Relationship placebo

During several discussions on dating and relationships over the past few weeks, I've come to coin a new term for something guys have been doing for some time now, which I like to call Relationship Placebo.

A relationship placebo is something guys pass on to the people they're seeing to make them think they're getting into a relationship without giving them the actual, meaningful signs. The person thinks they're getting the medicine when you realize you're only giving them a sugar pill.

Some examples:

• The guy you're seeing give you a nickname (one of the key elements in relationship building), but instead of using term with any real affection such as "darling," "honey" or "sweetie," he calls you "buddy," "kid-o" or "dude"
  
• He wants to bring you to a party (which is something that reinforces the concept of "togetherness"), but instead of taking you to something of meaning such as his best-friend's birthday, he he brings you to a party where he himself only knows one or two people

When you turn around and analyze, it's a Keyser Soze moment, where you realize through all of these gestures, he hasn't given you anything of substance to go on.

The best (and worst) thing about being in your 20's when your parent's host Thanksgiving

The best (and worst) thing about being in your 20's when your parent's host Thanksgiving is that you end up with almost all of the leftovers. Right now, because my parents assume I can't cook, I have in my fridge two pumpkin pies, enough Turkey to feed half of Idaho, three containers of gravy, and mounds of stuffing and mashed potatoes. Oh, and ice cream. Lots of ice cream.

The down side to having all of this food is that I was in the process of trying to get back in shape. I guess that may have to wait until December. As they say, free food trumps everything.

Get me away from here, I'm dying

Is it a bad sign when you keep a text message pre-written in your phone to have your "emergency bail-out" friend call you?

Does it make it worse that you can send the message with the phone under the table, without even having to look at it, as you nod, smile and keep the conversation going while your date keeps talking?

Over the past two months, while out with a lady, I've gotten eight calls from my friend that my grandfather has died.

Unfortunately, I've gotten so used to making my escape, that last night at Thanksgiving dinner, slightly aided by a wee bit of alcohol, I shocked my entire extended family by announcing that I had to leave as my grandfather had died. My grandmother was even more surprised at my news than you would expect, given that my grandfather passed away over 10 years ago.

Cleaning house

It's house cleaning time over here at Kev's Musings -- so in an effort to put off cleaning my actual house, I've decided to give Kev's Musings a bit of a dust-off. Just like in those days in college where you'd clean your room to avoid writing a paper, I guess old habits die hard.

The downside is that with the new format, I've lost my comments. So please, feel free to help create new ones.

Okay, back to cleaning and getting ready to head to my parent's house for another exciting installment of "Thanksgiving at the Silverman Household," which I'm sure will lead to many an amusing post. Have a happy Turkey Day.

I wouldn't recommend it

My evening last night consisted of glass of wine, an Ambian and the last 50 minutes of Love Actually. To say I had crazy dreams is like saying that there's this hill called Everest.

Words I never thought I'd hear

From a female coworker, on the way to lunch with two guys, so we knew she wasn't bragging: "I swear, I wish my boyfriend would stop buying me jewelry already."

I think we both stopped dead in our tracks from the shock.

It's so on...

Met up Thursday night with CW, Lisa, Ryan and Yukiko for what had been dubbed "Blogger Khaaaaan." Beer led to shots, shots led to playing pool (if you could call it that when having trouble just standing), and somehow we ended up carving a Turkey. Yes, at a bar. Don't worry, I don't get it either.

Overall it was lots of fun - good times were had by all except for my liver, which I swear I actually heard scream for help.

The next day, when paying for lunch, I found a receipt in my wallet from Blogger Khaaaaan, answering two outstanding questions:

1: How I got home (taxi, apparently)
2: That I rolled in shortly after 2:00 am - which was really a good idea considering I had a 9:00 am meeting and was leaving for an overnight stay directly from work, requiring morning packing.

I have a feeling the Wrath of Blogger Khaaaaan is already in the initial planning stages.

*Props to Ryan and CW for naming the event and creating the logo... We could open our own Geeky-branding shop.

Signs you're starting to get old...

...but aren't quite there yet.

When you get up one morning and decide you're tired of waking up for work hungover -- but you still don't cancel your plans to meet up for drinks that night.

Things that make you go "hmmmm"

You know you've become the quintessential single guy when it's three days later that you realize a girl tried to have the relationship conversation and you deflected it without even noticing.

Random/awesome text-message of the week award

...and the award goes to Jenni for her message Friday night:

"Got a new pickup line 4 u... I'll take u 2 the candy shop. I'll let u lick the lollipop... yeah, cuz that will work on all the honeys."

An age old question

Does it make me a bad person to use the return address stickers without making a donation to the charity that sent them to me?

It's not like I can send them back, or like they can reuse them or anything...

Things to keep in mind

It isn't premarital sex if you have no intention of getting married.