...c6

It was pointed out to me that I haven't had a weekend to myself in two months. Normally this would be an amazing thing, and it still is, but I'm kind of in need of a free weekend. What would I do on this free weekend? Probably turn desperate mid-Saturday and start to call people to see what they're doing. But I hold out hope that I can hang out by myself for more than forty eight hours. I've grown up that much at least, right?

I've recently decided to dedicate the coming months of my life to a few very specific things: reading, writing, movies, basketball, and chess. These aren't any different than the things I've generally prioritized but I'm doing everything more focused this time. The last one, chess, I've decided will become my new number one hobby. Faced with declining physical skills, an inability to motivate friends to play board games, and a need to get away from video games, I've decided that I will now dedicate my gamesmanship to chess.

I consistently lament the fact that all the things I'm into, few of the people around me are into. Well, the solution to that has always been staring me in the face. Why try to get your friends to (reluctantly) play chess with you when you can just hop online and play with strangers? So that's what I did. I'm such a go-getter these days that I immediately signed up for a Premium membership on www.chess.com and have been steadily getting my ass handed to me nightly. It's super thrilling.

In thinking about some past relationships, I realized that one of the biggest problems I've had as a potential mate is that all my favorite things to do are essentially solitary activities. I mean, look at what I just dedicated the rest of my 2008 to. Nothing requires another person around (except strangers) and most of them are actually better done alone. During my stroll through the Internet, I've discovered that the majority of single women like doing social things. They want a guy who has a sense of adventure. Whether that be going to new places, hanging out at places with people, doing some hiking or running, these are all things that involve being out and about.

I like staying at home and doing nothing. What's dateable about that? But I know the dirty secret of active people. They are only active some of the time. It's nigh impossible to really be exploring a city, hanging out late at night, and then waking up early for a beautiful run on the beach. I call bullshit and say that most people are actually at home watching TV.

I know this is totally not true but I'd like to keep believing it.