I had a terrible Saturday. I don’t really want to dwell on it, so I’ll keep this entry short.

I went to photograph Cheryl Hillen’s wedding in D.C. at 2 PM. That was pretty fun. I had a nice adventure finding the place, then got to play second fiddle to the main photographer, while I was there (which was a lot less stress for me). I tried to mingle a bit with the guests afterwards, but it seemed like everyone was married. There wasn’t a bare ring finger in the bunch. Rather than be bored for two hours, I decided not to stay for the reception (which I think disappointed Cheryl). Instead, I headed to a kickball party in Vienna. That was my big mistake.

I arrived at the party house in Vienna around 5 PM. It was a dress up, wine/croquet outdoor party, so I felt appropriate in the all-black attire I wore to the wedding. I must have looked pretty good, because the girls at the party were more interested in talking to me than normal. This may have been due to the fact that everyone seemed to know I was dating fellow kickballer Jenn, and they wanted to get the inside scoop. It’s funny how chicks seem to prefer taken men to single men. The scoop I told everyone was that I had been on a few dates with Jenn, but I didn’t think it would turn into anything more than that.

Everyone was drinking heavily, so I poured myself one or six beers while I was there. Jenn was pretty tanked by the time I arrived, and she was all over one guy (a fellow board member). I made a few attempts to talk with her, but she seemed disinterested. Instead, I socialized with many other folks, who appreciated my company. I became aware of other drama happening in the division. For instance, the girls who left my team to join another ended up pissing off that team. Now they’re wishing they had stayed with Frontline and will probably end up having a miserable season. They’re welcome to come back to Frontline next season, but I’m kinda glad they took their drama elsewhere.

Once I saw Jenn kissing that other guy, I didn’t feel like sticking around. I’m kinda glad I didn’t have to do the “breaking up” with Jenn, like I had planned… But it still annoys me that she would do what she did in front of everyone else, making me look like the idiot. Whatever. I’d rather look like the idiot than the jerk.

I got home feeling absolutely lousy. I already had a headache from the alcohol, and I was in a really bad mood. Despite myself, I went bowling with Robby, Lissy, Jamie, Deanne, and Dave, hoping to put my troubles behind me. It didn’t work. Hangover + uncontrollable allergies + wounded pride = a very bad Michael. I looked forward to passing out when I got home.

I’ve spent Sunday resting and relaxing. I watched the Battlestar Galactica mini-series again and again. The second time with the audio commentary. This week, I’m going to watch the season one DVD set I bought last week.

The fall kickball season begins this Tuesday. I’m excited about my new Frontline team. There are six veterans and twenty new players. I get to start again. And hopefully do it right this time.

Oh, I just redesigned the Frontline Kickball website. You may recognize the theme. Our schedule is posted there, so come out to one of our games!

This past weekend was super busy. So busy, in fact, that today my ass is completely sore.

It all started on Friday, when I picked up Jenn & went to an outdoor screening of Ghostbusters at GMU. We arrived way early (around 6:20 PM), so the field was practically empty. We killed some time talking on the bleachers, but after lulls in the conversation, it became obvious that we had to go kill time somewhere else.

We drove around GMU, and I showed her all the wonderfully boring buildings I used to frequent during my college years. Then I suggested we leave campus and go eat dinner somewhere in Fairfax City. We went to the restaurant previously known as Ned Divine’s (it’s basically the same restaurant with another, harder to remember name). I had a fantabulous pork chop, and she had some sort of chicken wrap.

We killed a good hour there, then headed back to Mason. We secured a decent spot near the screen and sat down to watch the movie. We saw another kickball couple a few yards from us and waved, but when they motioned for us to join them, I politely declined. Ghostbusters was, of course, very entertaining, but the hot weather and huge crowd made it fairly uncomfortable. As soon as the credits began to roll, we pulled up the blanket, scampered to my car, and exited the campus in about four minutes flat.

Fast-forward to Saturday morning…

I got up early—which was tough—and headed to Nottoway Park, where I was to lead Frontline’s Saturday Morning Athletics. They play a different sport each week for SMA, and this was the week of kickball. I asked all of my team players to be there, and those that came were able to field a team against the SMA regulars. It was a great practice, and everyone had a lot of fun. I pitched for the first few innings, which really made my left butt muscle sore for the rest of the weekend.

After two-and-a-half hours of constant playing, I had to tell everyone it was time to leave. I couldn’t believe so many people wanted to continue playing kickball out in the hot, hot sun. It was great, but c’mon… I could only take so much. And I was supposed to go meet Jenn in D.C. to watch the national kickball championships, which were going on at the same time. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I was unable to make it to D.C…

Instead, I spent about an hour talking to one of my new players—Allie. She and I ended up having a whole lot in common. She was an English major, a photographer, and a Ghoti Hook fan. Once the name Ghoti Hook came up, the floodgates crashed open. She told me she knew I was related to someone in Ghoti Hook. She and her sister (who is also on the team) saw Ghoti Hook back in high school. She told me of a time when Christian and Veronica took the two of them to a movie. She also mentioned Conrad’s Decapolis website, which she visited during its early years.

We discussed the mission of Frontline Athletics and the kickball team. By the end of our conversation, she was excited to step up and take on a leadership role with the team. I told her a good first step would be to lead a short team Bible reading/prayer before or after every game. We also talked about McLean Bible Church and the benefits/downsides of being in a huge church. She invited me to come to Reston Bible Church with her sometime for their 2-hour praise & worship service, which I believe happens every month or so. I told her, “Of course.”

As I drove home to get ready for my date with Jenn, I knew it would probably be our last.

Jenn and I went to the 9:30 Club to see one of her favorite bands, 2 Skinnee J’s—or, as I like to call them, 2 Shitty J’s. The crowd was full of drunk, white college kids—or, as I like to call them, dumbass cracker asses. It was definitely not my element, but Jenn seemed to be right at home. It was pretty obvious that we weren’t a compatible couple. During our conversation that night, she managed to diss the Evil Dead movies, Bruce Campbell, and Team America. Given the fact that she’s not a Christian, I don’t think we have anything in common.

The only reason Jenn & I are together is probably because we don’t have anyone else at the moment. That kind of relationship only lasts a couple weeks or so—until we find more compatible company. In this case, I don’t see it lasting past the start of the fall kickball season. Or even past yesterday. …Which is probably for the best.

Sunday was a day of rest. This entire week, in fact, will be a week of rest. No dates. No sports. No social life. Just me, a couch, a book and a soda. It’s gonna be great.

Last week, I was thinking to myself, “You know, I haven’t been on a date in a long time.” So, I e-mailed a girl at work, seeing if she wanted to join me for lunch. I’m not attracted to her or anything, but it was still nice to have lunch with someone new and carry on a conversation with her over a basket of Boneless Buffalo Wings.

The next day, I asked Jenn—the kickball girl I had the hots for a few months ago—to a performance at the Lazy Susan Dinner Theater in Woodbridge. I’ve wanted to catch a live theater performance this summer, but couldn’t justify spending the $35/ticket rate. I figured a first date with Jenn was worth the money.

She happily accepted my invitation and gave me directions to her apartment. I left work early on Friday and picked her up around 5 PM. The drive to Woodbridge was relaxing. The conversation was fluent and entertaining. And whatever nervousness I had quietly slipped away somewhere between Fairfax and Lorton.

We were the third table to arrive, so we had good pickings at the dinner buffet. I decided to throw caution to the wind and get three dessert plates full of apple crisp, strawberry shortcake, and chocolate mousse. Jenn ordered a glass of wine, and I told her to go ahead and get a bottle. I did a shot of wine to get things started. One bottle quickly turned into two—and that was before the curtain even went up.

The play itself was pretty boring. It was a comedy musical, and half the actors couldn’t sing worth crap. The play was called “Pajama Game,” and I thought the story was completely uninteresting. But Jenn and I would make cracks to each other between scenes, so it was entertaining nonetheless.

The ride home was swell. We said goodbye and I went home. I saw her the next night at the End-of-Season kickball party at Polly Esther’s in D.C. We then made plans to hang out twice this weekend—Friday at George Mason University for an outdoor movie night, and Saturday at some 9:30 Club show. We also talked theoretically about Cheap Tuesdays and going to the Washington Improv Theater in Adams Morgan.

I love the first weeks in a new relationship. I get to pull out all the great date ideas I’ve had since my last relationship. It’s also fun to meet someone who’s excited about going to all the places and doing all the things I’ve wanted to do—but could never find folks who were interested. Jenn’s already got a million bonus points for playing kickball. The fact that she’s attractive, fun and a Marketing professional living in Vienna only makes things easier. She’s younger than I (which is an anomaly in my post-high school dating life). She can quote any quirky cult film imaginable. Her taste in music is okay (but who are these 2 Skinny J’s we’re going to see on Saturday night?). No word yet on what she thinks about Battlestar Galactica, which is my current gauge of coolness. Ha.

At the end of the day, it’s just nice to have someone to hang out with.

I was going to comment yesterday in my journal how I haven’t watched the news since the Presidential election last November. That’s 8 months of getting my news solely from reading the latest headlines in My Yahoo. But that all changed this morning, when I woke up to news of explosions in London. At the time, they were saying it was just a power surge, so I didn’t pay too much attention. After hitting snooze a few times, then getting up, getting ready and driving to work, I recalled the explosions and asked my co-workers off-hand whether or not London officials knew what caused the explosions yet. “Al-Qaeda,” they answered. Silence. “They just awoke a sleeping giant,” I replied. And they agreed.

I disagree politically with everyone in the room I work in at Nextel. My co-workers are very liberal and often react in disbelief to any conservative or religious points of view. Naturally, they were bummed about the bombings simply because they knew “Bush would use it as propaganda for his crusade.” Whatever. There’s a difference between evidence and propaganda. But I don’t bother debating my co-workers, because nothing good will come of it.

Anyway, now I’m tuned into the news. I’m going to listen to Bill O’Reilly’s radio show today, and turn on FOX News, when I go home tonight. I’d like to see what the British people think about Bush’s war on terrorism now.

I photographed a Muslim wedding on Sunday. It was a bit different from the traditional Christian wedding we’re all used to. For example, during the ceremony, the bride and groom don’t say anything. Afterwards, they go off and sign a contract. The rings are exchanged later at the reception. It was pretty interesting overall—though it ran much later than I expected. The best part of the event was the cute waitress at the Lebanese Taverna in Tysons II (where the reception was held). Gotta remember to go back there on a Sunday.