Just how bad can my dating life get?

My last date was in August and lately I am feeling a little bit restless and lonely. I usually hate dating, a fact most of my ex-girlfriends will confirm, but I think I might be ready to meet someone and actually pursue a romantic relationship.

The past few weeks I have spoken with several friends on this topic and many have suggested that I should use an online dating service. I have always rejected this advice because I think using personal ads is for losers but desperate times call for desperate measures.

So tonight I finally break down and decide to join eharmony because I have heard good things about the site and because it has a moral component to it. I spent over an hour answering all 1000 questions for my personality profile only to learn at the end that they have no matches for me. Here is the actually wording from their site:

'Unfortunately, we are not able to make our profiles work for you. Our matching model could not accurately predict with whom you would be best matched. This occurs for about 20% of potential users, so 1 in 5 people simply will not benefit from our service. We hope that you understand, and we regret our inability to provide service for you at this time."

Good grief. Does it get any worse than getting rejected by a dating service? Couldn't they just just take my money and set me up with women who aren't my matches? Are there really
no women for me even in cyberspace?

When I read that I had no matches I actually burst into laughter at my unfortunate predicament. It was either that or break down into tears because even the dreaded world of internet dating can't help me find someone. I mean it's not like my hopes were that high but I at least figured they would try to set me up with somebody. I would have even settled for an unattractive, obnoxious, liberal, high school drop out. Anything would be better than nothing.

I guess the search continues and at least now I can tell all my friends that I tried their advice. Anybody have any other ideas?

A tradition of losing since 1957

Yesterday my brother gave me a free ticket to go the Lions game in Detroit. It was a fun afternoon and I enjoyed spending time with Vince and another buddy of his. The game itself wasn't that much fun. It fact it was painful to watch but I kept staring to see just how bad it was. Kind of like checking out a car accident. I knew Detroit was in for a long day when they fumbled the opening kickoff. They held them to a field goal but it was the closest the Lions would get the rest of the game.

To protest team management many Lions fans wore orange which was the color of the Bengals. It was funny to see so much orange in the stadium. It looked more like a home game for the Bengals instead of the Lions. And actually I would say there probably were more Cincinnati fans than Detroit or it was awfully close. After decades of futility the Bengal fans sure are excited. We'll see how loud they are after a quick exit from the playoffs this year. But at least they are in the playoffs which is more than the Lions can say.

Before the game about 1000 people marched outside the stadium protesting Matt Millen who is the team's general manager. Since he took charge the team has the worst record in the league. It's been 5 straight 10 loss seasons and what do the Lions do but reward him with a contract extension. I read in the media guide that all but three of the players on the Lions roster were brought in directly by Millen so he doesn't have anybody to blame but himself. During the game their were lots of chants to fire Millen and dozens of people holding fire Millen signs or wearing T-shirts in protest. Things got so ugly during the second half that even the Bengal fans started waiving the signs and joining in the fire Millen chant. To learn more about Matt Millen's failures go to http://firemillen.com

If Millen had any self respect he would resign this morning and if the Ford's had any respect for the fans they would fire him. The fans of Detroit deserve better.

Til Midnight

Last night was a long day as the Senate wrapped up our legislation session for the year. We started at 10:00 am and usually a long session day goes until the early afternoon. Not yesterday; instead we didn't finish until after midnight. We spent most of the time waiting for the House to send us bills that they were working on and needed our vote before the end of the year. I was there mostly to keep an eye on a couple of projects in the budget, one of which the Governor has vetoed twice already and will likely veto again this year.

Late night sessions are an interesting dynamic. Senators and staff start to get a little stir crazy after a while. A group of Senator's played euchre to pass the time. Other Senators closed their eyes to take cat naps while we waited for some action. Some staffers took bets on the exact time the Senate would adjourn while another male staffer surfed Victoria's Secret website presumably Christmas shopping for his wife or girlfriend. Speaking of Christmas there was a spirited debate on the Senate floor over whether the tree in front of the Capitol is really a Christmas tree or a Holiday tree. Perhaps the highlight of the night was Sen. Switalski's annual holiday Limerick which was very funny and a little off-color as well.

On a serious note we did pass quite a few bills including tax cuts for job providers, welfare reform, a resolution to protect property owners from losing their property to imminent domain and a budget bill. All in all it was a pretty successful way to end the year.

Blockbuster Sucks

How many of you have recently gone to the video store to rent a movie only to find that there is nothing to watch? How could there be so many movies made and so many that are unwatchable? Either Hollywood makes stupid movies to cater to stupid audiences or consumers simply figure they have no choice and rent the first nonsense they find. I usually go back and forth among the aisles until I find a movie with a cool cover. Then after watching it I discover that the reason I had never heard of it was because it was a made for TV movie.

After years of movie rental futility I decided to plan ahead and have been creating lists of movies that I missed at the theater or that have been recommended to me. I read online lists of people's favorite movies or I jot down a title when it comes to mind so I won't forget it. Right now I have about 10-15 on my list and a majority of them are older films from the 80's and 90's.

The other day I go to Blockbuster with my new list in hand but I am having trouble finding the movies I came for. I realize that these movies are kind of old but not that old. But since I am in a bad mood I decide to spend considerable time browsing each genre trying to decide if Leaving Las Vegas is a classified under drama or classic. Well after several minutes I soon discover that that movie as well as all the other movies on my list are no longer carried by Blockbuster but have been replaced with about 300 copies of each crappy new release. I mean really how many people are running to the store to rent Stealth or Bewitched?

So instead of getting what I came for I ended up settling for Deuce Bigelow which was not that great really. In fact it's hard to believe that they made a sequel. To add insult to injury the cost was $3.50 to rent one lousy DVD.

I thought my list was the perfect remedy to avoid the predicament of renting bad movies but I have been thwarted by the rental industry itself. Now not only do I have to keep a list but I also have to find a rental store that actually carries those movies. Who knew finding quality entertainment could be this much work? Maybe I'll just watch reruns on TV instead.

Stuck

I just found out a good friend of mine is planning to get married. I am happy for her but why is it that other people's good news reminds me of the void of good news in my own life? As I lay in bed I kept thinking that I wish I had some new exciting things to share with someone but when I look at my life there isn't really much going on. Other people are getting married, moving to new cities, have new jobs, are part of church plants, having kids, etc. Me? I am stuck in the same old same old. It's like things just stopped a few years ago and I can't make the kind of decisions that allow me to take hold of what life has to offer. I can't seem to commit to the women I date and then regret when things don't work out. I can't muster the courage the quit my job but then complain about how bored and unfulfilling it is. I can't bring myself to look for a new church even though I know I've outlasted my service there. I can't invest in new friendships but then wish I had some single guy friends to hang out with. I can't bring myself to get my finances together to buy a house despite the fact that I am sick of my crappy apartment. So this morning I woke up and prayed for strength to step through the doors that God opens for me. I want the good things of life that I see other people experiencing. But for some reason I keep avoiding them.

Notre Dame and the BCS

I was listening to Mel Kiper on ESPN radio the other day and he made some stupid comment about how Notre Dame should be in the BCS championship game if both Texas and USC were to lose. First of all that's probably the dummest thing he's ever said and that's saying something since he once considered Trent Dilfer to be the best QB prospect in years. Not only does Notre Dame not deserve to play in a championship game but they shouldn't be in the BCS at all.

Their overall record is 9-2 which is respectable but no better than several other one and two loss teams that are more worthy for a BCS bowl bid most notably Oregon, Auburn and Miami. When you examine Notre Dame's record you learn that they have no real good wins over high ranked teams. Their best win was over a 7-4 Michigan team that was a big disappointment this year. Their only other wins over teams with winning records were BYU and Navy both of which finished barely above .500 with very easy schedules. In fact, the combined record of all the teams they beat this year is 42 wins vs 56 losses. The computer rates their strength of schedule at 88th in the country and it's only that high because of USC's record. And while most people laud Notre Dame for playing USC close since when did losing a close game against a good opponent make you a good team. The same Notre Dame apologists who say they deserve a BCS bid must have forgotten the Irish also lost to a below average Michigan State team.

The problem with Notre Dame is all the hype and mythology surrounding the program. Sure they were good back in the late 80's and early 90's but they have lost their last 7 bowl games and haven't won a bowl game since 1993. Can anybody even remember their last big win over a top 10 team? But you see it doesn't matter how good the Irish are because college football is all about money and Notre Dame is all about money.

Notre Dame and their selfish greed is exactly what's wrong with college football. The have their own TV contract and their own BCS agreement because they don't want to share any of the money they make with other schools. It's about time that someone in the NCAA stands up to Notre Dame and tells them they need to play by the same rules as other schools. But unfortunately until fans start to see through the fraud that is college football this will never happen.