It's been an unusually busy week and it doesn't look like it's going to let up anytime soon, so I'll try to make this as short and sweet as possible with this handy-dandy bulleted recap of the past couple of weeks:

• I blew some of my cash on Target Saturday. Just a couple of cool pinstripe shirts and a few basics like socks and underwear.



• I had an OK time at the speed dating thing last Saturday too. It wasn't a blast, but it wasn't bad as I had thought it would be either. I went in dressed to kill and my basic strategy was to give every girl a chance regardless of first impressions and just be myself. For those that don't know how the speed dating thing works, the girls sit down in tables with numbers on the table to ID them and then the guys go around with their on number sticker to ID them and talk to a girl on each table for 5 minutes and then switch to the next person after the 5 minutes are up. Based on that 5 minute impression, you can check off either a "yes" or a "no" on whether you want to contact that person or not. You get a match when both people check off "yes" to each other and whomever runs the speed dating thing will send your e-mail address to each other for all the matches.



• Although I wasn't totally wasted that night, I was zoned out enough to blow at least 3 bus stops past where I was supposed to get off, so I wound up doing the walk of shame back home, about 5 blocks from the opposite direction.



• Sunday was "chill day". I nursed the hangover and I got the results from the speed dating thing. More on that later.



• Monday morning I had another "back from the dead" visitation dream, this time from my Grandfather who passed away almost a year ago. It's weird, because this type of dream usually involves Ray, my best friend/cousin who passed away almost 6 years ago. Although I do have recurring dreams with Ray in them, this was the first time I've dreamt of my Grandfather.



• In the dream I was answering the door and someone was dropping off a load of my Grandfather's books. Some of the were ones he had written and others were just part of his library. I took the books and brought them inside. I handed them off to some girl and patted her on the ass as she walked away. She turned around and smiled at me and the was gone.



• Then I saw Grandpa lying on the couch. He was in a bedridden state, like I remembered him before he passed, but he was also in a happy state, also like he was towards the twilight of his life where he no longer had worries and he was just happy to see everyone that would visit him. He smiled as if he were happy to see me. Of course my mind started questioning his presence the same way it would when Ray would appear in my dreams because seeing someone alive when you know they have already passed is a somewhat sobering moment. Then it occurred to me that maybe this was indeed a dream and I took advantage of the partial lucidity and gave him a huge hug.



• Then there was this huge blaring noise. The fucking alarm clock woke me up. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. It's possible that I see Ray and my Grandfather fairly frequently during my REM sleep and I only remember those exact moments when I awaken in the middle of them. Since my memories and emotions associated with them are so vivid and realistic at those times, I'll take that as a good thing. For the most part however,� my dreams tend to be intricate and convoluted, and very hazy so I find difficulty recalling them and even more difficulty in putting them into words.



• Tuesday after work I decided to contact the matches from the speed dating thing. As I mentioned before, my strategy was to be myself and to give every girl a chance regardless of the 5 minute impression. I also decided to answer any questions about me honestly as possible. The experience itself was cool, I talk to more girls in 60 minutes than I have in like 6 months. The results however leave a bit more to be desired. Of the 11 girls I marked "yes", only 2 of them were matches and I already knew one of them whom I met before through the b-day girl. I guess that's not totally a bad thing, but still it's a bit frustrating knowing the vibe I thought I had with some of them was just on my end. I suppose 5 minutes is just enough time for a guy like me to make a bad enough impression. Go figure.



• Anyway, I sent off an e-mail to each of my matches. The friend of the b-day girl lives in Ohio. We swapped a few e-mails, but that's about it. I may run into her again when she's in town and we'll probably laugh about our whole speed dating adventure, but I don't see it going anywhere beyond that. The other girl didn't return my e-mail at all, which was kind of a downer, but I did take her "yes" as a partial form of flattery. So that was my whole speed dating experience. Fun huh?



• School and work in general have been busier than usual, which is why I've been in absentia in diaryland. I mentioned that in the beginning didn't I. Holy fuck am I out of it. But anyway, I'll spare you the boring details.



• Went to a school sponsored career networking event after work last Friday. I ran into my professor from last quarter who used to work for Motorola but is leaving to start his own business. Although Motorola isn't currently hiring, it's definitely a place I'd like to land a job in because a) Motorola is a major cell phone manufacturer that has #2 in market share, behind Nokia and I'm the quintessential cell phone geek, so it would be a good match I think and b) they are based in Chicago so I don't have to do any major moves if I land a job with them. I still have his e-mail addy, so I'll follow up that lead soon and keep you posted.



• That same Friday night I went to suburbia to have a few drinks with my now married friends. We all agreed that suburbia is not a happening place and all future meetings for drinks will be out in the city.



• Today it's back to the grind. One workday out of the week is behind me at least, but I have to head off to class tonight so I'll wrap things up here. Until next time...