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I try to make it a point to remain on good terms with all the girls I date. While things don’t always end well with them; they obviously all had good qualities and traits that I enjoyed and found attractive. An advantage to this is that sometimes they’ll randomly pop back into your life and surprise you. For example I came home and found this present on my door step from a pretty blonde girl.

The reason she left me these chips was because she knew that I liked them and that I can never seem find them. It was her way of saying thanks for helping her organize her kickball team.

Last week my friend Ashlee invited me to be her date for her cousin’s wedding this past Saturday. Originally the wedding was planned to be outside. However, since it rained a little in Nashville this weekend they had to go to Plan B, which was to have the wedding in the large tent that was going to be used for the reception.

As the rain continued to poor down, the tent soon became flooded and they decided to have the wedding in the clubhouse of the community where they were having the wedding. About 30 minutes after the scheduled start of the wedding, it was announced that the preacher had been delayed due to the flooding and wasn’t sure when he was going to be there. It was then decided to start serving guests drinks while we all waited. About thirty more minutes passed and another announcement was made. This time most of the plans had been abandoned and the bride and groom decided to just roll with it. The bride came out and walked down the aisle, a small prayer was said, and the bride and groom started mingling with the guest as appetizers were served.

Another thirty minutes passed and the preacher still wasn’t there. It was at this point that guests were asked to be seated at the dinner tables and salads and drinks were served. But then, just as dinner was about to be served, the preacher showed up! The wedding party quickly shuffled out of the reception area. The preacher came in and stood in the middle of the dance floor and the wedding party walked back in. They had just decided to get married right there on the dance floor while everyone was seated at the dinner tables.

Honestly it was the best wedding I have ever been too.

It’s probably because I was almost married once, but I’m a little jaded when it comes to the conventions you’re supposed to follow when getting married. I really like the idea of playing it by ear a little and mixing it up. In the end it’s ultimately supposed to be about the bride and groom*.

Also, it should be noted, when I do get married, I’m not having a unity candle. I understand the symbolism of it, but I think it’s stupid. 

*In the middle of writing this, I saw that my friend Kat had just written about this very subject: http://lifeatthekidstable.blogspot.com/2010/04/with-this-ring-i-theedread.html

For some reason I’ve been waking up to the Steve Harvey Morning Show for some time now. Perhaps it’s because I’ve had my alarm clock since I was in second grade and it’s difficult to tune in various radio stations, or maybe it’s because there is definitely a shortage of morning radio shows worth listening to in Nashville. Either way, I am often surprised by what I hear when I wake up. 

Steve often goes off on tangents about how young males in our county need positive role models in their lives. Also, from time to time I hear him providing good advice and guidance. Then there are those times when you’re not real sure what is going on because everyone is, “acting a fool”. 

This morning was one of those times.

Apparently one of Steve’s cohorts, Nephew Tommy, decided to play a phone prank on some unsuspecting lady. To play this phone prank they mailed this lady a package a week ago. In said package was a pair of men’s underwear and a bunch of rose petals. That’s it. No note. No return address. Nothing.

Then today they called her. Nephew Tommy pretended to be some random guy who was essentially stalking this woman. Through all the bleeps and yelling, we learn that this woman’s husband was actually extremely upset about this package and began questioning her. He started going through her facebook, reading her email, checking her phone, etc. As this woman is saying all this, Nephew Tommy goes on to ask this woman for a pair of her underwear. After more cussing and yelling, I was honestly just feeling bad for this woman. She was minding her own business and then she gets a package and suddenly there is serious turmoil in her marriage. At the end Nephew Tommy, just says, “You just got pranked by the Steve Harvey Morning Show! Your sister put us up to it. Haha!”

Needless to say, the woman wasn’t very happy about being pranked.

Steve Harvey You’re Doing It Wrong.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the different paths people take in their lives and how they end up where they are. When I was in college, it seemed that everyone I was around was from here and on a similar path that I was. Even after I graduated, it seemed that I was still surrounded by people who were from here and doing the exact same thing I was doing. Then people started to move off, people moved back, I met new people, I started hanging out with different circles of friends, and before too long I had surrounded myself with all sorts of wonderful people from a lot of different backgrounds who have done a lot of different things. In fact the majority of my friends now aren’t from Nashville. I have friends from Memphis, Mississippi, California, Illinois, Ohio, Knoxville, Georgia, etc. I actually joke when meeting new people that I’m one of the few people you’ll meet in Nashville who are actually from here.

While I’m not knocking the path I’ve taken and/or where I’m at in my life, I just wonder if I’ve missed out a little. I know that because I moved around a lot when I was younger I’ve been hesitant pull up the roots I’ve established and go forth into the world and see what is out there. Sometimes though the idea of moving away to a new city sounds like a wonderful adventure.

Perhaps somewhere out on the West Coast where it doesn’t ever rain.

John Totty sent me this picture today of my buddy Chad and I playing ladder ball last May in Gulf Shores, AL.

This picture makes me really wish winter was over. I’m ready for warm weather and sunshine. I’m ready to go to the beach!

One particularly dark morning about a year ago I had the idea of making an alarm clock with a plug outlet on it. The thinking was that you would plug your bedside lamp into the outlet and when your alarm clock goes off, your lamp turns on*. This concept is based simply on the fact that it’s just harder to wake up when your room is completely dark.

Since this idea is relatively simple, I actually looked into what it would take to get a patent on it. Turns out it’s a little bit of work and kind of costly. However, there currently isn’t a patent out there for this idea if anyone feels like running with it. I’ve decided to make my fortune in other areas.

However, I still had the problem of not wanting to wake up to a dark room. To alleviate this I recently took an extra electrical timer used for Christmas lights I had lying around and plugged my lamp into it. I set the timer to turn on at 6am and go off at 8am. It actually has made waking up a little easier.

I just wanted to share that.

*Note: In the event you wanted to use your lamp without turning the alarm on, there would also be a button on the alarm clock labeled “lamp”. When pressed the lamp would come on.

A while ago my cousin called me up and said, “Blake! I just heard your song!”

Confused, I asked him what the hell he was talking about.

It was at that moment when I was introduced to an Indie Rock band from New York called Vampire Weekend. He told me to listen to this song called One (Blake’s Got A New Face). At first I chuckled. I thought it was funny. I had never heard my name in a song. I mean let’s be serious; Blake really isn’t really a common name and if I were to put it in a song, it would have been something about cake, lakes, snakes, or snowflakes. But that’s just me.

Since then I’ve been a big fan of Vampire Weekend and have really wanted to see them in concert. Sadly, since I’ve known about them they’ve yet to come to Nashville. Then yesterday I heard on the radio that they were coming in April. I was stoked!

Today as I was sitting at my desk, listening to the radio, just finishing up lunch, and I hear, “The first caller that can correctly tell me what song Vampire Weekend is giving away free on their website will win free tickets.”

I pulled up the website and immediately dialed the radio station.

Busy. Hang up.

Dial again.

Busy. Hang up.

Dial again.

Ring. Hang up. CRAP!

Dial again.

Ring.

And just like that, I answer the trivia question and win free tickets to their concert!

I’m not going to lie; I’ve been really excited for 2010. I’ve just had a feeling that this year is going to be a great one. I don’t know if it was because 2009 wasn’t filled with a whole lot of life milestones or perhaps my memory was just clouded because I spent too much of my time in bars, but for some reason I felt like it was an overall kind of bad year for me. And to be honest, I was extremely eager to see it go.

However, then I sat down and did a little assessment of my life during this previous year. While there have been some ups and downs, it really wasn’t all bad. Here is a quick breakdown of the highlights of my 2009 (in no particular order).

• I ran 2 half-marathons
• I went snowboarding
• I went to Las Vegas, New York City, New Orleans (twice), and Gulf Shores, AL (the beach!)
• I gained a roommate
• I later lost said roommate (but only because she fell in love)
• I saw some great concerts
• I made a lot of new friends
• I spent a great deal of time with both my new and old friends
• I went to the lake several times
• I played on 2 kickball teams
• I played on my work’s flag football team
• I finished another year of graduate school
• I dated several lovely ladies, although none of them actually worked out, I still enjoyed the time spent with them
• I got a little bit of a promotion
• I went camping
• I went canoeing a few times
• I went to a lot of football games

All and all it was pretty good year. Plus I am still very optimistic about 2010.

Two weeks ago my buddies and I decided to take a trip down to New Orleans, LA. Flights were ridiculously cheap and all of us had a few vacation days to burn. As one might expect on a trip to The Big Easy by a group of five, twenty-something year old guys, debauchery ensued and it was an absolute great time.

Just to share one of the many stories from this trip; one night three of us ended up in a strip club on Bourbon Street. However, before I go any further with this story it should be noted that I do not know how to interact with strippers. They make me uncomfortable and I am always very standoffish with them. I feel like they’re used car salesmen trying to sell me something I don’t want. I always want to tell them, “I don’t want you to come talk to me, I’m just looking.” Needless to say, strip clubs aren’t places I generally hang out in.

However, one of my buddies is very comfortable with strippers, and even seems to speak their language (I think it involves clicks and some form of sign language). So as we’re sitting there drinking a few beers a blonde stripper comes over and sits with my friend. As they’re chatting I couldn’t help but notice her thick Russian accent. It was then that we had the following conversation:

Me: I like your accent. Are you from Russia?
Russian Stripper: No I am from Virginia (Said in a Russian accent)
Me: Are you sure? You sound like you might be from Russia.
RS: No I am from Virginia. I dance for money now. (Said in a Russian accent)
Me: I don’t think you’re from Virginia. You sound like you might be from the Ukraine.
RS: You shut up. I dance for you now. (Said in a Russian accent)

Even though I was worried she was up to no good and ultimately just out to get “moose and squirrel” I couldn’t help but laugh.

A few weeks ago I met this girl at a bar. She was there with a mutual friend and we kind of hit it off. She was a decent looking girl and actually a few years older than me (I’m 27. She was 33). I really enjoyed talking with her because she seemed witty and easily carried a conversation. Naturally we exchanged numbers and agreed that we should meet up. A few days past and I asked her if she’d like to go get drinks with me one night. She accepted and we set a time and a place.

The date went well. We had a couple beers, cracked a few jokes, talked about what we do, our hobbies, our interests, etc. Basically just normal first date stuff. However, on the way home I received a text from her…. While this normally a pretty good thing (it’s usually a sign that girl is into you if she texting you before you even get home), our text conversation kind of turned weird. During the course of a normal text conversation she started throwing in various cuss words. It normally doesn’t bother me when girls swear. In fact I kind of like it a little. However, this chick was just cussing like a sailor [Insert Red Flag Here]. At the end of the eff-ing conversation we agreed that we should hang out again when she got back in town from a business trip she was about to go on.

Fast forward a couple days and I randomly get this facebook message from this chick (It should be noted that she and I are not actually even facebook friends). While it was odd that she sent me a facebook message in the first place, it was “blow your mind crazy” when I actually read it. The whole message was her asking how I was doing and her looking forward to seeing me again but it was written as a letter from a sensei master to a young warrior (the relevance of why it was written like this is because I mentioned during our date that I played on a kickball team called Cobra Kai). I assumed she was trying to be amusing; but honestly, that was just weird. Needless to say, I didn’t write her back and/or call her again.

A few days later I began to feel bad after I completely dodged her in a bar. I assume that she probably wondered (although I honestly hope she has a little bit of clue) why it didn’t work out. I told my friend Candi that I was thinking about writing her a nice letter telling her what happened and what she did to completely scare me away. I figured if nothing else, perhaps it would be beneficial if she knew. I mean she’s 33 and she’s acting like a wack job.  Candi severely advised against this and said I said I would be better off if I left it alone. Mainly because she thought I’d probably just end up hurting this girl’s feelings.

The whole ordeal got me thinking about how much easier dating would be if we told each other why things didn’t work out. Imagine if a girl/guy told you that they were turned off because they thought you checked out the waitress/waiter when they brought your drinks. Maybe they just didn’t like your style (you’re preppy and they like the rocker type). Perhaps you came across as an asshole. Possibly they simply could have also been seeing someone else and chose to pursue that option instead. The list could go on and on.

All garbage aside about finding the one who loves you for who you are, I think that knowing what mistakes you’re making might be beneficial… Even if feelings do get hurt from time to time. Just sayin’