Sunday, January 25, 2009

Sunday Reflections


Its time for those Reflections. Lots went on this week:

Some old Mars Volta music for the start:



-Had so much fun with my MMA Review from Friday. The music selections were well thought out and my analysis was good, accept for the whole picking Andrei Arlovski to beat Fedor prediction. Oh well…

-Yes, the NFL Review will be back on Tuesday for the next to last edition. The last edition will be the Tuesday after the Super Bowl and then I start the NBA Review for the Less Intelligent or Dummies if you want to go that route.

-Appling for jobs is a bitch but so was Lassie and that dog was cool to deal with. Remember, no excuses and no complaints.

-Of course the big news was the inauguration of President Obama. Fun times for all! It was surprising to see the overall positive vibes from people. I actually saw it in two locations. The first one was at my computer through CNN.com, which was cool because I could stay in my office and watch it. The second spot was in a common area in one of the main student common areas here on campus. Dynamite grapes from catering, btw. Anyway, I was watching it with some friends on campus and we were just amazed at seeing our President speaking.

I spoke with my mother and she was so emotional about it. I’m cynical about this stuff so it was just another day for me. However, when I found out that my family members in South Carolina, some of who are in their 70’s and 80’s rented a bus and went to Washington D.C. just to be there. That’s powerful stuff. Those are people who have been through Jim Crow laws, Segregation, freedom rides, boycotts, lynchings, all of that stuff. I’m getting emotional thinking about it right now for them to see that moment, the Inauguration.

Of course you have jackasses like Rush Limbaugh. He’s not a jackass for not completely supporting President Obama. I have my doubts about Obama as well and I may have voted for the guy in the election. However, he is a jackass for hoping that President Obama fails.

We need Obama to be very successful for so many reasons in this country. As Ric Flair would say, “you may not like it but you will LEARN TO LOVE IT! WHOO!!!!!”

Actually, eliminate the WHOO!!!!! part and you get what I’m saying. You may not like Obama but you have to hope that he does well. Speaking of wrestling…

-I’m so hyped to see The Wrestler on Tuesday. I’m all about it. If you want to come along, just call me or leave a message in my comments section.

-Tried Friday Night Lights again this Friday and it wasn’t bad. I’m intrigued by the show but it definitely hasn’t made my appointment TV list. What’s my TV appointment list? Glad you asked.

One Tree Hill (don’t laugh)
Gossip Girl (ok, you can laugh)
Chuck
The Office
The Game
Scrubs
Family Guy
WWE Smackdown

That’s the list of shows currently on.

-Watching Memphis face Tennessee in men’s basketball was odd for me because I was trying to figure out which is the lesser of two evils. As a Vandy fan, my distain for that community college in east Tennessee so we don’t have to go over that. However, you may be surprised that I’m not a big fan of Memphis either.

I’ve never trusted John Calipari since his days at UMass. I also don’t trust the whole FedEX connection with that basketball program either. When multiple times relatives of recruits get job offers from them, allegedly, something may be up, but I’m not one to judge. There’s even an underlying tension between Nashville and Memphis.

In the end, I went with Memphis because I can never, ever go for those orange hillbillies.

Memphis ended up winning, which was good however, it got me wondering why Vanderbilt and Memphis don’t face each other more in sports. I was talking with another sports journalism contemporary (yes, I labeled myself that) and we discussed it. They never play each other in football, but UT and Memphis barely play either, so I can kind of get that, but why not basketball.

It would be great for both programs and both cities, seriously.

-Worked the Vandy/Florida men’s basketball game today and that wasn’t good. The Dores are a young team this year and an NIT bid would be nice. I’m not even mad at them right now.

-While working at my official job with some basketball games yesterday, I came across the spawn of the Peoples’ Champion and the Icon to the Masses. That was tremendous. Uncle Marcel was happy to see the progress of his adopted nephew, held him and was vibing with the moment.

Don’t worry, no baby talk was instituted. Holding him made me think for a moment about how cool it’s going to be to raise a little one of my own one day. I can teach him or her how to walk, not trust anybody, bet against the spread, bargain shop, play video games, do the robot and many other things.

However, the spawn stared at me when I held him and started crying, probably because he wanted some milk but mainly because I was a stranger and he didn’t trust me, which made me proud.

-The no Tapout rule has been going ok. The Heidi incident was a learning one and I actually asked someone else out recently (I would give details but anyone reading this probably knows who she is so I can’t go there) and was told that I was a nice guy but she didn’t want to go out with me. For the sake of discussion, we’ll call her Mindy.

A year ago, this would have devastated me. Now, its part of the process. I will not acknowledge Mindy in public for appearances but she was actually honest about it, which was fine. We’re still friends and everything.

Dating is a process that all of us have to experience and there are some unavoidable parts to it, like rejection, especially if you’re a guy.

I bring some decent things to the table but I have many flaws. What this means is that I’m going to get rejected 90-95% of the time when I approach a woman. Those are my odds.

What many people, including myself, used to get hung up on is letting that 95% ruin you. Its even worse for men.

For all of the women reading this, at least the officially single ones, there are at least five men that you interact with on a daily or semi-daily basis that would date you or have “relations” with you in a second if you let them. That guy friend that you hang out with, yes, he wants to date you. He has probably weighted the pros and cons of dating you many times.

For the men, you are just one of those five guys when you are asking a woman out. She has options so the chances of rejection are so much higher.

It took me 27 years to realize this and since then, I’ve been in a better place with my dating life.

I’ve also come to the reality that I may end up alone, relationship-wise, my entire life and that’s not a bad thing. I’m OK with it. Once that pressure is off, no worries.

Just like death. Why fear for something that is going to happen to you eventually. We are all going to die. This isn’t like saying one day I may visit Omaha or I’m going to sky dive or try that new restaurant. You are going to die, everyone does. Once you realize that, it doesn’t sound so awful and the pressure is off.

Not saying that dating is like death, but they are both a process in life that all of us deal with. Heidi and Mindy aren’t going to be my last experiences but I’m better for them.

That’s all for now. Have a good week everyone!

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