Sweetest Day�. *pffffft* An oxymoron if I ever did hear one. What�s so sweet about being single and lonely? If it weren�t such a contrived Hallmark promoted greeting card holiday, I�d say it�s almost as loathe-able as the most evil of days for the single person, Valentine�s Day.

Even for people in relationships, these "relationship" holidays seem to place unnecessary pressure on a guy to be innovative in gift giving and making something special of the day. The "burden of romance" always seemed to be placed on the guy, at least in the relationships I was in. I assume for females, it could prove a day endless disappointment as their unimaginative boyfriends, in an effort to come up with something special, will show up with the requisite flowers, box of chocolates, dinner reservations and the pi�ce de r�sistance, two tickets to the "monster truck and tractor pull". I mean what do you women expect from us? Be happy the big lug actually remembered the occasion.

If you want to do something exceedingly romantic for that "special" evening, this is the fucking new millennium, take the night into your own hands and plan "something special". Share the burden of romance with your loved one and plan something you both love. Don�t leave it to us romantically inept guys to plan that one special thing above all special things of the past. You are just setting yourself up for disappointment. I mean come on, we are a gender needs to literally be gay or have a team of gay men to dress us right. ;)

All kidding aside, it�s obvious a male�s idea of romance differs greatly from a female�s yet with all notions of gender equality aside, the "burden of romance" of these evil days seems to still fall squarely and unfairly upon us guys. I guess if there is any consolation to being single, it�s not having to see your mate�s eyes roll in utter disappointment at the genuine effort you done to make this evening as romantically special as a guy can make it.

Actually having been in a long-term relationship there�s really only a handful of ways a guy can avert the potential train wreck of all those dreaded sweetest days and valentines days. The most obvious way to "be romantic" is to spend lots and lots of money. I mean what woman wouldn�t swoon at a weekend in Paris or Milan or some other exotic, faraway destination? Unfortunately most of us don�t have that kind of change lining our pockets, which leaves us our only other chance at salvation, our creativity. I know our chances are slim in this department but some chance is better than no chance in hell.

With that said, the further you plan ahead and the more thought you put into what you are doing the better your chances of survival. In an ideal world, both partners in the relationship would cherish this day. This is far from an ideal world however, so throw any ideas of attending any local sporting events out of the window. Even if your woman is one that likes sports the romantic-ness of the occasion is highly iffy. The only move that will save you is to have the flashing score marquee propose marriage to your woman and you better have a decent engagement ring on hand. If you aren�t willing to go through these lengths, then like I said, throw the sporting event idea out the window. This evening is about her, so cater to her wants and needs. It is your only hope if you want to get laid that evening. If you are lucky, you will have a woman that will notice how much thought and effort you put into this special occasion, however romantically inept you are and reward you richly for it. If you have one of these women then I applaud you and will seethe in complete and utter jealousy of your relationship. Hold on to this woman and treat her right for she is truly special.

Anyway enough of my holiday rant. As for my Sweetest Day, I spent it at the local night club getting inebriated. As for my loneliness situation I�ve put some more thought into it. I know I went into this rant about how my ethnicity has in some way handicapped my social life and my ability to attract females. I can�t claim to say that it helps except in the rare occasions that a woman would find a man of a different ethnicity "exotic". In my experience I can�t say that was ever the case though. I think my level of invisibility to the opposite sex has much more to do with my personality than any other factor.

I had the chance to talk to an Internet acquaintance over the phone for the first time last Friday night. Considering I�m totally inept over the phone, I think it went well. She has one of the cutest laughs, stimulated most likely by all the alcohol she was consuming and not by my droningly boring phone personality. I�d say 99% of the conversation was spent listening to whatever she had to say. I guess it�s good I had a "talker" on the other line, otherwise it would have been filled with a multitude of awkward silences. Still, I can�t help but wonder I had made a bad impression with her, that I�m not the infinitely witty guy on the phone as I am in my diary.

Needless to say, having to converse over the phone puts me at a terrible disadvantage. I don�t have the time to think each word through like an email or an instant message. I don�t have the advantage of eye contact or body language of a personal, face to face conversation. All I have is the words of the "strong silent type", words that are few and far between. I don�t really like talking about myself and I�m not much of a storyteller, at least in the oral sense. I guess that�s why I prefer to "remain mysterious" I�m sure females wonder about me, but it hardly gives them a chance to know about me. I can see how this inability to carry a simple conversation can impair my ability to socialize and ultimately attract a mate. The thing is that this has been my way of being for as long as I can remember and I have no idea how I can even begin to change this. It�s getting late so I guess I�ll have to leave that for another entry�