Starting with a Bang ... Almost

NOTE: You could call this post "masturbatory," but it's all about getting assistance, so ... yeah.

With a bunch of poetry people back in the greater Oneonta area for the holiday after the Great Intangible Diaspora, I sojourned there for the first time since switching up jobs. I spent most of my time with Sierra, Jonas and T.J., ran into more than a few Oneonta randoms, and dropped more cash than I have any weekend in NYC.

I managed all this despite a missed-my-bus disaster that resulted in a bruised heel, sprained thumb, injured pride and me driving to the O and back despite having already blown $80 on the round-trip ticket. On the plus side, it's good for a year. However, it's only good to Oneonta. Guess what kids? I'll be back. Ha! Just when you thought you'd gotten rid of me for life.

During the weekend, it was brought to my attention - good naturedly - that I have a reputation as a "ladies' man." I heard that and was initially like, "Wait, what? They clearly don't know me at all. We are talking about ME, and they just used 'ladies' man' in the same sentence, when I'm king of situations where it only seems like something's going on." Except they did know me, which made me want to go over the available evidence, and it seems they were correct.

Breaking it down, if 2005 was the year I realized I had game**, 2006 was the year I didn't know what to do with it***, then 2007 ... 2007 was the year I put it all together. Since I couldn't even stay away from females during a four-month layoff, this was a dominant facet of this year in the life of TBB. To review:

The year kicked off with me only an unopened condom from turning a fun decision with a best friend into a bad one. (Check the title. The kid's got jokes.--ed.) I got back upstate to an ongoing situation with a high-school era friend I had reconnected with, quickly met a new girl and fell hard for her when the Reconnection tailed off. Then when I was in the process of getting my ass kicked by the latter girl, I had two random frat party kiss-and-runs and made out with my Bus Buddy. And then I got into it with this older Townie girl, but she was a little too intense for me, so that deaded. Also, I should mention that somewhere in there I had sex with a former co-worker during a "Hey, let's catch up" visit to the city.

This was too much drama and unnecessary stress, so I decided to start going out solely to have a good time. No effort was made toward spitting any game at all. I started this blog to take up my free time. The Lockout lasted for four months. And yet there was a no-strings one-night stand with a MILF in there.

By September, I was out at the Oak with my roommates and their girlfriends, and I got swept into a 40-minute conversation about life, the universe and everything with a girl who asked the bartender a question about the spoken word scene. I copped digits, and though nothing came of that one, the switch was flipped and it was Game on. (Pun intended.)

I got real flirty at my boy's wedding, but didn't actually break through til the end of the month, when I made a prediction accurate by making out with one two of Si's co-workers who I had been hanging out with all summer. And then the Blog World and the Real World Collided ... twice. So by the numbers:

4 ... months in the Lockout (No Game)
4 ... girls I slept with, which was:
1 more than I had in the preceding 2 1/2 years (since swiping the V-card)
8 ... girls I so much as made out with from Jan. 1 - April 21, before adding:
1 mid-Lockout (April 21-Aug. 31)
4 post-Lockout (Sept. 1-Dec. 31), which makes for:
13 on the year, of which:
7 ... were at least three years younger than me when we first kissed
3 ... were at least five years older
3 ... were within a year of my age either way
2 ... were minorities
2 ... were Jewish (Sorry, ma!)
10 ... were brunettes
(Note, re: type -- They ranged in height from 4'10 - 5'9 and weighed many different amounts.)

2007 was so smooth on this front, I've been getting into fights with my best friend, who complains that he doesn't meet girls because I never wanna go anywhere I can't wear jeans and sneakers and hang out with the people I came with. As my good buddy Mal put it today, I seem to frequently meet girls "organically," so I feel no pressure to force it.

What's this mean for 2008? I have no idea. Things can develop many different ways at the moment, and all I can do is keep trying to make good decisions at the time. Dating's the only game with a higher failure rate than baseball, and though I've made a lot of contact, I'm still sitting on a pitch I can really connect with.

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I hope you all have a perfectly pleasant end to '07 and a wonderful start to '08. Don't do anything I wouldn't. ;)

*Emma to Cali, LMS to DC, jimmy to Denver, T.J. to Carbondale, Sierra to Minny and me to the only city that matters.
**First potentially long-term relationship, got a bartender's phone number, was brought home by a former Miami Cheerleader, first time I slept with two different people in the same year.
***Let the aforementioned bartender jerk me the fuck around, wasted time on a crazy co-worker and an intern, had to figure out Oneonta.

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