Top 15 Waylon Jennings Songs

15) Never Could Toe the Mark
14) Waymore's Blues
13) Lonesome Onry and Mean 
12) America
11) This Time
10) Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got Out of Hand?
9) Theme From Dukes of Hazzard
8) Just To Satisfy You
7) The Wurlitzer Prize
6) Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys
5) Lukenbach, Texas
4) I've Always Been Crazy
3) Dreaming My Dreams
2) Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?
1) Honky Tonk Heroes

New Year Coming

Well I'm 30,000 feet above the ground, probably around West Virginia or Pennsylvania. I'm on my way to NYC. This will be the first NYE I've spent there and no, I'm not going to be in Times Square. I've been talking with a girl since November 22 and tonight I get to meet her. We have a crazy amount of qualities and interests in common. Mets, wrestling, New York, part Italian. We've been talking literally every day and I like getting someone to share everything with. The thing that makes me uneasy is she seems pretty abrasive. Not to be, but in general. She comes off as pretty angry, cursing a lot, dealing with depression, and isn't really open to going to church. It's one of those things that I could see working if one or two things were different. But hey it's a weekend, let's see how it goes. I can't deny that with the recent pregnancies and engagement announcements I've seen, maybe I'm looking for a brief escape.

 

This flight has been bizarre. First I couldn't find the gate for ten minutes. Then the flight was delayed thirty minutes, and that quickly escalated to an hour. The odd part was the boarding. Four standbys, including me, showed up, out of the ten who were listed. The gate agent just put all of us right into first class! Bring on the red wine!

 

I don't know what it is about a night flight. It just gets me feeling very reflective, kind of sentimental. Puts me in the mood to play a sad song on my iPod and have a drink. And the odd thing is that I feel good right now, maybe I'm just trying to unwind and relax.

Virginia Jets Fans

Before moving to Newport News, I had been living in Chicago for most of 20 years. And during that period of time, I probably watched about 85 percent of all the games the New York Jets played. Rookie's was the bar I hit the most, but I certainly spent a good amount of time in Real Time and Bud's as well. There were occasional complications like intramural sports or family obligations. But over those 20 years, I rarely had fellow Jets fans with whom to watch those games. There was a Jets group in downtown Chicago that I discovered around 2009, but it was difficult to drive an hour downtown, typically in bad weather, and find parking. Throw in the game, and it took up maybe six hours of a typical Sunday.

So when I relocated, I looked for fan groups of the teams I supported. It wasn't easy to find fans of the Mets, Rangers, and Knicks, though I'd eventually find Rangers fans near DC and also come to find out there are many Mets fans, there's just no organization for them. However, I found a Jets fans group that met in Norfolk and Virginia Beach for every game. I was impressed by two things. One was the loyalty. There were anywhere between 20-60 people at every game. But the thing that really got to me was the details and the organization. The group's founder, Stirling, had a Jets bus as well as a Jets limo, which he purchased during the season. And we consumed a lot of alcohol on those vehicles. In the limo, it was Brooklyn winter ale. On the bus, it could be eggnog, tequila, or any random concoction that Stirling was prepping for that weekend.

Every week, we had a raffle. There was always a 50/50, and I won one of them. I took home $49 and that was during the Thursday night game vs. Buffalo. During Week 16, I was one of the winners of the premium raffle and my selection was a pair of framed Chad Pennington rookie cards. I lost a whole lot more than I won, but the money always went to support the club. I also remember the annual chili cook off, held in a church. That happened during the Meltdown in Miami. The only reason I didn't prepare a chili was because I did not have a slow cooker. But next year, I may have a batch ready. I usually make veggie chili, but I'm not sure that'll go over well in a crowd of men.

A few thoughts on the members of the group I consider myself closest to:

Stirling-Our brave leader. He's been leading for 26 years. He is creative with his rewards, his Jet fandom cannot be questioned, and he is a generous soul.
Ken-Our vet. He's had some physical and mental issues. But he's definitely my friend. I love his passion and his energy.
Ray-The mascot and the energy of the group. He and I lead the Jets chants at different times. He's very smart, knows his football, and he's an easy to chat with.
Barb-the mom of the group. The organizer and the hugger.
Sam-The younger version of Rex Ryan, in terms of face and build. His wife, Dee, is always there too. Their son has his green mohawk, God bless him. He's a little too much of a Yankees fan, but hey what can you do.
Dennis-The incoming President of the group. I don't know him all that well, but I'll be interested to see what he does to change the club.
Chip-Your stereotypical silver haired Long Islander. His voice always sounds strained, distressed, and aghast as he watches every play. Attends every week.
Suzanne-Chip's daughter. she's a great singer and has an obsession with Pac Man. If she was just a few years younger, well, who knows...
LeShay-One tough broad and I mean that with love. She only came to maybe 4 or 5 games this year, it might have had to do with her leg problems, I frequently see her with a cast or brace on. She has a ton of spunk but gives the best hugs.
Al-The old grizzled paison veteran. He's been in the group for maybe 25 years and he makes occasional appearances. He's never one to refrain from expressing his opinion on the Jets.
Gary-Nobody gets drink faster than this guy
Patrick and Joe-I didn't realize until about Week 7 that they're father and son. The funny thing here is that Patrick looks like one of my best friends, who's named Joe, who is also a sick Jet fan.

I have lived in Virginia for five months. And in that five month period, I have had two families. One is my small group from Grace Bible Church. The other is the Virginia Jets fans group.

Tis the Season

And so Christmas has come and gone. This was the first full Christmas season that I have lived south of the Mason-Dixon line. Even though the standard message is to keep Christmas in the heart and in the mind, it is so much harder to do without some cold weather and a little bit of snow. So I'm sorry Bing, not all my Christmases will be white.

I played a lot of Christmas music the last month, but I could not find any decorations or a tree that I wanted in my apartment. Some seemed tacky, some just did not feel like something I wanted. And are there any pre-lit Christmas trees out there that cost less than $200?

DC Travels, Day 2

I woke up the next morning and the weather report was true, the sky had started to snow. I went to the gym, but it was even worse than the one in my apartment complex. The dumbbells went up to 25 pounds, and there were three pieces of cardio equipment along with those ridiculous inflated balls. Terrible. This is no 4 star hotel.

I had heard about K Street Bagel so I walked through the snow about ten minutes to get there. When I arrived, there was a homeless dude sleeping right in front of the door and the lights were off. Guess they weren't open. So there went breakfast. So I hopped on the red line to the Metro Center and went to Ford's Theater, where President Lincoln was assassinated. I walked through timelines of Lincoln's day as well as John Wilkes' Booth day. About 50 of us sat in a replica theater and then a park ranger came on stage and basically gave a 30 minute speech recapping what led up to the event and how it happened. I then went across the street to a boarding house, which is where Lincoln was taken after he was shot and then died the next morning. It was such a small bed, I remember thinking to myself. In that house, they've also added tributes to Lincoln's leadership. there's even a stack of books written about Lincoln and it extends four floors. Unbelievable sight!

Then I walked two blocks east to the International Spy Museum. This is definitely one of the most interactive museums I've ever seen. I'd recommend searching Groupon for admission though. When you enter, you create your cover, basically choose 1 of 16 identities. Nobody asks you the details, just remember the information at the optional kiosks. The highlight for me was the Bond villain exhibits. I saw amazing artifacts like Jaws' teeth and the tarot cards from Live and Let Die. Besides that, there was a good amount of war history and there were a few crawl tunnels which were fun to navigate and spy on people through the tiny windows. The museum can be a little tough to follow at times in terms of where to go next though. 

I hadn't eaten yet and it was almost 1, so I decided to try Astro Chicken & Donuts. The show was really coming down so I was looking forward to sitting down with a hearty, unhealthy meal. Well,  walked inside and was surprised to see it was nothing more than a counter. Not a table, not a chair, not a stool. I ordered chicken fingers. They came in a cardboard box, about six or seven small tenderloins. They were certainly juicy, not incredibly crispy on the outside. I liked the smokiness of the BBQ sauce on the side. I tried two of their standard donuts: the maple bacon and the crème brulee. Both were incredibly soft and airy. There was a good amount of chopped bacon, enough to counter the sweetness of the maple. The crème brulee one was fine, but I'm not the biggest fan of cream-filled donuts.The only drinks were lemonade, coffee, and iced coffee. No iced tea unfortunately. It was a decent experience, but next time I'm in DC, I'll probably try other places.

From there, I went to the Newseum. As I shuffled through the snow, I saw a display of various US newspapers from that day framed outside the entrance. Clearly they make it apparent that they value the press. I did have to pass through a metal detector and pay about $26 to get in. 

One of the hard parts about museums is you don't know where to start and then struggle to navigate the best path through the building. That will not happen here. I was directed downstairs where I watched a ten minute orientation video on how to travel through the museum as well as highlights from each of the six levels. And on the bottom level are parts of the Berlin Wall, along with a small section you can actually touch. I never expected this piece of history to be in the United States, but you can find it here.

I took the express elevator to the top floor and the first exhibit I saw was Camelot, which showed many photographs of the Kennedy family. After walking on the snow-covered outdoor terrace, which offered a great view of the Capitol building, I went back inside and saw a display of the current day's newspapers from around the world. There is also an extensive display of the history of reporting in terms of technology and the different factors that have influenced media. I was caught by the kiosk where I could examine newspapers going back to the 1400s. And this I never expected to see: the suit OJ wore when he was acquitted is on display!

After watching a JFK film, I went through a Civil Rights section. They had a lot of interactive video clips. But the absolute hardest part for me was the 9/11 exhibit. Now it didn't have a ton of artifacts. There was the flag that flew over the Pentagon, a piece of the antenna and maybe two or three other items. But it was watching the 12 minute film about the journalists who covered the horror as it was happening. I saw an angle of the second plane crashing into the South World Trade tower that I had never seen before. This was the moment I lost all emotion and felt tears stream down my cheeks.
They had a large map of the world that is color-coded to reflect which countries have free press. I have to admit I was taken aback how many countries have restricted or completely censored press coverage. There was also a wall dedicated to journalists who died in the line of duty, a section for First dogs in the White House. There's also a virtual reality section, not many people were hanging around this section though. I got to step into a broadcast booth and record a broadcast from Nationals Park. Of course I finished it with a "Let's Go Mets." After watching a sports broadcasting film for 30 minutes, the museum was about to close. My visit took four hours and they were well worth my time.

I had a 6 pm dinner reservation at Bobby Van's, and I walked back to the hotel, about 20 minutes or so. The snow still hadn't quit! I picked up my bags, changed into nicer clothes, and headed three blocks east to the restaurant. $40 for $80 worth of food and drink. Another Groupon score! I arrived  with a backpack and suitcase in tow, and the staff was gracious enough to store my luggage near the coat area. I was given a corner table, with a nice cushioned seat. If I had to knock anything, some of the waiters' accents were a little hard to understand. However, they were always smiling and enthusiastic. They really seemed to enjoy working there. Then again, with the tips I'd make working there, I'd be smiling too.

My starter was the Harry's salad, which doesn't have any lettuce in it. It has chopped tomatoes and roasted peppers, with cold shrimp, green beans, and thick cut chopped bacon tossed in a red wine vinaigrette. The vegetables were very fresh and I could really chew the bacon, it wasn't overly crisp. I could really taste the vinegar, but the warm bread was a great way to mop the rest of it up.
Onto the main event. I ordered the New York strip, cooked medium rare plus. It was cooked spot on: lightly charred on the outside, pink and juicy on the inside. I don't know the ounce portion, but I would guess around 16 ounces. It was a perfect size, cooked as well as I've had in a while. They served it on a bed of potato sticks which added a nice crunch as well as a side of greens, which I promptly discarded. I also ordered asparagus, and I got a huge portion of sauteed asparagus, enough for 2-3 servings. They were cooked well, but needed some salt and pepper. In terms of the menu, the only thing I'd like to see added are some German or Lyonnaise potatoes. For dessert, I simply got a scoop of cinnamon ice cram for two dollars. Not a bad deal at all. 

Part of me wanted to stay out and go hear some live music. But with the snow still not stopping, and knowing I had a three hour drive ahead of me to make that night, I decided to head home. I then took the Blue line from McPherson back to Franconia-Springfield. Amazingly, there was no parking charge even though I saw that it was $4.95 per day. No too shabby!

DC Travels, Day 1

I drove two and a half hours north on a gray chilly Friday morning to the Franconia-Springfield Metro stop and took the Blue Line into downtown DC. One of the things that's different with the trains here as opposed to New York or Chicago is you have to pay your fare based off the distance you travel. So for each trip, you have to scan your card twice, on when you enter and then after you depart. I arrived at a hotel called Club Quarters, two blocks north of the White House. They told me to check in early, I would have to pay an additional $50. I didn't have the slightest interest in paying 33% more than what I paid for the room so I had them hold my bags until the afternoon.

My first stop was Arlington Cemetery, southwest of DC. It was a cold day, kind of fitting for being at a cemetery. I immediately went to the Kennedy family site, where JFK, RFK, Ted Kennedy, and the like are buried. Some of the other highlights were the Unknowns, President Taft, Abner Doubleday, Joe Louis, and Medgar Evers. I have to admit when I got to Doubleday's grave, I got a little annoyed. I said out loud "Abner, if it wasn't for you the Mets wouldn't torture me like they do!"

I'd never been to Chopt before, but for my first meal in DC, I thought I would go healthier so I didn't have to feel too guilty about indulging later. I ordered the Smoky Santa Cruz salad with grilled chicken, avocado, corn, scallions, tri-color quinoa, black beans, kale, broccoleaf (whatever that is) & purple cabbage. The two dressings were their Sweet 'n Smoky vinaigrette, which is actually pretty spicy, and the Mexican goddess, which had avocado, cilantro, and jalapeno. I like that they chop the salads on the board before serving it in the plastic bowl. I asked for some extra lime wedges and they even gave me an extra piece of bread, which I definitely needed to counter the heat. The ingredients were fresh and the salad was rather filling. Also, I give them props for their variety of lemonades and iced teas. The mint lemonade was especially enjoyable. I wish they had a location in coastal Virginia, but I'll probably have another salad her the next time I'm in the DC area.

It was only 12:15, so I knew I had time before my check in. I walked around the White House, where I saw a few too many classless protesters. I also walked around the National Christmas tree, which was much smaller than some of the others I've seen, such as the trees in Rockefeller Center or Millennium Park. There was also a tree from every state and US territory to walk by, about 55 in all. It was cool seeing several train sets running around the trees as well. 

I walked south to Constitution Street, then walked west to the Lincoln Memorial. Being a big Lincoln fan, it's hard to come to DC without heading over there. I had done a lot of walking by this point, so I was getting anxious to check in and recharge. So I walked back north through George Washington University and then east towards my hotel. I sat in Farragut Park for a while, fitting since the two nearest train stops to me were Farragut North and Farragut West. There wasn't much to the park, just a big statue of a General Farragut and a lot of food trucks parked around the curb. 

Around 1:30, I decided to see if there was a room and there actually was. I checked in, grabbed some bottled water, which happened to be available right outside my room on the eighth floor, and laid in bed for maybe an hour. 

I decided to eat in the Chinatown section at Nando Nando's, which is a place that serves grilled chicken with an African/Portuguese flavor. . I'm going to get my gripe out of the way. I don't need to know where a restaurant's political allegiances lie or if they support certain kinds of "lifestyles." Just make good food, treat customers well, and leave the human rights issues off your entrance window. Unnecessary and unappreciated. Now that we got that out of the way, I enjoyed my meal very much. I ordered a half chicken grilled with their medium sauce and a side of chips (Fries). The chicken was very juicy and I liked adding a little bit of the lemon herb sauce for some extra citrus tang. The medium sauce worked well for me, but I think I could have handled the hot. The fries were well seasoned with a seasoning salt, but maybe could have been a bit crispier. I also like that they have the Coke freestyle machine, I'll always give props for that. My meal was about $18, which might be a little high, but not too crazy. 

Onto Penn Social bar. Two hundred Rangers fans gathered before. I recognized my friend Zack, who I didn't even know was going to be there. He bought me a Winter IPA, which was delicious. Around 6:!5, I walked over to Capital One Center. Ironically, I hadn't seen one person wearing a Capitals logo all day until I got to the arena. The game was horrible, I left in the middle of the second period when Washington made it 2-0. Even though the Rangers did manage to tie the game 2-2, they wound up giving up a goal with 5 minutes left to blow the game anyway.

Miserable and aggravated, I didn't know if I wanted to eat, get wasted, or just go back to the room. I did forget about Bobby Flay's burger joint, but I did go to Shake Shack in Dupont Circle. I got the double Shack burger. The Martin's potato roll is perfect for a burger, soft and spongy. The beef is still juicy. The thing that bothers me with Shake Shack is they so often get the toppings wrong. I asked for lettuce, tomato, pickle, and onion and they left out the lettuce and tomato. I didn't even think about the shack sauce, but that was missing too. I like that they have some decent craft beer options, like Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA. I do wish they had more sauces than ketchup and regular mustard. Maybe some garlic aioli, honey mustard, or BBQ sauce.

More Food Lists

Favorite Cheeses for a Burger
1) Cheddar Jack
2) Cheddar
3) American
4) Swiss
5) Pepper Jack

Favorite Sauces for Fries
1) Garlic Aioli
2) Honey Mustard
3) BBQ Sauce
4) Remoulade
5) Spicy Ranch

Favorite Chinese Dishes
1) Beef and Broccoli
2) General's Chicken
3) Asian Ribs
4) Orange Chicken
5) Sesame Chicken

Favorite Pasta Sauce Brands
1) Rao's
2) Jersey's Italian Gravy
3) Victoria's
4) Bongiovi
5) Mario Batali

Favorite Vegetables with a Steak
1) Mushrooms
2) Onions
3) Asparagus
4) Broccoli
5) Spinach

Favorite Ice Cream Flavors
1) Cinnamon
2) Pistachio
3) Butter Pecan
4) Coconut Almond
5) Vanilla

Restaurant Lists

Favorite Steakhouses

1) Peter Luger's-Brooklyn, NY
2) Morton's-Chicago, IL
3) Ben and Jack's-New York City
4) Uncle Jack's-New York City
5) Primehouse-Chicago, IL
6) Gene and Georgetti-Chicago, IL
7) Emeril's Delmonico-Las Vegas, NV
8) Chicago Chop House-Chicago, IL
9) The Bull Ring-Santa Fe, NM

10) The Grill Room-Portland, ME

Favorite Pizzerias

1) Frank Pepe's-New Haven, CT
2) Bruno's Pizza Factory-Edison, NJ
3) Arturo's-New York City
4) Burt's Pizza-Morton Grove, IL
5) L&B Spumoni Gardens-Brooklyn NY
6) Piece-Chicago, IL

7) Lombardi's-New York City
8) Brooklyn Boys-Cary, NC
9) Lou Malnati's-Chicago, IL

10) NY Slices-Highland Park IL

Favorite Burgers

1) Engine No. 9-Tampa, FL

2) Au Cheval, Chicago, IL

3) Kuma's Corner-Chicago, IL
4) The Filling Station-St. Charles, IL
5) Twisted Root Burger-Dallas, TX

6) Louis Lunch-New Haven, CT

7) Bobby's Burger Palace-Paramus, NJ

8) AJ Bomber's, Milwaukee, WI

9) 1608 Crafthouse-Norfolk, VA
10) JG Mellon-New York City

Favorite Delis

1) Katz's-New York City
2) JP Graziano's-Chicago, IL
3) Perry's-Chicago, IL
4) Defonte's-Brooklyn, NY
5) Brent's-Los Angeles, CA
6) Route 58 Deli-Virginia Beach, VA

7) Zingerman's-Ann Arbor, MI
8) Sarge's-New York City
9) Schmaltz's-Naperville, IL
10) Glorioso's-Milwaukee, WI

Favorite Italian Restaurants

1) LouCa's-Edison, NY

2) Andino's-Providence RI

3) A Tavola-Chicago, IL

4) Topo Gigio-Chicago, IL

5) Francesca's-St. Charles, IL

6) Quartino-Chicago, IL

7) Gargiulio's-Brooklyn, NY

8) ZaZa's-St. Charles, IL

9) The Vineyards-Newport News, VA 

10) Rosebud-Chicago, IL

Favorite BBQ Restaurants

1) Pappy's Smokehouse-St. Louis, MO

2) Hometown BBQ-Brooklyn, NY

3) Smoque-Chicago, IL

4) ZZQ-Richmond, VA

5) Buz & Ned's-Richmond, VA

6) Salt Lick-Austin, TX

7) Green Street Meats-Chicago, IL

8) Slow's BBQ-Grand Rapids, MI

9) Blackwood BBQ-Chicago,  IL

10) Redwood Shack-Norfolk, VA

Thanksgiving weekend

Well I'm currently on the second of two flights, this one from Charlotte to Chicago. I'm playing a Christopher Reeve audio book on my phone. I'm off from work for the next five days and I must say it feels good to finally have a break, my first since Labor Day weekend.

As I'm flying back to a town called home for 18 of the last 20 years, I can't help but feel a little ponderous. I sit in this first class seat feeling thankful and even a little bit proud on this Thanksgiving. I'm proud that I took the chance I took to leave Chicago and a secure job and familiarity. But I'm also thankful for all those years. I met great people and some unsavory ones, became a real Christian, ate wonderful food, worked some good jobs and some bad ones, ran my first races, walked through many forest preserves, had my heart broken, attended so many games, shows, festivals, and concerts, dealt with loneliness, lost two dogs, cleaned up my flooded basement maybe a dozen times, and wore out that space heater in that Arctic basement.

As I'm about to land, it feels a little bit like it did during Christmas 2002. I was visiting my now dead ex stepfather, who had an apartment in Wheaton. At that time, I had moved to Raleigh and thought my time in Chicago was over. I was content, thankful for five very good years, and ready to move on. Little did I know that four months later, I'd get the news that I would be moving back after I graduated college in June.

The difference is now I know it's permanent. And I really feel no sadness about it. None. I was ready to go then and I know that if I was still there, commuting three hours a day every weekday along with working nine hours in downtown Chicago and living with my mother, I'd feel even more restless now.

There's so much changing that I don't need to be part of. Bill Hybels won't be pastor at Willow Creek Church much longer. And the man replacing him is someone who gave a Chicago Cubs jersey to Pope Benedict. Safe to say I don't care for the man.

Certainly by no means is my life exactly where I want it. I don't know if that will ever happen. And even if it did, circumstances change so frequently, and I'm learning so many of them are out of my control. What I'm learning more and more now is real success isn't having my circumstances arranged exactly how I want them. Rather, it's having the inner strength to handle those circumstances with character and mental strength as they come my way. That's a battle I'm still trying to win. And I pray for God's grace and support through each struggle and each victory of each day.

24 Hours Was All

It was just another Friday night Meetup group event. About a dozen of us were meeting up at Tradition brewery, just a two minute walk from my apartment. I got there around 7:45. Kevin (the well dressed Asian), Rodney (the beer aficionado who needs to go to the dentist), and Jordan (the big boned group organizer) were already there.

A few ladies from the group shuffled in, including one I had never seen before that caught my attention. She appeared to be about 40 with shoulder length dark blonde hair that had been spiral curled. She was wearing jeans, a black leather jacket, and a multi-colored tank top that certainly showed off her impressive assets. She would later say that she was surprised a guy like me was there and that she was waiting for me to say something dumb or have a terrible speaking voice. She told me her name was Jessica and after a minute of small talk, she headed over to the bar to get a beer. I could see a guy or two trying to get her attention. Though I talked with a few people, I had an eye always watching wear she was going.

About 12 people came and we moved upstairs to a communal table. I made sure to sit next to her. I was facing a few other people who were there when I suddenly felt her soft hand gently touch my left wrist. A shiver went through me. She had noticed my black prayer bracelet. I had gotten it back at The Well, two years ago in Geneva. We began discussing faith and it didn’t take us long to figure out we had a lot in common in terms of value and beliefs. When she mentioned that values were the most important thing in a relationship, I had a good feeling. But gosh, I couldn’t stop staring at her chest! Hey, I am a guy, I'm a writer, I'm cursed with an eye for detail. I also found out that she had only moved to Virginia two weeks prior, from Southern California. She didn’t have a job, but she moved here hoping the prospects would be better. And I thought I took a big chance by leaving my home and traveling 1,500 miles when I actually had a job lined up!

At 9:15, Jordan and I left for our next event, karaoke at Quaker Steak and Lube, which was about ten minutes up the road. We arrived and within a few minutes, there were about 12 of us crammed in a tiny booth. There was one guy sitting between her and I so I mostly chatted with my friends Jon, Shawn, and Christina. I don’t remember much about that hour except I drank a huge Yuengling and people were talking the most useless BS imaginable; I think we were just letting out frustrations on a Friday night.

We soon worked our way to the ventilated side room, where the karaoke was but smoking was also allowed. Within a few minutes, we got word about a murder that happened a few yards away from the restaurant. Some guy just got shot in his car.

Jordan had gotten drunk by this time, I saw him drink two flights of eight beers plus two or three 22 ouncers. I turned around and saw him trying to rub up on Jessica. I wanted to kill him. Even though he weighs about 100 pounds more than me, and I had considered him my friend, I would have given him my best shot.

I was ready to leave by midnight. The singers sucked and the cigarette smoke was wearing my energy down. I was actually the only guy in the group who had the balls to sing. Of course, I performed a Bee Gees song, I went with Jive Talking. I said my goodbyes and Jessica was about to leave, but I caught up with her. I promised to message her through Meetup and she said yes. I gave her a big hug and even snuck in a quick peck on her cheek. I said good night and went to my car feeling pretty decent. I’ve never gotten a date out of a Meetup group before, but I had a confident feeling I was going to talk to this girl again.

I woke up the next morning around 8:30, feeling a little groggy after a steady stream of Yeungling. I turned my phone on and, I had a friend request on Facebook. The first name was Jessica. Now I didn’t know her last name and the picture didn’t look too much like her. I started to think to myself that this just didn’t make sense. I’m the one who’s supposed to pursue and fail miserably at it. It’s my trademark. When I saw her Facebook address was in Costa Verde, CA, I knew it was her. She had actually tracked me down right after we said good night.

We messaged a little bit that day and we agreed to meet that night at City Life Church in Newport News, near CNU. It offered a Saturday night service, and she had wanted to try it out. I missed one turn, but she got really lost, Google sent her on a path where she had to make four U-turns. Then, because there were four doors to get in the building, we had trouble figuring out where the other person was. She walked in, we gave each other a huge smile, and embraced. Her hair was straight this time, I almost didn’t recognize her.

This church actually is located inside a large Baptist church. The pastor came up and introduced himself, we had a little trouble explaining how we knew each other, but it was kind of interesting to him. The service was energetic and lively, it lasted about 90 minutes.

At 6:30, we definitely weren’t ready to say good night. She was hungry, but I really wasn’t, so I drove us to Bonefish. But with a 45 minute wait, we decided that wasn’t the best idea. We then tried 1608 Craft House. With the parking lot full, I pulled in next door to an auto parts store. I pulled onto the gravelly lot and settled right next to a tree and behind a tractor trailer. Pretty impressive park job.

We sat at a corner table for two at a window, which gave us a view of the dark parking lot. She ordered a dirty martini and I went with the Dogfish Head Pennsylvania tuxedo pale ale. For dessert, we split Bourbon barrel bread pudding with caramel and ice cream. Cost me $32, and yes, I paid. Even though I get uneasy about paying, I know it’s the right thing to do sometimes. It wasn’t supposed to a date, but it just turned into one. Some of the things we talked about were politics, family, surfing, travel, and fitness. I found out she actually had a grown son, which I preferred, because one, he was in California, and two, she didn’t have to take care of him 24/7. I held her hand for about 10 minutes and it felt great. What surprised was when she told me she hadn’t been in a relationship in 13 years.

Realizing they probably needed the table, we waked back to my car and sat inside. It was really dark, there was just a smidgen of light coming from the lights of the restaurant and a telephone pole. In the darkness, she could see my eyes changed and I just laughed. I always thought I had brown eyes until another girl mentioned to me that she thought they were hazel. I’m pretty sure that my eyes change color in different levels of light. Sensing my opportunity, I leaned a little closer to her. I asked if she was sure. She said yes. I leaned closer. Are you really sure? She leaned in. Our lips touched.

We wound up fogging all my windows at least three times. It was incredible. Her lips were amazingly tender. She grabbed me so tight, we wanted to fall asleep together so much. We drove back to the church lot and did it all over again. We didn’t say good night until nearly 11 pm. The next day came and she went for a day hike. She thought it over, and it was over. I found out that she is planning to leave Virginia by Christmas if she doesn’t get a job.

I don’t know if I’m more angry at her or angry at the circumstances. But now I don’t want to think of her or even talk to her. It’s almost as if she’s looking for a reason to not get attached to me. The circumstances make it challenging. I just wish she hadn’t sucked me in only to hurt me less than two days later.

Ronnie Milsap setlist

Prisoner of the Highway
He Got You/Any Day Now
I Wouldn't Have Missed It For the World/What a Difference You've Made In My Life/In Love/There's No Getting Over Me/Where Do the Nights Go?/Don't You Know How Much I Love You?/Let's Take the Long Way Around the World/Still Losing You/She Keeps the Home Fires Burning/I Wouldn't Have Missed It For the World
What Goes On When the Sun Goes Down
A Legend In My Time
You're Looking at Country
Walking After Midnight
But Not For Me
In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
Snap Your Fingers
Back On My Mind Again
Lost in the Fifties Tonight
Stranger In My House
Your Cheating Heart
Smoky Mountain Rain
America the Beautiful

What Season Am I In?

We're a couple of days into November. Now when I think of the weather in November that I'm used to, it's kind of a mixture. You might get a day in the upper 60s early on as that last little tease. But by Thanksgiving, you'd better have your thermals, winter gloves, skull cap, and Canadian goose or Patagonia jacket all on standby.

Here in Virginia, I'm still able to wear shorts in the evening. I can't say that I'm minding this. I just hope it doesn't drop from 70 degrees to 30 degrees in the span of a day.

I really don't want to be lonely tonight. It's a Friday night around 11 p.m., and I'm laying in bed, listening to mellow music, drinking a local IPA, and writing. But it isn't easy seeing posts on social media about date nights and wondering why I don't have one. Then again, I guess it's nice to have my freedom, my sanity, and my money. Then I look at the situation from another perspective and I realize being alone is certainly testing my resolve. I settled for women who were not right for me many times in the past. I am not going to do that ever again. I wonder if the day will just come when I realize it's too late for me to fall in love. Because God knows I don't want my wedding night to be the same day I join the AARP Club.

And now I can follow up about the stop sign violation. It turns out the same ridiculous cop pulled over three other people for the same reason. Who knows, they might have even been at the same stop sign. So we all showed up for traffic court in downtown Newport News, which is not exactly downtown Beverly Hills. And the cop turned out to be sick, so he didn't even show up. Then that left us with two choices. We could either plea guilty and pay $50 and be done with it or we could come back in 2 weeks and if he didn't show up again, the case would be dismissed. I actually felt a tremendous sense of relief knowing that my maximum fine would only be $50. I mean, for a stop sign, in the south? I expected triple figures. So I decided to press my luck and take the chance that he won't show up in 2 weeks. At the very least I think I deserve to explain myself and make my case.

I realize with dentists, there are so many different kinds. Someone to do all the work themselves, and some let the hygienist do all the dirty work before they come in and just check on the bites and consider their work to be done. In St. Charles, I had a dentist who did everything himself and I was always out of there in 15 minutes. This new dentist I went to was breaking down scientific terms and diseases that I've never heard of, in fact I think he was trying to just confuse me so I would just trust him and do whatever he wanted. I think his main goal was to sell me on Invisalign so I wouldn't lose teeth in a few years. I guess we'll just see how that goes. But what I saw a coupon for $500 down, I kind of get the idea that buying a mansion in Monaco would be cheaper. I think I'll probably get my wisdom teeth taken out in the next year or two though.

I'm feeling a desire to learn to paint better. I find it focuses my energy well, and it's a good challenge for me. I also feel like I have some natural ability to do it, at least people seem to think so. But there are three issues that I need to address before I invest myself in this endeavor. One, it's expensive to buy the supplies. Two, it would make an absolute mess. And three, what would I do with the finished paintings? If I try to sell them and make money, I might take it personally if nobody ever brought them. I guess that's my rejection issue gnawing at me still.

Only one month remains until my solo trip to DC. It's only going to be two days, but it will be my first real trip since July. And I'm pretty confident I will enjoy this city more than I enjoyed St Louis. On my agenda are the International Spy Museum, Arlington Cemetery, the newseum, Rangers game, and of course, a number of restaurants. The big thing for me is finding the right hotel, between neighborhood and price. I don't mind staying a little outside of downtown, so long as I'm near the train.

Into October

I'm actually a little disappointed in myself because I thought I would be blogging more once I had my own place and a lot of new things were happening for me. And yet I haven't written a thing in a month. So here's what I have to say for right now.

I ran The Crawling Crab 5K in Hampton today and it was the first 5k that I ran in 4 years. I finished at 23:37, which is one of the best times I've ever had. I didn't feel too good during most of the race, especially going going up a highway hill twice, but I wasn't going to stop. I guess I was a little disappointed I didn't have that big final burst at the end. If I want to do a longer race one day, I really have to push myself harder.

I was entitled to have two craft beers after my race along with a cup of soup. Because after running 3 miles in 80 degree weather, what else would you want but a cup of hot soup? Anyway, I had a citrus wheat beer and a sweet potato beer. And then I had to go straight to work because it was orientation day.

Harris Teeter is an interesting grocery store. They have very good products, but their pricing is so confusing. It's like this item is 6.99 but if you have your card you can get 5% off two of them. I do think they have excellent pizza though I've been there four times in the last 3 weeks to get a slice or two of pizza. It's not too bready, it's crispy all the way through, and the toppings are a very good quality.

I would like to give a text version of a middle finger to officer Howell of the Newport News police department. The a****** gave me a ticket for disregarding a stop sign, as he put it. The problem is I was on a road I had never been on and I never saw the stop sign. Yep this scumbag had to fill his quota for the month so he gave me the ticket, without letting me explain. So now I have to go to court in a couple of weeks and hope I don't get screwed up the ass on the fine.

Now that I've gotten that out, I will go back to my Christian form of speech. Grace Bible Church is a pretty excellent Church. They emphasized community and opportunities to actually work in the Hampton Roads area, which I appreciate. And I've been going to a small group for 3 weeks now of young adults and I like the group quite a bit. But I feel like something is missing in the services. The pastor is preaching basic stuff, and I want to be stretched and challenged a lot more than what this guy is doing. It's like he's teaching second grade and I'm ready for college. So I think I'm sticking with the group, we'll have to see how it goes.

I'm really thankful for my new family that I hang out with on Sundays to watch Jets games. I've gone in each of the first four weeks, and I've made quite a few friends and I've even won a few prizes in door drawings. As the season goes on and the seem most likely struggles, it will be interesting to see if 30 and 40 people continue to show up to each game.

Orangetheory was a really interesting Fitness class. I had a free lesson, I just don't think I should have done it one week before my 5K. I had to do three circuits of running, rowing, and strength training equipment on the floor over 55 minutes. The workout was phenomenal, but price wise, it is just too much for my budget right now. I mean I can work out at my apartment complex for free, even though the equipment is lackluster, to say it gently.

And my gas and electric bill went up $100 in one freaking month. Granted $48 of that is a one-time deposit, but I am really taking it hard. I set up a budget, and then it just gets bigger and bigger and bigger. I'm the type of guy who wants to be generous and wants to give money away and leave huge tips, but I feel like I need to take care of myself first. Because if I don't take care of myself, nobody else will. Because I would rather die than be broke and homeless and not be able to live life on my terms.

Two months in

1) Apartment is looking good. Furniture is in place, I have a bed as of Labor day weekend, and I purchased a set of cookware. I think I'm going to put a few bobbleheads on my dresser drawer, just to spite my mother since she feels she knows everything about how I should set up my apartment.

2) Gary Oldman is such a good actor and gets nowhere near the respect that he deserves.

3) I wonder if any woman is mentally strong enough to be with me.

4) The less social media in my life, the better.

5) Why does the local library charge me to get a book that is not in their system. That is not my fault that their system isn't stocked like it should be.

6) In 10 minutes of researching Washington DC, I found at least eight restaurants that I really want to try. Not to mention six sites that I haven't visited yet.

7) I wish to God I had an ability to just erase all sports knowledge from my brain.

8) Why do I get the feeling the Rangers are going to kill me again this year?

9) One game in and we know the Jets are dead.

10) Fuck the 2017 baseball season. I wish the hurricanes had destroyed Wrigley Field instead of Houston and South Florida.

NHL Predictions

Eastern Conference
Metropolitan Divisionz-Pittsburgh
x-Columbus
x-NY Rangers
w-Washington
Carolina
NY Islanders
Philadelphia
New Jersey

Atlantic Division
z-Tampa Bay
x-Toronto
x-Ottawa
w-Montreal
Florida
Buffalo
Boston
Detroit

Western Conference
Central Division
z-Chicago
x-Nashville
x-St. Louis
w-Dallas
w-Minnesota
Winnipeg
Colorado

Pacific Division
z-Anaheim
x-Edmonton
x-San Jose
Calgary
Los Angeles
Colorado
Vegas
Vancouver

Eastern Conference Finals
Columbus over Toronto

Western Conference Finals
Anaheim over Edmonton

Stanley Cup Finals
Anaheim over Columbus