Validation

Late night call from my friend Matt last night:

Matt: Hey, you'll never guess who I just got finished hanging out with...
Me: Oh lord...who?
Matt: Well, I went to Burkhart's with a friend and saw Justin and...Chris there.
Me: Oh lord...
Matt: No, it was good. Chris told me that he's done with drugs and that he's trying to clean up his life up. When we left, he gave me a hug and said, "I'm really sorry for how I treated you toward the end...I hope you're not bitter because of it..." 1GAR, I never thought I'd hear him say those words...
Me: Wow...I can't either. That was very big of him. It takes a lot to be able to say that...
Matt: (voice a little shaky)...yeah...it meant a lot. I mean, I'm totally over him, but it's just nice to finally hear him say that.
Me: Yeah, it's good to get that validation...

You could tell that it really meant a lot to Matt to hear Chris say that. He got the "validation" that he's been looking for since their relationship ended almost 2 years ago. Most of us never get that validation, hince why people become bitter and jaded. I laid in my bed feeling happy for him. I know how much Chris messed up his life.

If only we could all get our validation...

Just 1 more mile...

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to run. Seriously. I've been running since I was in 8th grade, so it's just second nature to me. It's something that has always been the "rock" in my life. No matter what mood I'm in or what's going on in my life, I always feel better after a good run. Well, this past Thanksgiving morning was my 2nd marathon. Here are the results:

3 hrs 16 min 22 sec
6th in my age group
36th overall ! ! !
(out of 449 men/569 total)

I'm only 6 minutes away from qualifying for Boston! I honestly got so overwhelmed when I finished that I almost teared up. Almost. All the training, all the time put into it, all of it was worth it.

Yes, running is my addiction...and this just took it to another level.

A different type of wake-up call...

I was awakened by the sound of my neighbors having sex yesterday morning.

6:30am
"OH. OH BABY. OH. OH BABY."
repeat over and over...and over.
No variation. Just that.

Sorta gross. Sorta not. She's hot, he's not. I'm gay, so this doesn't interest me.

Have they heard me before?

Not that I'm that active, but still. Oh well, such is life...

"Tour de Restaurants"

Since this is a short week, I didn't go grocery shopping. I got to thinking, I've lived in my condo for almost a year and a half now and I've never eaten at the quaint restaurants around my complex. So, that's what I've been doing.

Monday night: Figo Pasta.
I've been to other locations, just not the one right next to my complex. You sorta "build" your own pasta dish, so you can't really go wrong. Must. Go. Back.

Tuesday night: The Big Easy.
Yes, you guessed right, cajun/New Orleans style food. It's more of a bar/restaurant. I got the jumbalaya and a pint of pale ale. It was good (at the time). A little overpriced--$15 for spicy rice, sausage, and chicken. No crawfish or shrimp. All in all, a neat little bar/restaurant.

***fast forward to about 1:30am this morning***

1GAR woke up to horrible stomach pains and felt like I was going to throw up. I head to the bathroom and plopped down on the porcelain god...and yeah...I'll let you use your imagination. I won't be going there any time soon.

Since I'm headed up to the family's house for Thanksgiving, this is the extent of my "tour de restaurants" for the time being.

1GAR and Guys

What is up with me and meeting the wrong guys? Here are 2 examples since last Friday...

Example #1:
One of my co-workers stopped me as I passed her desk. Her daughter and one of her friends had come to visit her on Monday. As I passed, she stopped me...

Co-worker: Hey 1GAR, How old are you?
Me: 26...
Co-worker: Well, my daughter's friend wanted me to give you this...
***hands me a post-it note with his name and number***
He's 18. He saw you pass by ealier and thought you were cute.
Me: Is this the same guy from the Christmas party?
Co-worker: No, that's someone else.
Me: Ok...well...thanks...
***walks off chuckling***

Yes, you read right...the same daughter had another friend who gave me his number.
First thought: Does her daughter only hang out with gay guys?
Second thought: He's 18 for goodness saked! Too young! Flattering, but no thanks.

Example #2:
I went out with some friends last Friday night. While out, I saw another friend that I knew, so I went up and talked to him for a bit. He introduced me to his friends and we all hung out. As the night progressed, one of his friends wanted to get my number so we could hang out. He seemed nice, so I gave it to him.

***fast forward to yesterday afternoon***

Charlie: Hey 1GAR, this is Charlie from the other night. Ron's friend...
Me: Oh hey! How are you?
Charlie: I'm good, I just wanted to call and see what was up.
Me: I'm good...just at work right now. Can I call you back later?
Charlie: Sure...
Me: Ok, talk to you soon!
Charlie: Ok, bye.

***fast forward to later that evening at home after my run***

Text message from Charlie:
I would really like to hang out with you soon.

So, I text back, "Sure. Sounds good."
Then he texts, "Cool. You seem really nice and I want to get to know you."
A couple of seconds later: "Plus, would love to see that sexy, hot bod of yours!"

Delete.

WTF?!?!?! Can I not meet normal guys around my age? That's not too much to ask, is it? And if I do meet someone that meets those minimal criteria, then something else goes wrong. Like the guy that I went out with a couple of times a few weeks ago. He and I got along, he was "normal", cute, etc. Only thing is...all he was interested in was sex. I wouldn't put out, so I haven't heard back from him.

*These* are the types of guys I meet. Maybe it's me. Maybe it's the universe. I dunno...I give up.

Good Sounds

What's playing on my iPod?

Sister Hazel's new album Absolutely - this is one of my all time favorite bands! Their new cd delivers everything that I love about them--great lyrics, vocals, guitar playing, etc.

Panic at the Disco's A Fever You Can't Sweat Out - If you like I Write Sins Not Tragedy's, then you'll like the whole cd.

Josh Kelley - he's one of my new favorite artists. I had heard one of his songs and then I listened to more on iTunes. I ended up downloading all of his cd's! He's a cross between Jack Johnson and John Mayer.

John Mayer's Continuum - just good John Mayer sounds!

Snow Patrol Eyes Open - just another good band. Period.

Hinder's Extreme Behavior (Digital Version) - a good new rock band.

Nickelback's All The Right Reason's - another good rock band.

(I told you I downloaded a butt-load of music on my day off!)

Text Messages

Text messages between me and a guy that I've gone on 1 date with - he's been out of town a lot lately. We've been planning on getting together again, but the timing has been bad.

me: Can you make any time for me this week? ;)
him: How about tomorrow?
me: Sounds good.
I called him a little later, but got voicemail. Then...

(text first thing this morning)

him: Hey. Went to sleep at 10:30. How about 8 tonight?
me: Sure...meet at ur place?
him: Yes. I have a place I want to take you for dinner.
*made me smile*

Day Off

On my day off, I…

Slept late
Went to the gym (of course!)
Ate sushi
Went to Starbucks
Downloaded a butt load of music on iTunes
Watched the AMA’s

While at the gym, I got to thinking—what do all these people do that affords them the luxury of being at the gym at 2:30 on a Monday afternoon? Were they also taking a day off? Are they housewives? Self employed? Not currently working? Independently wealthy?

It always amazes me what different paths we all have. A typical day for me isn’t necessarily a typical day for the next Joe. Today was actually an Atypical day for me. It was a day just for me. Nothing of necessity got done. Yes…there were things I should have done. But I’ll leave that for another day.

Today was nice.