Thursday, October 15, 2009

Thursday Night Cop-Out

I promised I would write every day.. Tonight, I. sitting watching TV with my mother.. Her birthday tomorrow.. And she's still as terrific as ever.

So tonight, I will just paste one of my favorite stories about the differences between men and women. If you like what you see, please subscribe as one of my fans.. Send the link to your friends, and let's start a revolution!
Let's say a guy named Roger is attracted to a woman named Elaine. He asks her out to a movie; she accepts; they have a pretty good time. A few nights later he asks her out to dinner, and again they enjoy themselves. They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while neither one of them is seeing anybody else. And then, one evening when they're driving home, a thought occurs to Elaine, and, without really thinking, she says it aloud: ''Do you realize that, as of tonight, we've been seeing each other for exactly six months?'' And then there is silence in the car. To Elaine, it seems like a very loud silence. She thinks to herself: Geez, I wonder if it bothers him that I said that. Maybe he's been feeling confined by our relationship; maybe he thinks I'm trying to push him into some kind of obligation that he doesn't want, or isn't sure of.
And Roger is thinking: Gosh. Six months.
And Elaine is thinking: But, hey, I'm not so sure I want this kind of relationship, either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I'd have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way we are, moving steadily toward . . . I mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy? Are we heading toward marriage? Toward children? Toward a lifetime together? Am I ready for that level of commitment? Do I really even know this person?
And Roger is thinking: . . . so that means it was . . . let's see . . .February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car at the dealer's, which means . . . lemme check the odometer . . . Whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here.
And Elaine is thinking: He's upset. I can see it on his face. Maybe I'm reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our relationship, more intimacy, more commitment; maybe he has sensed -- even before I sensed it -- that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet that's it. That's why he's so reluctant to say anything about his own feelings. He's afraid of being rejected.
And Roger is thinking: And I'm gonna have them look at the transmission again. I don't care what those morons say, it's still not shifting right. And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It's 87 degrees out, and this thing is shifting like a goddamn garbage truck, and I paid those incompetent thieves $600.
And Elaine is thinking: He's angry. And I don't blame him. I'd be angry, too. God, I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but I can't help the way I feel. I'm just not sure.
And Roger is thinking: They'll probably say it's only a 90- day warranty. That's exactly what they're gonna say, the scumballs.
And Elaine is thinking: maybe I'm just too idealistic, waiting for a Knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I'm sitting right next to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy being with, a person I truly do care about, a person who seems to truly care about me. A person who is in pain because of my self-centered, schoolgirl romantic fantasy.

And Roger is thinking: Warranty? They want a warranty? I'll give them a goddamn warranty. I'll take their warranty and stick it right up their......
''Roger,'' Elaine says aloud.


"What?'' says Roger, startled.
''Please don't torture yourself like this,'' she says, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. ''Maybe I should never have . . Oh God, I feel so......'' (She breaks down, sobbing.)
''What?'' says Roger.
''I'm such a fool,'' Elaine sobs. ''I mean, I know there's no knight. I really know that. It's silly. There's no knight, and there's no horse.''
''There's no horse?'' says Roger.
''You think I'm a fool, don't you?'' Elaine says.
''No!'' says Roger, glad to finally know the correct answer.
''It's just that . . . It's that I . . . I need some time,'' Elaine says.
(There is a 15-second pause while Roger, thinking as fast as he can, tries to come up with a safe response. Finally he comes up with one that he thinks might work.)
''Yes,'' he says.
(Elaine, deeply moved, touches his hand.)
''Oh, Roger, do you really feel that way?'' she says.
''What way?'' says Roger.
"That way about time,'' says Elaine.
''Oh,'' says Roger. ''Yes.''
(Elaine turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it involves a horse. At last she speaks.)
''Thank you, Roger,'' she says.
''Thank you,'' says Roger.

Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured soul, and weeps until dawn, whereas when Roger gets back to his place, he opens a bag of Doritos, turns on the TV, and immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a tennis match between two Czechoslovakians he never heard of. A tiny voice in the far recesses of his mind tells him that something major was going on back there in the car, but he is pretty sure there is no way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it's better if he doesn't think about it. (This is also Roger's policy regarding world hunger.)
The next day Elaine will call her closest friend, or perhaps two of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours. In painstaking detail, they will analyze everything she said and everything he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every word, expression, and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every possible ramification. They will continue to discuss this subject, off and on, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never getting bored with it, either.
Meanwhile, Roger, while playing racquetball one day with a mutual friend of his and Elaine's, will pause just before serving, frown, and say: ''Norm, did Elaine ever own a horse?'

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Cold, Cold Wednesday 10/14/09

I promised myself I would write every day.. Today, I am not feeling motivated at all.. and it's only day 2! So, I am taking a break from work to write as much as I can and see where it goes.  Since creative Charlie seems to have gone on vacation, I'll start this blog with my favorite book list... Perhaps I can get some juices flowing, and/or some comments from the many readers.  Just me for now..

My favorite books, In no particular order:
If you are interested in purchasing any of these, I will be adding links shortly,just click on the book title, and you will be directed to Amazon.com.
I will add to this list as I read some more interesting books

  • Atlas Shrugged: "It's about the man who swore he'd stop the world and did." -  Liberator or destroyer? you decide.  If you can get through it, it is a great read. It also comes on CD for you drive time listening pleasiure
  • Parable of a Pipeline: This was a relatively recent read.  A Great Read. I was pleasantly  surprised to see how this book plagiarized my thoughts.. It is a short story about two men, and the power of cash flow vs traditional work.
  • Who Moved My Cheese: About 2 mice - sniff and scurry, and two people named hem and haw.   another very quick read. Essential in recognizing the weird human behavior that we all have
  • Oh, The Places you will go
  • Rich Dad/Poor Dad
  • Four Hour Work Week
  • An Innocent Man: John Ghrisham
  • How to Win Friends, and Influence People
This blog entry sucks, and I plan to add later.. But for now, it works.  I have done what I have committed to do.. day 2 of blog entry completed.. Hopefully, they will become a little more interesting, as time goes on.

Stay tuned for more Blogging tomorrow.

Mannie

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

First Blog - October 13, 2009

I just turned 41, saw the movie Julie & Julia, like to talk, like to write. (Book Someday) I decided to write a blog to get my thoughts out, and not torment my family and friends with listening to me. Enjoy the blog. I will try post daily.

I hope you find the following informative, educational, and not too boring.. This will be free for now for the first 100 Subscribers, after that there will be a nominal weekly subscription fee of $100.00

The first 100, (You know who you are). Are responsible for leaving comments, and letting me know when you'd like to hear more.

Welcome to my blog..

MannieSpeaks again tomorrow..

Mannie