Obsession

As evidenced in my past blog posts, the wonderful world of Facebook has presented me with some very interesting experiences, some of which have shown up in the last few months.  There is one in particular going on right now that is absolutely wonderful, but I'm going to keep that to myself . . .  There are several others that have me shaking my head, one of which I wrote about in my previous blog post named "Out of the Blue".

The other experience began on . . .  believe it or not . . . Halloween!  I received a friend request from somebody who is a mutual friend of several other Facebook friends of mine, so I accepted their request.  This person turned out to be extremely intelligent, with a background and interests very similar to mine.  We chatted quite a bit about our past and current experiences and the conversations were very stimulating and enjoyable!  Such a bright and interesting person this friend was turning out to be!

As we continued to chat, this person began to strongly indicate that they wanted to be involved romantically.  I was very clear up front about my current situation and where I stood.  But I will have to say that I found this person's forthrightness and sheer directness to be quite refreshing in a world where there is so much dishonesty and deception.  However, their desire to be involved increased exponentially in a very small amount of time, to the point where they were professing their love after only talking with me for about a week. 

Despite the fact that this person is incredibly intelligent and possesses many outstanding qualities, their behavior was becoming a bit unsteady.  They were starting to go to emotional extremes and were all over the place.  They announced that they had made travel plans to come to Dallas to have dinner with me!  This was happening way too fast and was becoming a bit worrisome!  This all made me very sad because I know that they've been through a whole lot this past year! 

Well, one recent evening it became quite obvious that they were being very standoffish to me on Facebook.  However, it didn't surprise me with all the emotional extremes they had been experiencing in such a short time.  They messaged me the next morning to apologize, saying that a visit to their therapist had made it clear that they were suffering emotional extremes due to everything they have been through over the past year.  They also indicated that they would like to just remain friends on Facebook, which is fine with me!

This situation brought back an old song by Animotion to mind:

To be honest, I like this friend very much, especially their keen intelligence and directness!  I do hope that they can find peace, stability and what they need in their life!  They've worked very hard and deserve it!  

Veterans Day 2012

This Veteran's Day 2012 marks the one year anniversary of my Blog!  I ended up starting my Blog this time last year in response to a smart-ass comment from somebody who called herself "Snark".  Snark's remark, along with my true passion for our country and it's veterans, got this whole thing started!  Thank you, Snark and a huge thank you to all veterans who have served in our Armed Forces!  I don't often like to talk about myself, but this Blog helps me greatly to express what is in my heart, which has helped me immensely!

I also want to honor my ancestors who have honorable served our country and have updated my memorial picture of them:

In Honor of My Veteran Ancestors

I also need to honor my 1st cousin 3x removed, Captain Michael Duffy.  He served in the 69th Pennsylvania - Philadelphia Brigade and was killed in action on July 2, 1863 at the Angle in Gettysburg.  He was only 24 years old when he died, but looked to be about 60 years old in his picture below:

In Honor of Captain Michael Duffy

Soldiers in the Civil War lived under some very harsh conditions, and it really showed!  I'm proud to say that the 69th Pennsylvania - Philadelphia Brigade consisted mostly of Irish immigrants and it's memorial at Gettysburg has a shamrock on it!

And last, but not least, I also want to honor a very special person very close to me who sacrificed greatly in service of our country.  Tegan, thank you for your selfless and honorable service to our country!  You are so hard on yourself for being human, but you are one of the bravest and kindest souls that I've ever met!  I'm so proud of you and your service! 

For Major Tegan Marie Smith, Thank You for your Service!

Thank you so much to all of the special veterans in my life and to all US and Canadian veterans!

The Glittering Mirage

We all have our responsibilities in life . . . home, family, work, and bills.  We get up every morning and go to work, come home and take care of household matters, pay bills and tend to children.  The whole routine can get to be a long blur of boredom after a while.  The ubiquitous and glittering mirage in the distance beckons, and sometimes its pull is seductively overpowering!

An Enchanted Evening Under the Stars

Oh yeah, give me that sleek, sexy car along with musk scented evenings with wine, candles and a sultry lover to tend to my every need!  The mirage dominates my brain and I can't seem to vanquish it.  Loved ones continue to inquire about that dreamy look in my eye and where my mind is at.  If they only knew . . .  I want and need passion so badly, but is it worth the steep price I'd have to pay to get it?

After much thought, I've come to the realization that there is a way around all of this, and that is in my dreams.  I can go anywhere and do whatever I want to in my dreams!

I can't help but think that Gary Wright must have had the same sentiment as me when he wrote this song:

I will dream on!

Out of the Blue

Back in the latter part of September, I received a message out of the blue on Facebook from a man who served with me at Camp Parks RFTA in Dublin, CA back in the earlier years of the Millennium.  The unit that we served in was a joint service one with Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines working side by side.  He was Army and I was Air Force.

I always thought that he was handsome, but he was very quiet and we never spoke much back then.  We spoke briefly about retirement one time right before I left in 2004.  That's the one and only time that we ever spoke, other than saying "Hi" in the hall. 

So back to the present, this man said that he looked me up on Facebook and found my profile, then he sent me a message.  What I found intriguing is why he was trying to find me after 8 years.  He told me that he had been deployed to Afghanistan and I get the impression that it was more than once.  I can't even imagine how bad that must have been for him!  I do know that he has a young child and that must have been torture to leave him!  I'll have to ask him more about that some time.

Here is a picture of him over in Afghanistan with a little Afghan girl:

It is flattering to have somebody who I barely knew contact me out of the blue 8 years after I last saw them.  I guess that I must have made a lasting impression on him, somehow!

I've talked with him via Facebook message for over a month now and he seems to be a very nice man.  He's been very respectful and has said nothing untoward.  I think that I'd like to keep in contact with him as friends.

It's amazing how much Facebook opens up the world to us! 

10/29/2012 Update

I've been talking back and forth with this guy and he seemed very nice.  So, I get up this morning and find that he sent me a message at 6:00 AM saying that his mom is really sick and to please wire $2K into some woman's account first thing this morning and that he'll pay me back.  What stinks even worse is that the bank account he provided is at a credit union in my home town in Pennsylvania!  My home town is truly a podunk one where the bars look like garages, so this really scared me badly!

I barely knew this guy in California and all of a sudden after 8 years he's contacting me.  Okay, this can happen these days with Facebook and all, but asking me out of the blue to wire $2K to some chick's account?  Where is this guy's family?  I strongly suspect that he's a con artist and promptly told him so.  After I told him this, I unfriended and blocked him on Facebook.

This really scares the hell out of me!  I would never ask somebody that I barely knew to wire money to an account, especially that much money!  Even if his mother really is sick, I truly question the character of somebody who would put a new friend on the spot to wire money.

I feel very sad that something that seemed so nice has turned into something this bad!  My distrust for people has increased substantially because of this incident.  Goodbye J-Lo!  I hope not to hear from you ever again!  Go try to con somebody else!



 

A Breath of Fresh Air

I reached out and did something especially bold last week and it paid off!  I've got several posts here in my Blog in which I lament the loss of a connection that I had with somebody in the past.  I knew this person on a casual basis for a few years at work, but always wished that we could have been closer friends.  Unfortunately,  they moved away last year and this never happened.  I've thought about them often since they left and hoped that we could connect again.

Well one night last week after a couple of glasses of wine, I decided to take the plunge and send a message to ask if they wanted to be in touch online. Once I did this, I decided that I was just going to let things ride and see what happened . . . without stressing about it.  In retrospect, I've observed that this is quite a departure from how I've done things in the past.  I didn't realize how much I've changed over the last year, but I'm happy about it!  I'm finally starting to overcome being hurt in the past and learn how to reach out to people again.

So, I went about my business and the next day I received a very nice reply to my message!  This person messaged me back to say that they're interested in staying in touch!  This means so much to me that it feels like a breath of fresh air has come back into my life . . . and a much needed one at that!   I can compare the feeling that I have to the first days of Spring, when little buds appear on the trees and everything is starting to come back alive after a long and cold Winter.

During the time that they were here, I actually looked forward to getting up in the morning and going to work, just so I could see and talk with them.  Although I've always been intrinsically motivated to look and perform my best, I made a special effort to do even more whenever they were around.  They gave me a reason to surpass my goals.  Some people out there might think that this is dorky, but I don't care!  It takes a very special person to motivate me in this manner, and I've met very few like them!

This person asked me about some of the friendships that I have online and how they came to be. What I couldn't quite tell them at the time is that all of this happened due to a quest for knowledge to learn more about them.  I hope that I can tell them this one day.

So, I don't know what will end up happening out of all of this.  Hopefully we will develop a good and lasting connection.  But as with most things, only time will tell . . .

October 17, 2012 Update

Well, we've messaged back and forth a few times, but they've been out of touch for about a week now.  I hope that this doesn't continue.  What's a link without comms?

A Tribute to my Brother

Yesterday, September 24, 2012 would have been my brother Jon's 55th birthday.  Sadly, he didn't make it to 55.  He died on October 21, 2009 of heart failure due to complications from pneumonia.  I'll never forget getting the phone call from my other brother, Mark informing me about Jon's death.  It was just so shocking for all of us!

Jon was a maverick from a very early age to the day he died.  He always marched to the beat of his own drum, even if he got punished for it, which was often the case both at home and in school.  The nuns at school used to send him out to sit in the doghouse with the Convent's dog.  Our father used to whip his butt continually, but his maverick spirit could never be broken.

When we were kids, he and I fought pretty fiercely and he always brought out the beast in me!  I hated it when I was young, but my early dealings with Jon taught me how to be competitive and defend myself and others, which has served me well in the male dominated field in which I work. He and I got along much better when we got older.

Happy 55th Birthday, Jon!  I hope that you are at peace, wherever you are!

Now I'll play some Herbert Albert in your honor and memory:

Rest in peace, my brother!

A Trip to Virginia

I flew out to Virginia this past Monday to attend a 3 day class in Fairfax.  The trip out there wasn't the greatest as both the flight from Dallas to Houston and the subsequent one from Houston to Dulles got delayed due to airplane mechanical problems.  I'm  not very impressed with the way that United Airlines is heading business wise and it isn't likely that I'll be flying with them again.  I ended up getting to my hotel after 11:00 PM.

I stayed at the Hyatt House near Dulles Airport and it is really a nice place!  Here are a few pictures that I took in the hotel:

My very comfortable bed!

The Desk and Coffee MESS Area

The Chaise Lounge

A Pretty Sitting Area in The Breakfast Area

The next morning, I drove to class at the CC Pace Center in Fairfax.  The class was well run and we were treated very nicely.  They had drinks, snacks and lunch for us daily, which made everybody feel comfortable and welcome.  Right after class, I hit the road and headed for Eldersburg, MD to join my children, son-in-law, stepdaughter and her daughter at the Osaka Restaurant. The traffic was so bad on the Capitol Beltway (495) that it took me 2 hours to get there, but I finally made it!  I visited some with Nicole, Brandon, and Justin at their apartment and then we headed over to the restaurant to meet Anne and Cassie.

We all cut up and laughed and had a great time!  In my opinion, the Osaka has the best Japanese and Hibachi dinners that I've ever tasted!  Here are some pictures from dinner:

Anne, Cassie and Justin having Miso Soup and Sushi

Anne, Cassie, Justin, Me, Nicole and Brandon at Dinner

Nicole and I sitting at the Hibachi Table

Justin, Nicole and I back at Nicole & Brandon's Apartment

We went back to Nicole and Brandon's apartment for a while and visited some more, and then I did the hour drive back down to Virginia, which was much better on the way back because there was no traffic!  So, I got settled in and went to sleep and then it was up again to go to class the next morning.

The next morning I got up, showered and dressed and then went down to breakfast. The hotel has a very nice complimentary breakfast, with scrambled eggs, potatoes, sausage, danish pastry, cereal, toast, juice coffee, etc.  I enjoyed breakfast and then headed off to class.  After class, I went home to freshen up for a dinner date with a Facebook friend named Keri at the Cheesecake Factory in the Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax. We ended up eating at a table outside and the weather was just gorgeous!  It was a great meal with good conversation and company!  She's a very lovely lady and we had a wonderful time!  I hope that Keri and I can meet up again sometime.

It turns out that another Facebook friend named Donna was in the DC area that day, but she ended up leaving that day to go back down south.  It's a shame that we were in such close proximity but didn't get to meet.  I really would love to meet her one day!  

After dinner, I drove back to the hotel and got settled in to sleep and then got up the next morning for my last day of class. 

The last day of class was good and everybody traded business cards and said their goodbyes.  I went back to the hotel and relaxed and waited for Nicole and Brandon to come and visit.  Brandon goes to a university in Sterling, so he dropped Nicole off at the hotel and went to straighten out some school business.  Nicole and I had a nice long visit and then Brandon joined us.  We visited some more and then headed to the Macaroni Grill in the Dulles Town Center for some dinner.

Here are some pictures of us at dinner:

Nicole and I outside of the Macaroni Grill at Dulles Town Center

Brandon and Nicole across the table at dinner

Me, right before dinner

We had dinner and since wine was 1/2 price, two bottles of wine.  After dinner, we went back to the hotel and visited some more, then they headed home.  I went to bed as I had a very early flight the next morning.

The next morning I got up and had to leave the hotel at 4:00 AM to return my rental car and get to the airport on time for my 6:00 flight. Both the flight out to Houston and the subsequent one to Dallas were on time and I got home in the early afternoon.

I'm really glad I got to go to Virginia!  The trip provided me with some much needed peace and solitude as well as the opportunity to visit with some of my family.  It was also very nice to meet my FB friend for the first time!  I hope to get another opportunity like this one again soon!