My Friends and My Views

I am blogging mostly about my dates. Why? Because they are funny, and I want to learn from these experiences, spark discussion, questions, and to always end everything on a positive note. When you start looking at things in a negative light, it makes it that much harder to pick yourself back up. My view on life has been the same for a very long time. I was gifted with a big heart and cursed with a sense of selflessness. I was given a lot of experiences in life that I am glad I was a part of, and given a lot of great friends to along with them. So my advice to everyone is this:

To the ones who go through the hard times:

Take the hand your offered. Your friends are there for you and the last thing you need is to be alone and sulk. Do something to exert all that energy that is built up. If you store it, all of that energy will turn in a negative direction. I have been known to do this, so I am speaking from experience. But when I let my friends in and talk about it, coping becomes a lot easier.

To the ones trying to offer support:

I understand positive reinforcement is a great thing; but sometimes telling someone they are a great person, is just not enough. Sometimes, telling stories of your own misfortunes and giving them something to relate to is a much better tactic. Just do not tell a story that is going make you cry. By telling them of your misfortune, you not only take away their chance to argue “you do not know how I feel”, but you also show them that it’s ok to laugh at yourself.

Then... Make them do something, whether it is some sort of manual labor, going to the club, sitting around the TV watching the game, or putting a game controller in their hand expelling pent up violence on some poor pixels on a screen.

When it comes to "Self Analysis" and reflection on anything that we have experienced, it is extremely hard to say, “Next time I will do this better" or " I will be sure not to do that again". Let’s face it, this is extremely hard to do, and I personally know very few people who can do it. If you want a great analogy here is one: we all have friends that say "Oh I am on a diet, I really need to watch what I eat" and two hours later, you are sitting at a restaurant with them they have ketchup on their shirt, because they are trying to maneuver a double stacked monster burger with all the extras into their mouth at just the right angle to maximize the enjoyment of each bite.

Everyone is blessed with friends and family that care about them. I on the other hand won the lottery in this area. I am by no means trying to brag, but giving credit where credit is due; and it is very well deserved, each one of them deserves a medal. All the people in my life have impacted me to such a degree, it has forged the man that is now having this conversation with you and sharing all of these events as they unfolded. Now do not get me wrong, I am very capable of looking at things objectively, but as my dad has always said, "Sometimes other people can see things that we just cannot see." The lesson being that we have all had those "I told you so" moments and they are no fun when you’re on the receiving end, but sometimes we need them. These people in our lives make it possible for us to handle every situation that comes up and remove that ominous and impossible feeling from the equation. Everyone can say it worked out in the end. It may not be instant or even in a few days; I am merely saying you always have shoulder to cry on or someone to vent to. You even have mine if you want it. See how nice I am. Don’t say I never gave you anything, besides a good laugh!

Now my three best friends have that perfect balance of "Sorry to hear that" and reminding me to laugh at my misfortunes and disasters. Now let’s be honest and clear, we are always glad when our friends are happy. For example: "Hey Billy, I know you sleep better knowing that it wasn’t me that jumped my motorcycle over six cars and hit an on coming mini van full of nine year olds on their way to the Ice cream parlor. Nor did I break my leg in three places." You know they are making fun of you for having done it, but telling you to be happy that they did not suffer such a horrific misfortune. All you can say, from the bottom of your heart, is "Thanks".

On the female side of the house, I have some of the most down to earth, honest, take no crap, strong willed and incidentally, very attractive, women that I have ever met! Now guys if you’re gonna go shopping for clothes, make sure you have one or two of these friends around. It’s amazing how this type of woman can comfort you when disaster strikes and manage to still remind you that you are stupid for ever even having considered it regardless of how many times they warned you. Now these moments are often, so do not ignore their advice after two or three repeat offenses. They may not be as nice the next time around!

So with all these friends, the points of views, and opinions that they have offered me in the past as I look back; I am really proud to say, I like who I am and what I stand for! I have learned so much just being there for them and being kicked by them when I get out of line. This allows me to have a very constructive view on everything that happens. There is no way you can go wrong or feel down, when you see your friends and they are always happy to see you! Show me a person that cannot be positive about something like that and I will show you where to put your foot....


Disclaimer: I am using a naming system, similar to that of the weather channel. For the first Date I will use a name that begins with A and then proceed through the alphabet. As for when I talk about things in this blog, these events will be talked about only from my point of view and should not be tried at home. So for example, just because my friend managed to get away with peeing over a balcony into a fountain in the middle of a hotel in Mexico and does not get arrested, does NOT mean be that the guy with one of those shirts that screams "I am a tourist, come mug me", who happens to not be gifted with the same balance while being equally drunk and falls over the balcony and into the fountain… getting arrested, should try following in his footsteps. Note, any stupid people I do mention in here were possibly injured, jailed or fined some ridiculous amount of money in the events that transpired, but no one died..... Do not tarnish this record!