advertising dollars exactly how many shitty parents-to-be are there out there?
Not that an “accidental” parent is automatically a bad parent, but I’m guessing the odds are pretty good…
Is it that hard to wear a condom, or keep track of who f*cked you?