Holding Myself Back

I try not to hold grudges in my life. I'm generally of the mindset that life is too short to stay really mad at people. I don't get that trait from my mother though. We attended a wedding this weekend, where the bride's uncle refused to come because he felt as though he had been slighted by the family a few years back. This man (my uncle as well) is frequently belittled by the rest of the family for his absences and selfishness. At a previous cousin's wedding in April, my uncle showed up, only to conspicuously leave before the reception started.

At any rate, much of this weekend's conversation centered around him, including my mother's statement that after my grandmother passes away, we'll "never have a reason to speak to him again."

This is her OLDER BROTHER, the only completely pure-blood relative she has in the family, due to remarriages and step-families. And she has officially decided that he will be fully cut out of her life when her mother passes away. I can't imagine reaching that decision about someone.

However...

I'm supposed to play in my former office's softball game tonight. It's our league semifinal, I've played in every game so far this season, despite the fact I no longer work there. I found out today that my former manager will be in attendance tonight, something about showing unity for the office, since she's #2 in charge. I haven't seen or talked to her since my dismissal. As such, I'm likely to skip the game.

I just don't want to deal with her. This is a woman with whom I had a social relationship (not like that!) for over 10 years before I worked with her. When I was released, she made no effort to explain it to me, or apologize for how it came to happen. I just don't want to sit there and sulk all night, or try to be avoiding her (difficult when there are only 18 people there). I think it is for the best.

Isn't it?

Is This Where I Reach "Old Maid" Status?

Yesterday, my cell phone buzzed in my pocket. As I pulled it out, I saw an area code and number I didn't recognize. Sprint- helpful as they are, informed me the number was from Missouri. I'm one of those people who screens their calls, so I let it roll to voicemail.

"Hey PRSlaveDC,

This is Uncle S in Kansas City, I want you to write this phone number down. 816-XXX-XXXX. Her name is Jane Doe, and she just moved to DC. She's from Kansas City, and her dad is good friends with me. She's a great girl. I think she went to college in Amherst or Vermont or somewhere up there, I don't remember.

I don't know if you're seeing anyone, but I thought you two should hang out. She's really a great girl. Anyway, again, hope you're doing well, and give her a call... unless you're already with someone, but just in case, call her. Talk to you soon."

Uncle S is someone I see once a year, tops... we talk on the phone, approximately half that often. I didn't even know he had my phone number.

Now the key questions:

1) Did this girl get a similar message from her father? (I doubt it.)
2) Does she even know that she's being pimped out from across the Mississippi River? (I really doubt it.)
3) In the unlikely event that she did get a similar message, what could possibly have been said to make me sound worthy of calling? (I don't even want to imagine.)

So for the record, I will not be calling this young lady, although I'm sure she's charming and lovely, and went to a New England college (maybe). But, am I reaching the age where I should start expecting my relatives and friends to offer to set me up with complete strangers for no apparent reason other than "You're both single?

Can I go back to being 22 again?

The Jock, the Princess, the Criminal, the Basket Case, and the Brain...

I was recently filling out a job application that asked the following question:

What are the dominating youth cultures present in America today that could be used to describe groups of high school students?

I struggled with the question for a while before throwing it to a couple friends, who helped me decide that they were looking for a list of stereotypical groups to typecast teenagers in. As such my answer consisted of:

Band Members
Gamers
Hip Hop Nation
Indie Rockers
Jocks
Nerds
Punks/Skaters

I realize this list isn't close to comprehensive, after all, where would you put the popular girls from "Mean Girls"? Or how many kids fall into the category of more than one of those groups? And I'm sure there's about 15 other possible categories I could have created, but I really struggled to define the lines between them.

If this question were thrown at you, what groups would you have added? Where would you have classified your high school self?

I'm quite confident that I was a definite "nerd" in HS. I went to college during my summers to take academic classes, I never hung out with the ultra-cool clique, I quit the band after freshman year, and while I played a few sports, I wasn't the guy rocking the sweet letterman's jacket.

Anyway, I guess I could always just have stolen John Hughes' response... maybe if it gets asked in an interview.

Is "Badassery" a Word?

Just came back from a matinee show of Transformers. Not going to spoil it for anyone, but I will say this...

That was fun... Michael Bay knows how to blow sh*t up!

First movie to make me feel like a giddy 12 year old in a long time!