This pic is from the National Cathedral's door. I like finding subtle details to photograph. Of all the pics I took while being there this is my favorite, I like places where the closer the look the more you find, intricate I believe is the word.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Decline and Fall
After we got back from Washington DC I had a whole lot to say. We had visited a group of sites that are symbols of what our country's soul. I wrote a long post in my personal journal about my feelings, they are not positive, many sites left me with a deep uneasiness at what our country has come to value.
The greater uneasiness also has to do with the decay I see around the capital. There is sense of not necessarily danger, but a sense that you should be cautious when you're walking through DC. I've heard since that DC is not that bad - but not that good either. Here is something that I found interesting though, and that is my response to the capital now as opposed to eight years ago.
Eight years ago I went to DC and found the city incredible. I was in love with DC, spent time jumping between the different sites even late into the night. I was alone for much of that trip (maybe a future blog post) and never felt anything other than complete wonder. This time I felt uneasy for much of the trip, why? Has the city changed. I felt that maybe it had. Since I was there last 9/11 occurred. Where there was once an open lawn in front of the Capital Building now stands an impressive metal fence. The fence looks to be of solid steel and formidable, its not an addition made for aesthetics. You can walk across the lawn, but it is less opened than before. I wondered if perhaps the capital reflected an underlying mood, suspicion, and perhaps I was picking up on that. Another thing that has changed since I went to DC last, and that was now I have a wife.
Assuming the role of a husband and feeling responsible for the safety of another is a strange thing. I wonder if my cautious gaze is not due to my wife walking beside me. It is amazing how much marriage changes you. There is a tendency to feel that marriage is just another step or passing sign in your life, but it is far more than that. I cannot create an analogy that will make sense to those who have not experienced it. I remember my Dad seemed to be constantly telling me that I would "understand when I'm older" and he was right, I do understand now. We are just not capable of comprehending something so far out of the reality we know, we can observe it, but in experience is the only true understanding.
The greater uneasiness also has to do with the decay I see around the capital. There is sense of not necessarily danger, but a sense that you should be cautious when you're walking through DC. I've heard since that DC is not that bad - but not that good either. Here is something that I found interesting though, and that is my response to the capital now as opposed to eight years ago.
Eight years ago I went to DC and found the city incredible. I was in love with DC, spent time jumping between the different sites even late into the night. I was alone for much of that trip (maybe a future blog post) and never felt anything other than complete wonder. This time I felt uneasy for much of the trip, why? Has the city changed. I felt that maybe it had. Since I was there last 9/11 occurred. Where there was once an open lawn in front of the Capital Building now stands an impressive metal fence. The fence looks to be of solid steel and formidable, its not an addition made for aesthetics. You can walk across the lawn, but it is less opened than before. I wondered if perhaps the capital reflected an underlying mood, suspicion, and perhaps I was picking up on that. Another thing that has changed since I went to DC last, and that was now I have a wife.
Assuming the role of a husband and feeling responsible for the safety of another is a strange thing. I wonder if my cautious gaze is not due to my wife walking beside me. It is amazing how much marriage changes you. There is a tendency to feel that marriage is just another step or passing sign in your life, but it is far more than that. I cannot create an analogy that will make sense to those who have not experienced it. I remember my Dad seemed to be constantly telling me that I would "understand when I'm older" and he was right, I do understand now. We are just not capable of comprehending something so far out of the reality we know, we can observe it, but in experience is the only true understanding.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
I have thought a lot about the cyclical nature of friendships. I cannot name the number of people who seem to rotate in and out of my life. Friendships are amazing things, they add color and shading to our lives, creating something more vivid than before.
Enough of analogy, why am I thinking about friendships? Well two things. One is the departure of some very dear friends of ours. They are moving to Florida. (Future posts idea -- couple friends -- spent some time inserting it into this post but that is not what this post is about.) They have been our "goto" friends for the past year or so, the friends you call at the spur of the moment to do margaritas, movies, or just hanging out. The great thing about goto friends is that the best times are often had without plans. Over the past year the best of times have been had with our goto friends, they are already missed, and the blank spots in our nights will be hard to fill. We took some pictures of them before they left - one was the picture included in this post. It's hard to watch friends move away, but even harder to watch them drift away.
This weekend we attended a wedding for one of my wife's friends. It was not the happy event that it should have been. A couple of months ago her friend found herself on the wrong side of marriage and pregnant. This weekend she had a small backyard ceremony, and after a few giggled oaths her boyfriend became her husband. It's hard to summarize feelings on such an occasion. There are lots of tight smiles and disingenuous congratulations. Statistics tell us that chances of happy endings in such situations are not good. What type of ending is "good" in such a situation?
On the long drive home my wife sat silently for a long time and stared into the passing East Texas landscape. The sun was casting the last touches of the days light along the fields and small towns we passed. My wife's friend has slowly drifted away over the past couple of years. They were friends whose relationship was based on the past, and that distance is far greater than the one between us and our friends in Florida.
There are tiny margins that separate different possibilities in our lives. How many moments separate any of us from a life far different from the one we picture ourself in. A backyard wedding seems an appropriate example for the choices that mark the biggest of changes in our lives.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Continuing what I would like to think of as stellar consistency I am posting yet again. I've maintained a once a year post for the last several years. I won't say their worth the wait, but for the one of me that goes back and reads this it doesn't matter :)..
Wow, one bad thing about only posting once a year is the overwhelming amount of material to catch up on. I graduated this semester. I have finished a 10 year long track in getting my BBA. I don't know whether to call it a success or not. The process was so long that I've come to the end not knowing whether to be proud or ashamed. My wife is proud of me, she told me it was comforting that I don't give up on my dreams, and that I won't ever stop working on them.
Other's comment "you've been going to school as long as I've known you." I won't lie it stings a little. I'm aware that by some measure I am like one of the last few crossing the finish line.
Reminds me of a track meet in middle school. I decided to run the 200 (1/2 of the track). I lined up (you could spot me easy because I was the shortest one in the lineup), and waited for the gun (in my mind it was a gun - maybe not), it went off and for a few seconds I was with everyone else, fighting for the lead, then everyone seemed to drop it into some gear I didn't have. I watched as the pack left me further and further behind. It felt as if my legs just wouldn't work properly, I was running as fast as I could and yet when I turned the corner all the others were already at the finish line. I finished the race, and found that I had run my fastest time ever, but my fastest was just not good enough.
Felt that way at graduation. I had run as fast as I could, yet all these kids were crossing when I had just turned the corner. I thought of something a little later on, I remember that race. Along the sideline there were a few of my team-mates and they were cheering for me, they weren't even in the race, but they were supporting me. At graduation I had a sideline as well - my Wife, Mom, Dad, and Mother-in-law. My Mom cried, and I could tell my Dad was proud. They were cheering from the sidelines, but they never made it to the race. I was in the race - even if I finished last, I finished.
Wow, one bad thing about only posting once a year is the overwhelming amount of material to catch up on. I graduated this semester. I have finished a 10 year long track in getting my BBA. I don't know whether to call it a success or not. The process was so long that I've come to the end not knowing whether to be proud or ashamed. My wife is proud of me, she told me it was comforting that I don't give up on my dreams, and that I won't ever stop working on them.
Other's comment "you've been going to school as long as I've known you." I won't lie it stings a little. I'm aware that by some measure I am like one of the last few crossing the finish line.
Reminds me of a track meet in middle school. I decided to run the 200 (1/2 of the track). I lined up (you could spot me easy because I was the shortest one in the lineup), and waited for the gun (in my mind it was a gun - maybe not), it went off and for a few seconds I was with everyone else, fighting for the lead, then everyone seemed to drop it into some gear I didn't have. I watched as the pack left me further and further behind. It felt as if my legs just wouldn't work properly, I was running as fast as I could and yet when I turned the corner all the others were already at the finish line. I finished the race, and found that I had run my fastest time ever, but my fastest was just not good enough.
Felt that way at graduation. I had run as fast as I could, yet all these kids were crossing when I had just turned the corner. I thought of something a little later on, I remember that race. Along the sideline there were a few of my team-mates and they were cheering for me, they weren't even in the race, but they were supporting me. At graduation I had a sideline as well - my Wife, Mom, Dad, and Mother-in-law. My Mom cried, and I could tell my Dad was proud. They were cheering from the sidelines, but they never made it to the race. I was in the race - even if I finished last, I finished.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Took this picture at Herman Park's Japanese Garden. The bamboo has all been maked with graffitti, giving it all these man made scars. Pretty cool looking actually. Pictures are frustrating to take underneather their canopy, its dark, and the light doesn't bounce very well. After several attempts got this pic, not to bad. Gonna try morning instead of afternoon next time, the light should work a little better.. 
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Went to Colorado for my Honeymoon. While we were there my wife wanted to go to the Denver Zoo, I'm glad she did, its an amazing place. Denver is tempered enough that the animals stay very active. I think Houston's heat oppresses the animals here, thinking of starting a movement to "Free the Monkeys..."
Friday, June 30, 2006
Never happy with the candids I take of people, this one is no exception, but I found something to like about the pic after I had given it a more film grain style look. This was taken late night in Quincy Market. These two gentlemen seemed to spend themselves arguing some point I was to polite to listen in on, then paused for several minutes as if to regain a sense of composure. I snapped a couple of pics from the side. I wonder if my pic is floating around digital photo albums. I will never know these two men but here I have captured this quiet moment that seems almost intimate.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Monday, January 03, 2005
It's been one month since my last post, did ya miss me? A blog I read regularly did a whole month of posts on what they called the "lost days" between Thanksgiving and Christmas, their goal was to save those days, reclaim them as productive, meaningful days. I say to heck with that, I did say to heck with that, I wasted em all!!! Well not really but let's just say I did because I had enough fun during those days that I needed to ask forgiveness and to mention them again would be a sin.
I wish that were true, it's not. I went skiing the week before Christmas. The good of it, the mountains, Colorado is magnificent, a poet, a nation of poets would be required to describe the artistry, and the brilliance God painted down the Western middle of America. My breath goes short just in memory of it. Some would say that if you live in the shadow of such mountains their power is lost on you, that the common place robs you of the wonder, that cannot be, I can't believe that.
The bad of the trip was the nature of the "friends" I went on the trip with. I put friends in quotes because if you've taken a trip with a few (10 to 15) friends before you know that two or three of them are your friends, the others are your friends friends, or their friends friends, who you may get along with in some abstract kind of fantasy world setting (also known as a barbeque) but not in a intimate I'm going to be in a vehicle with you for almost 50 hours kind of setting.
Should I be magnanimous and stop there or should I name names? I can't decide. Okay fine, I'll give an in between, no names just descriptions as good as names.
So Winter Park is roughly 19 hours from Clear Lake TX driving straight through, give or take giving number of stops (by that I mean the number of women in the car =) <-- sorry ladies I just couldn't help myself). Round trip should be no more than say 42 hours if you're generous and give several hours to extra stops and maybe an accident or two. We spent fifty one hours together.
We spent over an hour sitting in the Woodlands because a preppy, know it all, self absorbed punk thought it would be cool to have us stop by his car dealer to see if his truck was ready. No, he didn't call ahead and find out, no it wasn't ready, no and of course we didn't mind blowing an hour at the end of what had already been a long trip just so he could avoid the bother of a phone call. Of course, I'm sure no one else minded. Everyone loves the jackass, or at least some of them do. Do you get the vibe that maybe I don’t?
He's so transparent, so cocky, and so into himself. He's a guy who owns five pairs of Oakley's, and brings all of them on the trip. He's a guy who brings a parachute (yes a parachute) to a New Years Eve party and then packs it in the living room. Why would he do this? Well it's just more convenient to pack a parachute at a crowded New Years Eve party where everyone is watching and can marvel that this super human who has decided to grace us with his presences. Maybe it also had something to do with wanting to brag about sky-diving. Can you tell I may not care for this guy? He owns a Land Rover and a boat, he owns a small country's worth of debt, and he lives with his Mom.
Did I mention he's in the Army (don't know which rank) and served in Afghanistan? Yeah that's the point where most people like him, especially the folks down here in Texas. Of course, you couldn't miss him being a solider because he mentions it often. So let's recap, I'm a jackass because I don't like this guy everyone else loves. I'm a real dick because I loathe him, because you know he's a veteran of Afghanistan, he's a national hero.
Did I mention that I threatened to rip his head off during the car ride, not in the funnin around way either; I would have taken his head off if I could. Oh and I told him this in the middle of this trip at full volume so as to make sure everyone else in the car knew how I felt. Should I discuss why? I had reasons, I had good reasons. He was playing jokes with the vehicle while driving down iced roads that wind sharp down the middle of the mountains. He took his hands off the wheel, slammed on the brakes and shouted "Oh my God" then I said something that involved him and his mother, and how I felt I might need to take his head from his body if he did something that stupid again.
Like I said the mountains were incredible. Does anyone want to be my friend, I'm runnin short right now =)...
I wish that were true, it's not. I went skiing the week before Christmas. The good of it, the mountains, Colorado is magnificent, a poet, a nation of poets would be required to describe the artistry, and the brilliance God painted down the Western middle of America. My breath goes short just in memory of it. Some would say that if you live in the shadow of such mountains their power is lost on you, that the common place robs you of the wonder, that cannot be, I can't believe that.
The bad of the trip was the nature of the "friends" I went on the trip with. I put friends in quotes because if you've taken a trip with a few (10 to 15) friends before you know that two or three of them are your friends, the others are your friends friends, or their friends friends, who you may get along with in some abstract kind of fantasy world setting (also known as a barbeque) but not in a intimate I'm going to be in a vehicle with you for almost 50 hours kind of setting.
Should I be magnanimous and stop there or should I name names? I can't decide. Okay fine, I'll give an in between, no names just descriptions as good as names.
So Winter Park is roughly 19 hours from Clear Lake TX driving straight through, give or take giving number of stops (by that I mean the number of women in the car =) <-- sorry ladies I just couldn't help myself). Round trip should be no more than say 42 hours if you're generous and give several hours to extra stops and maybe an accident or two. We spent fifty one hours together.
We spent over an hour sitting in the Woodlands because a preppy, know it all, self absorbed punk thought it would be cool to have us stop by his car dealer to see if his truck was ready. No, he didn't call ahead and find out, no it wasn't ready, no and of course we didn't mind blowing an hour at the end of what had already been a long trip just so he could avoid the bother of a phone call. Of course, I'm sure no one else minded. Everyone loves the jackass, or at least some of them do. Do you get the vibe that maybe I don’t?
He's so transparent, so cocky, and so into himself. He's a guy who owns five pairs of Oakley's, and brings all of them on the trip. He's a guy who brings a parachute (yes a parachute) to a New Years Eve party and then packs it in the living room. Why would he do this? Well it's just more convenient to pack a parachute at a crowded New Years Eve party where everyone is watching and can marvel that this super human who has decided to grace us with his presences. Maybe it also had something to do with wanting to brag about sky-diving. Can you tell I may not care for this guy? He owns a Land Rover and a boat, he owns a small country's worth of debt, and he lives with his Mom.
Did I mention he's in the Army (don't know which rank) and served in Afghanistan? Yeah that's the point where most people like him, especially the folks down here in Texas. Of course, you couldn't miss him being a solider because he mentions it often. So let's recap, I'm a jackass because I don't like this guy everyone else loves. I'm a real dick because I loathe him, because you know he's a veteran of Afghanistan, he's a national hero.
Did I mention that I threatened to rip his head off during the car ride, not in the funnin around way either; I would have taken his head off if I could. Oh and I told him this in the middle of this trip at full volume so as to make sure everyone else in the car knew how I felt. Should I discuss why? I had reasons, I had good reasons. He was playing jokes with the vehicle while driving down iced roads that wind sharp down the middle of the mountains. He took his hands off the wheel, slammed on the brakes and shouted "Oh my God" then I said something that involved him and his mother, and how I felt I might need to take his head from his body if he did something that stupid again.
Like I said the mountains were incredible. Does anyone want to be my friend, I'm runnin short right now =)...
Monday, December 06, 2004
I violated airport security taking (or trying to take) pictures this weekend. Sunday afternoon a friend of mine brought me out to a spot where he sits and watches planes break the “ceiling” (he’s a pilot so he’s allowed to use pilot-speak) and coast in. I had just enough time to snap a few test frames before FAA security personnel showed up and asked us to leave.
To my surprise what I was doing was a national security risk. If I’m intent on getting the pictures I want, I’ll need to get a little more James Bond.
I’m thinking of starting an operation to get the pictures I want. Operation DumbButt. The crux of this operation involves me driving around Hobby airport in a suspicious manner waiting for an opportunity to jump out and take a couple of pictures. It took a good ten minutes for a response from FAA security so I figure I have a window of ten minutes to get the picture and get out. That’s Operation DumbButt objective 1, get the picture. Objective 2 involves me staying out of jail.
Objective 2 is the most important part of the operation. The FAA sec guy pointed out several cameras in the vicinity of our watch area. There’s a good chance that after a successful completion of Objective 1 I run the risk of having Objective 2 fall apart while FBI, CIA, and NSA park black helicopters over my apartment and drag me to seedy warehouses filled with all manner of equipment that probes you in all the wrong ways (unless you happen to be into that kind of thing).
Once I’ve determined how to complete Objective 2, once I’m certain I haven’t been spotted, tagged, or contained for committing an act that violates National Security, I’ll move onto Objective 3, posting the pictures on the internet =)…
To my surprise what I was doing was a national security risk. If I’m intent on getting the pictures I want, I’ll need to get a little more James Bond.
I’m thinking of starting an operation to get the pictures I want. Operation DumbButt. The crux of this operation involves me driving around Hobby airport in a suspicious manner waiting for an opportunity to jump out and take a couple of pictures. It took a good ten minutes for a response from FAA security so I figure I have a window of ten minutes to get the picture and get out. That’s Operation DumbButt objective 1, get the picture. Objective 2 involves me staying out of jail.
Objective 2 is the most important part of the operation. The FAA sec guy pointed out several cameras in the vicinity of our watch area. There’s a good chance that after a successful completion of Objective 1 I run the risk of having Objective 2 fall apart while FBI, CIA, and NSA park black helicopters over my apartment and drag me to seedy warehouses filled with all manner of equipment that probes you in all the wrong ways (unless you happen to be into that kind of thing).
Once I’ve determined how to complete Objective 2, once I’m certain I haven’t been spotted, tagged, or contained for committing an act that violates National Security, I’ll move onto Objective 3, posting the pictures on the internet =)…
Thursday, December 02, 2004
There’s an alien on my porch. I found him three months ago, abandoned on the small lawn outside my apartment.
He’s a tiny guy, kind of slimy and gray. He just sits there, sunning himself during the day, waiting for his chance to phone home.
I set him on my porch thinking that whatever kid lost him would come back by, see him sitting on my railing, and rescue him. He’s had no such luck.
He’s held up pretty well so far, he gets a little sweaty on the hot days but it’s nothing he can’t handle. I thought the other day about him sitting out on my porch like some Native Man’s totem, my own personal gargoyle. Is this how superstition starts? I find an inanimate child’s toy lying in the grass, and set it on my porch. If he lasts another year I may give him a name. Two years and he’ll be a permanent decoration.
Given enough time, the thing seems to take on more and more significance. If he lasts a generation, he may become an heirloom, and if he lasts two, he may become a good luck charm. Three generations may make him some a sort of family saint, a protector.
My alien’s consistency isn’t made of a generation spanning material; my point was that maybe that is how legend, superstition, magic, and idols are created. They are novelties, trivial, but give them some time…
He’s a tiny guy, kind of slimy and gray. He just sits there, sunning himself during the day, waiting for his chance to phone home.
I set him on my porch thinking that whatever kid lost him would come back by, see him sitting on my railing, and rescue him. He’s had no such luck.
He’s held up pretty well so far, he gets a little sweaty on the hot days but it’s nothing he can’t handle. I thought the other day about him sitting out on my porch like some Native Man’s totem, my own personal gargoyle. Is this how superstition starts? I find an inanimate child’s toy lying in the grass, and set it on my porch. If he lasts another year I may give him a name. Two years and he’ll be a permanent decoration.
Given enough time, the thing seems to take on more and more significance. If he lasts a generation, he may become an heirloom, and if he lasts two, he may become a good luck charm. Three generations may make him some a sort of family saint, a protector.
My alien’s consistency isn’t made of a generation spanning material; my point was that maybe that is how legend, superstition, magic, and idols are created. They are novelties, trivial, but give them some time…
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Took this pic last Wednesday. The only reason I got this and several other shots were because a auto-parts store rented out some tools they said they would keep for me. I had to detour, run across town, and find another parts supply store that had the tools I needed. On my way out to my parent?s house, I saw the moon was out, and the sky was grapefruit pink. I drove to this park not far from their place on the bay and found it still and at rest. I spent over an hour out there, just taking pictures. It was worth the delay. 
Monday, November 22, 2004
Houston looks of winter long before it feels of winter. The sky turns gray, the trees bare, but still the temperature hovers around 70-85 degrees.
Winter is marked not by temperature but by the dull wet look of everything.
The weatherman is telling me by Thanksgiving the temperatures may fall as low as 41 at night. It’s November 22nd, I’ve worn my coat twice this year, I only needed it once. I’ve come to think of wearing my coat as a special occasion.
In Houston a couple of times a year, the weather treats us to a day where hard works is required to produce a sweat. Houston typically makes sweating an easy exercise; breathing is all it takes to give you a good sheen.
I’m looking forward to a few days at the end of the week when Houston will look and feel in sync.
Winter is marked not by temperature but by the dull wet look of everything.
The weatherman is telling me by Thanksgiving the temperatures may fall as low as 41 at night. It’s November 22nd, I’ve worn my coat twice this year, I only needed it once. I’ve come to think of wearing my coat as a special occasion.
In Houston a couple of times a year, the weather treats us to a day where hard works is required to produce a sweat. Houston typically makes sweating an easy exercise; breathing is all it takes to give you a good sheen.
I’m looking forward to a few days at the end of the week when Houston will look and feel in sync.
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Today I had a brief reprise from the everyday, a small moment that made the world seem a little brighter. Walking from my car to class is usually a mundane task, how many times have I taken such a walk? I pass from my car to the building without noticing the world, the people, the traffic, all float by on mute. Today though, today I woke up before finishing my walk, woke before finding my seat along the back row of the classroom.
I cross one road on my way to class. Today I woke at that crossing to see a tiny girl holding a very large umbrella. She stood about 5’1’’ or so, petite, wearing a black shirt that camouflaged her perfectly against the dark umbrella she held, and a red hat that clashed so perfectly it almost hurt my eyes.
I was frozen.
This girl could have gone Mary Poppins at any moment, gliding over street and lot.
How much have I missed? I looked around; no one seemed to recognize the wonderful peculiarity taking place. How much have I missed?
I think it was the wonderful contrast; it was such a photographic moment. I stood for only a moment, then the walk light turned on and it was over, she moved out of frame, and I finished my walk to class.
A photograph is a small moment, today it would have been 1/15 or 1/20sec, how many 1/20sec’s have I missed.
I cross one road on my way to class. Today I woke at that crossing to see a tiny girl holding a very large umbrella. She stood about 5’1’’ or so, petite, wearing a black shirt that camouflaged her perfectly against the dark umbrella she held, and a red hat that clashed so perfectly it almost hurt my eyes.
I was frozen.
This girl could have gone Mary Poppins at any moment, gliding over street and lot.
How much have I missed? I looked around; no one seemed to recognize the wonderful peculiarity taking place. How much have I missed?
I think it was the wonderful contrast; it was such a photographic moment. I stood for only a moment, then the walk light turned on and it was over, she moved out of frame, and I finished my walk to class.
A photograph is a small moment, today it would have been 1/15 or 1/20sec, how many 1/20sec’s have I missed.
Sunday, November 07, 2004
**I'm posting this against better judgment, while the connections seem clear in my mind they don't translate from mind to paper -- its late and I'm tired, I may tinker with it later, see if I can make my way to something coherent***
God gives all of us certain things we’re good at. My friend is an extrovert, everyone loves him, he’s the party. He is gravity.
When I met him, he was almost 300 pounds, in the matter of nine months he pulled off 120 pounds of fat and added pure muscle.
He’s made over $800,000 dollars investing in the stock market using his retirement funds. He’s lost over a million dollars in the stock market, and several tens of thousands at the boats in Louisiana.
He never completed high school; he dropped out to work at a Subway because he got his girlfriend (first wife) pregnant. He got his GED, studied computer networking, worked his way into several high paying jobs, and then quit them.
He met his second wife a few months after his divorce. Had two kids. Lost everything gambling while they were married, she split.
He’s smart, brilliant in some ways, and the most ignorant man I know. He plays big, and looses big.
He is the most evolutionary person I have ever met. Change is a way of life for him.
He’s one year older than me.
I wouldn’t trade lives with him, but I envy him. A successful looser.
I understand why he draws women to him, I understand without comprehension. He’s that guy, the single father of three little girls, he’s the bad boy, he’s athletic, he ask you like he cares, he offers advice to his friends like he’s a sage, and they listen. He’s a year away from having the next girlfriend, fiancé, or wife leave because he’s so unstable. Everything is fluid with him. He’s “that guy.”
Do all relationships have to operate with such self deceit at the beginning? I know the girls he’s dated / married believed that all his craziness was in the past, that he would be / was changed. They liked that he was dangerous, then despise him for it later.
Me I’m like my friends doppelganger. My life is safe, lived within practical confines. I’ve been stuck in a moderate mode of success. I’m introverted to a degree, never been the life of the party, never lost or gained a fortune, never been married.
I will never be “that guy.”
Several weeks ago a girl I was dating went quietly out of my life. We had a few conversations, I did, said, or looked a certain way, and she said, “I’ll call you” at the end of a phone call.
Experience tells me “I’ll call you” is a polite goodbye. I didn’t call her back, didn’t write, but I thought about her. I played it as cool as I knew how, I’m not “that guy” I don’t create drama. Some would call this being normal.
What went wrong?
At some point, I may find out what happened, what went wrong. Will it be something trivial?
I’m not my friend, I’m not “that guy” I wouldn’t want to be, but sometimes vacationing as him for a little while might be nice.
God gives all of us certain things we’re good at. My friend is an extrovert, everyone loves him, he’s the party. He is gravity.
When I met him, he was almost 300 pounds, in the matter of nine months he pulled off 120 pounds of fat and added pure muscle.
He’s made over $800,000 dollars investing in the stock market using his retirement funds. He’s lost over a million dollars in the stock market, and several tens of thousands at the boats in Louisiana.
He never completed high school; he dropped out to work at a Subway because he got his girlfriend (first wife) pregnant. He got his GED, studied computer networking, worked his way into several high paying jobs, and then quit them.
He met his second wife a few months after his divorce. Had two kids. Lost everything gambling while they were married, she split.
He’s smart, brilliant in some ways, and the most ignorant man I know. He plays big, and looses big.
He is the most evolutionary person I have ever met. Change is a way of life for him.
He’s one year older than me.
I wouldn’t trade lives with him, but I envy him. A successful looser.
I understand why he draws women to him, I understand without comprehension. He’s that guy, the single father of three little girls, he’s the bad boy, he’s athletic, he ask you like he cares, he offers advice to his friends like he’s a sage, and they listen. He’s a year away from having the next girlfriend, fiancé, or wife leave because he’s so unstable. Everything is fluid with him. He’s “that guy.”
Do all relationships have to operate with such self deceit at the beginning? I know the girls he’s dated / married believed that all his craziness was in the past, that he would be / was changed. They liked that he was dangerous, then despise him for it later.
Me I’m like my friends doppelganger. My life is safe, lived within practical confines. I’ve been stuck in a moderate mode of success. I’m introverted to a degree, never been the life of the party, never lost or gained a fortune, never been married.
I will never be “that guy.”
Several weeks ago a girl I was dating went quietly out of my life. We had a few conversations, I did, said, or looked a certain way, and she said, “I’ll call you” at the end of a phone call.
Experience tells me “I’ll call you” is a polite goodbye. I didn’t call her back, didn’t write, but I thought about her. I played it as cool as I knew how, I’m not “that guy” I don’t create drama. Some would call this being normal.
What went wrong?
At some point, I may find out what happened, what went wrong. Will it be something trivial?
I’m not my friend, I’m not “that guy” I wouldn’t want to be, but sometimes vacationing as him for a little while might be nice.
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