RISG: Rejection, Part I

The Raffle

Gentlemen, every man faces rejection at some point. This time on the Romantically-Inclined Survival Guide, we will take a look at that fact. Some receive more than others.  But every man faces rejection.  If he does not, he is not striving for enough. He is not pushing himself enough.  In the romantic world, rejection can be especially painful.  We fall hard for a girl.  And by fall, I mean flat on our faces fall.  But there is more than that one girl and more than that rejection.  This is a story about hope, rejection, and the lessons learned from a pretty hard fall.

"I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and get going, rather than retreat.”

-- Sylvester Stallone

It was senior year of high school.  As you take yourself back to high school, imagine for a moment any high school movie with an underdog, average, but likeable guy.  In this case, he plays soccer, is tall and lanky, and has a good group of friends.  But he can’t touch the “popular” crowd, and by all rationale, has no reason to try (or really want to).  In these movies, though, there is always one girl.  That one girl is transcendent of cliques.  She is beautiful, kind enough to look him in the eye, and wasn’t corrupted by the plastic nature of her cheerleader friends.  She has known the boy for quite some time, often since childhood, and she asks him to help her out with things like Calculus homework.

But, as we all know, without a special circumstance, the boy doesn’t stand a chance.  Hollywood, tauntingly, always provides.  In this case, there is a raffle. But not just any raffle. No, this raffle peaks the boy’s interest. This raffle isn’t just a fundraiser. This is a chance.

The Romantically-Inclined Survival Guide: The Serenade

Objective: Woo Woman of Interest

Process: The ancient art form of The Serenade

Location: Pretty Much Anywhere

Equipment/Skills Needed: Instrument, singing voice (good or bad), practice, confidence, mojo

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Wait? What is the Romantically-Inclined Survival Guide?
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The day before Valentine’s Day, I was wandering about the second floor of my dorm tower creating chit-chat and calming down obnoxious freshmen.  While this is my job, I also enjoy spending time with my residents, as they always seem to have fun things going on in their lives. Of course, the chit-chat that I created, on February 13^th, was about expectations for the next day. The question of the night, as I phrased to the ladies was this:

“Here’s the situation: It’s Valentine’s Day.  A guy friend, that you know pretty well but mostly just hang out in groups, approaches you.  Keep in mind that you consider him a friend.  There may be a knock on your door or he may chase you down in the middle of the UU Plaza. Either way, he is holding a guitar, and right then and there, he begins to serenade you.  Of course, you listen, completely surprised. When he is finished, he asks you: “Will you be my Valentine?”  What do you say?  Keep in mind, you don’t know what he will take out of you saying ‘yes’ to this simple request. Oh, and here’s the catch: he’s not cute.”

The Romantically-Inclined Survival Guide

**Note to the female readers out there: The Romantically-Inclined Survival Guide will be written primarily for men. But keep in mind, someone famous probably once said: "It is good to know your enemy, but even better to know what your enemy thinks about you." While men and women are not enemies, we are about as aloof to one another as battling generals. That being said, you are welcome to read these posts (and maybe even offer some hints.)** 

If you have read “The University Union” or know me at all personally, then you know that I take particular interest in the species known to man simply as “woman.”  While I certainly claim to know of their existence, let me be frank and honest up front: I am no expert.  The “woman” is a complex creature.  In fact, if you read the Bible, God created the “woman” last.  In my mind, I am pretty sure this is because they were so complicated, God needed an extra day to put together all the in’s and out’s.  Over thousands of years, “women” have puzzled us men.  We can’t quite figure them out, and we probably never will.  I don’t claim to be able to unlock the secrets the “woman,” but I can give you some basic survival tips that may prove exactly what you need to get just close enough to the species to see them smile and make eye contact. 

But beware: “women” are known to cause serious emotional confusion, heartache, lapse in proper judgment, excessive spending, and falling hard… very hard.

A Better Society Question

So, the other day I was at the Civil Engineering Career Fair here at Cal Poly. Yes, Civil Engineering had 39 companies to ourselves. They like us. Obviously, I was unsuccessful in my continual search for an internship this summer. Most people can't get past my average GPA or the fact that I have no previous experience in engineering. But I gotta ask, how do most people get their start? Oh, wait, they have to start somewhere? That's what I thought.

Blake: In Romans vs Barbarians

My name is Zach. And this is my dream come true through the eyes of a 10-year-old boy named Blake.

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My name is Blake, and I like cats. I hope my cats are doing ok at home. I am sure that my mom is taking care of them. Yes, I certainly have nothing to worry about. The cats will be just fine.  But I can’t wait to see them and my mom. I really miss her. She is so good at being a mom. She is the only who really understands me. She knows that I like strawberry jelly instead of grape and, somehow, she always fixes me when I am hurt. I hate getting hurt. Some boys like it, but I am not like other boys. No, I prefer to be civilized and read. Why would I hurt myself in a dangerous game when I could read a good story? I like English way better than P.E. I am definitely not like other boys…

Post-Summer Ramblings: Romans vs Rebels

Merely a preview of the Romans vs Rebels post...

What stings more than a smack to the back with a foam-covered PVC sword? A candy-tax by the Roman Empire on our campers. Justice had to be done.

The first platoon of rebel warriors (8-12 year-old campers) assaulting the Roman fort.

Atop the conquered Roman fort, as Captain of the rebels.

Post-Summer Ramblings: 2300 Lb-Force

The scene is Lake Powell, Reflection Canyon to be more specific. Our 60 ft houseboat is anchored up against a red-rock beach with some sand. How it works is that you pull the boat up against the shore with four anchors stretching out from the bow and stern: two lines on either side, two lines on both the bow and the stern each. The lines are attached to anchors which are buried in the sandy shore or, in our case, wrapped around and pivoted against large boulders. Over the course of our two weeks of previous experience from summers past on Powell, we have found our preferred method is to rely on the shear inertial force of a boulder instead of the compacted frictional force of sand. 

What we didn’t know is that as an evening front blew in from across the desert that evening, we would have to rely on far more than just the boulders to hold us to the shore.