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Last night I was out at a club in NY and, sober in a sea of Long Island Iced Tea drinkers and with our month of consciousness on my mind, I decided to make some mental notes about the root of love cynicism: The Mating Process. The following are my observations about the people who are out to have a good time and find meaningful relationships all in one evening. I would like to add a caveat first, however. For those people who were out “just to have a good time” and actually mean that, then this list does not apply to you. From the looks of the crowd, though, there were a lot of people with high hopes.

1- The dance floor was packed with men that all looked alike and women that all looked alike. Same clothes, same hair styles, some general expressions…and in a badly lit location. This is not really your best arena for getting a good enough look at someone to even be able to summarize their features. Plus, I’m not even sure how you’d know if you were attracted to someone, unless you sense the pheramones from sheer proximity.

2- By the sheer nature of the location, its loud. Its supposed to be. You’re not going to be able to talk to people, you can barely hear yourself think. To the best of my knowledge, solid relationships are built on shared goals, values and interests. Unless you value your shoes, share a goal of not getting stepped on and are interested in dancing without moving your feet, this may not be the forum to find that person. People attempting to engage in conversation should have realized that this venue made that futile.

3- Desperation is palpable. Is it easy for others (men and women) to sense that you are searching. Your demeanor eminates the crowd and they know that’s not just a little laugh and a coy smile, but a quick calculation of whether or not you are boyfriend/girlfriend material. You’re not fooling anyone and the rest of the crowd can see it a mile away.

Overall, don’t get me wrong. Stranger things have happened than finding true love on a crowded dance floor, but in general, I don’t think this is the best way to go about achieving your goal. Go out and have a good time! Leave relationship seeking for daylight hours when you can differentiate yourself. I think it might just be worth it.

Just a fast note to alert all of our loyal readers that Erin and I have something new to celebrate. February will officially be Cynical about Love Month. This declaration does not make us bitter about our current states of affairs, nor does it mean that we take anything away from those of you out there who are all sorts of in love. We salute you for keeping the dream alive! But, Erin and I, we have some doubts…

Check back soon for upcoming thoughts on this month!

You know how sometimes you find a kindred spirit in the most random place? I had an experience today that confirmed that I found one of mine. I was meeting today with a friend who I had met several years ago and, years later, fate brought us back together. Although we are from different walks of life, we sound a lot a like. We talk at the same fast pace, changing topics every 30 seconds, and both love a good piece of gossip.

As if this is not enough of a sign of why we are great friends, he brought out of his bag the same Far Side Mating Rituals 2006 Desk Calendar that I have. In this day and age of all things technological, I was amazed that we, not only both still have calendars, but had the exact same taste in a humorous calendar! It was a little thing, but it amused us for some time.

I guess some days its just the little things that let you know that you have wonderful kindred spirits in your life. Thanks for a great afternoon!

And even with all that history, I still have to ask:

Was the Pet Rock a good idea?

By different criteria, would it have received funding from a bank or a loan from the Small Business Administration? Imagine how many Pet Rocks we’ve already passed up in this life…

An esoteric subject…

I was sitting in my Entrepreneur class recently and we were discussing start-up businesses and where the ideas come from. We looked at creating habits to note where societal trends emerge. We also talked about broadening our scope by reading different periodicals and looking for stimuli outside of our normal interests. All this said, I still have to wonder- Where do the good ideas come from? And who’s to say it’s a good idea when you’ve got one?

Anytime I announce that I have a great idea, my father is quick to tell me that I should wait for someone else to tell me it was good. And my question back to him is “why?” What makes someone else more qualified than me to decide whether the idea is a good one. This is still one of those areas that has evaded metrics. There is no ISO Idea to detect errors. I wonder if we’ll ever be able to do that. If good ideas are in the eye of the beholder, then maybe there is no right answer.

I wonder if good ideas are nature vs. nuture, like beauty and other personality traits. I wonder how many go discarded on a daily basis if people don’t have the courage to share them with the world. I wonder if ideas get better the more people you share them with and finetune them along the way.

I wonder who ever thought of the pet rock and how it made some much money. Will the wonders never cease?