note: Originally posted at The Hush Blog in response to this post.

It’s hard to find a good woman nowadays.

Horrid math skills aside, (50+25+15+5=100) better double check that…

Women these days are confused and can’t quite figure out what it is they want out of life, and that makes them “upset.” We all know what a woman does when she gets “upset.” Instead of formulating a plan and taking corrective action, like a man, a woman will complain to anyone willing to listen. What better audience than a group of her closest friends, all of whom will immediately agree with whatever twisted point of view she feels is correct. As if complaining to a bunch of women ever solved a problem.

“I am woman, hear me roar!”

Quite often we hear women claiming they don’t need men, but that’s only the partial truth. The feminist movement of yesteryear has brought about much change in the social landscape, allowing women to successfully be independent and self-sufficient. (Good on them!)

In the old days, men were the sole providers of the household, but with the introduction of the independent woman, men’s roles as providers have been lessened. Because of this, merely having a good job was no longer enough to keep a man competitive in the dating market. Men everywhere have had to meet new, ever escalating criteria just to stay competitive. If a man doesn’t keep up and evolve with the times, he quickly falls behind the pack, and everyone knows the slowest gazelle doesn’t live to reproduce.

Just think back to the manly role models of the past, how many of them had six-pack abs, rock hard bottoms, baby soft skin, great hair, and a great sense of style? None. All that was needed in the past was a good job, good morals, and maybe a good sense of style to get a girl. (Do morals even matter now?)

That’s not all the feminist movement did to men/for women; with woman’s independence came sexual liberation. In the past, marital sex was the only acceptable form of sex, and a public shaming awaited any female suspected of having sex before marriage. (read The Scarlet Letter sometime.)

Sexual liberation essentially lowered the price of admission for sex. No longer would a single woman be ashamed of sleeping with a man; on that same token, man would no longer have to wait until marriage for sex. This meant a competitive man in the dating market could sleep with many many women without having to marry them.

With this drastic change in the sexual market, many women were chasing after a smaller pool of competitive men, which lead to these men seeking out only the best looking females, in turn raising the bar for females hoping to catch a prized man. Thus the “man whore” was born, and the 20-something years became a man’s playground, all in the name of independent women everywhere. (Let me hear you roar…in the bedroom!)

While 20-something man whores everywhere enjoyed the endless supply of young 20-something, beautiful women, life was great. Until these same 20-something women became 30-something women, and their only assets (their beauty & their eggs) began quickly fading, leaving them unable to compete with the new generation of 20-something ladies. At the same time, men only became more debonair and traded their depreciating 30-somethings for fresh 20-somethings.

As a result, 30-something women everywhere began to cry out against the very system they helped create by attempting to force their men into marriage. As stated before, marriage was a means to sex in the past. We all remember that episode of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” where Will Smith arranges a fake wedding just to sleep with his fiancé. With a steady supply of sex readily available to men, marriage’s only advantage was the formation of a family. (Who doesn’t want a happy family? I know I do!)

Unfortunately, feminists raped the institution of marriage as well. What was once a sacred institution between a loving man and a loving woman has now become one of the greatest forms of fraud in the country.

Divorce rates in the country are at all time highs, with 66-75% of all divorces in the US being filed by women, who truly has commitment issues ladies? Divorce negates those at fault, and serves to punish men through alimony (even if the wife is the adulterous party), child support (even if the child isn’t your own), and through child custody laws favoring women.

Marriage is a one sided contract that leaves men vulnerable to all sorts of legal liabilities, with very few rewards if any. If women were truly as independent as they claim to be, then why force a man into servitude to support you and the kids if YOU wanted out of the marriage, if YOU were the adulterous party? Instead, divorced women want their freedom and their independence, at a man’s expense.

I love womanly women. I love women who play sports, can cook, one that knows when to dress lady-like and when to dress like a knock-out. I love a woman who knows when to take a step back and let me handle my “manly” business, but also knows when to step in and take care of her responsibilities. A woman who isn’t afraid to approach a relationship on an even playing field. I want a woman with drive, ambitions, goals, intelligence, and a plan to actually achieve those goals. I want a woman who knows that in a battle against the sexes, no one wins.

Do I need a woman? No. 
”But it sure does make the journey a helluva lot more fun.”

Before you truly know that person, they’re often the embodiment of your ideal partner, perfect in every which way. Your conscious brain tells you, “It’s too good to be true…investigate!” , and investigate you do.

Searching for any scraps of relevant information, you go through their Facebook & MySpace profiles. You approach their friends and yours in hopes of catching any red flags, but we all know better…if any red flags do turn up, we’ll promptly ignore them and press on anyway.

As the relationship runs its course, the veil slowly comes off, revealing someone much less “perfect” than you once thought. The rainbows and butterflies begin their metamorphosis into thunderstorms and moths. Before you know it, the relationship is over, and you find yourself wishing you had been more careful with your heart, or perhaps paid more attention to those red flags you discovered earlier.

Such is the cynicism of a man frustrated with relationships and the deception associated with them.

“Come by my place tonight, I have a surprise you won’t want to miss…bring drinks.” I smile a sly, devilish grin for a few moments as I thought to myself, “I love her surprises,” and gathered my wallet & keys. My first stop, the liquor store to pick up a few of our favorite drinks, then off to her place for my “surprise.”

Her place, a large co-ed dorm located on a military installation, is much like a typical college dorm on the inside, but it’s outward appearance is that of a quiet, orderly building. The hallways and common areas are homey and elegant, but within each private room a multitude of happenings goes on mostly unnoticed. From underage drinking, to adultery, and even domestic abuse, things aren’t always as nice and orderly as they may appear.

Standing at her door, drinks hidden discreetly in a duffel bag, I knock once. The door swings open, and I’m greeted by a marvelous sight! A skinny, toned, blonde wearing a pink, silk, Asian robe. “God I love that robe!” I thought to myself as she pulls me in for a kiss and slams the door with her foot.

With a quick flick of my wrist, the robe is undone, and with another gentle motion, the robe drops to the floor, revealing even more of her for me to explore. Minutes later, a knock at the door. “Shit! I invited some friends to come drink, go answer the door while I get dressed,” she said as she rushed into her bathroom and locked the door.

I hesitantly make my way to the door and almost let out an audible gasp when I see the two gorgeous girls standing outside. “Let’s drink!!” they shout as they walk inside. As I introduce myself to the two new guest, I reach for the contents of my duffel bag and begin pouring some drinks.

Bathrobe girl steps out in a smashing outfit just as another knock at the door is heard. Two guys walk inside with an assortment of liquor and beer. Hours of drinking and misconduct ensue as more and more people begin to arrive. The tiny dorm room is filled with people neither bathrobe girl, nor I have even met before, yet we’re all having a blast!

Suddenly, a thunderous knock on the metal door is heard! “KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!” A random guy standing by the entrance opens the door while still sipping on his beer. “Military police!!” is heard just as the door is slammed open and multiple military police officers fill the the already overcrowded dorm room.

The females are lined up on one side of the room, with the males lined up on the other. The females are asked to step out the door, one at a time, while their military I.D.s are checked on the way out. Bathrobe girl is at the end of the female line, and is still not within drinking age. One by one, the females are escorted out the door. If they’re 21 or older, they’re told to go home, if not…they’re cuffed and put into the van parked outside. My heart sank as I watched them cuff bathrobe girl and take her away.

Next up, the males. While I’m clearly within drinking age, my military ID card is quite different from the rest of them. I’m not a member of the military, but I’ll be punished just the same, if not worse. Underage drinking had been a major pet peeve of the new base commander, and someone of my position providing alcohol to a minor on HIS base would not be taken kindly. Termination from my position is what surely awaited me, and never have I been more certain as they notice the major differences in my military ID and radio a separate patrol car to come deal with me.

*** 24 Hours Prior ***

It was Thursday night, and as usual, I was attending Kenpo and practicing diligently. “Everybody line up!” the senior student shouted, and everyone formed up in lines at attention. The instructor picked up his bible and began reading a few lines of scripture. This was a relatively new practice he had just begun the week before. Read a few lines, then interpret the meaning to help us understand.

‘Everyone is capable of doing good, but many of us don’t get the opportunity to do so. Well wishes and good intents are often intercepted by the devil in an effort to veer us off course. How many times have you planned to attend a charity function, church, or volunteer, only to have something unexpected come up and preventing you from attending?

The same thing can happen with your life’s goals. One wrong move, one wrong turn, and you may end up someplace you never intended to be. Everyone deserves a second chance, yes, but if you’re careful and follow God’s path, you will never need that second chance.’

Having attended a private, Catholic school the majority of my youth, I was usually pretty familiar and as a result, disinterested in his reading & interpretation of scripture, but tonight was different. Tonight, the message reverberated in my mind over and over again.

*** 24 Hours Later ***

“Bzzz! Bzzzzz! Bzzz!” My phone vibrated loudly just as I was stepping out of the shower. A text message from a girl, but not just any girl, this was the girl who’d motivated me to start working out with her and my coworkers. This was my accomplice for several fun filled weekends, and this weekend would be no exception. I ignored the text message for the time being, but quickly returned to it once I was shaved and dressed.

“Come by my place tonight, I have a surprise you won’t want to miss…bring drinks.” I smile a sly, devilish grin for a few moments as I thought to myself, “I love her surprises,” and gathered my wallet & keys. My first stop would be the liquor store to pick up a few of our favorite drinks, then off to her place for my “surprise.”

I got into my truck, closed the door and suddenly my Kenpo instructor’s message from the night before echoed in my head. “One wrong move, one wrong turn, and you may end up someplace you never intended to be.” I brushed it off and started the vehicle. As the engine roared to life, I suddenly felt uneasy about my evening plans.  The girl is a ton of fun, but clearly not someone God, nor my Kenpo instructor would approve of. In fact, I didn’t really approve of her. She was just someone to “have fun with.”

I reread her text message a few times, “Come by my place tonight, I have a surprise you won’t want to miss…bring drinks.” Then thought back to my instructor’s words last night. Drinking with a minor on a military installation, exactly one week before my 1st 5k suddenly didn’t seem like such a great idea. I shut off the engine and replied back to this girl, “I’m in training for a 5k, so I’m staying away from drinking. Have a good time!”

Monday morning at work, the office is abuzz with whispers of a major underage drinking bust by the MPs (Military Police) Friday night. Rumor has it that many of our own were involved and meeting with the base commander personally for punishment.

Later that afternoon, bathrobe girl walked into my office in tears and told me how it all went down. I listened in complete shock as the story unfolded, the entire time thinking to myself, “That could have been me…”

Fortunately for ranger fans everywhere, Disney has taken this opportunity to air “re-mastered” versions of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers on ABC Kids. So far, this “re-mastering” seems to consist of cleaning up the footage to look much more modern, and some comic book like artwork inserted into the episodes themselves.

These illustrated, and often animated, additions to the original series are a mixed blessing. Important characters such as Jason, the Red Ranger, has a very Japanese like background during his first introduction. This background shakes from the power and momentum of his “tornado kick.” Rita Repulsa’s own intro has a much more sinister looking background with animated lightning strikes behind her, very fitting for such a vile woman.

Unfortunately, Disney seems to have tapped into ‘60s era Batman with some of these effects. A select few fighting scenes now have cheesy animation overlays with cheesy sound effects, like a striking whip noise, to emphasize the action on screen. “Kick!” “Oof!” “Sweep!”

Of course, this is only my first impression of the two “re-mastered” episodes I watched earlier this morning. The production team can only get better at their jobs as time goes on, and I look forward to watching more of my childhood heroes in a new light. ”It’s morphin time!!”

*16 generations of Power Ranger logos are from http://www.morphinheroes.tk/

Early this year I lost something very important to me, the Taekwondo dojang/dojo where I spent a good majority of my free time training in Taekwondo. Not only did we lose the facility, but I lost contact with many of the outstanding students who attended; many of who looked up to me for inspiration and guidance. The Korean Taekwondo master and his assistant, along with the American Taekwondo master, have long since vacated that empty building, but they will forever be a part of me.

It was during that same time period when I realized I was ready to completely let go of past heartbreak by sharing my experiences, sort of a final look back and farewell. My first real love who slowly became a stranger, the bartender saga, and even that one girl who inspired me for months, sure these all ended in heartbreak, but I learned and grew as a person because of it.

With those stories coming off my chest little by little, I began to look at ways I needed to improve myself. Martial Arts, Yoga, becoming more open to new experiences, military physical training, even keeping a fresh haircut and upgrading my style did wonders for me physically and mentally.

Physically I’m still taking on new challenges, and this year I improved my conditioning enough to run a 5k and do fairly well. I plan to keep this momentum going and reach a particular fitness goal I’ve set for myself.

Mentally, I’ve learned that acceptance is sometimes your only choice in life. I may not love the current town I’m in, I may not be “fitting in” with the townsfolk I’ve grown up with, but it’s of no use to sit here and complain about the situation. Accept it and start working to better it! Life isn’t going to hand you success and happiness, you have to chase it down and earn it.

Even then, happiness is fleeting and you must constantly be working to maintain it. Some may believe that finding happiness is finding a significant other/spouse, drugs, parties, meaningless one night stands, but unfortunately “everything thats shiny aint always gonna be gold.”

I guess the most important lesson I’ve learned is to keep chasing happiness without compromising your ideals, no matter what. The “thrill of the chase” and climax of attaining happiness, even for a moment, is a reward unto itself, but again I emphasize not to compromise your ideals. Constant improvement physically & mentally, omnipresent drive to always keep moving forward & growing, and an indomitable spirit to allow yourself to recover from failure and keep going, will lead to happiness, I’m sure of it!

“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.” – Albert Einstein