LOVE STINKS! Yeah Yeah...

One of the consequences of having been laid off has been the lack of a social life. Not like I ever really had much of one except during the prime years of Louisville Mojo, but when I was gainfully employed I could at least afford to go out when I wanted to, work schedule or weather permitting. I hardly even worried about gas when I had a steady income and a "home away from home" in Louisville, but these days the simple act of driving makes me feel like I'm spending money. I do try to get out of the house once or twice a week, but that's not nearly enough. Being broke also means I can forget about dating.

I can think of too many reasons why I've been single my entire life, so I'm just going to go into the main reason I'm single now. Being unemployed hurts men on the dating front in two ways: one, you're too broke to take somebody out. And two, women don't like unemployed guys, especially ones who live with their parents, no matter the circumstances. I haven't tried contacting anybody on OKCupid since last Summer. The last girl that I talked to on there ultimately rejected me for that very reason, despite the fact that she was also unemployed and in the process of moving in with her parents. See, it's a fucking double standard! So, while I am available, I've essentially taken myself off the market. It really sucks feeling like I can do nothing but stand by while I watch too many of my female friends get paired off, some of them even getting married.

I actually would like to start dating again, but until I find a job that's guaranteed to last more than one or two months, or go to school (whichever comes first), I don't see it happening. There are far worse things than being single, but it would be nice to have a female to go out and do fun stuff with.

I guess I could go over another reason why I've been single. I've never been able to make good use of the window whenever it's been open. (Stuff like that is why I love "How I Met Your Mother.") When someone of interest who had been unavailable becomes available, you don't want to pounce right away, but at the same time you don't wait too long and take a chance on someone else moving in on her. Man, this hurts my brain...ANEURYSM! The last time the window opened for someone that I was crazy for, an ex-coworker, I really did try to get myself in there, but she was always too busy hanging out with other people. The window wasn't open very long. She ended up hooking up with one of her ex-coworkers, a big ogre of a dude who I never would have imagined her being with. They've been together ever since.

There's a part in the Slayer song Divine Intervention that for some odd reason makes me think of two people having sex, it comes in at about the 1:23 mark. I got to thinking recently that one of my ideas of Hell would be being forced to watch "the ones that got away" having sex with their significant others. Actually, if the s.o. happens to be a woman, then that could possibly be Heaven. :)

Crud Update

After a few days of using some generic Dayquil/Nyquil Sinus type stuff, I switched over to Mucinex D. I also got a neti pot. Now I'm taking regular Mucinex and using the neti pot occasionally. It's weird, my nose isn't stopped up, but there still seems to be some stuffiness in the very back of my sinuses. The crud in my chest seems to be loosening up pretty good now.

In other cruddy news: I can't remember if I mentioned it before, but I applied for a couple of jobs last month at Main ex-Employer for the department I was in when they laid me off. I finally got a rejection e-mail from them yesterday for one of the jobs, saying that I wasn't a strong enough fit. I'm now waiting to get rejected for the other position. I know that Corporate/HR people follow some odd kind of logic that makes no sense to most regular people, and I'm sure that the Recruiting department of this company are smoking the same proverbial crack that Corporate/HR people do. If it had been up to the people that I actually worked directly with, I would've gotten my old job back about two years ago. Hell, had it been up to them, I wouldn't have gotten laid off, period.

The Crud

I haven't gotten majorly sick with anything like the flu or strep throat since 2005, but it seems like I do get a case of "The Crud" at least once a year. I don't know if definitions for The Crud are the same for everybody, but for me it means nasal and chest congestion. I had some major sinus pressure the past couple of days, and didn't feel like doing much of anything, especially not writing. I felt so crappy yesterday that I didn't care one way or the other that it was Valentine's Day, a day that I usually try to ignore anyway. Getting some sinus medicine has definitely made life more bearable.