Friday, February 14, 2020

 So, it's Valentine's Day. Does anyone really like Valentine's Day? I mean, beyond the people making money off it, like candy makers and romantic restaurants, they must love it. But most you see is either people moaning about being single on V-Day or MRA dudes getting their knickers in a twist because that's what they do.



 For most of the 25 or so years I was actually trying to have if not a romantic partner than at least a regular pelvic affiliation, for the most part I've been single on the day. On the rare occasions I was with someone, like my last girlfriend, they were past the whole Valentine's Day themselves. Or we just had a physical relationship and hadn't got bored with each other yet. In any event, the most I ever did on this, the most romantic of days is go to her favorite restaurant, which we'd do once a week anyway.

 Now, granted, I suck out loud at romantic relationships and any relationship I've ever had that's gone past the bedroom (or kitchen or hotel room, you get the idea), this has been pointed out to me in the nicest way possible. I'm a good boyfriend, I just don't do intimacy well. I've never had a "crazy ex". Indeed, the ones I keep up with, I'm still friendly with all the women who've moved on to greener pastures. In fact, two of my closest friends are the aforementioned ex and her current beau. It's the best result for everyone involved.

  I liken romantic relationships to playing basketball. I'm not good at it, I don't really enjoy it, and everyone else involved would I rather be doing something else. I do admit to being a bit weirded out by how much emphasis our culture puts on pairing up, "soulmates" and "true love", and that whole business. I do wonder if there's something wrong with me or if I'm missing something. I don't understand my brother or my friends who are not only married but are joined at the hip. Granted, that makes more sense than dudes who act like they consider their wives are soul-sucking harridans.

  Anyhow, Valentine's Day, enough of that. I reading on that mess of Weird Westerns I bought the other day, right now Riders Where There Are No Roads by David Bain. It's engaging if a bit... sloppy? I'm not sure what my issue with it is, I really can't put my finger on it. It's supposed to be the first book in the "Riders Of The Weird West" series, and that might be it. I think I've said I really don't care for book series. In any event, it's worth finishing and that ain't bad.

 You know, I'm not really into this tonight. I got a full six hours' sleep last night, a pleasant nap, a good workout at the gym, and a invigorating constitutional around the property with Otis. My brain's still not firing on all cylinders, though. The News isn't all that engaging, either. The Army refuses to "investigate" Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman like Trump wants, which highlights some of the conflicts between the Administration and non-partisan governmental bodies. Speaking of the Army and partisanship, Bill "The Pope" Barr is assigning an outside prosecutor to review the case of disgraced and imprisoned Trump do-boy Mike Flynn, so that's probably the next insulting pardon issued.

 Finally, our own home-grown Gestapo, the Border Patrol, has announced it will be deploying "elite tactical agents" to Sanctuary Cities to help our version of the SS, ICE, round up people they think should be persecuted. These groups usually go against smugglers on the border, but Trump really doesn't worry too much about that, particularly given his regular use of undocumented labor at his properties. I'm sure this won't be abused and people who are perfectly legal non-residents won't be hassled by the low-brown thugs.

 Okay, that's plenty. A short one tonight, I'm sort of tired, I guess. We got leftovers tonight, not sure what I'll do afterwards. Probably read some more or maybe play a bit of Hard West since the whole Weird West thing is on my mind so much right now. In any event, we've got some sunny if cool weather to enjoy until Tuesday. On the downside, I'm down to seeds-&-stems and will probably finish that off this weekend.  Things could be worse.