Food, Wonderful Food!

I was chatting with my friend Mere, the other day about food.  Actually, it was about cooking, and while I don't recall the exact details of the conversation, it prompted me to think about all those poor bachelors out there who struggle with the "food" and "cooking" thing.

No, I'm not going to give you my "special" recipe for pumpkin-butternut squash soup (which, by the way was a HUGE hit at my last Halloween party).  This isn't about teaching bachelors how to cook, because, let's face it, if you're a bachelor, cooking is probably very low on your list of things to learn.  It ranks right up there with learning how to dance the Tango or knowing all the words to "Stranger of the Night" from the Musical "Phantom of the Opera." 

Which is unfortunate, really, because, while we as bachelors are way more interested in the latest tech toys, or how to fix our car, or pondering why women don't wear short skirts more often, we really could use skills like cooking, dancing and a basic knowledge of musical theater.  Yes, there are those bachelors out there who know all of these things.  As men, we generally call these guys, gay.  But that's a big mistake. 

Ummm...honey, dinners ready!

Who Are You? Who Who, Who Who?

Certainly, there is something to be said for being the rough and tumble, rugged bachelor type that cooks only when the words "camping" and "possum" are involved, but take a moment, bachelor friends of mine, to think about how to really seduce a woman.

Too often, bachelors, particularly the younger ones, take the approach of impressing a woman the same way they might try to impress a fellow bachelor.  We brag about ourselves, we try to show how much money we have by taking them out to expensive restaurants and we attempt to appear as macho as possible.  The idea that we might show a sensitive side, or a hidden talent or an understanding of the ins and outs of a proper box step is not just abhorrent to many bachelors...it's downright frightening. 

And I get that.  As American men, we're not really raised with the idea that real men dance, and cook and listen to opera.  Real men in America drive muscle cars, paint their body for football games, watch movies with explosions and nudity and never, ever, EVER cry.  No matter what.

I'll admit, I often fall into this line of thinking.  My entire life has been a series of porn parties, drinking parties, random hook-ups, movie explosions, bar fights and raw machismo.  It's an image that many men attempt to portray, and one that very few are truly successful at.  Let's face it.  Unless you wander the countryside with a shotgun at your side, clad in leather on the back of a Harley Hog, you probably will never be as "manly" as the men you hope you imitate.  The fact is, we can't all be "The Road Warrior". 

But that doesn't mean we still can't be manly men.  Truth be told, I've always had a place in my heart that literally seethes and rebels at the sight of "sensitive ponytail guy."  We all know these guys.  They have gone by different names over the years, but they're essentially the same.  Call them SPG, MetroSexuals, or Hipsters, the point is, they are the more sensitive, allegedly more enlightened male that women say they want, but really don't. 

At the same time, they don't really want the bad boy guy all the time either.  As far as I can figure out, women, being the complicated creatures they are, want the bad boy, the sensitive ponytail guy, protector and confidant all wrapped into one.  All I have to say is, "good luck, ladies."  That's a pretty tall order.  Frankly, men just aren't that versatile.  For that matter, we're not really interested in being that versatile.  We want to be the guy that smashes stuff, kills a woolly mammoth and then clubs some chick on the head with a club and drags her into our cave.  In our inner core, we're simply childish cavemen.  The sooner you face that fact, the better off we'll all be.

But...and this is a big one, guys, so pay attention...that doesn't mean that as men, as bachelors we shouldn't strive to better ourselves.  This means being open to some of the more sensitive sides of our nature.  That means learning some skills that not only will help you make your way through this crazy world, but will also help you woo a woman.

Cookin' With Gas:

Imagine a date.  Not just any date.  But a date with a woman that you really, REALLY like.  This isn't some floozy you met in a bar and you liked her because her tats were sexy.  No, this is a woman who has a brain, legs that won't quit and a real sense of humor.  She isn't too high maintenance and while she enjoys Keaneau Reeves movies for some inexplicable reason, she also enjoys a good shoot-em-up flick. 

Sure, you could take her out to some expensive restaurant, but what would that prove?  I can't speak for all women, but many of the women I've known over the years have lamented the fact that every date they go on consists of dinner at an expensive restaurant, hanging out in a crowded bar followed by awkward attempts at kissing or more. 

It's not that these women didn't enjoy the dinner, or the free drinks.  It's just that, they say, it all seems so formula, so cliche.  There's no imagination, no spontaneity, no romance. 

But what would happen if, instead of asking her out on a "traditional" date, you threw her a curve ball?  What if you asked her to your place for a nice, quiet dinner, followed by dancing at a local club?  Imagine how the late night kiss attempt might be different. 

You see, there's something to be said for taking the time to create something with your own hands, just for her.  And here's the thing...you don't have to be a five-star chef.  Just the fact that you made the food yourself tells her that you like her enough to take the time to craft a meal specifically in her honor.  Maybe it's just a salad, followed by chicken and pasta with a light dessert to top it off.  Hey, that's fine.  Buy some decent wine, play some good music and spend the evening just talking and getting to know one another.

Maybe you invite her over a little early and make it an event.  Cook the meal together.  You'd be surprised at how much fun that can be. 

I know, I can hear a lot of you saying, "But Chris, I have no idea how to cook."  That's okay.  I'm assuming you can read because you're reading my post right now.  There are these things called cookbooks that you can buy, or, better yet, recipes you can download right onto your computer-machine.  These fabulous inventions tell you what kind of food to buy, how to prepare it, how long to cook it and how to serve it.  Truly an ingenious invention.

Now, I know how to cook.  I learned at a young age, and it's no surprise since a person doesn't get to be my size without knowing how to cook for himself.  And be sure...I've made my share of mistakes.  I've filled up the muffin tins to the top, which, by the way, creates giant mutant muffins and creates a huge mess in your stove.  But I've learned, and some of my best dates have been one-on-one dinners that I've made for the one I lusted after.  Believe me, a simple dinner with some appetizers, some candlelight, a clean apartment and good music softly playing in the background is a much better venue to get to know someone that in a crowded, expensive restaurant or bar.

Dancing Fool:

That leads me to the other skill that is really important for bachelors to know; dancing.  I'll be the first to admit, I'm not a very good dancer.  Left to my own devices, I end up looking like a bear that has just been shot in ass with arms flailing and legs kicking out in all directions.  I actually thought I killed an old man once while trying to dance the two-step at the Grizzly Rose one year.  Seriously, I thought he was dead after I rolled him like he just stole my wallet. 

 

It's called the "Wild Goose" why do you ask?

However, I'm a pretty decent Salsa dancer and I can hold my own in a slow dance, which are really the only two dances any bachelor really NEEDS to know.  If you don't know how to slow dance, take my advice and learn how...yesterday. 

I guarantee, if you look online, you can find a local studio that will teach you how to dance a traditional slow dance, and probably even teach you some other dances as well such as the Tango, the Salsa and maybe even the Macarena if you ask nicely.

Okay, I was just kidding about the Macarena, but honestly, learn to dance.  Ask any woman you know, and they'll tell you right away, there's nothing as attractive as a man who really knows how to dance.  It shows confidence, coordination, stamina and, in the end, dancing can just be plain sexy.

You need look no further than the Latino culture to find proof of theory.  Latino and Spanish men are raised knowing how to dance.  Dancing isn't a woman thing, it's a machismo thing.  I once knew a small Latin man who wasn't much to look at by his own admittance, but put him in a club and he'll have some of the most attractive women fighting each other for a chance to spend just one dance with him.  That's because he knew how to dance, how to lead, how to seduce through the art of the dance. 

I make no promises, but I will say this.  If you have a woman you want to seduce, I mean really seduce, make her dinner at your place, be intimate in your conversation, show her your talents instead of just bragging about them, and then take her out dancing where you can strut your stuff a little, topped off by a romantic slow dance...well buster, you'll be one quick road trip back to your apartment for some all-night lovin'. 

For Singles Only...An Addendum:

All of this brings me back to one of my pet peeves.  Shopping for the bachelor.  I tend to buy my food as I need it.  This means spending a lot of time in convenience stores or making quick runs to the nearest Vitamin Cottage or Whole Foods for a special meal or party.  However from time to time, I have been known to hit the Target Superstore, or King Soopers or even a Sam's Club for shopping purposes.

Here's the problem with that.  Convenience stores and specialty stores are more expensive than your traditional grocery stores.  But the problem with grocery stores, or the more reasonably priced Sam's Clubs of the world sell foodstuffs in larger quantities than I can actually eat.  In other words, when I shop at a more traditional store, I always end up buying more than I use..because it's packaged that way, and some of what I buy always spoils before I get to it.

This truly annoys me.  It feels like throwing money out my window just because everyone else is doing it.  I wish, and I know this is really just a pipe dream, but I wish there was a store out there specifically designed to sell food packaged just for singles.  I could buy a package of hot dogs in quantities of four instead of eight since I won't eat eight hot dogs, but I'll eat four over the course of a day or two.  As it is, I open a package of hot dogs, end up eating two or three, and then I put the rest back in the fridge to sit and slowly go bad.  I don't want eight hot dogs...I want two, three, four tops. 

Here's another example.  I don't need two pounds of hamburger.  I need a half pound that I can mold into a burger and eat with a serving of instant potatoes, which, sadly, only comes in packages of four servings.  Again, I know I'm asking for a lot.  I mean, we all know that most shoppers are buying for couples or families with two-point-three children.  But I just wish there were more options for singles to buy single food servings at locations that don't start with the number 7 and end with the number 11. 

On Final Thought:

Okay, enough bitching.  The point is, as bachelors, we need to understand that women DO want to see our manly side.  They want to feel safe.  They want to trust in our strength and integrity and they want to know that if we have to fend of a cluster of ninja's in a dark alley, we'll be able to hold them off long enough for her to scramble away while we slowly die from multiple ninja star wounds. 

At the same time, they also want to trust us, they want to know that we're not all dirt and fists and blood and gratuitous explosions.  They want to know they can actually talk to us.  That we'll listen, that we can actually take care of ourselves and that we're not just looking for someone to make us spaghetti and do our laundry. 

By knowing how to cook and add starch to your shirts and running vacuum over your carpet from time to time, they'll see that you aren't looking for a mother, but for a partner.  And if you can then take them out for a night on the town and dance with them, hold them in your arms and not crush their big toe or kill an old man, they'll view you in an entirely different light.  They'll wonder what other "secret skills" you may have hidden away behind your gruff exterior.  Sing them a song and they'll literally melt into a puddle in your arms.

To be straight here...you don't have to be Wolfgang Puck, or Fred Astaire or Michael Buble.  You simply have to be able to cook a meal, dance a simple dance, sing a simple song and suddenly you'll have a leg up on your competition.  You can still enjoy your crappy porn, Kung Fu movies and old Violent Femmes albums.  Just make sure she sees that there's more to you than being the simple caveman we all are at our core. 

Just be careful, because once you start doing that...once she sees you as a talented, sensitive man with other manly traits, you might just find yourself in an honest to goodness relationship.  And then you'll have to turn in your bachelor card.  Don't worry though, as a tried and true bachelor, you'll probably screw it up somewhere along the way, and then you can use your talents to go out and find another wonderful woman to woo.  And that, my friends, is the REAL circle of life. 

The Truth About Charlie Sheen

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.  Yes, it's a cliche, but there are times when cliche's actually carry some weight.  This is one of those times.

We've all seen the clips, read the quotes, watched in horror, amazement and a kind of morbid curiosity as actor Charlie Sheen performs one of the most epic flameouts of all time.  I mean, this isn't a get drunk and trash a hotel room as a washed up rock n roll star flameout.  It isn't even the, get caught in a public bathroom performing oral sex kind of implosion that seems so popular with government and various church officials. 

Would you like to see my "little Sheen?"

No, this road to ruin is unique.  It has flair, it has some punch, it has style.  It's the kind of self-destructive behavior last seen in the late 70's when Syd Vicious was busy tearing up the English countryside.  Friends, this truly historic meltdown will go down in history as one of the great and memorable meltdowns.  This is like Rome crumbling under the relentless barbarian hordes.  This is..well...epic.

But with all of the twists, turns and bizarre plot points, bachelors all over can learn something very valuable from the Charlie Sheen supernova; and your friendly Bachelor Diaries is here to tell you what.

Growing Old Sucks:

Listen, I know that.  You know that.  We all know that.  I JUST celebrated my 41st birthday two days ago.  Still, age is really just a state of mind...blah blah blah.  It's true, though.  I don't feel 41.  Sure, the knees ache sometimes, the hearing isn't what it used to be (although I attribute that to my radio days) and of course, hangovers take longer to recover from.

But for the most part, I still feel young and spritely.  Well, if not spritely, at least healthy.  But regardless of how a bachelor might feel, there are certain lines that get drawn as the years pile up.  For instance, I don't go "clubbing" anymore.  Not because I don't like the music, but because it just looks strange for a 41 year old man hanging out on the dance floor, drinking and watching the ladies dance.

Don't get me wrong, I still hit on the young ones from time to time, I just do it in a different way than I used to and in different venues.  I know my limitations, I play to my strengths, I do what I can to hide my myriad of flaws.  However, there is still a group of bachelors out there that refuse to acknowledge their age, flaws or weaknesses. 

Subject number one, for your consideration...Mr. Charlie Sheen.

Let me state, for the record, that The Bachelor Diaries does NOT condone, in any way, violence against women, striking a woman, domestic abuse or any of that kind of thing.  Hitting a woman doesn't prove you're a man, it makes you weak. 

And as we know, Mr. Sheen has been accused of striking more than one woman in his life.  That is deplorable and he should be punished for it if it is true.  However when it comes to his philandering, drug use, alcohol consumption and liquor-fueled ramblings in the press is actually quite impressive.

It's almost admirable in the way that, for some reason, Sheen has lost all ability to edit the thoughts in his head before he spews them out for all the world to mock.  And let's face it, sometimes that is not only funny, but downright refreshing. 

Perhaps he's lashing out.  Maybe he's lost his mind.  I don't know and I don't care.  I found a list of his more colorful quotes from a recent  L.A. Times article.  I love the fact that he says things like, "

"I was bangin' seven-gram rocks and finishing them because that's how I roll, because I have one speed, one gear. [I survived] because I'm me. I'm different. I have a different constitution, I have a different brain, I have a different heart. I got tiger blood, man. Dying's for fools, dying's for amateurs."

"Clearly I have defeated this earthworm with my words –- imagine what I would have done with my fire-breathing fists."

"The run I was on made Sinatra, Flynn, Jagger, Richards -- all of them -- look like droopy-eyed, armless children."


"I'm on a drug. It's called Charlie Sheen. It's not available because if you try it you will die. Your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body."


"They can’t hang with me, their bones would melt like wax."

"I'm an F-18 bro and I will destroy you in the air and deploy my ordnance to the ground."


"That was an old brain. I have a new brain. I have a 10,000-year-old brain and the boogers of a 7-year old."

Mid-Life Meltdown:

Okay, that last one is kind of a WTF moment.  But the other quotes.  I mean, COME ON!  Comparing yourself to an F-18?  Calling out Sinatra and Jagger, perhaps the gnarliest partiers of all time?  Saying you have "fire-breathing fists?"  This is the stuff of legend, folks, legend!

You have to admire a man who has slept with some of the most attractive women in Hollywood, isn't afraid to say anything to anyone, drinks, parties leaves a trail of ruin in his wake and then steps up to the mic. to brag about it...loudly.

There's just one problem.  Mr. Sheen looks desperate, he looks lost, he looks out of place.  If he were 21 and running rampant like this, movies would be made, books would be written, he'd be chiseled into the annals of mythical figures, joining the likes of Vicious, Morrison, Moon, Dean.

With any luck he'd die at the bottom of a pool before his edge wore off and became a sad figure of what he once was.  The strange thing...Sheen has seemingly done it backwards.  After being essentially a child movie star, Sheen has shed his good boy image and it feels like he's trying to recapture his lost youth.

It all stinks of mid-life crisis, and that's the problem.  Again, I get a thrill when a man walks forward and challenges all comers.  When he says his fists are fire-breathing, when he says he parties harder than anyone and then goes out and proves it.  For some bachelors, that's the ultimate goal.  It's the bad boy that we have all dreamed of being and who we think all women want.  Of course there's something sexy in a man with that kind of confidence, that kind of freedom of thought and spirit.  He's dangerous and let's face it, some women find dangerous sexy.

That's all well and good, too.  But not when you're in your 50's.  Not when you have children who depend on you.  Not when you have family reputation and real responsibilities on the line.  If Sheen wants to look at someone who did it the right way, he doesn't have to look far.  He simply needs to take a glance at another "Brat-Pack-er" Robert Downey Jr. 

Downey, raised hell, he got hooked on drugs, committed crimes, went to jail, abused alcohol, trashed hotel rooms, slept with starlets and basically did everything he could to ruin his career and end his life.  But he did it when he was still relatively young.  Now that he's a bit..."aged" he's pulled his shit together and is heading down the road to being a more refined, respectable and graceful bachelor.

And that's the point, I guess to this post.  Sure, it's okay to look at Sheen and point and laugh.  But there's a part of most bachelors who admires his gumption, his fire and his egotism, even while they deplore his actions against women.  But we wince a bit every time he spouts more drivel. Not because what he says isn't true, or may be offensive to some.  No, we wince because it's a bit embarrassing.  He's acting like a spoiled 22 year old instead of like a grown man.  Bravado only goes so far as an adult.  At some point it needs to be replaced with a quiet confidence, otherwise you're little more than a loud teenager yelling into the night looking for attention.

The Classics:

Look at the bachelors who carry the flag for the aging single man.  Wayne, Grant, Heffner, Hugh Grant.  They all had flaws, they all made awful mistakes along the way.  But as they grew older, they didn't go screaming into the abyss.  They spoke with strong, carefully chosen words to get their point across.  Even Sinatra and Martin continued to party long after they should have hung up the martini glasses, but they did it with class. 

That's why they'll be remembered forever as bachelor legends.  I'm not saying you have to stop living the bachelor life.  It's just that, like everything else, things change a bit as you grow older.  The rules are a little different.  You gain more freedoms here, you lose some advantages there.  It balances out in the end, but you have to pay attention to the signs.

I threw a party this past weekend for my birthday.  It was a nice, small-ish gathering of friends.  We had drinks, we played "shuffle-beer" and I stayed up until 5am.  I got a few noise complaints, but the cops never showed.  Compared to my 30th birthday party, where arrests were made, things were broken and relationships altered forever, I would say my latest birthday bash was a bit more civilized, a bit more in keeping with my age.  And I'm okay with that.

They say that with age comes wisdom.  Clearly, Sheen is a walking illustration showing that isn't necessarily true.  Maybe he's the exception that proves the rule.  Maybe not.  Maybe he's just being a "guy's guy" and he actually believes this is how men his age should act.  I can't tell you what is going through his mind. 

I do know that, were I in his shoes, I probably would take time to fly to the Bahamas or the French Riviera, boink some classy French actresses, brunettes, with the Cleopatra haircut and rosy cheeks, and try to enjoy my later bachelor years with a little less commotion.  But that's just me.  I only hope that when the time comes, I don't find myself in a tiny red sports car, bragging that my partying would "melt your bones to wax" and skydiving to get one more adrenaline rush.  I hope my mid-life crisis, when it comes, and I'm sure it will, will be a bit more graceful than that.

I will, however begin referring to my fists as "fire breathing dragons."  I mean, that's just cool.

Survival Guide

Hey there fellow bachelors and bachelorettes!  I hope you are all recovering after another Valentine's Day has passed us by.  For so many of you out there, I know that February 14th send you screaming into the night, either from frustration, or from madness at being surrounded by all the syrupy-sweet L-O-V-E on public display.

If you're anything like me, Valentine's Day is just another day.  It always has been.  Listen, I'm not bitter...at least not about V-Day.  I might be bitter about a lot of other things, like 85-degree days in October, the cost of quality bourbon and the Broncos loss to the Jaguars in the 1996 AFC Division playoffs (I'm not sure I'll ever get over that one).  But when it comes to the day of Saint Valentine, I'm all smiles and cheerful whistles.

Step away from the edge, Valentine's Day is survivable. 




I say, go for it, couples!  Spend your hard earned cash at crowded fancy restaurants where you'll pay $100 or more for cheap wine and grade B beef.  Buy that diamond necklace that you'll regret giving the minute she starts sleeping with your best friend.  Hell, have sex in the park, or, like John Lennon once exhorted, do it in the road.  I'll cheer you on, take pictures and post them to my Facebook page.

I enjoy the big show of love that breaks out like acne all over the place in the middle of a traditionally cold February.  And while I might remain cynical about a holiday that was created by a card company simply to increase revenue, I like the idea of taking one day out of the year and celebrating something like love.  And while I prefer holidays that are a little more inclusive, Valentine's Day doesn't mean you have to be alone if you don't have a significant other.

Like pagans at Christmas, bachelors can sometimes feel a little left out of the festivities when V-Day rolls around.  But we can learn something from the Pagans or the Jews or the Muslims.  When Xmas started to pick up steam, they didn't just sit around and feel sorry for themselves.  Heck no.  The Muslims observe Eid Ul Fitr.  The Jews took a relatively minor holiday and pumped it full of steroids, handing out a week's worth of gifts instead of opening presents on a single day (take THAT Vatican!).  The Pagans got pissed that the Christians stole their Solstice observance and managed to sneak one of their primary symbols (the tree) into the whole Christmas celebration (don't look now, you're worshiping Mother Nature, he he he).

With that in mind, I figured out a long time ago that, while Valentine's Day might be for lovers, love itself isn't just reserved for the tall, skinny and beautiful.  Everyone can celebrate the day, you just have to know how to do it.

The Panic Button:

While you are likely reading this a day after Valentine's, it doesn't mean that the information is old and stale.  Nope.  In fact, it seems as if the entire month of February is dedicated to lovers or various lame holidays.  Let's face it, after New Year's Eve, it's a long dry spell to the next worthy holiday. 

It's kind of like being in school.  The first semester is chock full of holidays and days off and vacations and such.  But starting in January, you have a long haul until you finally stumble blindly into Spring Break.  It's kind of like that.  You hit Labor Day, then Halloween, then Thanksgiving, the Xmas then New Years...it's like party buffet and you're filling up on the good times. 

But just about the time you open your bloodshot eyes to welcome in the new year, you realize you're basically going to have to go cold turkey for about three months.  That can be difficult for your average bachelor.  Sure, you can manage January.  You're still recovering from three straight months of lost weekends, plus you're probably still trying in vain to stick to at least ONE of your resolutions.

But then February stops by, pulls up a chair and begins an intervention.  It's cold, you're alone, you haven't "partied hard" for a bit and you're starting to go into withdrawals.  February is a slap to the face, it's cold water on the head, it's the school counselor who tells you you'll never amount to anything.  Suddenly, you find yourself thinking about the fact that you're still single.  You realize your bank account is low and not partying for so long has allowed you to remember that you hate your job.

Now you're panicking.  February, with it's Valentine's Day and President's Day and whatever holidays are hidden in the shortest month of the year, has gotten under your skin, and into your head and is taking control.  You start thinking about who you can ask out for a Valentine's Day date.  You start seriously considering settling for the next woman who smiles at you across the bar.  Of course, it doesn't help that you're also starting to receive all those wedding invitations in the mail for those summer weddings.  Desperation is creeping in.

I'm here to tell you, don't give in.  This is NOT the time to lose yourself in a pity party.  It's time to shake yourself and revel in all the great things about being a bachelor.

Start With The Basics:

The first thing you have to do is recognize that being single is a good thing.  I'm not saying that being in a couple is bad, don't get me wrong.  I'm just saying that most bachelors tend to selfish, carefree and, let's face it, just a little irresponsible.  We're men, so we do stupid things, but we also enjoy the freedom to do those stupid things without all the repercussions we might receive if we were in a relationship. 

Also, being a bachelor means never having to say, "I'm leaving you."  Or, for that matter, having to hear someone else say it to us.  Just this past week, some good friends of mine who had been dating broke up after dating for nearly two years.  Sure there might have been a few rough spots, but I'm not sure anyone really saw it coming.  I felt awful for both of them as they told me and some other friends who happened to be together for a meeting.  They were both nearly in tears and it was sad.  I've been through that, we all have.  It's no fun.  Being a bachelor means we don't have to go through that.  So, we have that going for us.

We don't have anyone to answer to, really.  I was at a Superbowl party a couple of weeks ago and as the party started to die down, I was ready to go out for some more drinks.  Most everyone had left, but my ride wasn't in the mood to go out.  Actually, let me correct that.  He was willing to go out as was the other guy.  But the host of the party had a fiancee who was not about to let him wander into the night with his drinking buddies on a Sunday night.  And my other friend had to get home, because his fiancee was at home and was furious that he'd already stayed out after his curfew.  I went home, grabbed a bottle of bourbon, drank alone and vowed to find more bachelor friends.

The fact is, while being in a couple might have certain advantages, being a bachelor has just as many advantages, and not quite as many disadvantages, I mean, other than the whole, "single men die sooner" thing.  Other than that, being a bachelor is all good.

Just Getting By:

Now that you've started to remember that being a bachelor is not all doom and gloom, you now have to turn your attention to a much more serious problem; making it to St. Patrick's Day.

According to my calendar, St. Patrick's Day is the first major (or "High Holy" holiday of the year).  Some might consider New Year's Eve to be the first, but that's really the end of the previous year, so it doesn't count. 

Getting past Valentine's Day is doable, I'm assuming you all survived since you're reading this post.  But even after the day has passed, you're surrounded by Valentine's Day reminders.  The holiday has a shelf life of, basically, two weeks, as lovers and couples who couldn't find time on the 14th, celebrate it at various times throughout the month.  Then, once V-Day has passed, mass media turns its attention immediately towards Easter. 

But there are ways to survive February, and The Bachelor Diaries is here to tell you how:

1.  Celebrate your friends - This may seem odd, or trite, but seriously, it's awesome. I just remember something one of my closest friends told me 20 years ago.  Lovers come and go, but good friends are forever.  You may fight with a friend, you may disagree and get annoyed with them, and even want to punch them in the face from time to time, but the fact is, it's very VERY rare to "break up" with a friend, at least really close friends.  Take them out for drinks, organize a dinner for your closest friends and laugh and tell stories and remember how they fill you life with joy.  Trust me, it's better than any four hour dinner at some fondu place.


2.  Celebrate your family - If breaking up with close friends is rare, it might be even more unlikely that you'll ever break up with your family.  Sure you might not see them as much as you'd like, or maybe you see them way more than you'd like.  The point is, love isn't reserved only for couples.  You love your family, you love your friends.  Why not take the time to let them know how much they mean to you. 


3.  Remember Mardi-Gras - Okay, this is a strange one, but for bachelors, Mardi-Gras can be like an oasis in the desert that is February.  The problem with Mardi-Gras is twofold:  A) unless you live in New Orleans, you kind of have to search out the great parties or make your own. B) If you're religious, you have to observe Lent, which is a total bummer.  On the other hand, if you're NOT religious, you have to hear from everyone about what they're giving up for Lent.  If you can manage to listen to them explain why giving up spinach or candy bars illustrates their devotion to god, then Mardi-Gras can be a blast.  Sadly, outside of The Big Easy, girls don't often show their tits for beads, but that doesn't mean it never happens, the good bachelors will just have to look harder than usual.


4.  Find Your Own Reasons to Celebrate - I'm lucky.  My birthday falls right at the end of February, so I have a built in reason to party.  But for most, February is just one long drag.  But it doesn't have to be.  Have a President's Day party.  Watch the History Channel and every time a president's name is mentioned, drink.  Call up friends and find reasons to join them for a night out on the town.  In actuality, since there is so little happening in February, you might be surprised how many others are also looking for something to do, even your married or engaged friends.  This is also a great opportunity for random hook-ups.  Remember, you're not the ONLY one that probably spent Valentine's Day alone.  There are a lot of others out there simply looking for some companionship, if even for one night. 


5.  The Ides of March Madness - This is another toughie for some bachelors.  Football is over, basketball is in the doldrums of mid-season, hockey is only popular in Northern cities and soccer is, well, soccer.  BUT, college basketball IS starting to heat up and watching the bubble teams can be fun, particularly if you have a team that might make it into the tournament.  Also, baseball spring training begins in mid-February.  Start a baseball fantasy league, have a draft, drink beer and lose yourself in the few interesting sports left on the calendar.

For some bachelors, January and February is a time of creation and rebuilding.  I knew a guy years ago that would essentially become a hermit come January 1st.  He'd stay in, work out, go on a cleanse and re-emerge in March or April leaner, meaner and ready to rock n roll.  It's a good idea, actually.  I mean, hey, even the most ardent of bachelors need a break every now and then. 

The point is, like life, Valentine's Day and February in general is what you make of it.  It doesn't have to be a dreary, depressing time of the year.  In fact it can be a joyful month of celebration, recognition, reflection and self-examination.  Personally, I love February, and not just because it's my birthday month.  It snows, it's chilly without being freezing, I start to work on my golf game, and I find fun things to do. 

So get out there, enjoy yourself, find the hidden fun in February.  Before you know it, St. Patrick's Day will be here before you know it.  If nothing else, it might be a good month to start training for St. Paddy's.  Hey, a man has to dream, right?

It's SPORTS, Baby!

As America begins to slouch forward this week, shrugging off it's collective hangover after the annual national party known simply as "The SuperBowl," I got thinking about the average bachelor and his relationship to sports. 

Now, I'm a big sports fan.  In my younger days, I used to play football, baseball, racquetball, basketball, and I wasn't bad.  Not long ago, I used to spend every Sunday at a park with coworkers and friends playing volleyball.  I still get to the batting cages and enjoy a rousing game of softball as well.  In fact, in the past few years, I played indoor soccer (I was horrible), dodgeball and softball on organized teams in actual leagues.  I even used to fence (no, not building fences, but swordfighting).  I still manage to get out for a few rounds of golf a year. 

Sports and the Bachelor, it's a touchdown every time!

It's a commonly held belief that women don't really enjoy sports.  Or at least not as much as their men do.  However, I have to say that living in Colorado at least, that's not really the case.  Most of the women I know are WAY more active than I am.  Which leads me to the conclusion that at least when it comes to PLAYING sports, it's actually a benefit for bachelors to actively engage in sports, even if it's beer-league kickball. 

But when it comes to watching sports?  Well, now, that's a completely different ball of wax.  And I'm not even just talking about watching it on TV.  For some reason, women don't get that bachelors, most of them anyway, really enjoy watching their favorite sports, whether it's on TV or in person at a stadium.

Plus, there's another aspect of sports that really seems to baffle womankind everywhere, and that's the bachelor's infatuation and uncanny knowledge of sports minutiae.  Sure, we can't remember her birthday, or her favorite colors and if you put a gun to our head, we might have a hard time remembering her eye color.  But ask us how many stolen bases Ricky Henderson had in 1988, or who won the Home run derby in 1999, we'll rattle off names, numbers and even do a play by play for you.

So this post is for the women.  It's a little insight into how sports fits into the life of a bachelor, and, how you can use sports to "get your man". 

It's A Guy Thing:

I have a lot of female friends who enjoy their sports. They like to play sports and heck, they'll even watch it from time to time.  But in my time wandering this planet, it's very, VERY rare to find a woman with the kind encyclopedic knowledge of sports your typical bachelor often has. 

I can't explain why I know the batting average for Andres Gallaraga in 1995, but I always forget a girl's birthday or an anniversary date.  What I DO know is that I'm not alone.  Many bachelors have this problem.

Ladies, before we go forward, you have to know something right from the start.  This isn't a personal thing.  We still care about you, it's just that our minds are already cluttered with stats and highlights and information that is basically totally useless in the real world.  Basically, it's a guy thing.  You wouldn't understand it, and we don't expect you to, honest.  At best we hope you can deal with it and know that we're not trying to be idiots, it just comes naturally.

Bowl-A-Rama

I spent this past Sunday, like a lot of Americans, hanging out with friends, eating wings, drinking beer and watching the Packers beat the Steelers in SuperBowl 45.  There were men, there were women, rooting interests were established, comments on the commercials were made, the halftime show was scrutinized. 

A lot of the comments about the game itself came from three of the guys in the room.  Another guy wasn't really into the game.  He was married, but I think the fact that he's from Puerto Rico had more to do with that than his nuptials.  One woman actually left in the middle of the first quarter to go to church, another sat in the back and said nothing for two hours, a third woman was playing hostess, a fourth woman kept commenting on the players butts, and my friend Mere, actually was watching the game and making timely, intelligent comments.

Now I'm not going to say one is better than the other, but from a bachelor's perspective, only one of the women I mentioned previously was an actual joy to have at the party.  It's not that sitting quietly in the corner is a bad thing, it's just that it's kind of awkward.  Playing hostess is a good thing, an absolute necessity, but frankly, bachelors could go an entire game without ever hearing how nice the players' butts look in their pants.  We just don't want to hear that.

However, if a woman make a comment about a particular player or a play or makes an astute observation about how the 3-4 alignment of the defense is leaving gaping holes in the secondary for the faster wide receivers....well, for some bachelors, that's terms for love at first sight. 

Seriously, ladies, we love that.  Listen, we're not asking you to be able to remember all those useless statistics.  That's our job, and if you do it better than us, then we're going to feel a little emasculated.  But simply by trying, just the little act of knowing something, well, that might be the best way to capture a bachelor's attention.

It shows us that you care about the things we care about.  It let's us know that you understand our infatuation with men the size of of a schoolbus slamming into each other at 100 miles an hour.  More importantly, it's a subtle approving nod that tells us, "it's okay, go ahead and remember your stupid statistics and forget my birthday, because I'm going to drag you to a tupperware party someday, and you'll be okay with it."

And we will be.  Because it's a two way street.  We see that you're trying to enjoy the game and learn something about it.  Plus, we'll appreciate not having to answer a million inane questions while our favorite team is down by three with two minutes to go.  We'll gladly go to that tupperware party or baby shower, and while you're mingling with your girlfriends discussing taffeta, or shoes, or whatever you talk about, we'll be in the corner proudly regaling our friends with the one time you knew the difference between a zone and man-to-man coverage scheme.

Baseball Daze:

Of course, the SuperBowl is one thing.  Even non-football fans watch that game.  But baseball is a different beast entirely.

A little caveat here, I'm a huge baseball fan.  Like golf, I'll watch it on TV if it's on.  But like golf, it's always better in person.  Golf is much more enjoyable to play.  Baseball is much more enjoyable to see in person.

I love baseball so much, that it's on my list of must-do dates.  In other words, when I start to think that I'm getting really interested in a woman, I'll take her to a baseball game.  If she hates it, I pretty much know the relationship is doomed.  If she has a blast, then there's hope and reason to move forward. 

I'm not asking you to suddenly begin loving baseball.  That's just something you can't fake.  In most cases, all I can do is simply ask that you not HATE baseball.  But if you're interested in a guy, one of the best things you can do is to at least try and like his favorite sport.  It may be football, or baseball or hockey or basketball or bicycling.  It doesn't matter.  Just try to take an interest.  For the reasons I stated above, plus one other reason.

Like my baseball date, bachelors will take a woman to their favorite sporting event as a kind of test.  We WANT you to like our favorite sport because we WANT to spend fun times with you.  Part of that is being able to have a shared connection with a particular team.  Not liking our favorite sport is almost always a signal to the bachelor that the relationship is going to fail.  It's that important.

Couch Potato:

Finally, a lot of women get really upset at their men for sitting around on the couch watching golf or basketball or whatever.  For some reason, right about kickoff or first pitch or tip off, women decide THAT'S when they need the trash taken out or the sink fixed or errands run. 

Don't do this.  Again, I'm not saying you have to let your man sit around the house for hours on end, eating pizza, watching ballgames and turning into Jabba-The-Hut.  But don't hound them either.  After a while, it really starts to seem vindictive.  Like you're just angry that for three hours on Sunday, we're not paying attention to you and paying more attention to grown men playing kids games. 

All we ask is that you be aware of when "the game" is on.  It's not that we won't take the trash out or fix the sink or run the errands.  It's just that we prefer to do this stuff BEFORE or AFTER "the game". 

On the plus side, if you ever want to break up with a guy, one of the quickest ways to do the deed is to constantly bother him during "the game" or mock his favorite sport or sports team.  Trust me, chances are, he'll break it off and come out looking like the bad guy in the whole affair.

Tips For Chicks:

So with all that said, here are some tips ladies can use to catch the attention of that particular bachelor, or at the very least, ways you can manage to not screw things up by messing up the all-important sports issue.

1.  Find out what his favorite sport is - try watching a few games to see if you might enjoy it also
2.  Learn the rules - nothing is more annoying than having to answer a ton of questions when all we want to do is watch the game.
3.  Figure out the key players - You don't have to know all the players, just the big names and the teams they play for.  Knowing some of their big achievements or why they're important also helps
4.  Know the schedule - Some sports like baseball and basketball have a ton of games, but not all are important.  The big games, though, do matter.  Try to know when the big matchups are on.
5.  Do some research - The internet is a wonderful thing.  Do a little background research on the sport, learn the teams, understand some of the rivalries, find out about some of the key moments in the sports' history.

One final thing.  As a 40 year old bachelor, I'm not in the loop like I used to be when it comes to pop culture.  That means I have to go out of my way a couple of times a week to try and find out the latest gossip with the recent hollywood hotties, or the most current musical superstar.  I watch "The Soup" I check out the internet, I even ask my friends who ARE in the know.  This way, I can try to at least not sound completely out of it when those topics are discussed. 

I'm not always successful, but I will say that I love the look on the faces of my more hip friends when I actually know who Will-I-Am is or the words to the latest Hanna Montana song. 

So now you know.  Of course, you won't be required to spend your weekends at HOOTERS or sit through a double-header at Coors Field.  But you'll have plenty of opportunities to strut your sports knowledge in front of your bachelor friends.

The SuperBowl may be over, but right around the corner is March Madness.  It's a perfect time to test your new-found sports skills.  Join a pool, catch a game with your bachelor buds and see how they react when you talk about how the ACC is really down this year or how San Diego State is a Final Four quality team, even if it does play in the Mountain West Conference. 

They'll spit beer through their nose and then look at you in disbelief.  But then don't be surprised if they don't offer to buy you a plate of wings and later ask you out.  Try it and let me know. 

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

Wow, I can't believe it's been an entire MONTH since my last post.  I have a ton of things to post about, I've just been busy with work, and life in general.  So many things to talk about, from bachelor parties, to date etiquette to "crazy" girls (of which I have more than my share of experience with).  Of course, I'm always open to any thoughts or ideas you might have.  Want to ask me a question?  Just send it to me here or on my Facebook page under "The Bachelor Diaries".  I'm happy to answer any question that's bachelor-oriented. 

 

"Ooohhh, I'll smack you good, I will!"

But for right now, I want to talk about the time-honored tradition of the "Bachelor apology".  If you're not a bachelor, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about.  That's because the B.A. as it's called isn't between a bachelor and a woman, it's something that is strictly between two bachelors.

That isn't to say that there isn't the old-fashioned bachelor apology to a lady.  But that's usually simply called, "The Apology".  When a bachelor has to apologize to a woman for something stupid they've done, there's a specific way to do it.  Sometimes it involves trinkets, like jewelry, or chocolates or a new car, depending on how stupid the bachelor was.

The important thing to remember when apologizing to a woman is to:

1.  Be sincere - In the absence of actually BEING sincere, at least SOUND sincere
2.  Assume all blame - Never implicate her in any way.  Take all responsibility
3.  It's not about you - It's all about how SHE feels, not how bad YOU feel

There you go.  Follow these three basic rules and you'll be okay, most of the time.  Also remember that women have particularly long memories.  They often won't tell you exactly how they feel, they'll get mad at you for not simply "knowing" how they feel, and they'll tell you everything is okay even when it's obvious that everything is NOT okay.  Apologizing to a woman is a landmine, inside a war zone, wrapped in ground zero of a nuclear bomb.  

In other words...it can be tricky.


ManSpeak:

But none of this applies when the apology is bachelor to bachelor.  It's way simpler and uses far less words.  But while the bachelor apology is easier, there are still some things to remember to make it a real apology and mend fences between two feuding dudes.

What a lot of women don't understand is that, simply put, men fight.  We like to fight.  It's kind of in our blood.  When I was growing up I used to get into scraps all the time with the boys in my neighborhood.  We'd take something pretty stupid and blow it up into this big thing and the next thing you know, we were wrestling on the ground, slapping each other with sticks or pushing someone out of the treehouse. 

When I got older, I had some friends that I used to hang out with, playing racquetball, or basketball or board games.  It didn't matter what it was, we were all young and hyper-competitive.  It was only natural that tempers would sometimes flare.  Sometimes I would get into fights on the courts, racquetball rackets flying, or basketballs being flung at heads.  Hell, I even got into a fistfight over a game of Risk one day.  Words were exchanged, dice was tossed in the general direction of someone's head, fists of fury flew.

And lest you think that maybe I was the only one with an anger management problem, all of my friends at one time or another had fights with someone else in the group.  It didn't matter if it was a pick up game, a game of cards, football practice, baseball practice, etc.

The thing is, guys fight...all the time.  Now this came in handy when I started working in news.  People fight all the time in newsrooms...seriously.  Sometimes punches are even thrown.  Everyone in a newsroom is opinionated.  However, it's important to remember this...it's never personal.  You can get angry, you can fight, say mean things and raise your voice.  You can even throw a punch.  But it's never personal. 

Again, I realize that this can be a difficult concept for some to grasp.  But usually bachelor fights are intense and over very quickly.  They're also usually about something stupid.  A fact not lost on most battling participants once the anger has subsided.  Once the fight is over, a few things need to happen before you can get to the actual apology.

First, you need a little time.  And I'm not talking "girl" time, which we all know can mean anywhere from 24 hours to three years.  Bachelor time can be basically be broken into two categories. 

1.  One day
2.  The time it takes to sober up

If the fight was alcohol-fueled, you HAVE to wait until both parties have sobered up and have figured out what exactly happened.  This is usually the case for bachelors over the age of 21.  If the fight was motivated by something else, then a day is usually sufficient. 


The only two exceptions to this rule are:

1.  The person you had a fight with is a rival or someone you already disliked.  This kind of fight carries grudges and no apologies will be forthcoming, so no need to worry about it.
2.  The fight was over a woman.  In this case, things get murky.  Frankly, bachelors shouldn't be fighting over a woman.  It's undignified and no one wins. 

I've had fights over a woman, it never turns out well.  I used to date a woman named Sarah.  A pretty redhead who was very high-maintenance and prickly at times.  We went out with an old friend one night and he proceeded to get drunk.  Sarah didn't like my friend pretty much from the get go.  She let me know it and wanted me to ditch him so we could go somewhere else together.  At first, I was reluctant, I mean, you shouldn't let a woman dictate your friends, right?  But then he continued to drink and got really hammered.  At one point, Sarah had had enough and frankly told him to beat it.  My friend took offense and proceeded to call her several "bad" names.  I didn't want to beat the crap out of my friend, but I was really pissed.  I mean, truly furious.  I simply told my friend, what he did was unacceptable and that we were through.

About six months later, Sarah and I were through.  I haven't spoken to my friend since that incident nearly eight years ago.  So, I guess we all lost, except Sarah, who ended up in a happy relationship with someone else.  So, you see, no one wins when you fight over a woman.

Anyway, once the fight is over, a little time has passed and everyone is sober, it's time for the actual apology, bachelor-style!

Dude, my bad:

Chuckle if you want, but I've actually apologized using those exact words.  And it worked, because...well, because guys are simple.  In fact, when it comes to the Bachelor Apology, the fewer words and less emotion involved, the better. 

Here is an example of a typical B.A.

Joe - Hey, uh...I'm uh....
John - Yeah, I know...ummm...whatever.
Joe - No, I mean it, I uhhh...you know.
John - It's cool.  I'm...you know...I'd never really...
Joe - Yeah.
John - So, let's just...
Joe - Totally over.  I just...I mean, my bad, dude.
John - So we're good?
Joe - We're good.

See how simple that was?  No actual sentences.  More like a jumble of unfinished phrases and thoughts.  What you couldn't see was the handshake that follows it at the end, or the man-hug afterwards.  This is a lot like other "deep" conversations that men have.  few words, but the meaning gets across somehow.

In the end, being a man, being a bachelor has its advantages.  You can express entire thoughts and feelings in the span of two minutes and fifteen words.  The problem comes when you're SO used to expressing entire thoughts in broken phraseology, that you struggle to communicate with women who, for some odd reason, require you to speak in full sentences.

Of course you can't apologize to a woman like this, but that's what bachelor friends are for.  So you don't HAVE to use your words, at least when you don't want to. 

Doing The Party Thing

One of the things about being a bachelor is that you always have someone to go to parties with.  On the flip side, you never really have anyone to go to parties with.  Confused?  Don't be, let me explain.

As a bachelor, I know a number of women who are definitely what you might call "catches".  They're attractive, funny, smart, you know the deal.  Some of them are already dating someone, some are confirmed bachelorettes.  Some are just in between relationships.  Whatever the issue, the fact is that I can generally find one of them accompany me to a party or at the very least meet me at said party.

As a bachelor, I absolutely LOVE parties.  All kinds of parties.  Of course, the best parties take place between the end of October and the end of December.  There are a few others, like St. Patrick's Day and Fourth of July, but mostly, those are more like outings rather than parties since bar-hopping is usually involved.

But when it comes to parties, the New Years Eve party is often the most anticipated and the one that involves the most upside as well as the biggest potential for disappointment.  There is a reason for this, which I'll get to in just a second.  But first, we have to have a "Party Primer" for those still wrestling with the concept of fun and frivolity.

The Party Types:

1.  The formal party - These parties are generally reserved for weddings, funerals (yes, funerals), graduations, prison releases and office gatherings.  These parties are fraught with landmines such as not getting too drunk and ruining your tux with the remnants of your last meal, or hitting on your boss's wife or making out with the office slut.  These parties are more like networking opportunities than parties.  There are rules and protocols you have to follow and if you don't people will talk and you'll bear the shame until the next poor doofus does something even more stupid.  While these parties CAN be fun, you have to be careful about what you say, who you say it to and what you do.


The "Formal Party" can be made more enjoyable by having a date with you.  If you bring the right person, hours of fun can be had by simply sitting in the back and mocking your co-workers, the bridesmaids, relatives of the recent grad, well, you get the point.  Anything is open for mockery, the way they walk, the clothes they wear, the bad toupee being worn by uncle Bernie.  Don't do it too loudly, don't laugh at inappropriate times (like during the eulogy) and stay relatively sober.  


2.  The "Outing" Event - These parties generally revolve around special celebrations, be they obvious or obscure.  St. Patrick's Day outings are a good example, as are the Frozen Dead Man Days in Leadville.  Regardless of what is being celebrated these parties often involve large groups of people who may or may not know each other being crammed into a tiny bar and then moving this mass of people to another bar and so on until slowly the herd is culled until only the strongest survive.  It's kind of like Lord Of The Flies for alcoholics. 


These parties can be fun, and they're a great way to meet new and exciting potential partners since there will often be a lot of new faces in the crowd.  The date you bring to this kind of party is really there to act as, A. your wingman, or B. your designated driver.  The biggest rule to remember for this kind of party is to stay up with the group, know your limits and make sure you have bail money.  


3.  The Houseparty - These are my favorite parties because they can be so intimate and yet at the same time, very unpredictable.  A houseparty can erupt at any time, for any reason, which is why they can be so much fun.  You don't have to have a good reason for a houseparty other than a simple desire to have one.  Sometimes these parties are smaller and you'll know everyone in attendance.  Other times they can be massive and involve random groups of folks wandering in and out like a locust attack.  They'll eat the food, drink the beer and move on.

The rules for enjoying a good houseparty are simple.  Don't break anything, especially in the bathroom, don't throw up on a floor, don't piss off the host, REALLY don't piss off the hosts' girlfriend and/or wife, if a fight breaks out, leave, make sure it's okay to pass out there if you have to, did I mention not to throw up on the floor?  The date you bring to this party is a wildcard.  On one hand, it's a great way to get closer to said friend.  The houseparty is great for making out with someone, particularly later at night.  On the other hand, you could spend the night simply hanging out with your date, again, mocking the unknowns if it's a huge party involving lots of strangers.  Sometimes the house party can get too intimate and suddenly things might get a little awkward between you and your "date".  It's always great to have a date at a houseparty to check in with from time to time, depending on the size of the party, but, and this is important, only invite a date you really know and really like to a houseparty because anything can happen and you want to be with someone who is, ahem, flexible and is open to craziness.

New Years Eve:

All of which brings us to the New Years Eve Party.  Certainly any of these three kinds of parties can take place on December 31st.  But without a doubt, the best kind of NYE party is the houseparty.  I say this for a couple of reasons.  For most bachelors, nights like New Years Eve and St. Patrick's Day are what we call, "Amateur Hour" because this is when the party-time partiers come out in force.  These are the ones that end up drinking to much and driving back to their remote suburbs where they'll later regale the neighborhood for years with stories of how they braved the downtown crowds for a 30-second glimpse of fireworks.

Anyway, because its amateur hour, it's always a good idea to get off the roads and find a nice, safe haven where you can get drunk, be stupid and pass out in peace without the fear of getting mugged, arrested or hooking up with someone who will give you nightmares well into your 60's.

But even if you manage to find a quality houseparty to attend on New Years Eve, there are still rules to follow in order to make your party not only memorable, but enjoyable as well (trust me, there IS a difference).  So, in an effort to make everyone's New Years one for the ages and to help us all ring in 2011 on a good note, The Bachelor Diaries is happy to present the top ten things you need to do to help make December 31, 2010 the best that it can be.

1.  Keep your expectations simple - One of the biggest mistakes bachelors make when it comes to New Years Eve parties is that their expectations are simply too high.  Hey, we've all seen "When Harry Met Sally," and thought we'd all like to think that we'll have that one special moment at midnight, chances are that you'll be getting a peck on the cheek from the hot girl in the room if you get a kiss at all.  Be content with being with friends, having drinks and toasting in a new year.  Seriously, the higher the expectations, the greater chance of being disappointed. 


2.  Bring your own alcohol - Yes, you can generally assume that there is a lot of alcohol at a houseparty, and chances are you can help yourself to the copious amounts of liquor on hand.  But by bringing your own alcohol, you ensure that you'll always have something to drink that you like, plus you won't feel like a mooch when you finish off your friends' last bottle of hard cider.


3.  Recognize how special the night is - This is particularly true if you're with a group of close friends.  With all the strife, sadness, terror and loneliness in the world, you'll do well to realize how luck you are to have close friends, a roof over your head and a life worth living.  You get to see a new year which means another chance to "get it right".  It's 365 more days you can spend with your friends, try to improve yourself, realize your dreams.  Take a moment and tell those close to you how you feel about them and toast to a great year ahead..but...


4.  Don't get overly sentimental - No one likes a sappy drunk.  Besides, too much sentimentality can make it seem less real.  Certainly take the time to make a toast and tell the group how you feel, but if you feel the need to get really personal, do it one on one.


5.  Be with someone special - This doesn't have to be your date or someone who you're in love with.  It could be your best friend, a lover, someone you're interested in, the point is, you want to ring in the new year with them by your side if you can.  Now, this might not be possible, and if it isn't, find the next best person.  Like the old song says, "Love the one you're with".


6.  Take a risk - It's New Years Eve.  All years you've tried to play by the rules, all year you've been good.  This is the time to do something crazy, fun, maybe even a little out of character.  Streak with friends through a park, sing karaoke for the first time, ask that person you've had your eye on out on a date.  Why not start the new year on a positive note by doing something daring.  (Notice I did not say stupid or life threatening...again, there IS a difference).


7.  No Strippers - Listen, strippers are skanks, no offense, but they are.  They're just above hookers on the food chain.  Strippers at a houseparty is an invitation for trouble and probably some kind of venerial disease.  They'll cost you money that could be spent on alcohol and invariably a fight will break out, it happens when strippers are near.  That's why when I'm at a bar and a fight breaks out I immediately look around for the stripper.  Sometimes they're disguised in regular clothes, but they're there, trust me.  Seriously, strippers will only lead to the bad end of a potentially great party.


8.  Tell Stories - One of the best parts about New Years is taking the time to look back on the previous year and remembers all the great moments that you shared with your friends.  Take some time to recall the funny, embarrassing or outlandish moments you had through the year.  You can also take a moment to remember those who aren't with you anymore.  There's nothing like a good story to bring life to a party.


9.  Take Stock - Certainly this is something that is often best reserved for those quiet moments in the early morning hours when it's only you and a few close friends left standing (or staggering, whatever).  This is a good time to look ahead and figure out what you want in the coming year.  Do you want to continue being a bachelor?  Do you want to turn in your card and settle down?  Do you want to finally make the leap with that special someone or do you want to continue to live the life of a bachelor?  When I say take stock in regards to bachelors, I'm specifically talking about relationships.  Hey, they matter, even to bachelors, and this is the best time to sit back and think about important matters such as that.


10.  Pace yourself - This is VERY VERY important, so listen up!  Sure it's tempting to want to throw down loads and loads of alcohol from the start.  But if you aren't careful, you'll be the one slumped on the couch around 11pm who wakes up and wonders what the hell happened and unsure why you only have one eyebrow.  Get drunk, drink, have fun, but don't overdo it or else you'll regret it the next day and not because the hangover will be brutal but because you'll have missed the entire party, especially those great moments early in the morning when the best stuff happens.

These are basic rules for enjoying the New Years Eve houseparty.  Remember the old houseparty rules still apply, don't piss anyone off, leave when a fight breaks out and don't break anything.  So, as 2010 slips away into the mists of time and we all prepare for another 12 months of trials, tribulations and joy, remember that it's not so much the party that matters, for the bachelor, like everyone else, it's who you are partying with that matters.

Oh, and seriously, don't throw up on the floor.

You Look Maaahhhvelous!

They say that clothes make the man.  I tend to agree.  Of course, this is coming from a man who likes to wear jeans on a regular basis, likes to lounge around the house in sweats (my particular favorites are a Christmas gift that say "I am working" on the legs) and owns not one, but TWO pair of Crocs.  Simply put, I've never been mistaken for being a paragon of fashion virtue.

Of course, that's one of the great things about being a guy.  When it comes right down to it, our clothing selection is really pretty basic.  Pants, shirt, socks, shoes, maybe a jacket.  Plus, the styles of clothing have remained pretty constant over the years.  Sure, the ties go from skinny to wide, just like the pantslegs and for a very forgettable twenty years in the 70's and 80's men's fashions more closely resembled an explosion at polyester factory right next to a clown college.

The old saying, "If you look good, you'll FEEL good, holds as true today as when it was first uttered by some random talking head on television 20 or 30 years ago.  But what makes you feel good, clothing-wise?  Like everything else, everyone has their own definition of what looks good and hence, what makes them feel good.  But there are a couple of classic looks that work regardless of who you are or when you were born.

Style:

The thing about style is that if you have it naturally, you can pull of almost any kind of look.  MC Hammer had style and he somehow managed to make parachute pants popular, if even for just an instant.  The same holds true for Michael Jackson, Sean Connery, Brad Pitt, etc.  Those guys could walk out of a Wal-Mart wearing suspenders and birkenstocks and somehow they'd manage to make it look good.

The point is, we all have a specific style.  The problem is, most bachelors have no clue what their "style" is.  They throw on the same old clothes every time they go out, trying to keep up with the latest fashions with no regard to what actually works for them.

I'm no fashion consultant, far from it.  But I DO know a few things about what it takes for a bachelor to look good and make an impression.  These are lessons hard learned through the years.  But before I get to my tips for good bachelor fasion, I have to talk about the classics first.

Mad-Men:

Sure, it seems cliche right now, but men's fashions of the 30's, 40's, 50's and early 60's have stuck around for a reason.  The pressed slacks, solid colors, matching jacket, loose fitting but not too big, shoulders accentuated, solid color tie, nice shoes...how can a guy go wrong with that look?  These clothes make a man look dashing, daring, dare I say, manly. 

I prefer solid colors to patterns and such.  Frankly you wouldn't catch me dead in a cowboy shirt (you know, with stripes and stars and designs all over the place).  But as bachelors, I have to say, there are two areas where we simply don't stack up against our counterparts from those decades; the head and feet.

No, they didn't have different shaped heads or six toes.  They just happened to take more notice of their footwear and, of course, nearly all men sported a lid. 

I was talking to some women last week during a show and somehow, the conversation turned towards shoes.  As a bachelor, I rarely get into conversations regarding shoes.  I have several pairs of shoes which I wear depending on the occasion or what I'm wearing.  I never give much thought to the shoes I'm wearing.  But I was shocked when each and every woman at the table (five in all) made it very clear that one of the first things they look at when sizing up a man is his shoes.

In the words of one of the women, "You can have the nicest shirt and a great suit on, but if your shoes are dull or sloppy, it doesn't matter."  Basically, she said she can learn just about everything she needs to know about a man just by looking at their shoes.

When I asked her to tell me what she gleaned by looking at my shoes, she responded, "You have good taste, but you don't always take care of what you have."  I had no response.  It was true.  My shoes were a nice, brown leather, rather expensive pair of loafers, but they haven't been polished and looked a little worn.  Trust me, I will be polishing those shoes before my next outing.

So bachelors, your shoes matter.  Yes, I know, we don't look at other mens' shoes, and we rarely pay much attention to our own footwear.  We have more important things to worry about such as if our shirt has a stain on it or if we have any clean underwear.  But next time you go out, take an extra moment to make sure your shoes send the message you want to send to the world.

If you're trying to say you're a rugged individualist who doesn't take crap from anyone, then throw on a pair of Doc's.  If you want people to know you're suave, debonaire and classy, then make sure your shoes are polished and looking new.  I'll have a few more tips regarding shoes at the end of this entry, so stay tuned.

The Lid:

My cool hat!

I like hats.  I wear them all the time.  But for years and years, my hats were mainly of the baseball cap variety.  This is fine, but a baseball cap doesn't really add to your style.  Everyone wears baseball caps.  They're too easy, they don't say anything about you.  For too long, this was the predominant headwear of American bachelors across the land.

Fortunately, over the past few years, hats have started to make a comeback.  And while the fedora isn't as popular today as it once was, there is a whole new generation of men wearing hats that reflect their personality, add to their style and quite simply, look pretty snazzy.

I have two fedora's but I rarely wear them.  But I like wearing hats.  Recently I found one I like and I wear it all the time, as my friends will attest to.  Just the other day, my friend Mere called it my "infamous" hat.  I picked it up while I was in Austin a few months ago.  I actually walked into a haberdashery and tried on different styles until I found just the right one.  I bought it and was as giddy as a child at Christmas.

Now I wear my hat all the time.  I love it.  But it's not just for show.  Yes, I think it looks great, but when I wear it, I feel stylish, I feel good.  It's not just an affectation, like a monocle or a walking stick or spats.  I'm not Mr. Peanut, after all.  A good hat, one that fits and looks good is like a great overcoat or pair of pants that fit perfectly.  It FEELS good, it becomes an extension of your overall style.

I like seeing more and more hats on men as I wander the streets of downtown Denver.  I hope the trend continues.  As bachelors, I think we should pay more attention to what we wear on our heads and on our feet.  I mean, it worked for the millions of bachelors who came before us, why can't it work for us today?

Basic Bachelor Fashion Tips:


Okay, so we've gone over the classic look of the American male in the middle part of the 20th Century, we've discussed wearing the right shoes and, seriously, if you don't own a hat, go get one...today...do it.


But what about everything in-between?  What should the well-dressed bachelor be wearing when they go out for a night on the town?  I'm not going to give you specific brand names or styles, I'll leave that up to GQ or Maxim to do.  But I WILL give you some tips on looking, and feeling, good when you walk out the door on a Friday night.


My Ten Tips:

1.  Wear Cotton blends - I know this sounds pretty basic, but you'd be amazed at how many men still wear polyester suits.  It's amazing.  Cotton breathes, it looks good and more importantly, it looks good.


2.  Wear an undershirt - Again, pretty basic, but for for many it's a concept that remains a mystery.  An undershirt does one thing but it does it well..it keeps you from pitting out your shirts.  If you're in a club, you're going to sweat.  An undershirt keeps your sweat from making you look like you entered a wet-tshirt contest.  It can be a wifebeater, a v-neck, it doesn't matter as long as you can't see it through your shirt.


3.  Keep it loose - Listen, this isn't New Jersey where apparently the height of fashion is skintight t-shirts and gold chains.  Women, by and large, don't care about our figures, just as long as we don't look like Jabba The Hut.  Loose, but fitted clothing is comfortable and will allow you the freedom to dance or walk or fight or do all the things we bachelors do during a night out on the town.


4.  Match your colors - This doesn't mean you have to wear an all black suit, you're not Johnny Cash.  But it is important that your shoes and belt match.  Black shoes, black belt.  Brown shoes, brown belt.  Try not to wear clashing colors.  This is where your female friends come in handy.  They'll tell you if your red jacket just doesn't go with your mint green shirt and brown pants.


5.  Light colored pants, darker shirt - This is for all the other "heavyweights" out there.  We all know that black is slimming, but if you're sporting a few extra pounds, you can minimize it a little bit by wearing lighter colored pants and a darker colored shirt.  It's some kind of visual illusion.  I don't know why it works, but it does, trust me.


6.  Buy at least two fitted shirts - They aren't much more expensive than a nice quality shirt anywhere else.  A solid color, cotton blend fitted shirt will run you about $60.  Hey, it might sound like a lot, but you're not buying a ton of them, just a couple.  They'll look absolutely fantastic.  Hey, it could be worse, you could be a woman and have to pay through the nose for the simplest of dresses.  


7.  Tailor your suit - There's nothing, NOTHING worse than seeing a man in a suit that just doesn't fit him.  It might be a Calvin Klein or Hugo Boss, or whatever is the latest brand name, but if it bunches up at the shoes, or is a little too tigh in the midriff, it won't matter.  Go ahead and buy your suit off the rack, we all do.  But then take the time to take your new suit to a tailor to have them adjust it so it fits you perfectly.  


8.  Have some flair - Not "T.G.I.F" kind of flair, this isn't Office Space and you're not Jennifer Aniston.  No, I'm talking about something small that reflects your personality.  maybe it's red socks, maybe it's a hat, maybe it's a cool belt buckle or fun cufflinks or kick ass watch.  Whatever it is, find something that says something about you and wear it.  It shouldnt' be too big or clash with everything else you're wearing, but you can make it fun or classy, just as long as it says something about you.


9.  Stay solid - Sure this is my personal preference, but solid colors also have less chance of clashing.  You don't have to stay with just basic black, white, brown, etc.  Wear pastels, try different colors, but stay away from stripes and patterns if you really want to make an impression.  It may seem boring, but it doesn't have to be.  You can walk into any mens clothing store and have the salesman show you some great combinations of solid color shirts and jackets.  Oh, and sure, pinstripes may be "thinning" but you're not the Yankees, and frankly, they're the only ones who can really pull of the pinstripes.


10.  Research - This may seem like a girlie thing to do, but take some time and flip through some men's magazines or watch some old TV shows and start figuring out your "style".  This means figuring out if you like pleats or solid pantfronts.  Do you like vents on your jackets?  How about the lapels?  Do you prefer wide or thin?  Do you like wool or cotton blend suits?  If I were thin enough, I'd wear linen pants, but only skinny guys can wear that.  I know this, so I avoid linen suits.  Take the time and figure out what your style is and half your battle is over.

These are simple tips, and in the end, bachelor fashion isn't so much about wearing the most expensive suits, but wearing the clothes that really reflect your personality and fits you well.  Some guys can pull off the lumberjack, plaid wool shirt and jeans look, others look better in a t-shirt rather than a button up.  Either way, the important thing is that when you look in the mirror, you look good, your clothes reflect your personality and you feel good about yourself. 


Confidence is an aphrodesiac and the right clothes can give a bachelor a ton of confidence.  So don't shortchange yourself.  Make sure your shoes are spiffy, your clothes are clean and, hey, while you're at it, get yourelf a hat.  You'll thank me later.