Live from Nengland

Check this out

2005-10-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

So, last night I went out with H. The one from two posts back. We were to go out for Thai food. She came to my place to see it. She said it was "really nice". It was not what she was expecting for a condo.
I had to ask her to drive to dinner since I had a 36" TV in the back of my car. She said she would be glad to. We went to Sukothai in downtown Manchester. Dinner was fabulous. She started with Hot and Sour soup. I got Somtom (a mildly spicy papaya salad). To drink Singha beer was on the menu, we each had two. She had Pad Thai to eat and I had lemongrass beef. It was delicious. The conversation was great. She wore a revealing blouse. All in all It seemed to go very well. At the end of the night H pulled into the parking spot. I gave her a hug and we parted fondly. I thought things were okay but saw no glaring signs of interest. I do tend to miss these things though. I was home for about five mins when I got a text. My phone was acting up and would not let me check it. This made me want to read it more. Finally I turned the phone off and took out the battery. I restarted it and was able to view my message. It was from H. It said "Thanx for dinner. I had a really good time." I guess that says something.

Today, I emailed her and told her I had fun last night and to have a good weekend. I told her now that she new where I lived she had no excuse. I also mentioned I was having friends (BL and his wife) over for dinner Sunday and I would text her if she was interested. Her response was that she will drop by and surprise me sometime. She also said dinner sounded good and to let her know.

What does it all mean.

Exhaustion overload

2005-10-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I had the day off. I worked from 6 - 10 AM before starting to work on the house with my parents, who got in then night before after 11. I got everything done that I needed to and got everyone else started on things. Of course, continuing the trends of late a few gentlemen in my group managed to make themselves look bad. They make it appear that they do not need to coordinate with anyone. It is getting old quick. So my day ended up pretty good. The question is will the trend continue for the weekend? Tonight my two sisters arrive, it should be interesting considering that the eldest has never been to Nengland.

Back to my female stories. So I had gotten closer to E at B's wedding and things were looking up. I had to leave for a month in CA the week after the wedding so we were not able to get together. We continued corresponding by tele while I was out in CA. When I returned we played more phone tag for the next week. It seems as though are schedules will not align. So I helped B's brother-in-law, BL, move the weekend before last. It was not a bad move compared to some. His coworkers that helped were geek squad level 2 or 3, so that made it a little tougher. After the move we had a cookout. I was talking to BL's sister A, who is also E's roommate. She told me E was coming. Then A's dad and step mom came. I overhead the step mom ask if E was bringing boy friend. It did not even phase me, but it makes a lot of sense. She apprently met this guy while I was in CA and just did not tell me. A said she would have told me, but did not know what to say. I told her E had called the night before talking about wanting to get together. The whole deal seems shady. I am not a person that would care, but at least tell me.
So after E showed up the strangeness continued. While E's "boyfriend" was inside, she was outside flirting with me. At the end of the night A and E and their boyfriends were going to go bowling. A invited me. I told her I did not see how that was a good idea. Then E came up to say good bye and gave me a big hug and told me we needed to get together very soon. I found the whole thing somewhat amusing.

It does speak to my point that women are crazy.

So it has been a while...

2005-10-13T07:01:00.000-07:00

Let me see. Since last time I spent a month in the CA desert for work, closed on a condo, been pushed to the brink and brought back. I moved in September 16, 2005. The place is great for me. I can not wait to have friends over soon. Hopefully I will also get some company from far away places.

Here is my latest female story...
Last year I went out with a girl from work a few times. She worked with my sister-in-law and replaced her when she left. It was fun but never really went anywhere. She is 5 years younger and seemed to be too into herself. Anyway, we remained friends and everything was good. She left the company while I was in CA. I was happy for her to find a job that more closely matched her skill set. The guys around the office miss having something pretty to gauk at.

I got an email from her a few weeks ago telling me how much she liked her new job and she wanted to tell me all about it. So last week a coworker and I pulled in the lot from our lab and her car was in a guest parking spot. I was extremely busy but did wave to her as I passed. The next day I got a text message from her. She claimed to have come by to see me, but I was not around and we should get together soon. I responded that I had been busy but to let me know when she wanted to get together. She called me last week after work and we talked for 30-45 mins about work and stuff. During the conversation she asked if I was going to a Halloween party this year for a guy I play softball with at work. I told her I would be going and she told me she would be glad to be my date. Since she was supposed to go the previous year and changed her mind at the last second I told her she could go on her own. It was like I had been there and saw no reason to do it again. That night I spoke to a few friends including my friend from http://www.colderthan.blogspot.com. They told me she was interested and I should take her to the party. The next day I sent her the party info and told her if she wanted to go together to let me know. Her response was "I would love to." My friends told me I was missing signs. I went to lunch with her yesterday, but it seemed like business as usual. I am not sure that I missed anything. Maybe they are reading things into because they are who they are. What do you think?

I have another good story for you to comment on, but I will save it for tomorrow.

Baltimore, the return for round two

2005-08-01T04:32:00.000-07:00

After my last trip to Baltimore for the bachelor party I had no idea what to expect at the wedding. I arrived Friday at 4 PM at the resort. I ran into the groom in the parking lot. A few of the guys had already hit the bar and were waiting for me to join them. They went and did the rehearsal thing while I relaxed a bit. Around 9 or 10 they were not back so I went to the bar down stair and had a few. The bartender was a college girl from Ohio. She is double majoring in psychology and biology. She wants to be a marine biologist. I am not sure where psych fits in, but oh well. I went upstairs at around 11 and met up with everyone else. One of the other guys from Clemson, D, was out of control and on a mission. He decided to try and pick up the one girl I was talking to and know from CT. Let's call her E. He was disgusting. We ended up in a party room upstairs and he would not stop groping E. I was ready to leave but E's friend stopped me. Eventually he got kicked out. We stayed up until 4:30 AM having just drinking and carrying on. I got up at 6 AM and had to figure out where golf was. At 8 AM I talked to the groom. D, the bride's brother and I had to leave in 10 mins to make our tee time. We made it after a quick stop at the golden arches. We had a blast at golf and made it back for the wedding. The wedding was a nice outside ceremony. Before we went into the reception hall we had appetizers and drinks in the lobby. D made announcement to five of us that E was his tonight. He claimed that she wall all over him the night before and now he was going to close the deal. I went and told E and her friends. I was given a task of not letting D or the bride's cousin near E at the reception. I did my best and danced with her most of the night. While I was getting a drink the cousin moved in. The bride's step-sister told me to go cut in. I told her I could not do that to the poor guy. E then gave me a look that told me that is what I should have done. The reception was a blast afterwards everyone socialized and drank. One thing that bothered me was when the bride's cousin said something to the effect that the only reason I was being nice to E was to try to get in her pants(only there was a few expletives). I told him that he did not know me and the best thing for him to do was get away from me.

What a great weekend!

And so it goes

2005-07-28T10:36:00.000-07:00

Lots has happened since last I posted.

I went to Baltimore for a bachelor party for my college buddy.
I lost my cell phone for more than a week.
I bought a house.
Last night a tree knocked over the electric pole by the street.

One of my college buddies is getting married this Saturday. Two weeks ago we had his bachelor party. I flew to Maryland for the occasion. His wife was concerned that he may die. I told her I would look out for him. I looked out for him and made certain he had a blast. It was fun, but partying that hard is rare these days.

While I was at the bachelor party I left my phone at a club. Nobody could remember which of the 20 clubs we went to. The bachelor went to every place with no luck. I suspended my service in the mean time. He was determined and called the place we thought I checked it at the door. They had it. I had been without it for a week and a half. I really did not miss it much.

After searching for 5 months I found another house I liked. Actually it is a stand alone condo that looks like a cape. I made an offer on it last Saturday. My realtor called me back two hours later and said the seller had another offer and wanted best and final. I revised my offer. 5 hours later I got the call that I lost the bid. Not only did I loose, but I lost bad. By Monday I was setting up to see some more houses. My realtor called to say that the other offer dropped out. So I bought the place. It is a big investment, but it makes sense.

Wednesday as I was leaving work the sky let loose and began to pour down rain. I saw some beautiful lightening on the way home, although it was a bit close at times. When I got home my roommate was working on his daughter's car. He had it in the shop and they told him the breaks were metal on metal. When he got the breaks off he found it was nothing but a lie. The breaks had probably another year on them. As he was working on the second side the storm came. The power was zapped so we were using a flash light. That wheel proved to be difficult and while getting help we found out what happened to the power. A big tree across the street fell and knocked over the power pole. We would be in the dark for more than 24 hours. Thank goodness we had a generator for powering the water.

A short week

2005-07-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

With the holiday yesterday this week is going to be only four days long. My holiday weekend was spent in the sticks visiting my brother and his family. My parents were in so I hung out with them. My 3 week old niece was as sweet as every. She eats, sleeps, and craps before staring all over again. My 17 month old nephew was my buddy this weekend. We shared a room and I would always wake up in the morning with him staring at me. He is full of exploration and personality. His curly hair and personality reminds some of me at that age. He cried last night when I left. I felt bad. This weekend my brother said I passed the marriage test by being able to take care of his little boy. I do not know about that, but I love spending time with them.

And the winner is...someone else

2005-06-21T23:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend things were so busy I did not go out with C, the girl whose dad works with me, as planned. Oh well, no big deal. Monday comes and we email about softball and stuff. She informs me that she probably will not go out after the game. She claims to feel out of place with everyone but me. I am not sure if that was a compliment or not. So during the game she catches a ball in left field. She wants to throw home to get the runner tagging up. I told her she would not have gotten him. That was the wrong thing to say to a woman. She did not talk to me much the rest of the game. After the game she bolted not even saying goodbye. I called her because I had a missed call from her. She said she had a date to play mini - golf. This morning I had an apology email in my inbox stating I was right. Totally unexpected.
Did she tell me she had a "date" on purpose? I don't know. I am debating giving her another shot at the movie she really wants to see. If that were to fail, I would know where we stand I think. Also, I am debating just asking her to dinner to make certain she knows it is a date. I want her to know what I am thinking. We are friends. Do I risk it? Maybe I should cut ties with all of the women in my CT life and start over. Every time I feel like I know something doubt creeps in by interpretation of something or nothing. I am analyzing the crap out of this for nothing. Maybe she means more to me than I thought.

A happy day

2005-06-20T13:50:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while. So here's the thing. Do you believe in love at first sight? I do, now anyway. The moment I saw her I could not deny how beautiful she is. She captured my attention and my heart. She did not even say a word. When I held her in my arms it was over. I was in love and could do nothing about it. I gazed at her for what seemed like hours. To think we just met may seem strange, but I think you had to be there. She has dark eyes and dark hair. Am I the only one to experience this?

Friday a 6 lbs 6 oz 20 in long baby girl blessed our family. She is healthy and happy, that is all I could have asked for. Yes, it is Kailyn Rae I am describing above, but can you blame me? I was at the hospital every day until she went home Sunday afternoon. I held her as much as I got the chance. Her 16 month old big brother is going to need some time to get used to her. Saturday he did not even want look in her direction. It is amusing, but sweet that he at least kissed her goodbye when he left. I am happy to be an uncle for the fifth time. This is starting to get a bit expensive to spoil them all, but that is just me. She has a big world in front of her and I am certain she will go at it head on. She is sleeping a lot right now, but as I told her mom... Do not complain much, because soon you will not be able to shut her up. Welcome little princess.

So here's the thing

2005-06-08T18:03:00.000-07:00

I enjoy my job most of the time, really I do. That does not mean at times it is not the most frustrating thing in my life. See in my job I love the fact that I can see a design from requirements to production and even support it once it reaches the customer. It is fast paced and interesting subject matter. I guess that is what everyone looks for is a job where they can actually notice a difference from their work. Just because I say that it does not mean that every day I do not think about leaving to do something else. Some days I want something more demanding (if such a thing exists), some days I want something where I can yet again make more of a difference, and some days I want to risk it all on my own ideas. I am not a yes man and never will be. I think anyone who wants to truly make a difference can not be. I guess I wonder if everyone feels this way as often. I am a bit of a perfectionist and that may be part of my drive or maybe I am crazy.

As promised as boring as can be

2005-06-06T16:33:00.000-07:00

In the previous post I promised to write about some of the girls in my world right now that could have romantic inclinations.
1.) As of today it seems we have the most in common by far. We play on the same coed softball team, watch the same tv show, enjoy the outdoors, and email each other every day on and off all day. She is intelligent, funny, cute, and sweet without even trying. She calls me on BS or plays along without hesitation. I have even been picking up a t-shirt for her every place I travel. I got one for her at the World BBQ cook-off in Houston, TX. Then there was one from visiting Ms. Pan in Colorado. Today I gave her one from last week in Holland. It was the one I would have picked for myself. She has liked everyone. Next week is Myrtle beach so will the collection continue to grow? It is not all sunshine. There are a few things keeping me from pursuing too much. She is 6 years younger than myself and just about to graduate from college. That is right around my cutoff because that is my younger sister's age. She works for the same company, but in a different department. No biggie, right? Her father is a manager in my department. I do not work for him but I work close to him. I am not sure he would be thrilled by the prospect. He and I used to go to happy hour together. I do not know if she has any feelings toward me. However, last night we went for pizza after the game as usual. I made one comment to the waitress and she asked if I was flirting. Then when I told one of the other guys he should not make comments about me and the cute married chick on the team she picked up on it. Enough of this sharing about her. NEXT!

2.) I have been dating an older gal a few times. I met her at a softball buddies house at a party. She is 10 years older. That did not seem like that much in the begining, but I have seen things as time has passed. Mainly she has baggage and talks about her ex-husband and ex-boyfriend often. She does have a 10 year old daughter who has never been around when I have. Willing to do almost anything for me is the best way to describe her. I have been honest and up front that I am not sure whether I am looking for anything or not. She is okay with that even though she has her mind made up. I told her I am not really looking for anything serious at the moment and told her my reservations and she claims to be okay that way. I am just not sure I am. I do not want to hurt her.

3.) As I wrote about a few weeks ago in my last post. I met a girl at the Pizza place down the road. She was the one who forgot my drink order because our eyes locked and she did not hear a thing I said. Well I went to her place of business this weekend and saw her. I had not heard from her but I had picked up a trinket for her in Amsterdam so I was going to make sure she got it. The first thing she said when she saw me was "I have not forgotten you, I have just been real busy." I gave her the trinket and she sat down and asked if she could open it. She seemed to like it and we talked a little. It was very casual and I said goodbye when I left. See the previous post for further details.

4.) I think I am only adding her to the list because I think she has potential. Every week after softball we go out for pizza and drinks. We found a low key place that has good food. The first night this season we were in there the waitress caught my eye. She was a brunette with some cute freckels on her nose. She accidently spilled something and repeated I am sorry about ten times. I have called her "I'm Sorry." ever since. She turns red as can be every time. She was the waitress number one accused me of flirting with.

Anyway, let me know what you think. All? None? Which one? I am going to be posting more often so look out.

A day in Amsterdam and an interesting story

2005-05-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

8:30 PM in Amsterdam

I have now been in Amsterdam for one day. I've found it quaint and quiet until the sun goes down. The Anne Frank house and Van Gogh museum were both amazing. I will have a little more time here before I leave. I think I will go to the original Hard Rock cafe tonight as my best friend collects the glasses. The people have been very kind. It is an open atmosphere and no one is dropping there jaws at anything. Last night I walked through the streets and saw the girls in windows. All I could say was my they do have ALL kinds. It is something everyone should definitely see for themselves. I am excited to see what the rest of the trip holds. More on that some other time.

Last Thursday after golf league M, P, his son C, and I went to the neighborhood pizza joint. There is a waitress there who has always paid a lot of attention to me. She is nice, but her smile is a deal breaker. Well she was not there. The waitress we had looked to be in her early twenties. She was cute with dark hair, beautiful brown eyes and great smile. She took our drink order as normal and came back with drinks. There was a problem there was only three drinks. C got his chocolate milk. M got his beer. There was one left and it was clear so I thought it may be my water. Nope, it was P's Sprite. She looked at me and said "I am sorry. Our eyes locked and I did not hear a thing you said." I told her again what I wanted with a smile say you must still want your tip. When she left P and M said if you do not go for that you are stupid. My brain was two steps ahead of them. I picked on her when she came back to take our order. I said "Do you have your pen and paper to write my order down so my eyes do not distract you?" This kept the atmosphere light. C was joking that he was going to give her the eyes. We told her what he said and she made him give her the eyes. I figured as normal with M he would do something to completly ruin things. For once he did not, though he tried. At the end of dinner I stayed behind to put on my jacket. She came walking up and said "So your name is Jason?". I figured well at least she could read it off of my field support jacket. She can read. "Yeah!" Later I found out that M went by and said to her " Be sure you say goodbye to Jason." So I asked her what her name was. So then I asked MsJ if she would like to go out for dinner or a drink. Her reply was just a smile and "I can't." I figured married or boyfriend, oh well. Then she smiled and said... enough of this how about a better format.

Ms.J: I would really like to but I recently got divorced.
Me: I understand. Well it was nice to meet you.
MsJ: Wait her. (Disappearing and going behind the counter. Leaving me standing like a retard in the middle of the restaurant.)
MsJ: (She returned with a pen and paper.) Write down your number.
Me: (As I wrote) Are you sure? You do not have to take it just to be polite. (handing her the info)
MsJ: Walk with me. (As we walk to the door.) It is not that I do not want to but my ex in-laws are in the restaurant and being recently divorced.
Me: I understand. We can go out as just friends and see. It was really nice to meet you.
MsJ: (Smiled) Bye.

It was only a day before I left for this trip. I had not heard from her. I am hoping to have a message from her when I get back. What do you make of this? I can not even decide what I think of the whole thing.

The next post should be about the girls I am thinking of dating and the situations.

Wanna go on a training trip?

2005-05-11T13:29:00.000-07:00

I enjoy concerts and for the right price I will go see just about anyone live. Last Thursday I went to see Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, and Terri Clark. It was a wonderful show. I think Brad was my favorite. My buddy and I me some girls in the parking lot which would make it more interesting. Ashley, Casey, and Kate or as I refered to them Candi, Becky, and Kate were college students from Mass. It was great when it got cold that night sitting on the lawn to be squished between two girls. My pal got quite friendly with one. All I will say is porta johns have many uses. Her friends did not like him too much and that night neither did I. After he was kissing one he tried to kiss her best friend multiple times. He went as far as to grab her face and try while in the car. Then he lied about it later so I would not get mad. I already knew what he did and told him to drop it for his own good. The night ended at around 2 AM and I got up for work at 5 AM. Needless to say Friday was a lllooooooooonnnnnnnnnggggggggg day. My boss had an opportunity to send someone overseas to help another guy in my group. Though it was not my project he chose me. I leave Saturday for Amsterdam. I will be working at a base outside of Amsterdam, but I will get a couple of days in town. I am interested to see what this place is all about. I am happy, but I am going to be "crazy busy" for the next month.
When I get back next Saturday I have a going away party for my friend moving to Vegas. The next day is Alan Jackson in Mass. Then I am leaving that week for my family vacation with the 'rents and everyone. That is all the good stuff, but that does not include the work that must be done to stay caught up.
Oh yeah, no house yet.

Another day closer to being homeless.

2005-04-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

I finally saw a house I like. It is a contemporary with vaulted cielings in the living room. It does need new carpet but I just realized that there is hardwood under the carpet. That could be a huge cost savings. It needs a new vanity, dishwasher, and possibly range, but that is all in good time. It has a hot tub on the back deck that does not work. Maybe I would fix it. The lot is strange. The back porch goes to the property line. Most of the .68 acres is on the sides of the house. The basement could easily be finished with some labor. I have a vision of what it could be and how much work that would be. Compared to most other places I have seen it is minimal. If things go as with many others it will be gone before I get a chance to act. I am working out my numbers and checking on the soundness of the house in anticipation of a weekend bid. That is the next time the house can be shown. Time will tell on that I guess. The house does have four bedrooms. That is plenty of room for my whole family to come and visit. To offset my payments I might also get a roommate.

I have been shooting pool with my friend Steve every Saturday as of late. It is a great non physical challenge release for me. I have much room for improvement but that is what makes it fun. This week was my first coed practice game of the season. It was fun to be out there with some of the gang again. It was a very relaxed game. Hopefully it will be the start of a great season. I am looking forward to playing and hanging out with a particular someone on the team who has my attention. Thursday is golf league night. This week I am playing a girl with a lower handicap. I want to win in the worst way, but I know it is just for fun. Woods I am not, but in the woods I usually end up.

I did not forget...Really I didn't

2005-04-19T02:45:00.000-07:00

Wow!! Where to start and where to finish? I went to FL for four days and six rounds of golf and had an absolute blast. My father came. It was a little wierd worrying about whether the drinking and cigars (of other people) would bother him. He took it all in stride and told me he would love to go back. Mike and I drove to West Palm for a business meeting that we finished in one day rather than the planned two. So we rose at before 4 AM for a 5 AM flight back to Nengland. His daughter was leaving her school at 12:15 for JFK and a trip to France. We landed and dashed across CT to Watertown. We made at 12:15 exactly so he was happy and she was thrilled that he came just to see her off. Thursday it was pointed out that an after work golf league need one more player. Being charitable and cautious I accepted. That night we had to play to set our starting handicap. I took advantage of the opportunity. On the 9th my drive even knocked the final team off the 8th tee box with a slice over there head. It was amusing considering the whole was a dog leg the other way. Upon returning I discover the Condo I was prepared to make an offer on was gone. That has started a painful process all over again. I now have a new realtor and am looking at houses and condos within 30 mins of work. In my price range there are 90 something house, but most are built from the late 1800s to 1950 and need various levels of repair. I found one I liked the look of on Friday and it was gone by Monday morning. I love this CT home buying stuff.

April 15 now has a new meaning. It is the day my life long friend and his beautiful wife Katie had there first child at 8:54 AM. Jack "Major" D. Howle IV was 8lbs 6oz and 20" long. His proud papa got a hold of me that night and I could hear in his voice his elation. I will see Major for the first time in June and I can not wait. To a great couple a wonderful ray of happiness has come for them to nurture and love. I am so happy for them and almost jealous of that new sound in his voice.

I promise if there is anyone listening there is more to come.

Is there anybody out there?

2005-04-06T10:05:00.000-07:00

As not to be out done by my most talented writing friend I shall try to start my own blog. It will be in depth and eloquent, articulate and stylish. Then again maybe not. This unlike my friend Ms. Pan's will be rough and raw, sometimes it will make little or no sense. Ms. Pan is a dear friend of mine who I got to see last week for a few days. I met her boyfriend of a year who is ten years older. To be honest I was skeptical to say the least. Then thinking about it I realized something anyone who she keeps around for a year and can still put up with her must be alright. Who we to be judgemental any how. We have are opinions and they are all unique that is what keeps us from being boring. My snowboarding adventure was awesome. Ms. Pan's boyfriend acted as my personal tutor and helped me out quite a bit. I am only sorry we only got one day. I promise I shall return to the slopes with vigor. Now it is off to sunny Florida for six rounds of golf in 4 days and then a three days business trip. Yay! The sight of green grass will be a welcome relief.