Minch's Summer of Love: Winter Edition

I make no bones about the fact that the circumstances surrounding "Event X" and the subsequent move back home turned me into a pisspot. While moving in general sucks, having to return back home with your tail between your legs because the Movie House pays slightly more than a sweatshop has a particular stink on it. When I think back to what bothered me so much about it, it all came back to the idea of regressing. Moving home is not something that someone who is turning 30 (MinchDay 2013: Taking it Down a Notch Coming Soon!!!) should have on their to do list. It is a giant step backwards...


...or was it?

It was the cut in rent and utility bills that gave me the courage to leave the Movie House once and for all. The extra couple of bucks gave me the chance to do something else I had been meaning to do, restart the old Match.com account. It seemed like a set up for failure. How would I address my current living situation? Lie? Tell the truth and run the risk of getting a drink tossed in my face? I decided to cross that bridge when I got to it and resigned up. This time there would be no pomp and circumstance, no accompanying blog. I would keep it to myself so when it all blows up in my face, I would have to answer to no one but myself and the Kentucky Gentleman. The Summer of Love was back, only quieter and in the late fall/early winter.

After the usually amount of ignored winks and "Thanks, but no thanks" auto messages, (Side note: Yeah, That's a Thing!!! Match will send you an automated "She's just not that into" message. Why not just ignore the message? That would send a clear signal to me...) I came across a profile that caught my eye. Maybe it was the red hair or the pretty face or the engaging profile that DIDN'T say she was looking exclusively for someone "Athletic and toned" but I knew what I had to do...

*WINK*

"Okay, I'm sure nothing will come of this but I'm glad I di----Oh shit, she winked back?!?!?!"

After the requisite number of Match message back and forth we decided to meet up for coffee. Not only did I get there slightly early, I went to the right place (an improvement!) As she walked in, the fact that I'm riddled with self doubt kicked in and I realized she was out of my league. This would be a brief evening of awkward conversation over high priced coffee, I might as well just get this over with.

...I couldn't have been more wrong.

There was something different about this first date. The conversation was comfortable, in fact too comfortable. Both of us delved into topics that were inappropriate of a first date. Like what you ask? Okay, how about Dennis' Bachelor Party? Yep, that came up. Also, the night only ended when the hipster running the coffee shop kicked us out, by that point we had clocked in 4 hours of conversation. Conversation that uncovered many striking similarities between her and I. The type of similarities that, if this were a sitcom, would make the audience go, "Oh Come on!!!" and angrily throw the remote at the television because of the lazy writing.

In the days and weeks that followed, we kept going out. Our dates would be sprinkled with little oddities and inconveniences (closed restaurants, no open bowling for two hours) that would plunge any other blossoming internet couple into an abyss of awkwardness. But not us. It was all a joke, and a funny one at that. I think what really sold to me that I was dealing with someone special was when I started doing an impression of a certain former boss of mine, and it sent her a fit of laughter. If stories about that guy can make her laugh, I'll have her laughing for years...

If there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I have been single too long to be interested in the semantics of modern day relationships. I have no interest in spending six months "Talking" only to spend another six months "Seeing each other" which then leads to a prerequisite year of "dating" then finally being in a relationship. I say, if it feels right, go for the gold. Fortunately, she feels the same way, so that lead to this little update Saturday morning...

     

Well, it's about time I introduced you, my blog family to the newest character in MvW, my girlfriend Sam...

Shit, wrong Sam...

Here she is...

While I'm working on crafting a good pic of the two of us, I can tell you she's met enough of my family, friends, and coworkers this past weekend that you can save your Manti Te'o jokes.

As pissy as I was about the impromptu return home, I can't deny how much it has changed my life for the better. Things are better than they were two months ago, and will be even better in the months ahead. Sometimes a "blessing in disguise" is exactly that, and not just a half hearted catch phrase you say to your friend who can't stop bitching at the bar while you're trying to watch the game. Guess Zooey missed her chance...

Thanks,
Minch



      

Episode 46: I'm Feeling Good

You know what I've always liked about the Marvel movies of the last few years? The little "buttons" they'd put after the credits, usually dropping a bombshell or setting up what the next movie was going to be about. Yeah, those were always cool...

I tweeted the other day that never before have I had more to blog about and less time to do it. As I expected, I was promptly scolded for that. Fact is, the last couple of weeks I've been too busy living life to blog about it. But here I am, and lets go over what we missed.

Christmas-I got a Nook, a Jim Kelly jersey, and a shameful amount of alcohol.

Last shift at Regal-Sadly, it was like every single one before it.

The "Free At Last Bar Party"- It was a bar party, you can probably guess how it played out for your buddy.

New Years Eve: Two days after the bar party, so I opted to lay low.

...AND HOLY SHIT!!! HOCKEY IS BACK!!!!!!

Look, people smarter than I can make very astute arguments about why we should just say to hell with the NHL and the way they treat their fans. They are right, and the NHL plays off of how much their fans love the sport, but...I can't help it. It's the sport of my father, and his father before him. I can't not be excited for Sabres hockey. In fact, my reaction to the CBA agreement (the first step to the end of the lockout) was similar to this...

Well, I'm sure you must be curious about the new gig. The new job is, in a word, challenging. Perhaps internally you just went, "Uh oh," but a challenge isn't always something that is negative. If this job is challenging, then the old job was grating or annoying. Fact is, I have done the same thing for thirteen years, and I was never challenged. Sure my patience was tried, but that's a completely different thing.

Here, I am being asked to do something completely different, and that is a challenge. Truthfully, there is no better environment for me to take on this challenge in. Everyone from the boss on down has been friendly and welcoming. I'm no longer the Feeny-esque old guy manager in the middle of a bunch of teenagers who scoff at an American Pie reference. I am amongst peers who are genuinely interested in teaching me how to do the job well. Sometimes I don't know whether I'm too hard on myself or not hard enough. I know I'm going to "Get it" really soon, and everyone has a rookie season. Yes, this job is challenging, but your buddy is ready to meet the challenge...

So what the hell do I do know? I'm sure the new gig, (which I'm still struggling to find a "Movie House" like name for) will have a few stories, but nothing like the Movie House. I'm going to have to start filling this blog with Movie House Fan Fiction, like the time Tony and I went searching for the Lost Diamond of Regal and brought along a talking dog named Chester.

I know it's only January, but 2013 seems like it is the year of cautious optimism.

That's it for this one gang. I'd promise that the turnaround will be quicker next time, but that might be a lie. So I'll promise to try, or at least to try to try. Feel free to share this using socialized media and/or printing it out and mailing it to your family and friends. Thanks as always...

Minch

Oh by the way, in the midst of all this new job craziness, I've gone on a few dates too. With someone kind of, sort of, really awesome...