Analytics

Saturday, February 7, 2026

Post #7555 J

 Pandemic Report

The latest CDC stats: no update of the 4 megastats since Jan. 10. The trend is somewhat up in the southern central, Great Lakes, and Southeast


The Sick Times:



COVID-19 news items:

Other Notes

The blog has trended at or below trend on weekends. I didn't publish the 2-3 posts I've been working on the last few weeks, but hopefully they'll be out soon. X/Twitter seems to have a new base of around 214 followers, and X Analytics teases about 1.7+K impressions/week.

I usually don't discuss my private dating life, which probably doesn't interest others, except maybe fellow geeks. I'm not a bachelor by intent, but I've never really led an active dating life. especially since earning my PhD at UH. I almost got fired for trying to ask out a fellow female programmer (who wasn't all that attractive and a bit of a coffee junkie); my boss had a strict nepotism policy and actually fired our receptionist for marrying another colleague. Forget academia; I had no social life, but I refused to  see a coed in my office unless the door was open. Some coeds were very aggressive; I won't go into details here, but I remember one lecture I gave at UH where I spent the last 15 minutes lecturing to the floor. There was one student who was a dead ringer facially to one of my sisters, and was doing something you never want to see a sister do. 

I dated a few girls while at UH Catholic Newman, but I had a really bad experience with this one tall woman (5'10.5"; she had introduced herself to me at the Newman Center, saying that she noticed me as the guy who wore suits at Mass, and I probably never noticed her because she was "freaky tall") with serious issues, Just to give a sample taste:: I went to as Astros game one Saturday afternoon. (At that point, they still played in the Astrodome.) I came back to I swear, about 2 dozen voice messages on my answering machine from her demanding to know what I was doing. I went to Sunday Mass the next day, usually followed by a coffee/glazed doughnut social upstairs. She makes a beeline to me.

Where were you?

At the Astros' ballgame.

Why didn't you ask me?

I didn't know you liked baseball.

I don't, but you should have asked anyway.

[I'm now slipping into my Mr. Spock persona: this is not logical...]

She shifts position and continues: Well, my boyfriend and I were driving by Astrodome, and we were wondering why so many cars were parked out there.

[I'm now thinking: she has just invented a boyfriend to make me jealous. A particularly stupid boyfriend who can't explain a bunch of parked cars during baseball season.]

I finished high school in 3 years, graduating at 16. I didn't have a normal dating life in high school,

I remember being at a base stop on base where a somewhat attractive redhead girl started up a conversation with me, saying "I have a 37-inch bust. That's just one inch shy of a perfect figure."

I was really in a state of shock; I had no idea what to say to that: do I say,"That's very impressive!"?

I didn't really have any preferences, maybe a kind-hearted, sweet, pretty girl; I remember liking this brainy hugh school girl who also ran track, but she wasn't into me, My Dad thought I was into top-heavy women. I'm still not sure where he got that idea. I didn't want to say anything about body types because I didn't want my future bride to get self-conscious over some stupid thing I said as a kid. I remember I once went to to my apartment mailbox and met this petite gorgeous woman with a dazzling smile and perky personality. flat as a board, probably married, but I was instantly attracted, and really knew I would have had a crush on her no matter what her size. At the same time, I didn't want to say anything dismissive about curvy women to my dad and have it come back to bite me on the ass if I ended up choosing one to marry one, Over my dating history, I would say they all had very feminine with small to average figures with my 2 biggest crushes being short or shorter than my short mom (over 5 ft). and they attracted me mostly with their personalities,

But where I really started dating was at OLL, a former women's college. I had a few unrequited crushes. I remember Linda. who I think was pursuing a speech disorders major, sweet, pretty. She probably was dating someone. I think she knew I liked her and didn't want to encourage me. So I think she was probably graduating this one weekend. I was sitting in a lounge along the male/female dorm corridor. She was walking with two burly men like football linebackers. I was hoping she wasn't going to have them beat me up over God knows what. They turned out to be her big brothers, and she was introducing  me like I was one of her good friends. I think she talked to me more then than any other time I could remember. I still wish I had had a chance to win her heart; she was a sweetheart.

The real intent of this commentary was to discuss a different, unexpected experience.

Another friend of mine was Fran, She had a younger sister J. Trust me, you need to know this piece to understand the story. I think that I was interested in Fran, but I think she was in a relationship. I didn't know J all that much. What I recall towards the end of one semester, when you have a rush of papers to do, she had a typewriter issue. I don't know if hers broke down. I already finished my typing requirements and offered to lend her mine. She was very appreciative; I really didn't mind, and she returned it after she was done.

Early next semester I started getting the first of a set of secret messages left under my dorm room door, usually after a day of studies. I'm not sure I would call them love letters, more like a secret admirer, really someone who was trying to bring some sunshine into my life, a break from the stress of studies and tests. It was clearly from a woman (I'm not sure how I knew: maybe I just knew from having a mom and 4 little sisters). Everything G-rated, not really sounding passionate or speaking of unrequited love. Still, who doesn't like positive attention? No hint of a final reveal or meeting.

I think at least initially, they came at somewhat random times. Then I started getting uncomfortable. It's hard to explain why; maybe she may have said something like I was looking happier. I felt in a sense I was being stalked. Then it came to a head one day when it turned out the go-between couldn't simply leave it under my door. Her accomplice was a black male dorm resident, and he knocked on my door to deliver a pan of fresh brownies still warm from the oven. My initial reaction was of pure paranoia, like what some people put in brownies (like marijuana). But, what the hell? Brownies are brownies, and I'm a guy. Not even my Mom made a pan of brownies for me (with 6 younger siblings. I was lucky to get my one). So of course, I finished the batch, but when I returned the pan to my fellow resident. I told him that she needed to stop this, that it was beginning to drive me crazy.

Then I got the most heartbreaking letter of my life. (Not the worst. The worst was after I broke up with Tall Girl. That was typewritten on Merrill Lynch letterhead: you see, guys didn't break up with her: she broke up with them and had the last word. I never read past the first paragraph; she pretty much called me the spawn of Satan. It wouldn't have surprised me if she mocked me for being shorter,) Anyway, the secret admirer wrote that she never intended to have that effect on me; she had wanted to make me happier and was heartbroken it had the opposite effect. She would respect my wishes and leave me alone. Neither she nor her accomplice ever revealed herself to me (in my recollection). To be honest, it made me feel like a jerk. Who knows? Maybe I passed up my only chance at happiness.

That's not the end of the story. Sometime later {like months} Fran mentioned to me that I would be happy to know J had a boyfriend now and was very happy. I was completely bewildered by why Fran thought her little sister having a boyfriend would make me happy? And then it dawned on me that Fran thought I knew J was my secret admirer. OMG! Fran should have kicked my ass over breaking her sister's heart! I would never have hurt J knowingly. I already felt bad about the final letter; now I felt even worse. J was a sweetheart and didn't deserve that.

Posted by at