Bad Guy

Well, hello everyone, I hope you had a Merry Christmas. Mine was absolutely horrible!

If you haven't read about Dizzy yet, you might wanna go back and read about her first. Just click here.

When I first met Dizzy she was "getting" a divorce. That usually means that both parties have agreed to separate right? Well, I guess her husband (we'll nickname Midget) didn’t get the memo. As with what seems to happen with every woman I date, SOMEHOW their EX gets access to my phone number.

Of course I start getting the threatening messages, endless phone calls, etc. Dizzy begs me to ignore Midget, she doesn't want to make it worse (this is the pattern that will follow throughout this blog). So I ignored him. Everytime he tried to prove me, she would beg me to ignore him, and I would. Sad because it didn't help. I should've said what I wanted and maybe things would've gone a different route. Who knows...

Over my Halloween trip home, Midget runs into Dizzy, me, and her kids at Wal-Mart. By "runs" I mean he runs all thuggish up to me like he was going to attack me (and fulfill every text and voicemail he has ever sent me). So I push him away from me (almost knocking him to the ground). I mean, this guy is really short...he's so used to being able to control those around him that he actually thought I was scared of him. Then when Dizzy and I were leaving Wal-Mart, he tries to block us in and is standing outside of her car window shouting all sort of obscenities. I managed to back the car out and escape. Of course, from Dizzy's perspective, I'm the bad guy in this situation for two reasons. - 1. (And I QUOTE) "You should've have put your hands on him." and 2. Her kids were in the car with Midget and I was the bad guy for driving away from him (while he was driving recklessly to prevent our exit). I let all of this slide...

Then on Christmas-Eve I started getting text messages from Midget on how he and Dizzy had been having sexual relationships as recent as 10 days ago. He even described a sign that hung up on the door to my basement. Now I knew that he was at my house to drop of his kids' gifts (of course Dizzy did tell me that he'd never be there, EVER!). So I really didn't believe him.

Christmas morning Dizzy and I were having a great morning. That is of course until Midget, who wanted his kids for both Christmas-Eve and all of Christmas Day, realized that having his kids wasn't going to get Dizzy to want to be with him. So he started calling her and I had to spend over an hour downstairs by myself listening to Dizzy and Midget spat it out.

Dizzy and I went to leave around 11:00 am that morning and Midget pulled up behind me before I could back out. Dizzy said "Just lock the doors". I did and then I pulled around the house and got around him. He then proceeded to try to run us off the road. I call 911, Dizzy calls Midget's mom and she finds out that their 5 year old son is in the vehicle with him. While I'm trying to avoid hitting him, escape him (remember, I got in trouble for touching him last time), and talking to 911, she wants me to just pull over. We get onto Rt. 50 and he passes us and takes the Rt. 47 exit. I wasn't going to take the exit but Dizzy told me to. I pull up behind them and Midget jumps out and runs back to my window and starts beating on it.

Dizzy jumps out and runs to his vehicle to get her son. She opens the back door and leans into get unbuckle him. Midget runs behind her, lifts her legs up and throws her into the back of the car. Then shuts the door and takes off. My HEART SANK! I proceeded to follow them all the while being on the phone with 911. Midget is driving crazily through Parkersburg trying to ditch me. He eventually does when I stopped to point them out to a cop. They didn't catch up with them.

Around 15 minutes later Dizzy calls me from Midget's mom's house and says "I'm fine, he just dropped us off here and left. He just wanted me to be with the kids. Don't call the cops. He didn't abduct me." I flip out! WTF! So her purse, cell phone, and keys are in my front seat and she left willingly with Midget? As God as my witness, I will never forget the sight of the woman I love being kidnapped by a psycho! This was my biggest fear the whole time I dated her. He was just crazy enough to think that he could just do with her whatever he wanted...well I guess he was right. She didn't press charges against him. She told the cops (and her family) that she was sitting in the back seat and he just shut the door. There are only a few words I will never tolerate being called - a LIAR is one of them. I know what I saw, and she'll never convince me otherwise.

So of course, after realizing that she was going to gloss-over (defend) his actions, then I knew this wasn't the life that I wanted. I packed my stuff up and left. We were supposed to talk later that evening.

Well, later that evening I was sitting at a friends house tying a few cold ones on. She shows up there with an Ex-Boyfriend from over 10 years ago that she said was "just friends". Well, I'm sorry, this being the first time I've ever met him, and the fact that she and I are fighting, I didn't take well to being taunted.

So I left and sent her a few drunken, albeit inappropriate, text messages. I wasn't very nice, but I felt provoked and hurt by the fact that she had defended Midget's actions and then chose to spend her Christmas night with her Ex-boyfriend instead of working things out with me. Also it doesn't help that she's practically lived at my house rent free, I've lent her money to repair her windshield and both mirrors (both of which Midget broke), so I felt a little used.

The next day we spoke, or should I say I got yelled at and just listened:
- I was the bad guy for running (EVEN THOUGH LAST TIME I WAS WRONG FOR PUSHING HIM).
- I was the bad guy for calling the cops on him (EVEN THOUGH THE LAST TIME I TOUCHED HIM HE PRESSED CHARGES AGAINST ME).
- I was the bad guy for putting her son in danger (HE WASN'T IN MY CAR).
- I was bad guy and hateful for texting her inappropriately (EVEN THOUGH I WAS DRUNK AND PROVOKED).

I guess I'm just the bad guy!!!

Well, I don't wish Dizzy any ill intentions. Maybe one day she'll find a person that will be willing to put up with as much stuff as I did, and then more. I feel so sick to my stomach that I even thought that this would ever work.

So needless to say, I'm looking forward to traveling back to Austin. It's time for me to truly live the life I was meant to live there. Oh, and I have a house for sale if anyone is interested! ;-)

Take care and everyone have a safe and Happy New Years!!!

Fair is Fair!?!?!

I'm going to stray into the political world for my latest blog...
For the entire eight years of the latest Bush Administration, I can't tell you how many times I had to hear about how Bush and Cheney, being from Texas, were helping to inflate the gas prices to line the pockets of their oil buddies. I would have arguments with my liberal friends, read story after story online, etc. all about how Bush was just inflating the prices because his oil buddies had asked.
SO SO SO - now that we have a liberal president, the gas prices have raised over $1 a gallon in the two years since Obama was elected.
WHO's to blame NOW? I guess it's ok for Obama for to continue to blame Bush for all of the issues he can't handle, huh?
Where are the stories about how Obama is lining the pockets of his oil buddies? Where is the media outrage of his lack of action to control the rising gas prices?
One word to describe it - HYPOCRITES!!!

Hamilton Pool

A few weeks ago a co-worker texted me and said "Hey, I'm going to Hamilton Pool, do you want to go?"  To be honest, my first reaction (to myself) was "I have a pool here!".  I'm so glad I didn't listen to myself!

This place ranks as one of the coolest places I have ever experienced in person.
Hamilton Pool is a natural water feature located just outside of Austin, TX.  You can check out their website here.

As we were walking the trail down I learn that it used to be two giant sheets of limestone with an underground river that eventually collapsed, one sheet got pushed under the other.  What resulted in a natural pool with a waterfall that cascades down from over 45 feet above.

I was truly and sincerely blown away!  You really have no idea.  I love water SO much and I have dreamed of seeing a place like this on a tropical island somewhere. I did not expect to see it in the States.    

Being this late in the year, the water was a little cold, but for anyone that has seen me around water, it did not matter!  After warming up on the walk down, which took about 20 minutes, I was in the water within seconds.  I love being in and around water so much - it rejuvenates me!  

This place SOLD me on Austin!!!  I may never live here long term, but I will visit Hamilton Pool for YEARS to come! Once in the water, I swam over to a giant limestone rock that looks as if God positioned it directly under the waterfall.  You could clime on there and then let the water fall down around you.  After your natural shower, you could jump back into the pool.  This place was unbelievable!!!


There were huge flat broken pieces of limestone surrounding the left side, which had a 20 foot over hang from the limestone shelf above.  If you have seen the new Predators movie (where they are taken to a animal preserve and hunted) then you would recognize these rocks.  In the movie, the characters jump off of the cliff and climb out of the water onto these rocks.  

This will mark the second time that I was able to see famous "water rocks".  When I was 14 I rafted down the New River and got to see the rock that the actors jumped off of in the very first Mountain Dew commercial.


There was more to this place than just the pool.  After we swam, we hiked down the trails that were roughly 2 miles long and ended at a river (and another swimming spot) where the waterfall eventually empties.  The path along the way was absolutely beautiful.  It looked prehistoric and untouched by man!  I kept waiting for those little raptor dinosaurs (from Jurassic Park 2) to jump out.  But seriously, there were NO signs of man other than the occasional sign that reminded you that this was a nature preserve and to help keep it that way.  This whole area was beautiful!!!

My sincere thanks to Patrick for inviting me on his trip there.  As a native Austin resident, he has offered to show me some of the other great water features of this area.  I'll be honest though, I can't imagine anything that is as breathtakingly beautiful as Hamilton Pool.

Thanks for reading everyone!  If you ever make it down here to visit me, I will take you to this one-of-a-kind place!!!

Take care...

Rumors

Sometimes I find myself in situations that I absolutely had nothing to do with.

A close friend of mine texted me today and said "I got asked yesterday if you was dating [Runner]".  I have never worked with Runner.  I used to work on projects with her husband.  I knew who she was through him and I would occasionally see Runner on the treadmills at work (hence the "runner" nickname).  I've probably never had more than 10 conversations with her.

I never hung out with Runner or her husband.  This was truly a funny and unsubstantiated accusation. My buddy just laughed it off too.  He knows that I'm dating Dizzy and coming down to Austin had nothing to do with any woman.

Here's the text message he got at work when he told this rumor monger that I wasn't dating Runner: 

"oddly, [Runner] quit bpd and left her husband and moved to san antonio this past weekend when jr was here. Supposedly no job and knows no one there..."

Oh I guess that makes it ok to accuse me of breaking up a marriage!  You know, just when I think I have seen and heard everything, something else comes my way.

So, for the record, since I know there are a lot of BPD readers that read this blog:  I have nothing to do with Runner and her decision to move to Texas...NOTHING, NADA, NILTCH, etc.  I haven't seen Runner or her husband since they came to listen to Jinx'd at my farewell party...you know, the same party where Dizzy and I danced the night away!!!

While true, Austin is close to San Antonio, maybe the rumor mongers need to consider that San Antonio is ranked as one of the best places to live and work and also a great place for singles.  Did that every cross your minds as to a reason why someone would move there?

As with any agency, there are a few folks that just don't have enough work to do!!!  Leave me out of your rumor mills...quit thinking that everyone acts like characters from Desperate Housewives or whatever other silly drama you base your life on.

Take care, thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!!!

Dizzy

This blog entry is going to be more upbeat, for a change.

I eluded to a girl whom I nicknamed Dizzy a few blog posts ago and now it's time to fill the rest of the story in...

I first met Dizzy many years ago.  I'm not sure of how long ago, but my best guess would be when I was 15-16.  Being 6 years younger than me, I never really gave much thought of her.  I used to hang out with her older brother some.

Fast forward a few years (almost 6 years ago)...I'm out of the Army, back in Parkersburg, and working for the government.  Dizzy is all grown up and getting ready to graduate high school.  She is a knockout (still is)!!!  No doubt about it.  She catches my eye at a party and we started talking.  

We went on one date, and I even bought her some roses for V-day a few days later (yeah I know, a little too much).  I never heard from her again.  Maybe I pushed too hard, maybe she was interested in someone else.  Later, through mutual friends, I heard that Dizzy got married a few months later and moved to Texas (coincidentally).

I didn't have any ill feelings towards her. How could I?  One date and I guess the spark wasn't there for her.  So, I spent the next 6 years going through the motions, most of which has been captured here in my blog.

Then at my family farewell party in July, Dizzy's brother brings her along.  Dizzy, recently separated and filing for divorce, is still a knockout, but this time I don't let her catch my eye.  She later told me that she didn't understand why I wasn't checking her out.  

Funny the games that men and women play!  I was indeed checking her out, I just didn't let her notice.  Plus, my mind was on Texas, not on finding a girlfriend back in West Virginia.

As the night went on, some us that went on a four-wheeler ride.  Dizzy rode with me...and the rest is history!  ;-)  We began talking over the next few days and then began spending as much time together as possible.  She has 2 young children and I was packing my life up and preparing for my move to Texas.  This time however, there was a connection between both of us that we both felt.

It was like we were trying to catch up on 6 years in just one month!  We both agreed to let go of the past.  We both are different people than we were 6 years ago, and honestly, we both doubted that our relationship would have lasted very long back then.  Dizzy was just starting her life, I was looking to settle mine down.  It's funny how fate can give us re-deals in life when we least expect it.

So now Dizzy and I are dating.  The long distance isn't a problem for us.  Having been a military wife, she is used to the distance.  As for me, I'm used to being on my own.  Dizzy is still getting her life back on track post-divorce and I really need to get at least a year in at my current grade level.  The sacrifices now will make for a more comfortable life later. 

So for once I can say that my life has balance!  I'm happy at work, I'm happy with my friends, I'm happy with my family, and I'm happy with my love!!!

Thanks for reading...

P.S. - as for how I came up with the nickname Dizzy, I really can't explain that because I didn't name her.  Let's just say that she came up with it herself!  ;-)

Desperate Story

This blog entry is going to take me back down a dark road.  Life has been great lately with respects to my dating situation, even being over 1,300 miles away hasn't dampened our spirits.

Yesterday I got a desperate e-mail from Fairmont.  If you're new to this blog, you'll have to go back to some of my entries from over a year ago and do some research on her.  The 20/20 on her was that she was a very selfish person who tried, like many women I have dated, to play both sides.  She had her EX (and baby's daddy) at home in Fairmont and she would come to Parkersburg for her weekend get aways from it all.  Once I saw through all of the b.s. I finally managed to get myself out of the situation.  I haven't had any communication with her in months.  

Then this e-mail comes in.  I'm going to post it verbatim (except I'm going to remove her EX's name):

"I knw u dnt wnt 2 talk 2 me but I have a huge question 2 ask u and I dnt wnt u 2 get upset but it has a lot 2 do w why I did some of what I did. I wasn't ever gnna ask u but I have gave it time and I still can't stop thinking about it. Ok I'm just gnna come out and ask u bc I dnt knw of any other way....so here it goes.....r u gay or bi? When we were 2gether I got anonymous emails telling me that I was gnna get hurt bc u would eventually come out. It never crossed my mind that u were gay and I pushed it off as a joke or maybe even [my EX] trying to start shit but then they started telling me stories about u at work and then I knew it wasn't [my EX]. I'm not trying to b in ur business I just need 2 knw 4 me. Sorry I never came to u b4 but how do u ask the man ur with and love if they are gay? I never got that vibe frm u and usually I'm pretty good at knwing if sum1 is gay. I have tried 2 get u out of my head but it hasn't wrked. I knw u r seeing sum1 and dnt wnt to interfere but in order 4 me to completely move on I need the last of my questions answered. PLEASE"

First off, I have nothing against gays.  I have a very close friend whom I used to work with that is gay, so please don't take this rant as anti-gay...

WTF though!!!  This crazy chick is so desperate to have an ounce of my attention that she is making up wild stories in her head!  I love the parts about how it never crossed her mind that I was gay, that is of course, until I was no longer willing to stick any of my body parts near HER!  She never got the gay "vibe" from me until I wasn't willing to talk to her!  And she's not trying to be in my business?!?!?  Sounds like she is and wants to be!  

This has to be one of the most desperate attempts to get a response from me that I have ever seen.
I got really choked up on the parts about how she loved me...yeah right!  Fairmont wouldn't know love if it ran over her in a Mack truck, backed up, and then ran over her again.

Sorry, that sounded kind of violent.  I don't have any hate in my heart for her or any of my past failures, and make no mistake, they were all failures.  Yet I have come to realize that you should learn from your mistakes and that everything happens for a reason.  Even if I wasn't in a great relationship right now, I wouldn't give Fairmont the time of day.

In closing, I guess I should be angry at this blatantly fictitious story, but I'm not.  It's just another EX in a long line of EXs that are trying to get back on the pedestal that I had them on!  Sorry, but "Fool me once, shame on you, Fool me twice, shame on ME!"

When can I turn all of this into a movie?!?!?!

Take care everyone and thanks for reading!!!

Faker Faker

They say you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer. So where does fake people come in? You know the type of people I'm talking about, don't you? People that act like they are your friends until they don't have anymore use for you.

It's been a little over two months since I've moved down to Austin. Just being away from WV has been an eye opening experience. I have people texting me, checking up on me, that I would never have expected. I did consider them friends, just not as close as some others.

Then we have the "some others". Friends that I considered close, I spoke with two or three times a week, if not daily. Now I can see that most of these were just friends that were all about being friends as long as I could do something for them, help them out, etc. I hear nothing from them now. I have reached out to them. Asking how their kids were doing, how they were doing, etc. Usually there is NO response, and if there is it's usually very short.

So, I can take a hint. I'm not bitter or angry at all. It's a valuable thing to know who your true friends are! I will be back in Parkersburg one day, and all of those "fake" friends will wonder why JR doesn't answer their calls or texts anymore. That will be because JR doesn't answer calls from unknown numbers! ;-)

And please, if you have read this far and think I'm talking about you, don't text or call me just to try to explain. You know whether or not you have spoken with me over the last 2 months. I didn't write this to get any of your excuses as to why you haven't been in contact. This is my blog and I wanted to get this off of my chest.

Summer of ROCK

Summer of ROCK

Hey everyone! Sorry I have not blogged forever...

With the move to Austin I have been super busy. I hope everything is going well with you.

So as promised, here is my blog about the greatest summer of ROCK ever:

Around February I managed to convince the Eagles to run radio spots to advertise for our local Fri/Sat bands. What an impact 1 little light bulb idea can have.

Things went well for the first month, so we decided to run more ads in March. Just by pure luck I was unable to take the check to the radio station, so our account rep Penny picked it up at the bar.

Later that day Penny sends me a message that Big Ric from 103.1 "The Bear" wants to meet me at the club. I met them both there the next day to give them a tour of the club. They were looking for a suitable location to host a national comedy act.

We were sitting on the stage just chatting; when a profound idea was born...I will always remember how it went! I was explaining to Big Ric how our local bands were not bringing in the cash. Slightly joking, slightly hopeful I said "I'd love to get a big rock band in here." Without hesitation Big Ric looked at me and said "I can get you a band! Just give me a budget"

Well, less than three weeks later we had Black Stone Cherry booked for June. Less than two weeks after that Big Ric calls me and scored us Pop Evil for May.

I will always remember how excited I was when we sold out of our first rock show! We had all of our expenses paid for before the doors opened! That had NEVER happened for any other special event or function!

The day of the Pop Evil concert I was a nervous wreck though. So many people at my club wanted me to fail, which seems to be the situation I always find myself in. I don't know if it's my ambition, unique ideas, or what.

Meeting the guys from Pop Evil was great! They were all super nice guys. I was invited to hang out on the bus and listen to a few of their new songs...absolutely an awesome time!

Many lessons was learned for this first concert, the most important being "JR can NOT party like a rock star!" LOL…while I was giving the lead singer a tour of our club, he says "JR, I like you...let's get a shot!" I should have passed, but I was living in the moment. Needless to say, after that shot and a few beers I was wasted. I didn't even get to see the end of the show, but so what! I had worked very hard to make that day happen and I needed the stress relief!


The Pop Evil show was a huge success for my club. They did over $9,000 in bar sales!!! For a point of reference, they barely do that in two weeks!!! After all of this success, I was still on edge because now I had to focus on the next concert, and wonder if it was going to be as successful.

At the end of May I went up to Columbus to go to Rock on the Range. For those who have never heard of it, it's a two day rock concert. There were over 30 bands performing on three stages. I had a BLAST and will never miss another one! I was able to see my favorite bands Theory of Deadman and Puddle of Mudd. Also caught Three Days Grace, Rob Zombie, Godsmack, Five Finger Death Punch, and so many more! It was a rock music overload and I loved it!

Once I was back in the real world, the Black Stone Cherry was fast approaching. It sold out as well!!! I just could not believe the success that these concerts were having. This concert was on a Wednesday night and the bar still sold over $8,000!!! The guys from Black Stone Cherry were super nice, down to Earth, country boys from Kentucky. Everything about that concert was great!!!

Big Ric scored us the band RED for late July, but we were very fortunate to save another show at the end of June. With only 10 days until the concert date, we get offered Taproot. The bar they were scheduled to play at went up in flames, so to speak! LOL…Pun intended, the bar was called The Inferno and it went out of business. So with only 10 days, we were able to throw together another great rock show that brought Taproot, Anew Revolution, Destrophy, and Ice Nine Kills to Parkersburg.

The Taproot show sold out at the doors! It was another hugely successful concert that managed another $9,000 bar night! It was awesome to hang out with the guys from the bands, and they were so appreciative of our hospitality.

In between the Taproot show and the RED concert, Big Ric came through with an awesome opportunity. He scored back stage tickets to a concert in Cleveland. Sick Puppies was headlining, with Janus, My Darkest Days, and It’s Alive. What a thrill it was to meet the band members from Sick Puppies and Janus. I will never forget how down to Earth they were. It was also so great to enjoy a concert without having to worry about anything....you know, like fights, drinks spilled, making money, etc. I was just there to DRINK and enjoy the ROCK!!!

Then July came and we had RED to look forward to. Booking these guys was a huge pain…I had to take pictures of the stage, give the dimensions, let them speak with our sound/lighting guys. All in all, not a great experience and honestly, if they were our first band, I wouldn’t have booked anymore. But the show was great and everyone really seemed to enjoy the music.

The day after RED I had to pack up and move to Austin. It was a bittersweet move that I’ll cover later.

At the end of August I returned to Parkersburg for the biggest Rock concert that town has ever seen! Big Ric and I hatched the idea months before, and before I left I passed the torch to Brian. The headliner band was Saving Abel. Other acts included Nonpoint, Black Sunshine, Taddy Porter, Boboflex, and many more. It was 12 hours of great ROCK music!!! What a great success it turned out to be for our area. It proved that Parkersburg can and would support a music arena.

So that has been my Summer of ROCK. There has been more shows at the Eagles, but sadly I have had to miss them. The Sick Puppies tore it up in September and then Burn Halo rocked out in October. I’m glad to see Brian still has the strength to keep these shows going.

Eventually, I’m going to start catching a few rock shows down here in Austin! ;-)

Well, I hope all is well with you and yours! Take care everyone…thanks for reading!!!

EXCITED for ME

Hey there everyone, how have you been?
Right now I'm on a plane somewhere over Texas on my way to Columbus, thru Nashville.
I flew into Austin late Monday night and spent most of yesterday looking at various apartments.
The one I chose is only 15 minutes from work and is located in a better part of Austin. There are 4 pools, but the one closest to me is the main pool (and the nicest I've seen at any of the other apartments). Other things that attracted me to this property is the gym facilities and the indoor stadium (private) movie theater that seats 32 and can be rented! ;-)
Everyone keeps asking me if I was getting excited about moving to Austin, well now I can finally say YES! First, I couldn't see past my 6 days DC work trip, then I couldn't get away from my Eagle's duties, then I had to find a place to live!!! So now, I'm excited! All I have to do is finish packing my things and hit the road!!!
I will be back one day! I have no doubt that WV is in my blood and TX will never be able to change that. It is a little bittersweet leaving, however. Over the last 4 months I've not had much free time to myself. All of these Eagles concerts, my other duties there, plus my day job has occupied my time. Plus, I've really gotten to meet a lot of new friends and contacts that may come in handy one day. It has been an awesome experience promoting these rock shows! Very few people realize how much work is involved, and I'm fine with that! I was doing those for the benefit of the Eagles club, even if the old ass members don't realize that. In three concerts we had sold enough tickets to pay for the bands/lighting/sound before we even opened the doors! They cleared over $16,000 in just 3 concerts! They won't make that kind of profit in 2 months!!! I'm passing the torch now to Cheer Dad, and I will support him however I can. We both will be working the RED concert this Friday and then Bearfest in August. After that all the concerts are his to make...and yes, he already has one on the hook and I'm soooo jealous! Don't bother asking me, this will be Cheer Dad's announcement!!! I just hope I can make it! ;-)
Back on what I will also miss...it sucks that I meet someone 3 weeks before I leave! Isn't that funny how fate works? I put all this effort into building a secure future for myself, making plans, I knew what I wanted and where I was going...then fate stepped in and cold cocked me! ;-) I've had a great time getting to know "Dizzy" but I'll write a separate blog on her later, she definitely deserves her own! ;-)
I'm obviously still going to be moving to Austin! I have wanted to get a promotion for a few years now. My goals have always been to make it to management, and this is my first step!
My friends question why I'm leaving "for money" when they think I don't want for anything in Parkersburg. That may be true, to some extent, but I want my chance to prove that I can be a team leader. Now I have that opportunity, I just have to move! It would probably be another 5-10 years, if ever, that I would get the same opportunity where I work now.
I have prepared myself for this type of opportunity my whole life! I have soaked up every bit of technology, function, system, best practices, and process I could! My goal was to make myself a well rounded employee, and I think I succeeded. Now it's time for me to step up and show them my worth!!!
So in conclusion - I'm moving to Austin for ME - and I'm EXCITED about it!!! ;-)

Maybe...

I keep promising to blog about all the concerts I've gone to over these past few months and I eventually will. I have just been SO busy...
Right now I have an experience stuck in my head that I want to share.
I was fortunate enough to be able to go back stage at the House of Blues in Cleveland on Wednesday and meet both Janus and the Sick Puppies. Both bands were super nice and I can't wait to see them again.
If you read my blogs regularly, then you know that music really influences me. I always seem to gravitate to songs that fit how I am feeling at that time. Well I heard a song from Sick Puppies called Maybe live for the first time and I'm HOOKED. Click here to listen to the song.
This song really explains how I'm feeling about moving to Austin. Possibly better than ANY song could.
The lyrics "Maybe it's time to change, And Leave it all behind" and then "And Why Does It Feel So Wrong, To Reach For Something More" ALL seem to fit my life right now!
So to my family and friend, if I haven't been able t0 explain to you why I'm moving to Austin, listen to Maybe by the Sick Puppies!
All I'm doing is "Reaching For Something More!"

Eclipse

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted...I'm truly sorry for that. Things have been crazy busy with the Eagle's concerts and my new duties there. More on that in a later post. And I promise to catch up!!! ;-)
Today I went to see Eclipse. A very good movie and I dare say better than the second one for sure!
Again, I find myself relating to the situation that Jacob has found himself in. It was really hard for me to sit and watch how badly Jacob was bring treated. Hard because I could totally relate to how he was feeling and how he was being treated. I would sit there and think - "dude you're just a door mat for her" but then I would realize that I was watching a few scenes from my life!
Am I the only person that assigns thoughts, memories, smells, songs, etc. to my past relationships? I really hope I'm not! ;-(
You see, I have several songs that when they are played I turn them off. One or two fragrances that I just can't stand because of whom they remind me of. And now of course, all the Twilight movies fall into this category. I really hate that because I do love these movies.
Yet, I have been the Jacob in almost every relationship I have ever been in....BUT I finally have an ACE up my sleeve! There is no more second chances, no more wanting more, no more wondering "what if"! There is just NO MORE!
If you haven't heard yet - I'm getting ready to have an Eclipse of my own! In 26 days I will Eclipse myself from West Virginia. I am moving over 1,300 miles away to the great state of Texas!
You know I was really questioning myself these last few days. The feeling of nostalgia really weighed heavy on my heart. All of those feelings are gone! I was practically numb after watching Eclipse. I have to get out of here for a few years! I'm not saying that I won't be back - I just hope that all my "problems" aren't here when and if I do!
So...26 days and counting until I get the Eclipse that I need to set me free!!!

Riddle Me This, Riddle Me That

Who's afraid of off-the-wall questions? ME! ME! ME!
How is it that a someone can ask me an off-the-wall question and it sends my head into a tailspin and leaves me questioning every step I've taken in my life?
WEIRD! Very WEIRD! That's what happened tonight.
I almost wanted to look back at them like Heath Ledger did as the Joker in "Batman: Dark Night" and lick my lips and say "You wanna know how I got these scars?"
Scars...not in the physical sense, but the emotional ones. But in reality, don't we all have scars. Some may be more obvious to point out than others.
Most of my adult life I have scripted how things would play out, well everything except relationships - good luck with scripting that...and those are really where most of my scars come from.
Now, when I was 19 and joined the Active Army I knew that I would eventually come back to WV. When I was in the Army I knew that I was going to get my degree. When I got back to WV I knew I was going to get a job at Public Debt. And six years ago I knew that I was going to be here for the rest of my life...
Well...Tuesday I had a job interview (phone) with the Department of Veteran's Affairs in Austin, TX. The interview went very well and I really think I will be offered the job.
Will I take it? I don't know...
I have two nephews that I love dearly and I enjoy seeing them regularly. Add to that all my family, friends, co-workers and I've really built up a good life here.
Still though, I was probably 75% likely to take the Austin job if offered to me...that is until tonight.
One simple question, followed by a response question from me, sent my head a spinning!
Now I really don't know what I want!?!?
What does my future hold? Should I control my own destiny and accept the Austin job is offered? Or should I stay in P-burg and see what FATE has in store for me? The only problem is that there are WAY too many "what ifs" here.
What do I really want out of this short time on Earth?

WOW! Remind me not to listen to anymore "JR, I'm gonna be honest with you and I want you to give me an honest answer to this question" QUESTIONS!
EAR MUFFS! ;-)

2010 – Cabin trip – Night 3

Wow what a great weekend so far! Today the weather continued to hold and we all got an early start to the river. There are two river hang outs and today we went to a different one then yesterday. On our way to the river, I noticed a few old cars junked in the creek running along the road. Joe, Jeremy, and I rode over to them and started picking through the cars looking for emblems. Then we see two more cars up the river that were not visible from the road, then once at those two we saw two more, and then one by itself. All in all there were 7 old cars. We got some pretty cool emblems that I’m going to put on Ebay and see if I can get any of them sold. Maybe it will pay the beer for our next cabin trip!

The girls headed home once we got back to the river and then it was just the guys chilling. More just time by the fire drinking beer, singing, and bs’ing. I have to head home tomorrow and I’m not looking forward to it! Back to work, back to the Eagles, back to the real world! Oh well, it was a wonderful weekend to just relax!!!

Oh, by the way, Happy Birthday Jeremy! ;-)

Pic will be posted on Facebook – check them out!

2010 – Cabin trip – Night 1.5/2

Well, I headed off to bed around 12:30 am this morning. Around 3:30 I heard some banging around. I look outside and I could see Jeremy and Joe unpacking their things into the cabin. I get up and head over there to hang out with them. We start drinking and Jeremy gets his guitar out. Joe crashed around 5 but Jeremy and I stayed up until daylight. Then we figured we better be crashing because we were expecting James and BJ by 10 am.

True to form when I finally rolled out of bed at 10:30, James and BJ was already at the cabin. Within the hour Jeanie and Sonya had made it up too. We all get everything unpacked and then we got to some chores. BJ and I went up the four wheeler trails and cut up some trees that had fell down over the trails.

Around 1:00, after some lunch, we all packed the beer up into riding coolers and headed off to the river. What a blast!!! I literally could spend all day there. Hit the mud holes, get dirty, 2 minute ride to the river and clean off, repeat! LOL

We headed back to the cabin and got the fire going. The rain set in and then we all crammed into the cabin and Jeremy got his guitar back out. Beer, music, and friends…what a great relaxing time!

2010 - Cabin trip - Night 1

Well after a full day at work I finally hit the road to the cabin around 7:00 and made it here around 8:45.  After unpacking and getting everything setup it was well after 10:00. 
It's so quiet and peaceful here...that may be one of the reasons I decided to come up alone for the first night.  Everyone else is coming up tomorrow.  I didn't have any plans for tonight so I decided to leave earlier.  I can't say I'm completely alone - I brought Coal with me.  His snorting and licking does interrupt the crackling of the fire every now and then, but I'm so glad he's here.  He didn't seem to mind the ride up. 
Speaking of ride - the new ride performed awesome!  I got to try out most of the off-road bells and whistles (electronic locking rear differential, off-road lights, etc.).  We crawled through the mud holes and up cabin falls (a pretty big hill) with no problems - even towing a trailer.  I'm so glad I finally got my Xterra!  ;-)
Sitting up here alone (well, the only person) really makes me think about my step-father.  He built this cabin and, god rest his soul, he's not buried too far from here.  I didn't think about it until now, but coming up here alone is the "Milford" thing to do.  Everyone was surprised that I was coming up here a night before anyone else...though it wasn't my intentions.   When I made my plans for this weekend I really expected a few people to come up tonight.  But oh well, I'll enjoy the peace and quiet!
This is also the 1st trip to the cabin for me in over a year where I'm not thinking about some woman that just did me wrong.  The last two times I've came up here I was supposed to be bringing a date with me, but they backed out at the last minute.  I haven't even had time to date these last few months...so this weekend will just be about relaxing and hanging with friends.
Waiting for me back home...The Pop Evil concert is two weeks from tonight!  I really hope that we have a kick ass show!  We're over 145 tickets sold with 50 extra being given away on 103.1 "The Bear".  So we're already looking at 200 people and I'm optimistic that we'll sell another 200 tickets.  That's going to put us around break-even for the band and lighting/sound.  So it'll be up to the bar to make our money.
Maybe after I get done promoting these rock shows for the Eagles I can start focusing on my personal life again.  Who knows?!?!  I haven't been on a date since late February and honestly that was a waste of my time!  I guess when the time is right I'll meet Mrs. Right, or so I've been told. 
Well, enough staring at an iPhone that doesn't get any service!  LOL
I'll post this and all my blogs from this weekend when I get back home.  I hope you all have a great weekend!!!
Peace out.  ;-)

Busy, busy, busy...

Sorry everybody for not posting the last month...
Things have been ccccrazy busy for me lately. If you haven't heard, I was able to score a national rock back to come play at the Eagles. Pop Evil will be play on May 7th! This will hopefully be a huge draw to our club and only the beginning. Stay tuned to what the next band we're getting! I already have them booked, but I want to wait until after Pop Evil to announce. If you're in the Parkersburg area, the Pop Evil concert is $10 tickets and will have Jinx'd opening up for them.
So I have spent my last month either at the radio station in meetings, at the Eagles in meetings, or at work. Very little time for anything else!
I did manage to squeeze in a Poker run last Saturday. It was 60 miles and took about 6 hours. Me, my brother, and the Lynch boys (Aaron, Jeff, and Josh) had a great time! No one broke down and it was just an absolutely great time.
This weekend I'm heading to the cabin to do some more riding and camping. This will be my first time to try out my new pop-up tent! LOL - oh yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that I bought a new vehicle last month. I traded my truck in for a 2010 X-terra Off Road. I'm soooo looking forward to what it can do on the trails to the cabin! ;-) Plus I'm planning on camping in the back of it ("pop-up tent").
I hope all is well with each of you. Sorry again for not posting lately. I hope you can make it to the Pop Evil concert. Let me know if you need tickets and I'll get them to you!
Take care,
Jr.
P.S. - No dates and/or no women to complain or talk about. I've just been too busy, but it's actually been kind of nice! ;-) I might have a cruise in my near future! Talk to you all later!

S-L-E-E-P

I feel like I haven't slept in days!

Let's see, since my last post I have been pretty busy.

Friday night after work I hit the road to Elkins, WV to attend the WV FOE State Conference. It's basically about 2-3 hours of meetings over 2 1/2 days mixed with a lot of beer! LOL

I made it home Sunday afternoon and I headed to the Eagles here in town to drop off some stuff and check on some things.

I was back to work on Monday. Then I had a meeting with a group of people interested in taking over some functions at the Eagles. That was a successful meeting and some really good changes are coming soon! I was back over to the Eagles that night to sign checks and have a few impromptu meetings. I didn't get home until after 10:30.

I was back up and at work by 6:30 Tuesday. I was beginning my first day (of three) of a testing class. It was called Testing Techniques for Business Analysts. The first day was very interesting. The instructor really makes or breaks these classes. Luckily I had someone who knew what she was talking about.

After work I headed over to the radio station to talk out the details of a rock concert that I'm spearheading at the Eagles. We also talked over a few other exciting projects that might eventually swing our way! I'm so glad that these opportunities are coming our way! And to think...it all started because I decided to run some radio ads for JINXD. I even had to PAY for them myslef...intially that is! They eventually reimbursed me.

Then I rushed back over to the club for our bi-monthly member's meeting. That all ended around 9:00 but there was still some checks that I needed to sign and with everyone there wanting to talk business, I didn't make it home until after 11:00.

Back up on Wednesday to attend day two of my class. This was the hardest day for me because, since I went to 10 hour days a few weeks ago, this was usually my day off. Oh well...not this week it wasn't. I was suppose to hit the gym with Frank around 5:30 but the radio station called again and had the band's contract and wanted me to come over and look it over. After discussing all the details with them and also working out some future radio promotions, I headed straight home and took a nice long NAP! Man was it needed! Only problem though is that I slept TOO long. SO I was still up at 1:00 this morning! ;-(

Back to work yet again for my last day of class. This time however, I did manage to hit the gym with Frank for a pretty good chest workout. Then rushed home, showered, and back to the club to help sell raffle tickets and drum up some business.

I just got home about 20 minutes ago (around 10:15). I thought I would get on here and apologize to everyone that may think that I'm ignoring them! I promise you I'm not! I really feel like the last 5-6 days have all been one really long day!

Tomorrow is still more of the same I'm afraid. Though I don't have anymore class! ;-) I still have to work tomorrow for a few hours of over time! I also need to meet some fire fighters over at the club to welcome their group to the club and hopefully sign up some new members. Then maybe I can get another good workout in tomorrow evening.

After that I'm really hoping to have some R&R. We have initiation at the Eagles Sunday afternoon. There are a few banquets this weekend that I may go over and help with. I also have a very long list of things that I need to get done before our rock concert!!! More details on that later!

I hope all is well with you! Take care.

Roller coaster

Ok...why do women I've never met, or even talked to, add me as a friend on Face Book and then after a few days of friendly chats get pissed off, or at least seem annoyed, when I'm not interested in dating???
Listen one and listen all...my love life has been one crazy roller ride the last few years...and I absolutely HATE roller coasters!!! I have finally gotten myself off the ride! My thoughts are clear...I have focus again...and I'm trying to do what's best for me for once in a looong time. I am NOT good boyfriend material right now!!!

I DO NOT NEED OR WANT YOUR HELP BACK ONTO THE ROLLER COASTER!!!

Thank you!!!


P.S. - I'm much better at swimming! ;-)

Rocking Eagles Concert

I want to come to the 1st Eagle's Rock Concert featuring Mirror Mirror, Jinx'd, and the Steve Hussey Band!!!
	Oh yeah...Tell me when and I'm there!
	Maybe...just gotta be feeling it.
	Not really into ROCK!
	I'd rather see Envy instead of Mirror Mirror!
pollcode.com free polls

Newspaper Interview

I had my first newspaper interview on Friday. The local paper heard that the Eagles is listing their property for sale. This may be a huge shock for our members...which might wake them up and make them realize that they need to frequent the facility more than once a year!!!

Kudos to Jody Murphy of the Parkersburg News and Sentinel. He was very accurate in capturing my quotes. I have to admit I was nervous that I might be taken out of context. Nothing was farther from the truth. Everything he quoted was exactly what I said! Who says you can't trust reporters?

Here's the story:

Eagles looking for smaller nest
By JODY MURPHY
POSTED: March 6, 2010

PARKERSBURG - The local Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie 2307 on Gihon Road is looking for a smaller site.
Lodge President J.R. Ruble said members have voted to list the 25,900 square-foot building and adjoining 28 acres of land for sale.
"Times are tough," he said.
Ruble said a number of factors - declining membership and activity, the health department's indoor air regulations and the widespread growth of video lottery - pushed the need to downsize.
But Ruble was emphatic that the Eagles was not closing.
"We are looking at opportunities to downsize," he said. "We are not closing."
Ruble said the aerie will not have a for-sale sign up on the property and the order will consider several options for sale, such as selling just the building, part or all of the surrounding land or the entire parcel.
Ruble described the group's situation as "house poor."
"You have a nice house, but you can't buy any furniture," he said.
"If we could sell some of the land we could pay down the mortgage and refinance," Ruble said. "We are looking at all kinds of opportunities."
The building was erected in 1998 and was host to numerous banquets including Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield, the Allohak Council of the Boy Scouts, the National Rifle Association and Wood County schools.
"We do everything we can for the community," Ruble said.
The property is listed for more than $2.7 million. The 28-acre site includes a baseball field, concession stand, a pond and picnic shelters. The 25,900 square-foot building includes a ball and banquet rooms, office space, a massive bar area and a fully equipped kitchen.
Ruble said the club has about 2,500 members, but sees less than 10 percent of those members on a regular basis. Ruble has been a member for three years.
Ruble would like to find a more central location for the aerie, similar to former site in downtown Parkersburg. The Eagles used to be at the Boreman Wheelhouse building, along Fourth and Avery streets.
Ruble said the club has enough funding to keep the status quo for two to three years, so the situation is not desperate.
"We are not shutting the doors and we are not accepting a low-ball offer," he said. "But we could see the writing on the wall."

High School Drama

Some of my friends have already heard this story...but I wanted to do a blog post so I can remember this for the future.

About two weeks ago a girl added me as a friend on Face Book. No big deal, people add and/or remove friends all the time. Her name didn't look familiar, but I saw that she was mutual friends with a few of my friends. So my thought was "ok, she's just out here adding people". So I accepted her request. For the sake of this blog I'll nickname her "Small".

About a week later Small updated her status to "Going to dinner with my mom and sister at Tampicos". This is my favorite mexican restaurant in P-burg. So I commented on her post, as I would any of my friends posts. Here's what I wrote exactly: "I love Tampicos. I'm so jealous. Enjoy!" Now this seemed like a harmless comment to me. I wasn't making a pass at her, I wasn't asking to go to dinner with her, I was just being friendly.

It wasn't 15 minutes after my comment I received an e-mail from someone I had never met before. For blog purposes, let's call him "Fake", you'll understand why in a minute. Fake's comment to me was "You look gay". He was referring to my profile pic, the one where I had my shirt unbuttoned. My response to him was simply "Are you an expert?". We went back and forth with smart aleck comments. He obviously had something for Small. I was just defending my honor, so to speak. The whole conversation ended when I reported him and got his account closed down.

I then sent a message to Small and told her that some guy called Fake was sending me messages and that he was sick of guys hitting on her all the time. I told her that I was just being friendly and wanted to know what his deal was. She told me that Fake was indeed just that, a fake account. She told me his real name, which I'll call Puss. Puss because who uses a fake account?

So I do my normal ranting and raving on Face Book about how Puss was an idiot. Come to find out that he wasn't even dating Small anymore. It's like he had to mark his territory of something! LOL. Somewhere in the several comments and posts I must have mentioned something about being President at the Eagles.

The next day around 11 am our Facilities Manager calls me and asks if I was expecting anyone at the club. I said no. She said there was 4 guys there looking for me, 1 white guy and 3 black guys. The white guy was driving a silver car. One guess what color of car Puss drives!

So now I really start doing my homework on this puss. This isn't high school anymore, it doesn't matter who has the biggest friends, just who has the most influential. Come to find out that Puss is a substitute teacher. So I make a call to someone that I know that is on the Board of Education. You see, the Eagles sends a lot of money out to schools every year. I told him that we had one of his teachers in our club causing problems and scaring our customers. He said he would take care of it. So good luck finding future employment Puss!

Now in case Puss ever gets to read this, let me say something to him directly. I've seen your pictures, you are nothing for me to worry about. Some of my friends have even worked with you and others know who you are. So I get why you think you need 3 extra guys to help you win a fight...but this isn't high school anymore. We live in the big world now! You're 33, it's time to grow up! However, you feel free to find me one-on-one anytime you want and then you and I can settle whatever problems you think we have. It's obvious you need a lesson in how the real world works. End of message!

Ok...enough of all of this. Hope all is well with each of you (except Puss, LOL).

Talk with you later

Jinx'd Rocked

Hi everyone, I hope you had a great weekend.

If you weren't at the Eagle's this past Friday night, you missed one heck of a rock show! Jinx'd brought their all and the crowds were larger than normal for a Friday night. It looks as if the radio advertising I had worked up did the trick! We are planning to do more of these for other bands in the future.

Yesterday morning I went to the gym with Frank-the-Tank, and after a night of drinking, we were both complaining about not having any energy. We managed to get a good workout in though...one of the benefits of having someone else to workout with.

Last night I went to see the movie Shutter Island. The movie was OK...kind of a mix between Sixth Sense and Identity. If you haven't seen it, then my suggestion is wait for the DVD! ;-)

Today I was ONE lazzzzzy bumb! The only thing that got me out of the house was that I had to attend initiation at the Eagles at 6:30. I just got back from that and I figured I'd better get a quick blog post out here.

Nothing really new to report on the women front. Had a few dates here and there, but nothing worth mentioning and nothing that is going anywhere (no more nicknames for any of them!). Oh well, probably for the best!!! I think I might enjoy being single at Rock on the Range in May...question is can I make it that long??? ;-)

As for the job front, I did not get the promotion that I recently interviewed for. Again, no big surprise...I was just throwing darts at the dartboard anyways. I thought eventually something would stick. Now I'm beginning to realize that nothing will at BPD...so I have decided to aggressively pursue jobs outside of this area. My main focus is with DFAS in Cleveland, Columbus, and Indianapolis, and with VA in Austin. I've also given consideration to resigning from the gov't and going into private contracting. I have 10 years in right now with the gov't and it would be a very lucrative switch to go into contracting. I could always return to the gov't and my service time would count. Basically everything is up in the air and all opportunities will be considered!

Back to work tomorrow! I hope you all have a great work week!

Thanks for reading!!! ;-)

4-10's & ROTR

Hey everyone, I hope your V-day was good…or as it was for me this year “Singles Awareness Day”. ;-)

This week is an exciting week for me. I placed the Eagle’s first radio add to promote the rock band Jinx’d that will be playing at our club Friday night. I’m really hoping for an awesome turnout!!! The band starts at 8 pm! Things have been hit or miss at the club lately. As the President this year I've tried my best to promote the club, but at times I have found myself counting down the days until my term is up. Hopefully things will turn around for us.

And what really has me excited is that after a 2 year hiatus, my 4-10 work schedule has been returned to me! I’ve missed her so much! ;-) I will work 10 hour days Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Most people question that work schedule, arguing that it would be better to have a 3 day weekend every weekend. I really enjoy only having to work 2 days before having a day off. Plus Wednesdays are a great day to be off because no one else usually is off AND it’s like having 2 Fridays.

Things have been going well in the gym. Frank and I have been keeping our schedules in check and continue to push each other to get our maximum workout. It’s really great to have a workout partner as committed as I am to getting and staying in shape.

I have something to look forward to again! ;-) I bought tickets to Rock on the Range (ROTR) this past weekend. This will be my first time going and I’m really excited to see all of these bands! It’s going to be an awesome show!

Well, that’s really all that going on in my life. I’ve got to get back to work! I hope all is well with each of you. Thanks for reading!

Confusion

I'm finding myself lacking motivation since I've returned home from my cruise. I'm still hitting the gym and overall trying to remain healthy. What I haven't been concentrating on is remaining single...and here in lies my problem (I think).

I have realized that I really hate dating! I know at times I look at married couples and think "I'm glad he married her" or "So glad I'm not in that relationship". In all honesty though, dating isn't any better!

Ok...backup a bit. I have gone on a few dates recently where I thought things went well, however I really don't think I put much interest into it. Maybe that was obvious during the date...maybe not. Now I'm not saying she wasn't interesting, just that I may not have came across as the true me.

So what is the true me? Well that's kind of up in the air right now. As all the regular blog followers can attest, I have a bad habit of pushing for a more serious relationship much sooner than I should. In the end, we both don't fully know each other and had we known certain things, we probably would have never dated for long. This has been the case in more than a few of my relationships.

Is it wrong to see this as a problem? I guess it will only be a problem while I'm meeting women afraid of commitment OR who just got out of a serious relationship and not looking for another one. The true problem is how can I tell? Another problem for me is that I have realized that dating for me has turned into a job interview - for both me and my date - and who likes job interviews?

I guess I'm just missing the "stay single" focus that I had before my cruise. Life was simpler and I was happier. Being back in the hunt has not been all that it's advertised to be...and everyone knows how I hate hunting! And with "Single's Awareness Day" a.k.a. Valentines Day this weekend, there is even more attention paid to us singles.

So there really is no great conclusion to this blog. I am still up in the air as where I want to direct myself. The irresponsible person in me says to book the singles cruise in April and go back to blowing off women here! The responsible person in me says "WAIT...what if you meet Ms. Right and she passed you by?" Right now, honestly, Mr. Irresponsible is winning!

So...I'm concluding in confusion! ;-)

My List

A friend of mine (female at that) compiled a list of what I should look for in a woman. I guess she didn't like my old list! ;-) And NO - I'm never posting that list.

So what do you think? I think she did a good job of capturing what I would like/dislike. Kudos to her!!! ;-)

Feel free to comment if you have an additions/subtractions.

• Challenging - not in a bad way but a way that keeps you on your toes and can keep up with you on politics and items within the world

• Spunky - you have some bad boy in you so you have to have a girl that has some spunk and is not all good. :)

• Adventurous - you love to enjoy life and what it has to offer, you need someone who is the same and does not just want to be home and watch life pass by on the TV, as well as be adventurous in other areas to keep you into the situation. :)

• Movie buff/social butterfly - someone who can enjoy a good movie with you but also can enjoy a night on the town

• Looks - has to have that it factor to attract you and make you just want to be with them but someone who does not act like she is all that and is not afraid to get dirty

• Caring - Someone who goes that extra mile to make you know that they care. So for example, they pay attention to the small details, so if they were to fix you dinner they would realize you hate onions and tomatoes but love mushrooms and remember that. They would appreciate the little gestures along with the grand gestures that you do and not have it be a one sided showing of affection. If you are sick, they want to be there and take care of you and not just say, call me when you feel better, because I do not want to be sick.

• Family - they have to want that closeness of you to be a major part in their life and their families, as well as they need to want to be a major part of yours and your family and friends because that is a big part of whom you are.

• Have to love the water - not much more to say there. LOL

• Goals - You need a girl that has her own goals in life that can fit in with yours. A girl that just looks for a guy to take care of them will never work and you deserve more than that. You need a girl that has drive and determination and wants more out of life so that you can grow old together and truly enjoying living the life together you have built together and not just what you have built and she decided to hang on for the ride.

3-OH

Well I didn't think I would get another chance to blog...but here I sit at the airport with 2 hours left until my flight leaves. 

My big 3-OH was yesterday and I had such a good time.  I ate breakfast with my mom and then I headed up to the Serenity deck (adults only) and just chilled out for awhile.  

Then I made my way over to the slide and had a blast there for about an hour or so.  That slide was sooo cool.  I probably went down 200-250 times the whole time I was on the ship.  

I ordered my first bucket of beer around 11 am and the drinking was on!!!  Only sucky part - buckets are only 4 beers and almost $25!!!  Lol - but you only turn 30 once.  

My mom bought my next bucket and then when the waiter brought it he had another in tow from a fellow brother (Mason) that I had met earlier in the week!  Thanks again mom and Al for the inebriation assistance!!!  

So I was nice and toasty by the time Lip Ring found me on the deck.  We just lounged around and soaked up the sun.  About 2:30 my mom decided she was going inside for awhile and she gave us her hammock.  That was cool, just swinging, drinking, and soaking up the sun.  I posted a good pic on my face book that you should check out!  ;-)

Our final singles group function was at 7 for an hour of farewells, e-mail exchanges, and kareokee!  I sang a bunch of songs this trip.  One night was in front of the most people I ever had before - probably 200!  That was a little nerve racking!  ;-)

PThe rest of the night we just hung out on the main deck and chillaxed.  I was told by some other cruisers that this is the most senior citizens they had ever seen on one cruise!  And the singles group was a bust for me...most were older than my mother AND it's sad when my mom is one of the better looking women!  ;-)  I'm really thankful to have met Lip Ring -as was she because she also felt like we were on a retirement cruise!  LOL

BUT - I did meet lots of nice people!!!  I met 4 brothers - Al, Jeff, and Sunny from NC and Greg from Missori.  My slide partner most of the trip - Steve was a cool guy from Wisconsin.  Harvey and his wife was a very nice couple from Winsor - told me he could get me a great rate if I ever made it back up to Motor City casino to play.  Plus all the singles group folks - Harvey, Sam, Lyn, Seb, Daniel, Brooke, Valerie (12-4), Joe, Kevin, and so many more.  I'm sure I'm leaving many out of my list.  

Oh - and Lip Ring and her mother Colleen from Long Island.  Can you believe they actually thought I was a NICE guy?  Lol - I guess compared to the Long Island guys I am.  Maybe I should move there!  ;-)  Give those guys some competition!  LMAO

So needless to say this won't be my last cruise.  I may start looking at the 20's/30's cruises that the singles group has in April.  BUT that just means I would have to focus on staying single until then!  ;-)  It's harder than you would think!!!  ;-)

Well, back to the real world tomorrow.  I think I really need to come up with some big idea or hit the lottery!  I wanna cruise permanently!  ;-)

Hope you all enjoyed following my blogs this past week!!!      
 

Cólon, Panama

Yesterday I visited Cólon Panama.
We started our day visiting the Canal and watching a ship pass through the locks.  That was an amazing site.  What was crazy was how much those ships pay to pass through.  The price is based on the total capacity of the boat.  There were two boats goig through - one towards the Atlantic and one that was even bigger heading towards the Pacific.   The smaller one had to pay $117,000 and the bigger on paid $330,000!!!  Remind me never to complain when I have to pay $1.25 to traverse the WV Turnpike. 
After that we headed deeper into Còlon and took a 25 minute boat ride to visit an authentic Indian village.  Well, I guess you really can't call it a boat, more like a hallowed log...but it was neat.  
The village we visited was amazing too.  The natives were very friendly.  Since I alreay had a tat, a guy came up and asked if he could paint some decoration on my arm.  The ink was a black watery substance and he applied it with a flattened toothpick.  I even let them paint my face - but more on that later.  
A native named Binder came over later and was looking at my tats.  When he saw my Aces he became very excited and asked if he could copy it.  So his friend came over and she copied it onto his chest.  He spoke broken English and asked me about Blackjack and casinos.  He told me he has played solitaire and gin rummy before.  I just so happened to have a deck of cards in my bag, so I took then out and gave them to him.  He was so excited.  He asked me to show him how to shuffle.  He could only get about halfway through it.  After a few times watching me and he had it down pat.  I may have just seeded the first Indian Casino in Panama!  LOL
Binder said that when he goes to town he checks FaceBook and has e-mail.  So I gave him my card and he said he would add me.  That whole experience there was really cool.  
I was having a great day, until we got back on the boat and I realize the ink on my face won't wash off!!!  ;-(  I've tried Lava soap, baby oil, acetone, alcohol, skin so soft, eye liner remover, and just about everything else people offer up for me to try.  Still no luck!  LOL
But...I refused to let it get me down.  So I sort of look like a 1/2 blue smurf (the black ink has faded to deep blue).  All the people here think it's funny.  I'm just REALLY thankful I had already made some "friends" and I didn't need to try to get them to see past my dumbass blue face.  LOL
So...needless to say I will probably still have some remnants of the ink when I get home.  I've been told 7-10 days before it wears off.  The things I do to stand out!  LMAO
Today I spent some time in the sauna and steam room thinking maybe that I could sweat the ink out...but no luck. 
At High Noon I meet a buddy for a chess match.  Major Bob is a big fella from Canada and he and I had a wager that the loser would buy beer!  ;-)  We had a good game, but eventually he struck a good blow and won!  Great guy to have met.  
Then I played goofy golf with my new friend that I have nicknamed "Lip Ring".  Hopefully the nickname speaks for itself.  She won the first game and I won the second. 
Tonigt is formal night but with my smurf face I will probably skip this!  ;-)
I'm not planning on drinking too much tonight to save my energy for tomorrow.  I've alreay been warned that I should expect to get trashed from morning, noon, and night!  LOL
I don't expect to post anymore blogs until I get back to the states.  I hope you all have enjoyed following my adventures.  
Later!  ;-)    

Cozumel

Hi everybody!  I hope you're staying warm! ;-)

Yesterday we had our first port call in Cozumel.  I signed up for snorkeling and then 4 hours of open bar at Carlos & Carlies.  

The snorkeling was sooo much fun!  This was my first time and I'm hooked!!!   The water is so beautiful down here.  Visibility in the water was over 100 feet!  I got to see all sorts of animals and coral.  I hope I got some good picks, but I gotta wait until I get home to devlop them. 

After the snorkeling we headed over to the beach bar.  Here's where I know a few of my friends will be envious!!!  Beautiful women scantily clad and free booze - Dosequies (not sure how it's spelled) XX at that!  Those hours snorkeling and at the bar was my favorite so far!

Today I got up and headed over to the fitness center.  I wanted to get a run in and I was told that the scenery there was nice! It was!!!  ;-)  I ran for 40 minutes then did some abs exercises.  Running on a treadmill while you're on a moving ship was very interesting.  It took some time for me to adjust.  

After the gym workout I ran another 20 minutes outside on the deck.  The scenery there was NICE too!

Right now I'm just laying out on the deck relaxing.  Tonight we have our first theme night - "Angels and Demons".  Guess what I'm going as?  Lol  Then kareokee to follow.  Gonna have to tie one on for that! Lol

Tomorrow we will be in Costa Rica.  We didn't book any excursions for this port.  We will just be going with the flow. 
 
Well, back to sunbathing!  ;-)

Peace out!!!

First Cruise Day

Well this place is just awesome! ;-)

We got on the ship around 3 pm yesterday and we checked out our room. It's bigger than expected and very well maintained. We have a fairly large port window, but no balcony. My mom was right though, we really are only in our rooms to sleep!

Our first singles group function was a mixer at this 70's Disco bar. Very cool for someone that would've remembered this time frame! ;-). The 1 hour of open bar nearly did me in! Lol

They had other functions planned for us, but I ditched them for a texas holdem table. Hey - this is my vacation! ;-)

The casino only has 1 holdem table and it's all electronic. This was my first experience playing on one of these. It's kind of like online poker except you can see the other players faces and mannerisms! I bought in for $100 and cashed for $350! That paid my bar tab for the evening, my $80 mandatory tips ($10/day) AND most importantly bought wi-fi minutes so I could post! ;-)

This morning I got up around 7:00 and after unpacking I went for a run. They have a run/walk track that is outside. That was just awesome! Running around and looking out at nothing but b-e-a-utiful water! In the hour that I was running I saw sunshine, was rained on, and blew all over the place by the high winds.

The rest of today has been relax day. We're still catching up on our sleep. I did venture back to the Holdem tables for about 2 hours and added an additonal $50 to my winnings!

Tonight there is another singles mixer - but this one is ship wide, so they'll be some more opportunity to meet people.

Then tomorrow we wil be in Cozumel and we have our snorkeling and 4 hours of open bar at a beach bar! I'm really looking forward to the snokeling and obviously the open bar! Lol

Well, I hope you all are doing well. I'm sure I'll have many more stories to tell as the week progresses. I'm still getting settled in! ;-)

Pictures will be forthcoming.

Later!!! ;-)

Top 20 Countdown of Miscellaneous Thoughts

1. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

2. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

3. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

4. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

5. Was learning cursive really necessary?

6. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

7. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

8. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

9. Bad decisions make good stories.

10. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

11. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

12. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

13. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this -- ever.

14. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damn it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

15. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste

16. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

17 . My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?

18 . I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

19. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

20. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

Photo Shoot!!!

I had my first "professional" photo shoot on Tuesday.

I wanted to get photos done for my 30th birthday! Plus I wanted to have proof that at least once in my life I was in shape! LOL

Kudos to Mel Deem for pulling off some awesome photos. Check her website out here. I highly recommend her!!!

Oh, and what about ME? LOL!!! Feel free to check out the rest of my pics here.

Hope all is well with each of you. I'm out of here in a little over a day!!!

Wish me luck on my cruise!!! LMAO

Self-Esteem

I've been rolling these thoughts around in my head for the past few days...just thinking how I was going to approach it. Something was on my mind…I just needed to figure out how to author it for the blog…

Thanks to The Offspring and their song called Self-Esteem I finally found the inspiration to put my thoughts down into this blog.

I hope you've heard the song...here are the lines that caught my attention:

Well I know I'm being used,
That's ok because I like the abuse!
Well I know she's playing with me,
That's ok cause I have no self-esteem!

A recent text message from Fairmont last week put me in a foul mood. It was just a joke she was forwarding, but obviously she expected me to start up a conversation again. It hadn't been 5 days since she last texted me and told me she would respect my wishes and not text me anymore. I didn't really blog about that episode....and it will have to wait for another day.

But back to the recent texting...I must have liked the abuse in the past. I admit that I have fallen for this type of trap before. Maybe I was just glad to be speaking with her...even though I knew she was playing with me. I really did have no self-esteem at the time. Actually, my self-esteem never has been my strong suit...but I'm working on that.

I didn't respond to the text. I'm sure this is driving her crazy, but that really wasn't my intention. I just really don't want to play her games anymore...actually I don't want to play anyone's games anymore!!!

From 2010 and forward, you have one shot with me and one shot only with me. Don't mess it up! I'm not going to self-abuse myself by hanging onto to a single thread of hope that a relationship is going to eventually work out. I think I did in the past because of my low self-esteem.

Relationships shouldn’t be hard work.* But I’m not faultless in most of these cases either…don’t get me wrong. I do have a tendency to push for a more serious relationship and quicker than one would expect. I’m going to work on that too – WAY more time dating, less “future” talk.

HOWEVER…I never will never understand why women, Fairmont in this case – but others too, wait until I’m 99% done with them before they “realize” that they had something good with “us” and now it’s gone. Do they like the chase? Do they like knowing they still have it? I just don’t know. I do know that they had 100% of me the whole time I was with them and that wasn't good enough for them…BUT now they are fighting to get that 1% back to 100%??? Come on ladies, quit wasting your time! It isn't going to happen! PLUS..it shouldn’t be this hard…relationships that is.

I truly believe that one day I am going to meet a woman and she is going to be all about me as much as I am about her – at the exact same time....NOT 6 months, 2 years, or even later!!!

So, wish me luck getting over all of my recent relationship traumas from 2009 and before! :-) I think my cruise will go a long way with that!!! Thanks for reading everyone!

* Special Note: To prove that I just can’t make this crap up folks. When I was witting this blog, I was at the "Relationships shouldn’t be hard work." line when my phone vibrates! I have a text message… guess who it was from? That’s right…Fairmont! Honestly folks...I'm going to turn this blog into a book and/or movie one day! LMAO! I'm sure I'll have more on this later!!! ;-)

1st Tourney of 2010

Well despite the horrible road conditions, freezing weather, and the threat of continued snow...there was 30 total players that made it out for the first poker tourney of 2010. Dare I say the "true" gamblers made it out? ;-)

I almost canceled the game because I really didn't expect many players to make it out. I'm glad I didn't! The turnout was way better then I expected!

For all of those that made it out, I hope you enjoyed yourselves.
Congrats goes to Shuman for taking down the top spot yet again! This is the second month in a row that he has won! Cheer Dad took down the 2nd spot and Rempel pulled in 3rd. Congrats to you all!!!

The following cash game, as always, added additional excitement to the game. I was fortunate to be able to see a lot of flops in the blinds and hit several 2 pairs on the flop. I won my money back from the tourney plus $10. So not bad for me, considering all the running around I have to do with the tourney.

My sincere gratitude and thanks goes out to Chris Brothers for taking care of the money/chips for the cash game and helping me out with the tourney! It is definitely not a ONE person job and I always appreciate any help I can get!

The next poker game will be a charity event for the Relay for Life. We will be holding it on February 5th at 7pm in the Banquet Room. $25 ($20 + $5 donation) gets you in on the action. We are anticipating close to 100 players for this even. Please plan to attend and invite your friends!!!

Thanks for reading...

Hey there blog readers. Just a quick note before I head back to work. I changed my blog settings so that more of you can comment on my blogs. So hopefully those of you that have had issues will be able to comment now.
I get to review the comments before they are posted, so don't be discouraged if you don't see your comment right away.
Thanks for reading and commenting!!! ;-)

'10 New Years Resolution

Well, I guess it's that time of the year again to quit looking backwards through last year and start looking forward into this year...

I have already blogged about my 2009 year...now I need to focus on what my 2010 is going to be like, or what I hope it will be like...

In almost all of my previous New Years Resolutions, getting my weight under control was always at the top of my list. Well, for once I can say that I won't need that resolution this year! I will, however, resolve to continue my workout regimen and staying in shape.

I have several projects around my house that I plan to finish this year...but aren't there always projects to do? So I am making this one of my resolutions.

Of course the "save more money, spend less" is always on my list...and actually, I am doing much better than I have in previous years on this front. Perhaps the lack of a girl friend for the holidays??? ;-) I do tend to over-extend myself during the holidays for those that I love.

But my # 1 New Years Resolution is...drum roll please...if you have followed this blog at all, you shouldn't really be surpised...continue drum roll...

OK!!!!! READY????

I hope that in 2010 I will start trusting my gut! I was in several relationships last year that just didn't feel right to me...and in the end, they were not right. I don't know why I chose to ignore all the signs that I did...but I'm going to make a conscientious effort not to ignore them anymore. All that was gained was hurt and frustration. In the end, they just wound up being a waste of my time! That time is lost and would've been better spent with those who truly care...family and friends!

So...here's to believing in yourself!!! And ALWAYS trusting your instincts!!! ;-)