Bummer of a day today. I thought things had gotten better with certain parties. Apparently, they have not.
It’s becoming clearer to me that love costs. Sometimes it costs more than you think. Actually, it probably always costs more than you think. But if it’s meant to be, you’ve got to be willing to pay that cost to enjoy that blessing.
Stay tuned, and say a prayer for me if you will.
As my friends Bill and Angry Jack know, even when you think you’re doing the right thing, sometimes not everyone is going to agree with you, or be on board with what you decide.
With every blessing, there is a cost, and sometimes the bill is bigger than you thought it would be.
Thankfully I have a few good friends who are praying for me. With God’s will, I will pull through and everything will be OK.
And for the first time in 15 years, Valentine’s Day is not something to dread!
Ba da ba ba baaaaaaaaaaa I’m loving it! 
Hope Valentine’s Day finds you as much in love as I am. I got a girl who’s crazy about me and life is pretty darn good!
Looks like this is it folks. I can’t say too much right now, or probably ever. Suffice it to say: it happened. I found love. She loves me. She told me so. I think this is it, boys. Not just love, but THE ONE.
So THIS is how it feels!! Now I get it. Now I get it.
Let’s see, Christian AND childfree in the one of the most anti-Christian, pump-out-as-many-as-you-can parts of the country. Clearly I should have thought more about buying a home here.
Ah, what can I say. Another night out at the sports bar and not even a conversation to show for it. Tomorrow night, I’ll be out at the club with pretty much the same result.
But friends, not all is lost. I’ve got a long shot, and I mean it’s a long shot. It’s just crazy enough to work, though.
Stay tuned…
Now THIS is a new low. I have a profile on Friendster. You know, that hip, cool social networking web site that was around B.M. (before MySpace). Friendster lets you know who’s viewed your profile. So I decide to check out who’s been checking me out.
I decided to send some smiles (Friendster-speak for short messages) to two ladies. Nothing more than “I see you like (insert whatever band/movie/book here). I liked that one too. Where are you from?”
I get a similar message back from each of them. Except for one thing. Both of them have now decided to block their profiles to all but their friends. Seriously. A guy says “hello” and the women put up the online equivalent of a chain link fence?
Now I know the Internet is filled with all kinds of whackos, sickos and psychos, and I don’t blame anyone for being cautious. Unfortunately, you can’t go running for the hills every time someone tried to make contact on a SOCIAL NETWORKING site. Well, actually, I guess you can. But doesn’t that defeat the purpose?
Seriously, ladies. There are some really nice guys out there.
So it’s Friday and I’m off to celebrate the weekend at the local sports bar. With a little liquid courage, I decide to walk over to a table of two nice looking women and ask if I could join them. They looked at each other with “that look”. Like a leper asked to use their toothbrush. So I made my way back to the bar to indulge in a few more adult beverages.
All I wanted was to join them at their table. No wedding/engagement rings in sight. No boyfriends around. I figured I could at least have some good conversation for awhile instead of just sitting by myself staring at ESPN on the plasma. Guess not.
I’m sure you’d say just shrug it off and move on, but there’s one fact I’m slowly/reluctantly wising up to. I’m nearly 34, which is a ways away from 18. Injuries of any kind just don’t heal that fast anymore.
I’m getting too old for this crap.
Wow! So I went to a speed dating event (my 4th for those keeping track). Met a nice woman. The six minutes went by kind of slowly as we didn’t seem to have very much in common. She had never done the speed dating thing before, and she felt awkward. Still, afterward, she emailed me and said I struck her interest and was interested in getting together. We agreed on an asian restaurant near where she lived.
The dinner was pleasant enough, but the conversation seemed forced. I mentioned that I enjoy listening to talk radio. She asked if I meant NPR. I sheepishly said “erm…no…more like political talk radio”. Well, you can imagine the next line of questioning.
Silence.
Still, she stuck around for dessert (guess I can’t blame her, I was paying anyway). I walked her to her car and I said that if she would like to get together again, feel free to email me or call me. She said “likewise”.
So a few days later I email her asking if she’d like to get together that weekend. A few days later I get the reply:
“Chris: I am not interested in seeing you again. Best of luck and take care”
Youch! Well, at least I got an actual brush off this time. Usually the lovely women I take out just don’t reply to my emails. Whatever happened to manners?
So it occurs to me I never followed up on my last speed dating experience. There were 5 women I wanted to see again. There were 4 women who wanted to see me again. Overlap? One. She wrote me first, thanked me for wanting to see her again, and gave me her email address. We corresponded and made plans to get together that weekend. She gave me her cell phone #, and I gave her mine. We talked that Sunday and made plans to see a movie (Chris Rock’s ‘I Think I Love My Wife. Not bad, but not great either). I agreed to drive out to where she was, an hour away, I might add.
We met at the theater, went to a nearby diner for some coffee before the show and talked. We talked about family, work, sports, all the usual first date stuff. We made our way back to the theater and settled in for the show. I walked her back to her car, and asked if she’d like to get together the following weekend. She said “Maybe, give me a call on my cell or send me an email”. I took that as a positive sign at the time. I should have read her voice better. Her enthusiasm at the prospect of seeing me again was rather weak. As it turns out, she wasn’t interested. What’s worse, I had to come to that conclusion myself. I emailed her Monday morning (probably a bad idea) and thanked her and said I had a great time. I asked what she might like to do the following weekend, saying that I was up for anything. I said I’d call her on her cell Wednesday night so we could make plans.
No reply to my email.
Called her cell Wednesday night. Got voice mail.
Emailed her the following weekend to see if she’d like to get together.
Like the Beatles sang, No Reply.
Don’t know what the heck I did wrong. I’m tempted to send her a “The heck with you, it’s your loss” email, but I’d rather not waste any more time on someone who shows so little regard for me. I really hate the disappearing act of not replying to email or phone calls. If I’m not interested in someone, I tell them. In my opinion, the other person deserves the courtesy of a response. I don’t disappear. Oh well. I’ve got another speed dating event in a little over two weeks. Wish me luck.
Just got back from playing bass at a worship service. Yep, a worship service. I don’t even go that church! But they asked me, and I agreed. It’s at least an opportunity to get out and play, while Red Embers waits to get rekindled. Admitedly, it’s a very different group of people and very different music than what I’m used to playing. But hey, a gig is a gig.
Got to love church in New England, where the motto is “God loves you! So we don’t have to.” They don’t even know I’m childfree! They probably wouldn’t ask me to play again if they did 
One important lesson I’ve had to learn is: Don’t confuse the church with God. After expanding my horizons a little, I’m surprised how women outside of church appreciate me more than the oh so pious Christian women. It’s not their fault, really. That’s how they were raised, just like their parents and grandparents and so on.
I haven’t slammed the door on church entirely, though. If a church was willing to help me when I ask for help, and treat me right, I’ll gladly be there every Sunday, with a nice monthly check for them to boot. Until then, I’ll be content to pray on my own, read my bible when I please, and watch ‘Give Me An Answer’ on Sunday mornings in my PJ’s eating waffles.
God be praised.