I Digress

This post could prove to be a really bad idea, I’m just saying. It shouldn’t, but I acknowledge that it easily could. I like to label things. I know what my favorite movie is. I know which CDs are my favorite. I’ve ranked celebrity women 1-10. If you asked, I could pick a favorite tee shirt, my favorite day of the week or my favorite sound. Did you see High Fidelity; well I could work in that record shop. Perhaps you’re wondering where the hell this is going, well I’m getting there damnit.

See, I started dating someone and for some reason, this is a rare instance in which I don’t know how to, and even more than t hat, I’m afraid to label it. Friends asked, “so are you guys dating now?” I figured, we’ve gone on dates, and looking to go on more. So yes, I’d consider that “dating.” But I found myself saying “yes, pretty much.” I haven’t a clue what “pretty much” means. It seems almost like saying “kinda pregnant,” and good God, why am I making a comparison to pregnancy? Am I trying to jinx myself? Oh yeah, never mind.

So then after that question was asked a few times, I started hearing, “is she your girlfriend?” And I haven’t a clue to be honest. I don’t have a definition that explains to me when and how that transition occurs. You may have figured this out, but I tend to over-analyze things. Well, that’s what I’m told anyway. I think I just analyze situations, and I think that’s what you’re supposed to do. But mostly, I think the label scares me because of what it brings with it. There are responsibilities, and expectations. Expectations terrify me, what if they don’t get met? Just when you do something to reach expectations, they get raised.

It’s not that I think of myself as “better than” most guys. I just try to recognize things that guys generally do that piss off women, and not do those things. But maybe all this is just the same fear of commitment that every other guy, and probably girl, has. I think we hide behind the “well I just want to keep my options open” bullshit. What it really is, we don’t want to have either our expectations disappointed, or be the disappointee.

-----------------------------------------

Now for another dilemma of mine, this Sunday night marks the return of both “The Sopranos” and “Entourage.” This makes Sunday one of the greatest days of the year, up there along with the first day of the NCAA Tournament and Opening Day. It’s that huge. The problem stems from the fact that it’s the same night. Since “The Sopranos” came on the air, it’s been a bit of a family tradition for me to watch with my parents. And last year, it became a tradition to watch “Entourage” with a couple of friends. Now, my friends and parents live about 20 minutes apart. Thankfully there’s DVR, so I’m not really worried about missing anything. But do I really want to drive the 20 minutes from my apartment out to the burbs, watch one show with the parental units, then high tail it across town for another show? Isn’t that a little overboard for a couple of television shows? And with a tank of gas costing more than a losing trip to the casino, it may not be economically viable at this time.

-----------------------------------------

As I write this, I am on hold with the bank. Have I mentioned how much I hate being on hold? I have to admit, this new feature they have that tells me how many callers are in front of me, is huge. It almost makes a game of it. I hear some cheesy music, a little plug for the company, then a prompt comes on and tells me how appreciated my business is and how important my call is to them. Followed by telling me how many callers are ahead of me. So far it seems to usually drop by two callers every time the prompt comes back on. I actually want to bet with myself what the number will be, and how long it will be till I get someone on the phone. There’s five left, and its 9:36am. I’m taking the under on 9:45. And I wont post this on my blog until they pick up.


*Your reading my blog is important to me, there are currently…three…other people reading this blog. Please remain on the page and we’ll find a post for you shortly. Thank you.

Its 9:39, my call is still important to them. That makes me feel good. Never mind that it’s freezing out, and I’m only working a half day, and this call is literally making me watch every minute of the morning go by, cause my call is still important to them. It’s nice to matter.

Since I have a second, I’m wondering how to get as the voice of a company’s automated system. Oh, there’s just one person left ahead of me. Shit, suddenly I can’t remember why I called!! I’m panicking. Oh, yeah. Now I remember. Whew. It’s 9:43, and there’s a call on my other line. There’s NO chance that I answer that. And now they’re picking up. I told you it would be before 9:45!