Darkness on the Edge of Town
Posted by harlan on 10 Feb 2008 at 09:27 pm | Tagged as: talking to the void
I finally got in touch with Richard. He kept asking me how I was doing, which made me feel bad somehow, and then he gave me some advice, addressing me by name. “Harlan,” he said, “You’re not invisible. You need to stop staring at women.” I have no idea what he’s talking about. I was thinking about getting together with Richard for drinks or coffee, but I’m just not up for it. And no, I didn’t go to my brother’s house. I didn’t feel like trying to patch up old wounds right now. Besides, I got caught up playing online poker. I cannot believe how many bad beats I took. I’m down more than a thousand dollars. Actually, I’m down more than two thousand dollars. I’ll get it back.
Poker won’t fill the hole. You can ignore it all you want but it won’t go away. When you finally decide to do something about it, I promise it won’t be as scary as pretending it’s not there.
Go out with Richard and ‘listen’ to him. He’s the closet thing to a friend you’ve had in forever.
Harlan, if you’re creeping women out, you need to figure out why and change that behavior. Perhaps Richard could help you.
And ya, unless you’re independently wealthy…I’d leave the poker playing to those who are.
Don’t isolate yourself. I was unemployed for about nine months last year and the biggest mistake I made was not going out unless it involved job hunting, which made me dwell on the stress of not having a job and I ended up even more depressed then I might have been had I actually made a point to go out just for fun a few times a week.
Send me your resume :)
Step away from the keyboard….
tHE ONLINE POKER IS A GOOD IDEA. aLSO i RECOMMEND YOU GET A HANDGUN, LOAD IT AND KEEP IT ON THE TABLE NEXT TO YOUR BED JUST IN CASE YOU GET ANY OTHER BRILLIANT IDEAS. sO YOU CAN ACT ON THEM BEFORE YOU LOSE THE URGE.
Glad to see you are keeping the writing experiment going. I haven’t stopped by here in a while. I see you have been able to hook a few people. Good call on the nod to Bruce Springsteen, fucking brilliant, you dirty fucker!
Online Poker is easy to win at and make money at, provided you stick to statistical rules/card counting.
Oh, I hate that. Yeah, I just got GIGANTIC TITS and I wear tight and/or low-cut and/or sheer tops, BUT I DO NOT WANT YOU LOOKING AT MY BOOBS!
I mean if they didn’t want us to look at them, they’d…uh stay inside.
so what does my record have to do with the sorry state you are in?
I guess staring at women is better than staring at guys. Richard may disagree though. I think what he meant was that you are creeping women out when you do it incessantly. But who knows, maybe there’s one out there that likes it.
Yeah, she’ll be the one in the burkha.
Two days and no post.. you ok?
The sooner you get yourself into another job the better you will feel. My advice: Less Gambling, More Job Hunting!
And ya, Richard is right: if you want to stare at the women, you have to do it right. I have found these rules useful:
1. 4 Seconds. Don’t dwell for longer than 4 seconds on any one women. Any longer and you are staring/ leering.
2. Avoid Excessive Eye Contact. If you make eye contact, hold it for 1 second, then look away. For bonus points, try to smile. Staring right into their eyes for any longer makes you look like a psycho.
3. Make Eye Contact! Don’t just stare at their chests. They seem to hate that.
Harlan, what’s up? where’d you go? just curious as to how you are…
@Leland: there is definitely a difference between checking out and staring. most women i know aren’t creeped out by a glance, but staring is a different story. and looking good shouldn’t (and doesn’t!) bind us to any specific behavior, including accepting leering stares that make us uncomfortable.
Blythe, oh it binds…it binds.
yep. where’d ya go? put down the booze and the VR cards and give us an update.
Adam, I’m job hunting-want my resume too? :)
Hey Harlan,
I sincerely hope that you are keeping well.
I hope you are absent because you have A. Gotten out of the house. B. Gotten a new job.
Leland: And yet, the fact that we continue to be disturbed by creepy behavior despite your protestations… means… it does not. :)
OK let the rumors start..
I heard that Harlan finally got caught at Walmart. He is currently in jail. Apparently they have been on to him and building a case - It does not look good =(
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/TheftsOnRiseAtWalMartStores.aspx
crazy!!
_a
I think he just got tired of fake blogging and is taking a phoney break. In the meantime, I guess I’ll go over to Trevor’s blog and post a bunch of comments about how Trevor doesn’t really exist.
Hey, Harlan, if you’re out there, let us know. Should we start calling hospitals? Who do we ask for?
I feel so…very…alone.
Come on, Harlan, you’re killing us here. Did you go visit your brother?
Your sister?
Did the man finally bust your ass for shoplifting?
Did you and Richard go fishin’ up on Brokeback Mountain?
Did you find a new job?
Did you have to pawn off your computer to pay your gambling debts?
All of the above? None of the above?
What gives?
he’s on a bender
Hope you are busy up dating your resume.
Hey Harlan,
Everyone’s missing you!
Hi. I just stumbled upon your blog because of the Bloggie nomination, and now I’m worried about you too! Damn it.
Take care of yourself, Harlan. I just started reading.
Oh man, if I could tell you about all the jobs I’ve lost for fucked-up reasons…
Anyway, take care, man.
Harlan! Come on man, give us an update! We’re all missing you, just let us know how you are!