Some Random Thoughts

Last night, I called into work and told them I'd be an hour late arriving to work. In that hour before I went to work, I went with some friends to a local pub and celebrated someone's 21st birthday. I spent an hour without straining to learn something new, thinking about nothing beyond laughing at the silly antics of my drunken friends. I had forgotten how fun it was to do this.

All work and no play does make Grant a dull boy to paraphrase that cliched aphorism. With few days off, piles of school work and working long hours at night, I haven't gone and hung out with any friends in a couple of months. I hadn't realized how much my morale had flagged until I joined my friends at that pub. I spent an hour laughing and enjoying the company of friends.

When I arrived at work, I realized that I was happy. I had a bounce in my step that I hadn't had in weeks. I sped through the work I had assigned to me without realizing I had done it all.

Amusingly, today being halloween, I noticed that the axiom I chose to use is also the same quote out of the movie The Shining. I won't be home to scare any kids tonight though. Instead, I'll be working. (Boo!) Anybody want to share their candy with me?

Speaking of halloween, I was in downtown Manhattan on Saturday night loading the truck after a party and saw trick or treaters were out in force despite the weather. One in particular caught the eye of one crew mate, who then alerted the rest of us. This girl was dressed as Wonder Woman. The real wonder of it was that she was only wearing the costume in sub-fifty degree weather with wind gusts over forty miles per hour.

I can't imagine how cold she was, but I was wearing a winter jacket while doing the loading. As I entered the warm cab of the truck, I watched her shivering uncontrollably as her male friend flagged down a taxi cab. What women do to look good just baffles me at times.

So, that's a couple of random thoughts from me as I close out this month of unceasing busyness. How are things with everyone else?

Stretching me enough to see through

Another busy week has gone by. Because of the religious holiday, I've had Sunday and Monday off. I spent Sunday sleeping and watching football games. Today, I've been catching up on school work. However, I'm not going to talk about that.

Instead, I'll give a few updates about things that I've mentioned but left unfinished. And they all center around that one thing that tortures and taunts me. Woman... I mean relationships. (Don't be offended, I consider them to be one and the same since I don't date guys.) I'll start from the most recent and work my way back.

First, the woman who gave me her number. She called me while I was working another wedding on Saturday, and since I wasn't doing anything else, I spent about an hour on the phone with her. At first, she apologized for breaking off our coffee get together. Then we discussed some bits about our families, jobs, pets, etc. You know, the usual things one talks about as you start to get to know someone else. As we were still talking about these things, she tells me that she has another call. She put me on hold and picked up the other line. Let's just say that she didn't do something right, because she got right back on the phone, with the greeting, "Hi honey, I'm on the phone with my mom, can I call you back?"

I was quick witted enough to respond, "You can call mom back another time," and hung up the phone. That two-timing... I won't finish that thought, but you can imagine where that was going. I haven't received a single call from her since. So, another "experience" to pack under the belt on relationships. I can't say that I've ever had that type experience before. Picked up at a wedding, and breaking up with a girl before even dating her.

As for MK, I met up with her along with some friends and I was surprised by her affectionate greeting and hug when I walked in the door. Then we had one of those deep conversations that we often have about a range of topics. I don't know where this is going, but as I was walking along with them on the way to a restaurant, I overheard as she was telling another female friend that she was looking for a tall, scruffy-looking geek type of guy that had intelligence to back up the look. Well, two out of three isn't bad right? (Not to mention paraphrasing a Meatloaf song title.)

Finally, we have engineering girl. Oddly, our banter has picked up right where it left off when I stopped seeing her in July, and lately, one of my fellow students observed that we acted like we were related. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I can easily see both sides. We get along well enough that we can act like we've known each other for quite some time. And then there's the, "EWww, I am not digging that I'm flirting with my cousin!!" reaction.

Between the latter two, I am still of two minds. To date one or the other? I like both, but the million dollar question has been do I make a decision and accelerate matters? I get along with both girls, and to be honest, I am quite content with where what I currently have. Especially since I've vowed not to date any girl until I'm done with this degree.

At this point, I am working two jobs, which total fifty hours a week between the two, and I am going to school full time. I don't get many nights off, so an evening out on the town is not possible. I wouldn't be able to squeeze the time out for one person, let alone two people, that I would need to get to know them well enough. If I can last out this year, well, you know, that's a topic for another post.

I guess I'm just venting at this point. I can't really hang out with friends to vent for the same reasons I can't ask either girl out. Too many things to do and not enough of me to spread around.