"Differential Diagnosis"

Rumors of infidelity spread quickly, many originating from those so called “friends” at the club. ? They would spread their vile behind our backs, and eventually the word would get to those involved. Neither of us dared address the situation, so we let it build to critical mass, hoping it would go away.

Late night rendezvous and hidden excursions into the night quickly grew public, as more and more people witnessed the corruption taking place, or had it been there from the beginning? What had started as mere friendship and innocent flirting, quickly escalated into something much more taboo. More »

Sunday afternoon I met up with Juli, my sister, and some of their friends at the local lake for some cliff diving action. ? There, I finally had an opportunity to tell her about my decision to cut back on the night life during the week and share my reasoning behind it. Of course, this meant I’d be spending less and less time with her, since I worked day shifts and she would always work & party nights, but we agreed it would work.

For the next few weeks, I would steal moments with Juli between our shifts, while spending the evening in my various martial arts classes and with one particular girl in the class. ? Late night swims, small get togethers, dinner, and destination less drives around town with this girl all seemed like the perfect get away from the smokey, noisy club scene I had tried all to hard to keep fitting into. More »

Having been “tainted blue,” I was suffering from severe cognitive dissonance.? “If you are unhappy with your life, don???t try to rationalize that unhappiness away. Do something about it!” ? On one hand,? I was enjoying every minute Juli and I spent together, and I had reached a level of happiness I once thought lost. ? On the other hand, keeping up with Juli’s lifestyle had been taking its toll on my martial arts and had even started affecting my performance at work, which in turn unbalanced the happiness.

Strolling into the office a few hours late, with only a tease of sleep, a few times a month isn’t the way to earn a promotion. ? One supervisor in particular began to take notice…the crosshairs were on me, and I had to shape up, or she’d pull the trigger and I’d be done. More »