BennyEast.Com/Blog The official blog of Kenny West

12Sep/160

Chasing Daylight

"Come on... We're chasing daylight here!"  My coworker and friend yelled to me from across the parking lot.  That phrase would stick with me all day.  It's not that I haven't heard that phrase before, it's just that, it reminded me of someone... Someone I've been chasing named Daylight.

"We've got plenty of time!"  I answered back to my friend sitting beside her two friends on their bikes.  "It's ten on the dot now."

"Just call your friend and ask him where he is."  She shouted back.

"Okay okay."  I got out my phone and listened to the phone tone as it rang.  He picked up, "Oh man, Kenny, I'm just getting out of bed now."

"Ah okay, no big deal, let's catch up another time."

"Sounds like a plan."

Click.

"Okay.  Are we all ready?"

"Ready."

The four of us started our journey along the SRT.  The Schuylkill River Trail, as Wikipedia puts it, is a multi-use trail along the banks of the Schuylkill River in southeastern Pennsylvania.  We started our ride from the town of Conshohocken, locally known as Conshy, entering the trail just next to the Conshohocken Brewery.

The ride was peaceful, and fun.  We took our time and rode sometimes beside one another, and at other times in a line.  My bike chain came off the gear three times before I figured out I was switching gears improperly and causing it to malfunction.

After a good two hours we arrived at a bar near Phoenixville called Fitzwater Station.  My coworker/friend Diane and I sat out on the porch next to the canal enjoying a beer and some lunch.  Our conversation spanned from books, to politics, to work.  We ate and drank and relaxed.

"I can't believe how nice of a day it is."

"Me either.  It's beautiful out!"

When the bill came, she sprang for the tab.  "You'll get the next one."

"Deal."

The ride back was only the two of us.  Her friends had to leave to be somewhere at 1pm so they were already well ahead of us.

Chasing Daylight.  We're chasing daylight.  The phrase came up on the ride back as we calculated how much time it would take for us to complete the ride.  I really thought about the phrase and thought how much it resonated with me.  Daylight has been in my thoughts for years now.  Nearly everything I do, I kind of in a way have Daylight there with me.  It's like she's always on my mind and every thought I have, every action I do, every activity is me thinking about her while I'm at that place and time.  Me chasing her.

We left a little after one in the afternoon.  I started to think maybe this bike ride might end at our second stop.  We rode for over an hour straight.  When we arrived at Conshohocken Brewing I felt completely wiped of energy.  I thought that was it.  I thought that I'd have my second beer and be done.  The beer came, and the chili that I ordered came too, lunch part two.

Back at Fitzwater I had a very nice BLT on tomato basil bread of some sort.  Diane and I shared the vegetarian chili taking turns dipping the complimentary chips into the chili.

Maybe the beer had something magical in it, or maybe it was the three glasses of water I drank, or maybe it was the chili.  Somehow, I decided that we should push on to manayunk.

I found out as we were sitting at the bar in Conshy Brewing that the ride isn't evenly spaced out.  A faded sign on the side of the road said it's about 15 miles, not the love shack as the song by The B-52's tells us, but Fitzwater Station.  Another 15 miles back, for a total of 30 miles on the first "half" of the ride.  The second part was only 5 miles each way, a third of the distance.

With the hard part out of the way, I pushed on.  Diane is an avid cyclist.  Her and her husband are actually taking part in The City to Shore, a bike ride for MS, coming up soon.  They raised a good bit of money.  That bike ride is about 100 miles.  So, this was just a training ride for her.  For me though?  It was kicking my butt!

5 miles later we changed our route from Manayunk Brewery to a nice little taco place that had a sangria special happening.  We sat streetside slurping down sangria and eating tacos.  With plenty of time to spare we just enjoyed the beautiful day.  She took a photo of passing dogs to show her kids and husband.  I updated my Facebook status and checked in.

We finished our meal and split that tab.  However, we later calculated that we were off slightly in our tally of who paid how much, so I bought her a final beer back at Conshy Brewing.

We took our time getting back to our last stop of Conshy once again, and after putting our bikes away in our cars, we enjoyed a final beer.

"What a day!"

"I had a great time."

"Oh yeah.  Definitely.  I know you said you weren't sure if you'd make it, but I knew you'd push on through."

"I almost called it quits after the second stop here at Conshy, but I decided to just keep going.  It was a lot of fun!"

We said goodnight and I came home to feed my cats and call it an early night.  I feel a little sore today but not bad at all.  I actually feel pretty good.  I'd like to do that ride again perhaps next year, or maybe in the spring.  Make it a twice a year thing.  Springtime or early summer and late summer early fall.  I thought it would just be a cool ride to do with a larger group, although I was just fine with it being the two of us.

Bicycles and beer and friends made for a fantastic Sunday.  And we did make it back before daylight.  Daylight officially chased.  Miss Daylight on the other hand?  Still chasing her, even if it's only with my thoughts these days.  Always Chasing Miss Daylight...

Filed under: Stuffs No Comments
11Sep/160

Wine Festing

So I went wine festing today at this thing.  It was fun.  I actually started talking to this girl that I'd seen at one of the quizzo events I went to.  We chatted for a while...

Friended on Facebook... annnnnnd...

She has a boyfriend.

Oh well.

Story of my life.

But she was like "you should come to this other quizzo!"

So who knows?  Maybe I'll go to the other quizzo and be introduced to one of her friends and then hit it off with the friend.

The thing about girls with boyfriends/husbands... Is that they have single friends.

And if I end up meeting a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend... Then I might one day be introduced to that one girl that I'll end up sharing my trust fund with.  Or, getting married to... Really though, they are one and the same.

Whoever I marry will basically get half my million dollar inheritance.

Which is a pretty decent perk just for marrying someone.

I mean... I know lots of married people that are all like... "How are we going to afford..."

Meanwhile my future wife and I will just be like... "But how are we going to afford... Oh right... Trust fund."

End of discussion.

Pull out phone... Call California.  "Hello?  Yes, I need... Check is already in the mail?  Great!"

I mean obviously money isn't everything, but they say most arguments between couples are over money.

I guess our argument will be about how to spend it?

Who knows.

But anyways so it does seem that almost every event I go to... I pick up a new Facebook friend.  While some of them seem to have boyfriends.... Some of them don't.  And even the ones that have boyfriends... Who knows... Most of the people that are single, myself included, once had a significant other and were off limits at one point.

So, it's worth being friends with a girl even if she has a significant other because one day... She might not.  And then the two of us might end up hitting it off.

I guess that's the thing about love.  I feel like a lot of girls too are more likely to date a friend over some new person they just met.  Even if they are single, they probably are more likely to date someone they have known for a while.

Personally?  I'm open to dating anyone that seems interested.  I'm not big on only dating friends... Or only dating people I don't know.  Or whatever.  I mean, if a girl tells me she likes me, and I like her back?  Let's date!

Right now though, I have no girls telling me they like me.  Which is generally the case.  Like, I was CRAZY about Miss Daylight... But she wasn't interested in me.

I'd ALWAYS date Miss Daylight.  It could be 5 years from now, or 10 years.  I'd still be like... Yep.   100 percent.  And I'd never break up with her.  Ever.

I think everyone in the world knows that by now though.

That's kind of how it goes.  It's hard to find two people that want one another!  It's just hard.  Usually someone wants one person, but the other person isn't interested.  Or maybe they are kind of interest.  Or maybe one person wants another person but the one person is dating someone already.

Or maybe two people want each other but no one speaks up so both never know and then they never end up together.  That makes me sad I guess.  I feel like there should be a website where you just list people you have feelings for and then that way people can stalk one another's "I have feelings for this person dot com" site and if two people both find they are on one another's lists... Someone can make a move!

That's not a bad site.  And you can add and remove people as you have feelings for someone and don't have feelings for someone over time.

So for example, you could just periodically check your crushes  feelings for you dot com site... and then maybe your name hasn't been on that list in the past, but all of a sudden it shows up out of nowhere.

And then you have them on your list.  And then you both get emails notifications.  Or maybe you just both know because everyone is watching everyone else lists to see if their names show up.

feels for you dot com.

you feels dot com.

Something like that.  iFeels....

And then especially when you're at a wine tasting fest and you have had a couple drinks... And you're more likely to put something up that you wouldn't normally say when you are sober.

Oh and maybe make it so that once you put something up, it stays on the site for at least 72 hours before you can take it down.  So then it's like... Oh no... I posted my crush's name while at a wine festival... Now I'm sobered up... I have to wait to take it down.  Then crush has time to see it on there before you can get rid of the evidence.

Because wine is truth serum and makes us tell all.

Well anyways so hopefully one of these days I'll finally get that mutual crush thing and we'll both be like...

"OH my gosh!  You like me too?  No way!"

"Way.  Totally dig you.  You dig me?"

"Yes!"

"Sweet."

"Oh man... We should start saving for rings and a wedding because that stuff is expensive...  Oh... Never mind..."

"Hello trustee?  Yes, I'd like a check for some rings a a wedding please.  What's that?  You've already sent them out?  Thanks!  Can we get a new car that is safe for children because we're thinking of... New car is already waiting at the dealership?  WOW, it's like you read my mind!  Thanks trustee!"

I guess it will all happen some day.  Just have to keep going to events and meeting girls and mixing and mingling.  One of these days one of them will click and we'll both know what it's like to do that whole fall in love and get married thing.

Filed under: Stuffs No Comments
9Sep/160

Hairscut

Got my hairscut tonight.  Decided to go back to the short and snippy look.  Each year there's a little less.  I figure when it gets to the point where it's past the point of no return... I'll just buzz it.  Just do the Simon Pegg look.  I mean... I think I've got a few years.  I figure by 35 it will be all over.

That means I have until 35 to meet a girl.  Because in my mind, guys without hair can't get girls.  Who knows... maybe some girls find that attractive.  But I'm just like... most girls care about hair!

Maybe they don't though.

I mean, some girl told me that she was like saying how being overweight is an issue with dating.  I'm like what?  No it's not.  At least to me.  Honestly I could care less how much you weigh.  I think a body that is "overweight" is attractive.  But what do I know.

Maybe it's the same for some girls.  Maybe they don't really find the super full head of thick hair attractive and maybe they find the usual guy with slightly less and less and less hair attractive.

I HIGHLY doubt it.

But seriously though... The weight thing is stupid.  Girls need to stop thinking they have to be skinny to be attractive.  It's completely false and such crap.  Whoever is spreading these lies needs to cut it out.

Anyways so hair is now cut.  And it's short and snappy and gelled up.

I plan to keep it that way for a little while.  We'll see how well it goes over tomorrow at this wine tasting thing.  Who knows... Maybe I'll run into my future wife at the wine tasting thing!

One never knows about these things.  The future Mrs. could be at any future event or outing or gathering that I go to.  It's just a numbers game.  Just waiting to be introduced.  And then... We're just like two peas in a pod.

And we can pea pod it up together.

So that was my Friday night.  Haircut and pet store.  Oh and I did some yard work.  Just going to make some dinner and work on music now.  Probably change a cat litter box and put a fresh turtle filter in the turtle tank.  Tomorrow is sleeping in a little followed by this wine tasting event.  And then I've got a birthday party to go to as well.

Oh and Sunday is the bike brewery tour thing that I planned with my coworker.  We're just going to ride up and down this bike path from Conshohocken to Phoenixville back to Conshy and then to Manayunk and then back to Conshy again.  We have 3 stops planned during the day where we will get snacks and a beer.  So it's starting in Conshy, then up to Phoenixville then a beer and some food.  Then back to Conshy for another beer, then down to Manayunk for more beer and food and then back to Conshy for more food and or beer if we're feeling up to it.  Should be interesting.

It's a full weekend it seems so bring on the fun!

 

Filed under: Stuffs No Comments
9Sep/160

WhyFi?

So, at work we're starting this one project to see if we can increase the quality of service for residence halls wireless internet connectivity.

It's basically my project.  This is one of the reasons why I just haven't job hopped to a new snazzier work gig... I get to do things when I want, how I want, the way I want... It's hard to find that in a work environment.  Usually it's very top down, this is how the boss wants it, kind of deal.  Or maybe it's not.  Maybe IT is different.

But, I mean, I've implemented lots of different new procedures and protocols over the years here that have had positive impacts.  It's a small workplace and so the impacts are much easier to see around campus.

The problem with working for, say, a large corporation, or even a larger university is that the impacts might just get lost in the crowd.

As far as the whole chasing a paycheck thing goes... Well... My current financial situation is just... Different from most 33 year olds.  I'll leave it at that.  But for example, I'm about to get a new washer and dryer and fridge for my house.  The funding for those appliances aren't coming from my work paycheck.

So, most people might say to themselves, "I need to make more money to afford rent, or buy a new car, or pay off my debt..."

There's no mortgage on my house.

My car is paid in full and if I want a new one, the same place funding the washer and dryer and fridge will fund the car.

I have no debt.  And virtually every week I get more and more deposits into my own personal account in the form in interest and dividends coming off my own investment portfolio.

So, unless I suddenly find myself married and expecting kids... Right now?  I literally could care less about salary requirements at my job.  It's more about being happy where I work to me and having ample time off to work on my own personal creative projects like books and music and having my free time to go to festivals and events in hopes that I MIGHT bump into that special girl one day.

Anyways so one of the projects that I decided needed to happen here at the college was a way to make data driven decisions on wireless satisfaction in the residence halls.

Students spend a lot of time in their rooms, and not having complete wireless coverage is a no bueno for sure.

So, I decided to take the initiative and worked with one of my coworkers to develop a survey to collect information from the students.  Then we'll analyse that data and decide if we have to adjust wireless infrastructure in place, or add additional infrastructure to bridge the gaps in wireless signal coverage.

If a student can't get online in their room... How likely are they to stay at the college?  How happy are they going to be?  How do their grades suffer if they can't work on homework at their desks?

It's all about helping the student have a better college experience.  All aspects of student life are important, class room experience and life in the residence hall.  No two students have the same needs.

One student might never spend time in their room, they may spend most of their time in friend's rooms, or maybe the library.  Another student might like going to the local coffee shop.  Another might be fine using common areas to do homework.

SO to just say, oh, the student can just use one of the designated lounges that have wifi if they don't have acceptable coverage in their room... That's not acceptable.  As well there's free time things like streaming Netflix or playing online games with friends.

That kind of stuff is important when it comes to life in a college residence hall.

The way this survey will work is to collect a few metrics that can then be quantified into heat-maps to see which buildings, which floors, and which individual rooms are having poor service or great service.

That way we'll be able to identify which rooms need immediate care and which floors or buildings need more work over some other areas.  Prioritizing in the IT world is important.  Knowing which stuff to fix first is not only useful but necessary.

Most of the students with issues will speak up, but sometimes they won't.  Sometimes unless they are given a survey to fill out, they won't actually complain about the issue.  Why?  Some of them have alternative plans...

Some have cell data plans and they just hotspot their cell phones.  This works until we get a parent complaining about data plan overages and that there's no reason why a student can't get on the wifi in their room.

So why is wifi important?  So much stuff relies on it.  So many things that the average college student uses everyday relies on having robust and reliable wireless in all the areas of the campus including every corner of their residence halls.  If the students aren't worrying about trying to get a device of theirs connect, which maybe works half way across their room but doesn't work by their desk, or bed... They can focus their mental efforts worrying about their studies.  They can have a better college experience.

If they have to go out into the hallway to use wifi and can't actually get complete coverage in their room?  That's just unacceptable.  Sure, maybe some students are fine being social in the hallway, but there are other students who prefer to work on homework or recharge their batteries by watching Netflix alone in their room.  Not everyone is super social, some are more introverted and get energy by spending time alone.  That's important to be able to allow the student to recharge their batteries and de-stress in the way that fits each and every one of them.

What we plan to do is post a simple survey in a place called The Portal where they log in to check for assignments and register for classes.  Each user will see a personal survey that allows them to rate their room wireless experience from 1 to 10.  We'll also ask the general number of devices that they have connected, and if they have any comments.

This way we can then compile a report of that data and see point scores across the campus.  Maybe one building, or one floor, or one room will be very low.  OR maybe others will be very high no the average 10 point scoring chart.  Then we can figure out why is this?  Is it our equipment, or is there something that needs to be configured on their personal devices that might need some tweaking.

Once we start to collect historical data, we can then see changes from semester to semester and year to year.  Perhaps one student one year has great coverage, and the next year in the same room, a student rates it very low.  Maybe that tells us something new that we didn't realize without that extra data.

Data driven decisions also help to prove funding is needed to order more equipment in a specific area.  Analytics and data analysis of the metrics captured are important in the decision making process for any organization.

They key is to use the information collected to improve the processes that run behind the scenes so the experience is a more seamless and positive user experience for anyone that needs that service.  I believe that data collection, and in turn, making changes from that data, should always be an ongoing process.

Collect data, analyse, make changes, collect more data, more analysis, more changes.

The goal is to strive for a seamless experience so that the user doesn't even realize there are processes in the background happening to deliver that service, it just works.

Filed under: Stuffs No Comments
8Sep/160

Everyone Is On My Team

Everyone is on my team.  Everyone I know, have known, or will know in the future.  They're an important part of my team.

No person is too small, everyone is important.

Just what is this team of mine?  It's everything that flows in and out of me.

Everyone has a team, it's their unique combination of people they interact with.  No two teams for any two individuals are the same.  Everyone has a team.  Even little babies have teams.

Here's how it works.  A team is an evolving list of people that have influenced you, or you have influenced.  People you've worked with, people who you've helped or have helped you.

From the moment you are born, your team starts.  It actually started long before that... Everything you are made up of, your genetic material and your ancestors that contributed to that.  Your family, your friends, your classmates, your work mates.  Old loves, new loves, strangers you pass on the street.  People you interact with at businesses.

No one is an island.  Just look around your room.  Look around your car.  Look around your office at work.  Look around you.  Everything you have in your possession was manufactured by someone.  Maybe you have items that you made yourself, but I bet there are lots of things that are the hard work and passion of someone you may have never even met.

Here's the thing though.  Everything in life flows through you and around you.  You breathe in oxygen.  You exhale CO2.  You drink and eat.  You use words and concepts and ideas that were invented by people thousands of years ago.

We live on a floating rock that no one can claim ownership as a whole because... Who made earth?  We float around a star that burns and gives off light expecting nothing in return.

We use that light every day.  We use the heat from it.

Everyone and everything on this planet are all on a team together.  And everyone you know is on your team, like it or not.  Some people seem to work against you... But the thing is, none of us know the whole picture.

What might seem like a pointless challenge, or what might seem like someone in your way, could actually be helping you later on down the road.

A block in the road could be leading to something later on in life that you never saw coming.  I don't know what's going to happen 1 year from now, or 5 years.  I have no clue what kinds of experiences I'll have.  I have no clue how the people I've known, the people I know, or the people I WILL know might become very important in my life.

If, for example, I reach out to someone and ask a favor and they say no, or I try to network with someone and they don't respond, or I try to collaborate with someone and nothing comes of it.  Or, let's say I even get wronged by someone.... I don't know what might come out of that.

A lot of fantastic works of art came from heart break.

In my own life, this whole connection to Beverly Hills only exists because three other banks rejected the trust.  We TRIED to move our trust to three other places... They all said no... The fact that there even IS a trust right now to be moved to Beverly Hills is because one man decided to modify the trust to keep it in a trust until we reached the age of 50.  If my grandfather had never crossed paths with this man and he had never modified the original trust... We would have received the proceeds of the trust outright on our 30th birthdays.

So it's interesting because of the actions of other people... I have a connection that would never have existed in the first place.

But anything that exists in my life at all... some of it is purely out of serendipity.

I mean look at your life.  Take away family members.  Or friends.  How would your life be different?  What if one of those team members on your life didn't play a role in your life?  What if they just never existed in your life... How would your life be different?

All of our lives would be very different if we didn't have the exact people in our lives, past, present, or future... that we have had or do have or will have.

I can't say I really know anything about where my life is headed.  I can't say if it's good, or bad, or indifferent.  I might end up very successful some day in one of my endeavors, creative or business, or career...

I could end up never doing anything that ever amounts to anything.

No one can say that.  Sometimes life gets shoved in directions that we all never no control over.

There's a LOT of stuff in my life that I have no control over.  But what I do have control over is recognizing and accepting that everyone who plays a part in my life.... Is important.

Even if they may have harmed me in some way... they can still be important.  They may have been preparing me for something down the road.  Or maybe they were meant to redirect my life or make a connection for me that might never have been made if it weren't for their part in my life in the past.

Life is very unpredictable.  But one thing I can say for sure is... Most things that seem completely random at the time, or seem like there's no point... In hindsight there's always something to get out of it.

No decision is ever the "wrong" decision.  Nothing you can ever say or do to someone is ever a "Bad" decision.  Everything is a stepping stone, and a learning opportunity.

And it's just another team member to add to your big giant team of people and places and things in life that make you into the person you are.

I think the best example of understanding the way life works, happened tonight while I was at Panera Bread.

I was going to order their mac and cheese.  That was my first thought.  That was my decision.  But then, I decided as I stepped up to order, I was going to take destiny into my own hands.  I was going to make MY OWN decision and control my own life... Because I AM IN CONTROL OF MY OWN FATE...

I changed my order to the turkey chili, as the menu had in fancy lettering indicating that it was back.  That it was one of my choices.  And that I'm in charge of my own fate and destiny and I can choose my own path in life...

"We don't have turkey chili."

The girl taking my order informed me.

Or, in other words... I don't care how much you think you're in charge of your own fate and your own life... You're not.  You can choose anything you want.... But only what fate wants you to have will you get.

I changed my order back to mac and cheese.  But I INSISTED that I just have a cup.

When the order was served.  It was a bowl.

Oh well.  I give up.

I had decided my own fate and had decided I was in control of where my life was going to go...

A cup of turkey chili.

I sat down at the table to eat my bowl of mac and cheese.  Because that's how life works.

Most of us have things in our life, that through one way or another, were given to us.  Were setup for us.  Our parents, or siblings, or friends... If THOSE people had NOT been in our life...

This opportunity that we were given, this path in life... Would not be the one we ended up taking.

That's why our team is important.  Because it IS the path we took.  Sometimes you can't choose.  You can ask all you want.  You can try all you want.  But life goes in a direction different from where we want.

But why fight it?  Because after all the next time I step up to order, they might be out of mac and cheese and only have turkey chili.

And maybe all the bowls are dirty and they only have cups.

And then I'll be saying... Awwweeee maaaaan... I wish I had a bowl of mac and cheese right now!

Life is ordering food at Panera Bread.  Don't fight it.  Just know what some times comes to us at different times.  And sometimes we don't realize why at the time.

But what's cool about it is... When you step back and don't fight your team but embrace it... You realize how much those around you do for you.

Because in a way, we're all helping each other and shaping each other and building each other's lives as part of each other's teams, as teammates... And we don't even know it.  But if we fight it... Not only do we make our own team work harder, but we make each other's teams work harder too.

Clear as mud right?

The moral is basically that everyone in your life is there for a reason.  And every event good or bad was in your life for a reason as well.  And the more you look back on things, the more you find that no one goes through life alone, and a lot of life is actually a big team where we all rely on each other to get things done and get through life.

And a lot of our success, is simply waiting and trying lots of locked doors until one door opens.

A lot things in life are a combination of chance and timing.  And then once that chance and timing happen in a way that is favorable... Letting your team work for you... Not against you.

Filed under: Stuffs No Comments
6Sep/160

She Returned To Her Complimentary Hotel Room

Her phone buzzed indicating a text message had been received...

It's just crazy how much I think about you!

Seriously?  She thought.  Another one?  That makes 3 boys in one night.  First Mr. Hotfeet, followed by Flip Flop, and now this tell-tale texter?

What was going on with this night.

Do you think about me?

No!  Not even one iota.  I hadn't even remember you existed until you texted me.

Hello?  Can I call you?

SERIOUSLY?  If I haven't responded to your first two texts, why would I respond to the third?  She put her phone on silent and powered on the TV.  She removed her heels and threw them across the room not giving two clucks where they landed.  She was tired from the all-day conference.  She had work to do.  She lunged for her laptop bag siting on the chair next to the bed and removed the laptop from its zipped up carrying case.  She powered the laptop up and started the presentation software to continue where she left off earlier.  She'd have to tweak this presentation slightly in order to make it fit for tomorrow's talk.

Her boss had assigned her something last minute and she accepted it because, well, who else was going to do it?  Two team members had booked flights, and arrived, only one made it off the plane.  Personally, and she wasn't going to rat him out, but personally if you ask her, she thought he was faking his illness just to get out of this weekend.  Where was he now she thought?  Probably lounging poolside, or in the hot tub at a nearby hotel, drink after drink.  Probably out on the town with those friends he had mentioned he had here when the two of them first boarded the plane together.  Her blood boiled just thinking about it.

She flipped through the channels and settled on something good for background noise.  She glanced at the hotel clock next to the bed: 9:38pm.  She had to be up at 6am.  Not terrible, but she'd definitely be running on only a few hours sleep.

A knock at the door.

"Oh for the love of God!"

She got up and walked over to the peep hole.  A man stood holding flowers.

She opened the door.  "Can I help you?"

"Daylight?  Miss Daylight?"

"Yes."

"These are for you."

She rolled her eyes and grasped the bouquet.

"Thanks."

"No problem.  There's a small card--"

"Yes. I see it.  THANK YOU.  GOOD NIGHT!"

"Okay.  Sorry to bother you Miss... Daylight."

She sighed.  "It's okay.  It's not your fault."

"Anything else I can do for you?"  The hotel representative asked inquisitively.

"No.  I'm okay."  She paused.  Holding the vase in her hand and looking at the obnoxious display of flowers.  "On second thought, can you hold all calls, all flowers, all visitors--Just don't let ANYONE else contact me tonight.  Oh and... what options do you have for room service?"

He agreed to keep her in complete solitude for the rest of the night, after which he listed a fine selection of room service entrees available for her munching pleasure.  When she couldn't decide, he told her that he'd bring her a sample of each one, free of charge, naturally.

This was getting out of hand.  She thought to herself.  It was cute at first.  But now it's just annoying.  She had to get this "spell" or whatever the heck it was, under control somehow.  Boys to the left, and lovers to the right and she had work to do.

 

Filed under: Stuffs No Comments
6Sep/160

yea, lol.

The response that annoys me the most from girls on dating sites is... "Yea, lol."
 
And that's it. No follow up question in return. Nothing. Just, "Yea, lol."
It's usually the end of the conversation.  Even if I try to respond to that... And maybe ask another question or try to spur or stir the conversation, usually they don't respond.
So, it's not that they are really saying yea, as in agreeing, or that they are laughing out loud because what you said they think is funny... They are more just no longer interested in keeping the conversation going.
Dating in any form takes two interested people.  If one person loses interest.  No matter HOW hard the other person tries... It's impossible to keep it going.
Dating just sucks.  There's no two ways about it.  Most people won't be interested.  I waste a lot of time trying.  I've wasted time on probably thousands of girls that either had no interest from the start.  Or lost interest eventually.
But I just have to keep hoping there will be that ONE girl that won't lose interest.  That we'll both keep the conversation going and there will be interest all the way to make it to a relationship, and to a marriage and have kids and a family and all that.
It only takes that one person to click.  The reason why no one else clicks is because there's just that one person that does.  Obviously I just haven't met her yet.  I've just met all these other girls... I just keep bouncing off rejections and bad starts to possible relationships... But eventually there will be one that just clicks and we both keep the conversation going.
If someone isn't interested, that's on them... It just means there's someone better out there that works when that person didn't.
So if someone is going to respond with "yea, lol."
I just imagine them on their wedding day saying that, the man says... "I do" and then the wedding officiate turns to the woman and says...
"And do you take this man to be your husband?"
And she says... "Yea, lol."
And then the whole wedding ceremony stops and drops to a dead quiet and everyone looks around.
Say what?
Is that the kind of person I want to marry some day?  The kind of person I want to raise a family with?  Probably not.
"Honey, do you know if the kids did their homework?"
"Yea, lol."
"Honey, I need to take the car in for service, can you give me a ride or can I use your car today if I have to go anywhere?"
"Yea, lol."
"Dear, I need your consent on this medical power of attorney item should something happen to me while having a routine dental procedure done."
"Yea, lol."
Just doesn't give me the warm fuzzies like I can trust her with responsible grown up things in life.
It's like a joke.  Like she would take our entire life, and our entire marriage as a joke.  Legal documents.  Routine life events, dental, health, things with homeownership and car ownership.
How can I take someone seriously after they respond with... "Yea, lol."
Could you imagine this person on a job interview?  And the person interviewing them just got a response after every question of... "Yea, lol."
Who would hire her?
I can't take you serious.  SO even if you ARE interested... There's no way to keep the conversation going.  Because it sounds like you think this entire start to what could POSSIBLY end up as us getting married and spending the rest of our lives together...
TO you?  It's a joke.
"Yea, lol."
Filed under: Stuffs No Comments
6Sep/160

A Lack Of Commitments

99 percent of the girls on dating sites don't want relationships, or commitments of any sort.  It's frustrating.  Most of the people I know in life are all married with babies and what not.... And I'm just like HOW?  How did ANYONE of them ever get to that point?  I talk to girls on dating sites... Or in real life.  None of them want relationships.  It's like... They only want flings.  They only want to kind of sort of date someone but not have it be anything with a label on it.

It's just so frustrating.  I WISH I could find a girl that wanted a relationship.  I wish I could date a girl that one day wanted to get married, and have kids and all that.  To have a family.  None of them do.  None of them want any of that.  They are just more interested in some kind of several week or several month stand.  But they don't want anything that has a label on it or anything that resembles a relationship.

I wish I could just find ONE girl that was interested in a relationship.  I guess this is why dating stinks.  And online dating especially stinks.  None of the girls actually want relationships.  They just want to have "a good time".

It's just extra frustrating.  Are there ANY single girls out there that ACTUALLY want relationships?

Filed under: Stuffs No Comments
5Sep/160

Miss Daylight’s Prickly Feet Spell

Miss Daylight tended not to use her prickly feet spell on boys unless she absolutely had to.  Most cases, she absolutely had to.  I mean, most boys deserved their prickly feet fate.  Ah the prickly feet spell.  It was just one of the few spells she'd figure out so far in her life.  It's not like she's a witch, or magician, or any kind of superhero... She's just had the ability to cast a few spells.  A normal girl, that could... Do a few extraordinary things.

Maybe casting spells wasn't the correct term for it.  She just figured out by coincidence or accident that some how she could "influence" sensations in other people.  If you were good to her, she could make you feel a warmth that would radiate from your heart into the rest of your body.  The blood flowing inside you would be flooded with a feeling of complete joy, if you were not... You got prickly feet.  The equivalent to walking around on hot sand all day.

Her final "spell" involved the ability to stick thoughts inside someone else's head.  She could make you think things that weren't your own.  She could inject a thought of her's into your own mind.

"Hey, Miss Daylight, I decided to take the initiative and do this thing for you that you didn't even ask me to do.  I'm not sure why but I guess I just felt extra motivated for some strange reason to do this for you."

"Oh... Really?  You didn't have to do that, but I'm glad you went the extra mile without me even having to ask you."

"Yeah weird, I just sort of... Felt compelled to do so.  Like the thought just kind of popped into my mind.  Weird right?"

"Oh, TOTALLY weird.  SO strange indeed.  Just popped right into your mind... huh... interesting."

"Yeah.  Weird."

All three of those "skills" came in handy, like when it came to dating, reel em in, and throw em back.  And make them walk around all day on hot sand.

Coworkers, or friends.  Sometimes she could move the people around in her life like pawns.  Mostly for good, but sometimes she just did things for the fun of it.  A girl's got to keep herself entertained after all!  And there's only so many videos you can watch of cats dancing before you get bored of that.  Besides, leading boys around on invisible strings like puppets was just so much more entertaining.

 

"A free drink for the lovely lady."

"What?  Why?  Mr. Bartender, really that's not necessary."

"Oh no, I insist!  I don't know, I just kind of feel compelled to give you a free drink.  Like, I've been moved to do it."

"Oh... Interesting.  Well, if you insist!"

She sat at the hotel bar sipping her complimentary beverage, and enjoying her complimentary hotel room, and complimentary car rental that each one of the individuals had been moved to give to her on this business trip.

"Excuse me?  Is this seat taken."

A boy from her past sat down beside her.  Her eyes opened wide.

"Never thought I'd see you again."

"Four years no call, now you're looking pretty in a hotel bar."  he stopped.  "I don't know why I just complimented you."

"It happens."  She sat staring at him.   "How's those feet of yours feeling?"

"Listen.  Can you undo it? Please.  Just... make it stop."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"But you asked about my feet."

"Oh, I was just referring to when you had such cold feet when we first started dating.  And how you were hesitant and dragging your feet."  She smiled at her own quick wit.

"Please."  He pleaded again.

"Sorry."  She shook her head.

He made a prayer like shape with his hands, "Please!  I'm begging you!"

"Hmmm... Maybe."

The truth was, she didn't know how.  She hadn't figured that part out yet.  She knew how to cast prickle feet on people she didn't like, but she didn't know how to undo it.  She just imagined a whole bunch of ex boyfriends walking around all day with feet scorched from her hot sand spell.

Oops.

"Please.  I'll do anything.  ANYTHING.  You name it.  I'll do it.  Please just take this sensation away.  Before I met you I was doing just fine, I drank too much and that's an issue, but I was okay..."

"Save me the sob story."  She sipped on her drink some more and turned her back towards him.  "Maybe you have to figure out how to make it stop on your own."

He moved around to the other side of her bar stool to face her.  "I have tried.  I've tried everything!  Believe me."

"You should have thought about this before you treated me the way you did."

He felt a punch to his gut.  It could have been her, but it could have been his own guilt.  Or regret.

"What'll you be having sir?"

"He's with me."  She finally said out of a hint of compassion.

The bartender immediately returned with the same drink he'd made for Miss Daylight.  "On the house."

"What do you want from me?"  She finally asked.

"I want you to make my feet feel like they did before you an I met."  He replied in a way that sounded almost like a captured prisoner begging to be released.

"You're just going to have to live with it."

"I can't.  Daylight, I can't do it anymore.  I can't walk around on hot sand anymore.  I had cold feet, yes, but that shouldn't mean I should have hot sand for the rest of my life."

"You let what you just said sink in."  She sipped again.  He sipped.  Suddenly she felt guilty.  She shot a thought over to him so he'd feel the mirror thought.

"Oh. I have.  I've thought about it every day since I last saw you."

She shifted in her seat and spun slightly to face him directly, "Maybe you should just go see a foot doctor or something."

He laughed softly, and looked away thinking of his most recently dating fiasco, "I tried that.  She couldn't help."

Music played in the background from the hotel bar sound system.

So baby pull me closer in the backseat of your Rover
That I know you can't afford
Bite that tattoo on your shoulder
Pull the sheets right off the corner
Of the mattress that you stole
From your roommate back in Boulder
We ain't ever getting older...

We ain't ever getting older...

We ain't ever getting older...

"And what makes you think I can help?"  She asked.

"You made it happen!"

"No."  She stared deep into his eyes.  "You made it happen.  I just mirrored your own actions back on to you.  You gave me cold feet, so I gave you back hot ones."

He nodded then looked up towards the ceiling.  "Okay."  He left his drink unfinished and got up from the bar, standing as though someone were trying to find even the smallest hint of comfort on searing hot beach sand.

She suddenly felt, a wave of empathy for him.  "I'm... Listen, if I could undo it, I would, I would do it right here and now, but I... Honestly, I don't know how to undo it."

"Oh."  He responded in a tone indicating hinting at disbelief.

"Honest.  Swear to it.  If I figure it out... I'll call you okay?  I promise."

He sighed.  What else could he do.  "Okay."

He turned and walked away leaving Miss Daylight looking pretty at the hotel bar.  On his last peek as he looked through the closed glass door leading out of the bar, he saw a gentleman sitting down next to her.  He looked down at the gentleman's feet.  The gentleman wore flip flops along with his beach shorts and tropical t-shirt.

Well, at least he's a little more prepared than I was.

 

Filed under: Stuffs No Comments
4Sep/160

Allaire Historic Village

Bacon, Bikes and Brew Fest 2016 was a success!  Sadly though, I didn't actually get any food truck items with bacon on it.  I know... I KNOW!  That was the whole point.  But here's the thing, the lines were out the door, or since there was no door because these were all food trucks... They were just long.

So, I went to the smaller less popular trucks.  One truck apparently was featured on Food Network.  That line was EXTRA long.  Like, that gum brand, EXTRA.

The fest was at this place called Historic Village at Allaire.  It's a state park in New Jersey.  What's wild is that I've never heard of it before!  I mean, it's only an hour from my house and I've never heard of it or been to it.  Apparently this is just one of many events that they have there.  They do a fall fest harvest festival and an Edgar Allen Poe reading, and a christmas lantern tour, and many others.

https://allairevillage.org

Neat stuff.

Anyways so this was just food trucks as far as the eye could see.  They also had a beer tent area.  The problem with the beer tent was that you had to keep leaving the little area just to go get more food truck food or use the restrooms.

I kept alternating between food truck snacks and a beer.  All of it was very tasty!  They also had a band playing.  One of the things I missed though, and had no idea this even happened until the end, it was possible to see demonstrations of old time things like blacksmithing and the likes.

I guess I just must have walked right by these buildings and displays.

I feel like it would be a fun/interesting place to take your kids if you were a parent.  There were certainly a good amount of families there for sure, but the mix of friends versus couples versus families was decent.

I ended up making some new friends in the beer tent area.  We kept losing one another and finding one another again.  Fun times.  We ended up closing down the beer tent.

My favorite part of the festival was probably the mac and cheese bites that I had.  So delicious.  And probably terrible for me.  They were basically deep fried mac and cheese.  It's okay I went to yoga this morning before the festival and then after the festival I left and went to the nearest planet fitness to run on the treadmill for a while to sober up mostly, but also just to get a run in since I haven't been running as much as I like lately.

Now I'm in Princeton.

I just had a waffle topped with two scoops of ice cream, which was totally fantastic and is kind of my dinner.  And now I'm at Small World Coffee enjoying a nice iced coffee before I head home.

It's been a fun little day trip.  Tomorrow I might just stay in.  Maybe work on new musics and things around the house.  Probably mow some lawn, do some laundry, make a list of items to tidy up around the house.  I definitely plan to sleep in.  The usual weekend things.  At the moment I have no plans or invites to any Labor Day parties or anything like that.  Okay well that's not true, I guess I did get invited to this one tubing down the Delaware river... But I decided to pass on that since it's not just a little couple hours of a party I could go to and then come home, it's an ALL day event.

So, yeah, low key stay at home Labor Day for me.

My next event coming up is a wine fest in Oaks that I bought a ticket for.  That should be fun.  We'll see.  And just like I made new friends today... The wine fest next weekend will be yet another chance to make new friends... Or hopefully something that might possibly lead to something beyond a friendship.  It's not the ultimate goal, or maybe it really is, but... It would definitely be nice.  Just to meet someone to get excited about.  Someone to spend time with and do couples things with.

For now... It's more random conversation with strangers at the beer tent at food truck festivals.  Lots of "hello and how are you" kind of chats.

Filed under: Stuffs No Comments