Tuesday, February 26, 2019

He Don't Even Know! - Thank You For the Music


Meet "George"
I fell in love with him because of his spontaneity!
He's always whisking me away on
sudden adventures
and always says what he thinks & feels.
I love it!

In this moment,
a song popped into his head.
He just took a seat on the sidewalk on Hollywood Boulevard
and sang away.
He made a few dollars, 
from passers-by
which spent on Vanilla Lattes, later.

The only bad thing is
he also expresses his sexual desires
anytime and anywhere!
So, sometimes
the song we're singing
is coming from behind a parked car 
or large cardboard cutout of  the cast of 
MAMMA MIA 2!

So, George, 
Thank you for the music 
and the song we're singing.

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

This Is Why I Am Single- Guest Column


One day, recently, I was on that Facebook contraption and I happened upon my friend George Unda's post, (He's an honorary DAB - Die Alone Buddy).  I thought, while I read it, that this is quite dead-on with the spirit of DieAloneWithMe.Com. and I think may help some of y'all that might be going through stuff.  In order to not be a spoiler, I will simply get to it.

George writes:

In my adult life, I’ve only had two mentionable relationships.

My first that lasted 13 years. (17 to 30)
My second that lasted a little under 2 years (30 - 31) But remained intimate friends for a total of 6 years.

While both were polar opposites on the surface, the deep kernel proved to me the they were very much alike in the dynamics that make us functional/dysfunctional.

My first was hypersexual, while my second was practically non-sexual.

My first was impulsive, crass, chaotic and fun, while my second was erudite, methodical and tightly-wound.

Both were intense in demonstrating intimacy and compassion, but both always ONLY did this on their terms and their way.

Both were incredibly self-observed, and lacked empathy and compassion when things weren’t about them. And both had a visceral cruelty and callousness when things finally didn’t serve their benefit.

Both, as I’ve come to understand now, are narcissists.

At first, this realization hit me hard. Feelings of resentment were mixed with feelings or realization and relief. And when I finally understood the correlation to my romantic choices in life, I came to discover something incredibly deep about myself:

I picked these men, not out of love, but our of familiarity for the man in my life that acted the same way. My father.

I became my mother, whom had/has spent all her life trying to fulfill the recognition of a man that barely gave her any.

My sister has done the same thing with her toxic and abusive husband, whom this very day has been the crux of our family dissolve.

So it was at the very moment that I discovered my tendency to search out “LOVE” in men that are so easily attractable, and so charismatic in getting you in their grasp when they want, but can flip on you like a light switch with little to no remorse, that was when I KNEW, that my happiness can and forever WILL only come from ME.

That knowledge, while complex and deeply seated in behaviors and traumas that will take years to re-direct, will and has allowed me to have the perspective of what real love is.

That is why it is SO much better to be single, respectable and on your own, than coupled, but very much alone.

My advice to you all this Valentine’s Day is, respect yourselves. All you single and coupled alike.

For those of you coupled and living a lie, and fearing loneliness, understand that breaking that fear of rejection and loneliness will give you new life, strength and happiness in the end.

And for those of you, single, depressed and alone, remember that you’re not alone. Your integrity is secured. Your value, intact. And you will neither sacrifice those or yourself for a lie, not until you are at peace to find true love, without rush, without desperation, simply out of blithe happenstance.

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

This Is Why I Am Single - Craft Night 2019 - The Cards


This Is Why I Am Single; I would prefer to stay in on a Saturday and craft Valentines for nobody with friends, than go out and look for love (And somebody to give a Valentine to.)

I think I've been doing Craft Night for 13 years and it's grown into a lovely tradition for many folk and I'm glad to do it.  Aside from the therapeutic elements, like cutting out shapes and exercising the creative part of our brains, it is a great opportunity to see friends, catch up and laugh.  Unfortunately, the actual event can get a bit crowded and I get busy playing host and making sure that everyone is taken care of with materials, drink & stuff, so I don't get to actually craft much during.  I sometimes craft a little before, if I'm set up early and I always craft for a few days after, as I slowly tear down the set up.  That said, sometimes I'm struck with inspiration and I must sit down next to a pal and knock one out.  Once in a while I'll make a naughty card, but lately I've been trying to craft clean, because if I do actually send out a card, it'll be to my Ma- and she don't need no naughty card. 

This year, I was fairly clean:



Those aren't really suited for my Ma, so I went with one I made last year:

It's clean & simple, mayhaps a little elegant?

Anyway, while I have been moving toward cleaning up mu act, it seems everyone else has taken the challenge of seeing how naughty they can get!  The naughty ranges from a little innuendo to straight on pornographic.  ...so much so, I wonder if I can actually post them here...
What do you think?

 Jared 


 Dudley


 Kevin


 Mike


 Barbara


 I'm not Sure


 Mike


 Glenn


 Dudley


 Natalie


 Mine


 Dudley



You can see the much naughtier ones here

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

This Is Why I Am Single - Craft Night 2019 - The Guests


Yes, it's that time of year; the time when couples rub singles' faces into the poop of their own loneliness, Valentine's Day!!  Of course, I had my annual  Craft Night, we I invite a bunch of friends over, we talk, drink, snack and craft Valentine's for people unknown.  This year there was a big rain, so I had a lot of cancellations- but, it was still a great time because with fewer people there than usual, I had more time to actually sit and visit with friends.  Please understand that this event has gone from six people sitting around my dining room table in 2006 to some 60 invited guests darting in and out between 4 pm and 11 pm at my larger dining table, plus two other tables crammed into my living room.  It's tight, but cozy and people usually have a nice time.  Like I said, this year was a little lighter, so I was able to participate, rather than host, more than usual.  I got to make a few Valentines with everyone else, like this one:
 

This Is Why I Am Single: I probably don't invite the guy who's gonna be my husband!  But there's so many people on the guest list already!

I invite so many people because I'd hate to hurt anyone's feelings, or make them think that they were judged lacking in crafting skills and weren't invited back because of it.  It's not true.  It's just that my place is not large and a few moments last year, we almost got to the point where someone had no place to sit.  I thought about creating an annex in my bedroom, but that has since become the photo op place.  take a look:















This isn't everybody who showed, but it's a fair representation...
Anyway, I'm trying to find a solution to my quandary over how to manage my invite list. 
Space wasn't an issue this year, but I can't count on heavy rain in the future. I'm sure I'll figure it out. meanwhile, I'm grateful to have this problem, because while I may be single, I'm not alone...










This last photo features the delicious Bryan Thompson and the sabroso Paolo Andino
notable because Paolo is marking his 10 year anniversary return to Craft Night.

His Previous visit was in 2009 as a guest of muh DAB, Dennis Hensley!  This year, he had his very own invite!
Welcome back Paolo!

2009 FLASHBACK: