Boy-Hating Jest

Posted on April 16, 2011 by danfo

Let me begin with yet another disclaimer: I don’t remember ever being so satisfied with my life as I am right now. My community group at Athens Church is incredible, my workout regimen with my brother is showing tangible results, my recent work on websites has been professionally fulfilling, my social groups are buzzing, and my financial state is healthy praise the Lord. Life is good, and that’s understating it. I am truly blessed.

I hope that many of my fellow bloggers are reading this, since it is some of their recent Facebook and Twitter posts that have inspired these notes. So let’s begin this–maybe my first ever “single man’s rant” provoked during a life state of honest contentment and true joy:

It breaks my heart to see lovely Christian girls publicly taking stabs at the general population of boys. Often this is done light-heartedly and I get that. But there are boys out there like me who read these things and think to themselves: “if she felt about me the way I feel about her, she’d be happy” or “if she’d say yes to me, she wouldn’t have that problem.” These are just a couple of attempts to paraphrase the thoughts in our heads, but I promise you that for every status posted about being better off without boys or about waiting for Prince Charming, there is a well-intentioned hopeless romantic desiring to be recognized. Guard your hearts ladies, but for pete sake open your eyes.

Leave comments and I’ll respond.

30-Day Blog Challenge: Day 9

Posted on November 17, 2010 by danfo

Pictures of Friends

Joseph Fowler is my brother. His second role is my best friend. There’s no one else in my life that’s been as reliable as this guy. A moral role model and servant leader, he deserves much more credit than I feel has ever been given to him. Sorry for all those adolescent injuries, brother.

Justin Ownby is one of my oldest friends. I mean… he’s younger than me, but we’ve been close for a long time. We go way back to the days of early youth group and I can always count on him to give me a nice, deep conversation about people and their behaviors. This kid is legit.

Abbey Hufstetler is one of my newest friends. She very quickly moved up the ranks to become one of the absolutely most adored people in my life. She also introduced me to the 30-day challenge and for that, I think you owe her a “thanks.” Yes, you.

Leia Berry is honest. I mean brutally honest. It’s so much fun to think about when I met Leia and how much I drove… I mean how I much I drive her crazy. She’s getting married soon, but I sure hope that she’ll remain a reliable source of soul-penetrating truth in my life.

April Keefe and Sara Herring have to count as one friend. Why? Because I never see one without the other. April is precious, and I’ve hired her as my personal wardrobe assistant. She’s helped me make good color choices and rebuked me when I’ve made the bad ones. Sara Herring might be even more precious than April, and she provides just the right amount of gangsta that my life requires. I do hope that she knows how much I adore her! Interesting fact: I met these gals on Twitter. It’s true.

Keriann Conway is a total cutie. I tried to find a tacky picture of her to put here, but she’s she’s just too darn adorable, so there are no funny pictures readily available. Keriann is my favoritest moral supporter of all time. Despite her terrible taste in reality television, she’s always available to give me dirty looks when I come to her talking about my latest girl crush.

Jona Ogden has been missing in my life recently, but she is still among my dearest friends. A spiritual role model and a beautiful person inside and out, she is as genuine as they come and has given me so many good memories over the years that I will always wish she lived just a little closer. She’ll be my #1 ginger (despite the strawberry blonde that’s creeping in) for as long as she accepts the role. <3

30-Day Blog Challenge: Day 6

Posted on November 9, 2010 by danfo

Day Six: A Picture of Something That Makes Me Happy

Jona's New Years Party, 2009/10
Ahhh, friends. I actually only knew 3 of the girls in this picture at the time it was taken, but still in all this photo carries the essence of energy that makes life worth living for me.

Friends

I have always kept my priorities in order regarding friends. Back in the days when I played lots of World of Warcraft (those days are creeping back since the Cataclysm expansion is on the horizon), people would tease me saying “oh no, you’re one of THOSE people!” My response was always the same: if I had better things to do, I’d do them. If my friends invited me over, I’d go. If I was dating a young lady who wanted to watch a movie with me, I’d be there. Friends have always been a priority in my life, whether or not I’ve been a priority in theirs. This photo shows me having a fantastic time at my good friend Jona’s New Years Eve Party at the end of 2009.

Romance

I know that when you first saw the picture, you noticed right off that I was the only male. And I know what you were immediately thinking. I’m here to say first and foremost: shame on you. Secondly, I will say that anyone that knows me knows what a huge role love has played in my life (see my epic novel from Day 3). So of course I enjoyed attending a party where I was the only dude. But if you tease about anything further than this simple truth, then again I say: shame on you.

Activity

As I mentioned in yesterday’s entry about my brother, he’s always been the calm one. I am an extrovert. I am loud and obnoxious [at times]. I love being around people. I love dancing and doing things and being active more than I enjoy sitting around and being still. So Jona’s party thrilled me because it was a chance for a night full of excitement and hilarity! A roadtrip, a trampoline, karaoke, a dance party, good food, a little bit o’ champagne, and a good ol’ fashioned New Years countdown! Feed my enthusiasm while I’m starving for a party and you’re guaranteed to have one very satisfied extrovert.

Living Alone Is A Lonely Business

Posted on July 11, 2010 by danfo

Recently I calculated some math: 90% of my time (aside from work) is spent alone. 90% of THAT time, I’m thinking about how much I hate being alone and wondering why my phone never rings.

Yesterday I paced around my living room for nearly an hour rehearsing an emotional monologue that I imagined giving to all my friends, related to the above stats. It wasn’t pretty.

My emo rant for the week: I’m weary from extending invitations to “friends.” In the past 3 weeks, I’ve spent time with only one person in Athens for only one hour. Check my phone logs, TXT messages, and Facebook posts, and you’ll find that this does not stem from a lack of effort on my part.

Let’s face it – a majority of my cynicism results from having too much time on my hands to think about the psychology behind the circumstances. The remedy to too much time on one’s hands is to get out and do stuff. Better than advice on things to get out and do, I wish that my “friends” would actually extend an invitation or two to balance the number of invites I’ve extended over the past two years.

Case in point: On Saturday (that’s the weekend, mind you – most folks are out getting plastered and having drunken sex, or at the very least spending time with the people they care about) I managed to go through the entire day without speaking to a single person. Is that pure dumb luck on my part or a bucket full of fail on yours?

Two Story Coffee Girl

Posted on March 20, 2010 by danfo

Usually I see people I recognize and can’t place where I know them. But today in Two Story, one of the girls behind the counter knows my name and I’m ashamed to say that I don’t recognize her. Not at all. She’s very friendly and outgoing – I feel confident that we should be good friends. If she’s here next time I come, I will have to ask her name. But for now, I’m just enjoying the very tasty peach-flavored Italian soda that she made for me.

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You Just Never Know

Posted on December 10, 2009 by danfo

Four weeks ago at a football game in Athens, Georgia I sat five seats away from Katie Greene (@KatieDawg), an old college friend of mine who I now keep in touch with primarily through Twitter. It seems logical that we might cross paths since we both graduated from UGA and were in fact at a UGA football game. But she lives in New York City these days, and this proximity was entirely accidental and unplanned. It got me thinking: How many close encounters like this one happen probably all the time and we never even realize it?

Kinda neat to think about, especially if you’re active on social networking sites like Twitter or LinkedIn, where you may not have ever met a person despite frequent interaction or close mutual friends. So you share some degree of interpersonal acquaintanceship and yet you never even realize that you could be literally 15ft away from each other IRL. Weird.

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Do you have a story about a surprise rendezvous with distant familiarities? Tell it in the comments.

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Subconscious Obscurity

You will try to understand, and you will fail.

Category Archives: Friends