The Incredibly Long Song Survey (Thanks Kim/Dee)

Day 01 - Your favourite song 

- Fix You by Coldplay

Everybody has different criteria for judging a song. For me, first it needs to sound good. That'll get you something that you can listen to (anything with good production value can fall into here). Second you need good writing, that'll keep the song with you longer than then a 4 week run with the flavour of the day (ie, By the Way by RHCP). If you have those two things, you have a pretty good song. But to get a great song, it needs to be relatable, I have to feel some sort of emotional connection to the content of the lyrics (ie, Wonderwall by Oasis). Favourite song? It's got to hit you like an emotional sledgehammer to the face! But it also has to be complex and layered conceptually. For me it became a toss up between the haunting sadness to positive uprising of Fix You by Coldplay and rawness and simplicity of Hurt by Johnny Cash. 

Fix You won barely by a hair. When I first heard the song, not even half way through the song, I was blown away. You start with the haunting church organ solo, layered with lyrics about failure, sadness, isolation and despair. Break into the delicate piano solo work with lyrics about recovery and retrospect. This is followed by building uprising guitar solo, the climax crashing into play with huge drums and the return of both the piano and organ of previous. 

Day 02 - Your least favourite song

- Waving Flag by K'Naan

To me, this song is the most overplayed song of recent. Also at what point did we celebrate the crappiest grammar ever?

Day 03 - A song that makes you happy

- Stay (Wasting Time) by Dave Matthews Band

It's just a song about chilling and having a good time. And it's peppy. And it's got acoustic guitar. And it's got sax And it's got gospel background vocals. Now that's a feel good song.

Day 04 - A song that makes you sad 

- Hurt by Johnny Cash

This song is almost my favourite song, it's so incredibly raw and powerful. It's simple and minimalistic, got an acoustic guitar and Johnny Cash, that's all you really need. The words of retrospect and regret are poetic, but to the point. It goes right after you and just grabs you by the heart. "I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel, I focus on the pain, the only that's real." I mean c'mon, how much more gut wrenching do you want. The song is incredibly sad on it's own. But the music video is so much sadder. And if you know about Johnny Cash, it's even more so.

Day 05 - A song that reminds you of someone - Fix You by Coldplay

Day 06 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere 

- Who Let the Dogs Out by Baha Men

Every time we go on vacation in the Caribbean, this seems to play at least once.

Day 07 - A song that reminds you of a certain event 

- Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden

This was the big slow song when we had prom. When I hear it, it's like I'm 18, wearing a suit and slow dancing with Gloria from art class all over again.

Day 08 - A song that you know all the words to 

- N/A

I seriously don't know ALL the words to any song. I have a pretty bad memory when it comes to songs. There are a few songs where I know most of the words, but not all. 

Day 09 - A song that you can dance to 

- Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough by Michael Jackson

There are certainly newer songs that are danceable, but this one for me is the classic. Whenever I hear it, it makes me want to dance, although it is a very sad sight to see. :P 

Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep

- Red Dust by Zero 7

It's just super chill, if you haven't, listen to Zero 7's album Simple Things. Even if you don't like acid jazz or what I'd rather call mellow techno (St Germain, Theivery Corp, etc...), it's AWESOME. It's great for a road trip, it's great for a dinner party, it's great to fall asleep to, it's that good.

Day 11 - A song from your favourite band

- Grey Street by Dave Matthews Band

Favourite band was a tough one. I know most of Coldplay's collection and the first three Oasis albums will always be classic, but I went with Dave Matthews Band. Now it's coming down to the favourite "band", not to be confused with the "music". Chris Martin's "half diva/half grouchy genius recluse" act has worn on me and their OxFam stuff, while I hope it does some good, they're becoming too much like Bono/U2. And not in a good way, for anybody who knows my thoughts on Bono (if you don't, I think he's an egomaniacal douchebag, wrapped in some philanthropy). Oasis' infighting has always caused turmoil. Liam is a big jerk, plain and simple. He's a hooligan who's lucky that he's got some musical talent, and an even more talented songwriting brother, Noel.

That leaves us with Dave Matthews Band. They got together with an appreciation for each others' musical talents in Virginia, playing in local bars. They float their live concert recordings on the internet for free. They're a mix of rock, country, folk and jazz. Nobody sounds like them, literally nobody. Their musicianship and arrangements at their live shows are complicated and always on point. Their concerts are huge parties, people dancing all through the aisles. They're all about the music, you just don't find that anymore. A cult following built from the grassroots. No marketing push, no flashy music videos, no crazy dance numbers, no fluff. Because of that, they're my favourite band.  

Day 12 - A song from a band you hate 

- Don't 'Cha by Pussycat Dolls

They're not even a real singing group. Nicole is the only one that sings! The rest are juts glorified back up dancers! Are they even a real group or something manufactured by a marketing machine. I'm guessing it's the latter. They have no aspects of burlesque, from the original Vegas show.

Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure 

- Bad Romance by Lady Gaga

Okay so I know people out there have mad Lady Gaga love, I'm not really one of them. She's crazy creative, to the point of way out there (yes, I mean you dress made out of raw meat). But her songs are incredibly catchy, but Bad Romance is more than that, it actually has some pretty good lyrics.

Day 14 - A song that no one would expect you to love

- Viva Forever by Spice Girls

That's right, Spice Girls! As shallow as their song writing was at first, I found their later stuff got much better, not that they wrote any of it themselves most likely. And unlike Britney Spears, they can pull off some sincerity.

Day 15 - A song that describes you

- Fire by Franz Ferdinand

From what I hear, I'm a pretty super intense guy, a person of extremes. If I get angry, it's super angry. If I'm into a hobby, I get obsessed. My ex gf thought this song was perfect for me, and I guess she's as good a source as anybody could be.

Day 16 - A song that you used to love but now hate

- Waiting for Tonight by J-Lo

At first, I thought insanely catchy and danceble. Now I think no vocal range and sparse lyrics. J-Lo, I think you're a charismatic performer, but purely as a singer, you suck.

Day 17 - A song that you hear often on the radio 

- Rolling in the Deep by Adele

Though I'm sure this will change soon, it's what's hot right now. It helps that the song is AMAZING, so I'm just enjoying it until it becomes overplayed.

Day 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio 

- Carolina by Matt Wertz

Really any song by Matt Wertz. I've never heard him on the radio, but his live cd is one of my favourite albums of all time. I'd describe him as a west coast, goofier version of John Mayer. I kind of feel like he could develop a following if he'd just get a chance.

Day 19 - A song from your favourite album

- Clocks by Coldplay

It's not my favourite song off of Rush of Blood to the Head, but it's the most catchy, and arguably the most recognizable. I have yet to find another album, where songs 1-5 are awesome, right off the bat. I usually skip Daylight and A Whisper. Green Eyes has grown on me over time. But all the rest of the songs, in my mind, are downright amazing. 

Day 20 - A song that you listen to when you're angry 

- Fire by Franz Ferdinand

It's pretty intense, I guess I've heard that I'm that way. And when an ex-girlfriend thinks it's a perfect theme song for you, I guess it's coming from a pretty good source.

Day 21 - A song that you listen to when you're happy 

- Panther Dash by Go!Team

Actually it's more like their entire album Thunder!Lightning!Strike! it's hard to define, I guess it's like bobbity, funky, high school marching band, electronic, with a sprinkle of hip hop. And it's super contagious, at least for me it is. 

Day 22 - A song that you listen to when you're sad 

- Stop Crying Your Heart Out by Oasis

I look at this song as the things will get better song. It's sad, but it has an uplifting message, I think it's the perfect song for when you're sad about something it's exactly what you need to hear. 

Day 23 - A song that you want to play at your wedding

- Flowers in the Window by Travis

It talks (to me anyway) about a guy whose life is kinda blah, until he meets this woman. Then the song is kind of a lyrical journey of their relationship. It goes "Wow look at us now, Flowers in the window,

It's such a lovely day, And I'm glad you feel the same, Cause to stand up, out in the crowd, You are one in a million, And I love you so, Lets watch the flowers grow". That sounds about right to me how it should be.

Day 24 - A song that you want to play at your funeral 

- Don't Look Back in Anger by Oasis

I just think it's a good way to look at life in general. Think it's a good send off message, and hope that I feel that way when the end comes.

Day 25 - A song that makes you laugh

- Fuck You by Cee-Lo

The song is catchy, the vocals are great. But the lyrics are the thing that really shine. The story and the wording used is just perfect. It's self deprecating, rebellious, but most of all, they're funny.

Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument 

- N/A

I can't play anything! Boooooooo! I wish I could play guitar though.

Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play

- Wonderwall by Oasis

My favourite song by one of my favourite bands. I have no idea what a Wonderwall is, but that guitar hook right at the beginning is so catchy and recognizable. After about 3-5 cords, you instantly know what's coming soon. "Today's gonna be the day..."

Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty

- The Other Man by Sloan

Unfortunately, yeah I've been that guy. Not exactly, but fairly close. This song just about sums up all the feelings that come with it.

Day 29 - A song from your childhood 

- Billie Jean by Michael Jackson

Despite his later accusations of child molestation, he was it when it came to music growing up. The music video with the glowing street tiles was so cool. Then there was the fedora throw, the sparkle glove and of course the moonwalk.

Day 30 - Your favourite song at this time last year 

- How You Like Me Now? by The Heavy

I found out about the song on Esquire's list of songs from the SXSW festival last year. Before you know it, their song is on a commercial for Buick, the US Open tennis tournament and the opening song for the Oscar nominated movie The Fighter. 

Day 31 - Favourite new song 

- Smash It by Martin Solveig

I'm going through a techno period right now. I loved his big single Hello with Dragonette earlier this year, but this song is so much better.

Day 32 - Favourite old song 

- Hey Jude by The Beatles

I'm more of a late era Beatles fan, their work is much more complex, particularly in concept and lyrical content. I think Hey Jude shows their range (in all ways) off very well, delicate and solemn at the beginning, to a rollicking, shout out loud ending.

Day 33 - Favourite music video

- Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai

Just one man dancing in this futuristic, minimalistic room singing. And the ENTIRE room moves around with him! Also the lyrics and his Steve Wonder-like voice are really good too.

Day 34 - A song you like to sing

Day 35 - Song you hate by a band you love

- Swallowed by the Sea by Coldplay

It's slow, it's boring and I have no idea what this song is about. On my iTunes, it's the only song by them that I have skipped EVERYTIME. I literally have not listened to it once. I think this is one of Chris Martin's attempts to come off being clever, but it's a complete dud. Stop pulling these Bono-ish moves! At least it's not Discotheque...

Day 36 - Favourite song for lyrics

Day 37 - Favourite song to hear live

Day 38 - Favourite cover song

- God Put a Smile on Your Face by Mark Ronson

This British DJ takes out all the vocals, and arranges the entire instrumental with a brass section. Speed up the tempo and re-styled into an improve upbeat jazz party, it's good stuff!

Day 39 - Favourite song by a band you hate

* This list has been a work in progress since June/July 2011, some things may not be accurate anymore. For instance, Adele is not played on the radio nearly as much now. I'd probably replace it with Foster the People

You Never Know Where the Day/Night Will Take You

So far I'm about 2/3 of the way through the long weekend of what you could call the unofficial end of summer. I have to say the first 1/3 was EPIC. I don't like using that word because it's so trendy, overhyped and exaggeratory, but it seriously was. After beach volleyball yesterday, the plan was pretty much to come home.

It started raining slightly around 4 in the afternoon and people wanted to pack up. My thought was, what a bunch of wimps! So we packed up the nets and then it stopped raining! I was like WTF! Then one of the girls in the group said she has a bbq to go to. We were all like okay, then she invited all 5 of us to come along! I was a little apprehensive, as I don't really know people from volleyball that well. I see them maybe twice a week for the last month or two. Plus we're all sweaty and sandy and stuff, and just all crashed this strangers place, it seemed awkward. Though it did help that one guy in the group had a photo of her, and she was gorgeous! I was getting pumped for the idea, but wasn't sure a stranger would just let a bunch of people come by in 15 minutes. Surprisingly, she was super inviting and said all of us could come over!

So we piled up into two cars then made a beeline to No Frills and LCBO. At No Frills we were wandering around with the idea of just picking up burgers and chips, and I'm like, "why don't we make stuff?". So we bought ground beef and a ton of veggies, I decided I would make salsa and guacamole, it's fast, easy, healthy and fresh. Also got ingredients to make a tex-mex burger. One person gathered ingredients to make a Greek salad and before you know it, it was on! $150 later, we had a pile of food and alcohol and took off to this girl's place. We get there, and she was so awesome and friendly, and she was baking chocolate chip cookies, awesome! We got right to the kitchen, got some drinks and went away to work. Then while we were there, her roommates started coming home. Two young French (Parisian, not Quebecois) couples came home (the girls, again super hot), then saw a whole kitchen full of strangers cooking. So what do they do? They start baking a chocolate cake!

An hour or two later, we have this gigantic spread and about 20 people just chilling, having a good time. I stopped drinking and people are like, why aren't you drinking? I said I had to drive and give people rides home. They're like, you're not driving home, you guys are crashing here, then put a beer in my hand. OMG, only getting better! The drinking games start and we all get to know each other better, but of course the questions are all sexual in nature. Funny how much you learn about people in an hour of Q&A. By this time it's around 2 in the morning, what do we do? Start breaking out some tunes for karaoke party! Then another roommate comes home who is a bartender, and she's gorgeous too! And she's got this amazing Irish accent. After a long day of work, what does she do? All of a sudden I hear "Who wants margaritas?!" By this time it must be round 4 or 5 of drinking. The margaritas were refreshing. So we are singing classic songs, and the bartender, we said she can join us only if she sings. She says she can sing a bit. Then she starts belting out U2 all of a sudden, super powerful pitch perfect voice! WTF!!! Apparently she was a classically trained opera singer, and was a finalist in the European Union's version of American Idol. OMG!!! We had quite a few sing-a-longs, and it died down for a bit.

It's about 3:30 in the morning now. We check the weather for volleyball the next day, it's suppose to rain at 10. What should we do? How about lets go to the beach at 6 in the morning?!?! Sure! What do we do until then? The host sits at the piano, and starts play Les Miserables! And the bartender pulls up beside her and starts singing the songs!!!

After an hour of another amazing performances, the night winds down to the special bonding moments. We've drank ALL the liquor available in the house and pretty loose. We start talking about life, relationships, all the big stuff. Awwwwwwwwwww...

It's 5:30 in the morning, and it's close to volleyball time, but people are getting tired. Time for some coffee and then a nap. Little do we know, a little bit later, one of the girls from volleyball leaves the house and just takes off! WTF?!?!?! We find out from the host, that this isn't the first time she's done this. People have had no sleep and a couple of her friends start freaking out.

6 in the morning we pile up in my car and drive around the neighbourhood looking for this girl. This night took a huge downward swing all of a sudden. After an hour of driving home, we give up and come back. Some people just end up passing out. The host and I are too mentally wired to go to sleep, so we clean the entire first floor. After working off the tension, but still worried. we both go for a nap at around 8:30 am.

11:30 hits and somebody has finally received a phone call about the girl who took off! Where did she go? She went home because of her contact lenses!!! WTF?!?!?! And she didn't understand why we were worried at all! No apology, nothing! We were all pretty grumpy about that. Then guess what, she wants to play volleyball! None of us were in the mood to talk to her let alone play volleyball. She had gone home, had her 5 hours of sleep, while the rest of us were running around frantic getting 2-3 hours of barely restful naps.

I'm like "I'm hungry, screw this", So I get some of the left over ingredients from the night before and made everybody grilled cheese sandwiches and omelettes. Somebody else was the barista making coffees for all. This guy was our DJ for the morning and busts out what of all things? Shakira. Oh man, he didn't read the crowd right at all. :P People were getting agitated, he quickly switched to Thievery Corporation and all was right. We all sat and ate breakfast together, and while the last few hours were stressful, we had all bonded. People who I had just met 18 hours before, others who I've spent maybe two or three saturdays with, all of a sudden we had all these shared memories and inside jokes.

Finally made it back to my place, the next day around 3 in the afternoon. Half of my long weekend gone, with half to go. I had never expected it to be as eventful as it was, let alone for it to take all the twists and turns that it did. In the end, it was the most awesome time I've had in a really long time.

I'll remember the following:
"Exploding Elbow Bumps", "The Dream", "The Eiffel Tower", High five poses, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Vodka with Water and Lemon, Margaritas, "Yeah Buddy!", "Single is awesome", "Pictures are awesome", amongst many other things

Okay time to catch up on some sleep.

The Meaning of Life (Maybe)

*** This post is actually from June that I never got around to posting

Never really thought I'd be thinking of this concept until I was "older". But I've been thinking about it lately, does that mean I'm "older" now?

Anyway, here's how the thought process has gone so far. At first I was thinking, what is it exactly I want to accomplish. It's a pretty broad question, there are so many areas in life, so the list could be fairly large. From there I guess I broke down life into blocks, very much in the "Up in the Air" manner. You have social (family/friends), pursuits (work/interests), material (stuff you want to obtain) and oneself (personal growth). I kinda of skimmed through this fairly casually, but I'm meaning to actually write a list down in more detail. Though another thought kind of stopped me from doing so earlier.

This thought was, what is it that makes me happy or will make me happy. Will accomplishing any of these things make me happy? Then I started thinking, are these things that I want, or goals or expectations that outside forces (other people, society as a whole, etc...) want for me? Perhaps I will feel a sense of accomplishment, but joy and accomplishment are two different things that don't always go hand in hand, and I guess can be easily confused.

Then from there it became about a definition of happiness. I guess there are many ways to happy, not just this bursting excitement. For example, I am happy that I have somewhere to live, but it's not something I celebrate. I suppose there's a happiness based on contentment, relaxation and security.

But maybe I'm over complicating things. Maybe it really all comes down to the present moment in time. Am I happy doing what I'm doing right now? I guess I figure a whole bunch of small happy moments together would culminate into general happiness over a long period of time.

My Type

Having an interesting discussion with my boss (who is female) today at the office. It's kind of a slow day, so we were talking about attraction. We were comparing photos of two girls, one who I find attractive, and one that I don't. To me, there's a huge difference. To my surprise, my boss actually found the other girl to be more attractive! Not only that, she found that there to be little difference between their levels of attractiveness. To put it mildly, I was shocked. There was a girl who use to work for our major client that I had a HUGE crush on. My boss knows about it, she told me that she never understood what I saw in her.

From here, we started to dissect people's features, common threads amongst people we found attractive. It was interesting, because we both looked for very different features. My boss was all about the bone structure and skin tone. Where I was more about the eyes and smile. Her argument was that you could always put make up on a girl, but you need a structure underneath, and that most girls wore make up anyway. I said that I want a girl that I find attractive without make up, because most of the time if you're at home, the girl isn't going to be wearing make up.

Whenever people ask me what my type is, I usually say the girl next door type. But after our conversation, I guess it got even narrower. This isn't to say I wouldn't stray from these features, but I guess they are what I find ideally attractive.

I guess our findings were that I like a girl that is more on the cute, fresh faced, girl next door type. :P My boss called it the youthful wholesome type. Larger eyes, full lips, rounder cheeks, pointy chin. I thought about it for awhile, then compared those features to people I found attractive, and it sounded about right. Reese Witherspoon, Keri Russell, Anne Hathaway, it kind of all came together! Weirdness.

Things You're Never Too Old For - Part 1

I always saw graduating university and having a "real" job as being benchmarks of adulthood. In hindsight, this couldn't be further from the truth. However since then, I found myself still enjoying things that I did in my youth. I remember once I asked a friend of mine who is four years older than myself, if it ever stops. He said no, at first you try to deny yourself, thinking that you've outgrown things or should be too mature to participate in such things, but eventually you will relent and succumb to the fact that it's just part of you.

1) Checking Out Girls

This particular thing is the example from the story above. While I am not as bad as I use to be when I was in my teens, it still happens. After polling different guys, it is an activity that was universal amongst all ages. My boss put it this way "The day I stop checking out women, is the day I die". Sounds about right.

2) Saturday Morning Cartoons

This one might be specific to me, but I'll still put the tv on teletoon on Saturday mornings if I'm home with a bowl of cereal and watch Teen Titans, Clone Wars or Amazing Spider Man. Sure the jokes can be cheese sometimes, but regardless the format, the stories are still the stories. And I would much rather be caught watching Dexter's Laboratory than something like Laguna Beach.

3) Celebrity Crushes

This was almost every guy's obsession when I was in high school. Who was the current hottest celebrity out there. At the time the majority chose Jennifer Aniston, though I was more of a Courtney Cox fan, I eventually switched over, the Rachel hairdo got me, her initial haircut on Friends was terrible (seriously, watch the first season, WTF was that). Over the years it's changed as celebrities' fame comes and goes. 

I think it's important to have these celebrity crushes. Now before you laugh at me, hear me out. Of course we have no idea what that person is actually like, but it doesn't really matter, it has nothing to do with reality. Having a celebrity crush is like having that impossible dream that one aspires to. If one does not aspire to hope and dream, then what does one have to look forward to?

BTW, My one of current is Zooey Deschanel. She can act, she can sing, her blog is funny, has an almost equally hot older sister and she speaks French. Damn you Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie), you are one lucky ass dude.

4) Candy

I don't mean "desserts" or junk food, I mean candy. You know, the stuff you ate as a kid that you probably rarely eat now, that's probably nothing more than food colouring and sugar. A few years ago I had pop rocks after not having them for years. It was awesome! Some other favourites include Popeye sticks (admit it, you pretended to smoke too!), Nerds and Fuzzy Peaches/Swedish Berries. I haven't had any of these in a few years, but on the rare occasion that I do, it's good stuff.

5) Playing in the Sand

I was sitting on the beach the other day, waiting for a beach volleyball game to finish. Sub consciously I just started running my hands through the sand. Picking it up and piling it it's a little mound, then flattening it and starting over again. Sometimes I'll just start making random sketches in the sand. I saw some kids making sand castles, I didn't tell anybody, but I wanted to join them! It looked like so much fun!

6) Blasting Music Really Loud and Singing Along

Growing up, everybody in our house woke up and got ready for the day at the same time. My dad use to play his music so loud that it seemed the walls were shaking from the Calypso music of the Mighty Sparrow. Eventually my brother would blast whatever the Hip Hop choice of the day was. From my room would be some form of Alt Rock. Walking in the hallway upstairs, you would be bombarded with three sources of music.

Now that I live on my own, I still do that every morning. And if my dad could do it well into middle age, I don't see why I still can't either.

Summer 2011 Update

Okay so it's been quite a long time since I've written one of these. I've been meaning to for awhile, but haven't really had the time. I guess here's a quick rundown

1) Beach Volleyball
I've always liked playing volleyball, but never really had the time for it. But I was so sick and tired of doing the same thing, that it was time (actually way overdue) to mix things up. I haven't met a whole new group of people where I didn't know anybody for a really long time. It's quite an intimidating situation to be in. I figured I'll try it once, if it's terrible, then what's the big deal, it's only one night. The people were really cool and now I'm doing it a few times a week. The people are way better than the people at badminton. Okay that's not really true, it's more that they're different. I mean a whole bunch of asian guys sitting around a gym, yeah you guys are cool and all, but it's no beach full of a variety of people. On that note...

2) No More Badminton
Oh man, I can't begin to describe how sick of badminton I am. While I owe plenty to the sport, I just can't keep playing. Maybe in the winter I will change my mind, but there's only so much you can talk about with middle aged people or fresh grads/students.

3) Goodbye Internet Dating
Yeah, I'm done with that I think for awhile. I admit that I did try it just once recently with mediocre results, but since the spring, I've decided to give it a rest. I really don't think it's for me. There's just something unnatural about meeting somebody from a dating site. For those who it has worked for, congratulations to you, but it's just not for me.

4) Hello Real World Dating
So this is a new one. On a few occasions is "real life", I've encountered women who I've struck up a conversation with. But I have yet to pull the trigger on actually asking for a phone number or a date. I know I have to make this leap for it to actually go anywhere, but for now I'm satisfied with baby steps. Not so new discovery, the supermarket is an awesome place to meet people.

5) It's like 90210/Melrose Place/The OC/Dawson's Creek
Jumping into new social circles comes with its variety of situations. It's an interesting perspective as an outsider, you get to observe and see people interact. What relationships are what, how people are and perhaps what their intentions might be. My guess is that most people are single, because if you're not, how would you have the time to spend 3-4 nights at the beach? Plus you see it in the interactions, people are trying to pick up other people, some are more obvious than others. You can tell who isn't single, because you see them with much less frequency. It's like a real life soap opera.

6) Dating With Kids
On more than one occasion now, I've encountered women with kids. They were very interesting, and we had a great time talking, but once the "K" word came along, dum dum dum! I'm still not sure what to do with this one. I really am not in a stage in my life where I can see jumping into daddy mode anytime soon. And it would be very unfair to sell that to somebody. But I can't help but think to myself whether or not I might be missing out on somebody who could be amazing.

7) Politics/Power Tripping
This jump into a new social circle has also made me see again how the world is made up of different people. I'm completely surprised by the amount of politics there are in the beach volleyball scene. It really brings out the not so hidden agendas of people.

It's like using the ownership of the beach vball net as a form of social currency. First of all, I get that it's your net and it's really up to you how things are run, but the power trip that goes along with it isn't necessary. Doesn't make you fucking king of the world. Second of all, girls fall for this shit? If so, then as a gender, you're not "smarter" than how it is sometimes portrayed.

Then of course there are the suck ups, the peons, the minions, it's retarded. I'm completely blown away how quickly somebody is willing to kiss ass.

8) Priority Shakedown
I really do believe in life going in close to 5 year cycles, where there's a huge transition based on changing situations and needs/priorities. When I first started this blog, I think I wrote that I felt as if I was right at the beginning of a new one. I can see how it's changing in other people as well. I find myself talking less with my best friend. I'm pretty sure a lot of that has to do with our differing priorities and viewpoints on things. For the last few months, he's been complaining to me about how the guys in his group of friends (whom a couple have become my friends), have been drifting away. So for awhile I felt bad about it, but at the same time I'm also not sorry either.

Recently I've taken up golfing with a bunch of them, spending 4 hours on a course with people, you get to know them pretty well. And I've kind of come up with what's been happening. People are growing and changing, all going through that shift around the same time, but in different ways. This made me feel better for a couple reasons.

First is that, it's that everybody is changing, and it's not on purpose that people are drifting apart. It just happens, and there's nothing wrong with that. Then once everybody settles, then your social situation realigns to other people who are in the same boat. It only makes sense.

Second is that it's up to each individual to choose whether to move on, or to complain. Nobody is going to be sorry that their lives are changing, nor should they have to.

Sidestepping Darwin

In Darwin's Origin of Species, the strongest survive. You ever get the feeling that our society has become so overwrought with our political correctness and sensitivity, that we're somehow overriding nature? It's as if we're trying to accommodate the lowest of the low. On a large scale, social services such as welfare gets abused by the lazy. Kids are "not allowed" to fail a grade in elementary school, as not to hurt their fragile self-esteem. On a small scale, it seems like we have warning signs for every little tiny thing. May as well have a disclaimer on paper saying "careful of edges, may cause papercuts".

Because of this, we allow the weakest to survive at the cost of the greater society. Middle and upper class have to pull up the weight of the stragglers, common sense needs to be pointed out as to make sure that even the most intellectually devoid person will not fall into some sort of accident. I was reading an interview with Clint Eastwood a few months ago, where he stated, men use to be a lot tougher. And I really have to agree to an extent, society has made the world such a cushy place. This whole notion of leave nobody behind. Maybe people need to be left behind, in this regard we are circumventing evolution. The human race is in fact getting weaker/stupider in a way by not only allowing the weak to survive, but to reproduce!

Here's an example, everybody now knows that smoking is unhealthy, we plaster HUGE warnings and spend tens of millions on commercials. Trust me, we got the message. Yet people still do it, and it's not as if the warnings didn't get to them, especially in this information driven age. I say, let them puff their fuckin lungs out. Then of course they get lung cancer or some shit that I have to pay my taxes into OHIP because they didn't "listen"? WTF is that?

Socialism/communism exists as a utopian concept, in real world practice it would never work, yet we're moving closer and closer towards this. It is always taken advantage of by corruption of the administration and by the weakest links being dragged along. It also has a way of creating a malaise amongst its working class, as performance has no bearing as to the reward.

In school, I'd do fairly well, what I didn't understand was that there were kids that would fail everything miserably, whether due to disinterest or lack of ability. I'm not saying they're useless, but this is just not their area of strength, which is fine. But what would really get me is how year after year, they get passed through. Now as an adult, things like this bug me even more. So the same people (perhaps), I now have to pay inflated taxes, not only to make sure the slackers are taken care of. My "income" is now also going to fund the education of kids who have no desire at all to be there, or even worse, to distract and take away educational value from kids who actually do? To top it all off, to pad the wallets of the politicians, to whom the best of my knowledge, are as corrupt as they come?