So I tried calling the Bombshell again, but again I got her voicemail. Although I did leave a message asking her to call me back, just like the last call, I don�t really expect her to return this one. I did want to give it an honest try though, especially considering the resolution I have made regarding dating. Well that and I am in lust with her and I wouldn�t truly be in lust if I didn�t attempt something foolish with the object of my lust.

If there�s one regret that I have regarding all this, it that I chose not to make out with her on New Year�s Eve. Although I wasn�t showing any symptoms because of the cold medication I had taken, I was hit pretty hard with the cold. Even now, almost two weeks later I�m still trying to shake off the residual cough. I�ll probably have to go though a third (and hopefully the last) bottle of Formula 44 before I�m completely over this sickness.

I guess the �high road� isn�t always the best road. In my case it is certainly the least interesting. I had forgone a potentially hot make out session during one of the most classically romantic times, which was New Year�s Eve, because I didn�t want to pass my cold onto her. Had I known that she would totally flake on returning her calls, perhaps I wouldn�t have felt so guilty with the idea of giving her my cold and perhaps I wouldn�t have acted like such an �upstanding� human being and simply take what I could get that night and forget tomorrow�s consequences. I don�t know, if I did all that, I probably wouldn�t be me anymore and for the most part I still like me, so whatever. What�s done is done.

I�m back into full swing in regards to my classes, which is a good thing I think, because it helps keep my mind occupied. The arrangement I have staying with my step dad in the downtown apartment during school nights has been a beneficial one thus far. The couch isn�t all that comfortable because I�m basically taller the couch, but I was able to score some decent sleep on the recliner chair. Avoiding the late-night commute from school to home makes it all worthwhile. I�m home in 5 minutes instead of 45-60 minutes.

Another bit of potentially good news is the possibility that my step dad may be moving in with his girlfriend, which means I may have the downtown bachelor pad all to myself again. From what I heard from my mom, it�s not exactly the most optimal relationship. The girlfriend is looking to move into a 3 bedroom townhouse with my step dad so her daughter who supposedly visits from Russia every so often has a room to stay. The rub is that his girlfriend has never met his own daughter, who also happens to be my sister. Supposedly his girlfriend has a certain level of �insecurity� about his daughter. Never mind that a 3 bedroom in Chicago is significantly more money that just a one bedroom and that he is going to, at the very least put up half the cost of that place so her daughter has a place to stay. Why would anyone in any sort of serious relationship have any qualms about meeting the son or daughter of their significant other, while at the same time hold an expectation to put up his or her own daughter in a place they are to going share? Of course, I don�t know all the circumstances regarding this situation, but if I were in that potential situation, those things alone would certainly raise my eyebrow.

Still, my step dad is a grown man who has to make his own choices and his own mistakes. I honestly wish him the best of luck in his relationship and his potential new live-in arrangement. I kind of feel bad for thinking this, but in the back of my mind I hope this happens as soon as possible, because I too am a grown man or at the very least I�m trying my best to make grownup decisions for myself and one of my current hurdles is simply getting out of the house and being on my own. Having my bachelor pad back would certainly jump start that aspect of my life. I guess will see what happens by this spring. Until next time...