(For those of you interested in Halloween announcements, scroll down to the bottom for hotel and travel information).

I don't write seriously very often. The primary reason for that is that I'm not a very serious person, and I don't have any problems that are worth releasing on the world. I am very happy with how my life is going and I think that bitching about things that are marginal compared to many other people's serious, real problems would seem petty and stupid.

That said, this isn't a post about my problems. This is just a general rant, and none of you reading it should think that I'm talking about you.

Most of you who know me know that I put women on a pedestal. I definitely got that from my dad. He and my mother, still happily married after 33 years, almost never fight. As a kid, I can maybe think of five or six times that they argued with any real anger – with raised voices or yelling. And in our house, even if they did it in the privacy of their bedroom, we would have heard them. I think one main reason that this is true is that my father was and is willing to defer to my mother. He's not someone that feels strongly about many things, so with most issues he had no reason to argue. And on the few things that he felt strongly about, she had no problems deferring to him.

My father loves my mother. It's clear in the way that he treats her and expected us to treat her. It's evident in the respect that he gives her on a regular basis. And she loves him dearly, too.

I learned from my father's example. A spouse or a significant other is a gift. They complete you in many ways, and you have to have a strong respect for the woman who makes you a better, more whole person. Most, maybe even all, women deserve my love and respect. To take it a step further, I don't really consider the sexes equal. I consider women to be superior to men in many ways.

As a result, I despise the stereotypical male. Throughout my life, I've encountered hundreds of men who seem perfectly nice in mixed company, but once there are no women around, they act like we're all part of some special club. They enjoy the chase, they relish lying and cheating, and they don't view women as being equal with them. They're users and abusers. They're the guys who joke about women having to sleep their way to the top to be successful, or like to discuss a woman's lips with relation to sucking cock. They view their spouses' hobbies and jobs (if they have jobs) with a type of disinterested sarcasm, and every response to their wife is accompanied with a wink and a nod to the boys. The only time they show any real interest is if they decide to show some misguided jealousy over obviously innocent interactions between a man and their spouse.

I hate those types of men. They're pieces of shit. Pigs. And any woman who is with a man like that and excuses it by saying, "Oh, he's just a guy," is wrong. He's not just a guy. He's a moron who has no idea what he has, but he thinks he deserves everything just for being a big manly man. With this class of men, you can just write them off as being an evolutionary throwback – a Neanderthal. As more and more women realize that they deserve better in life, this type of man will slowly die out, but until then, there's absolutely nothing I can do about the, other than avoid them and encourage the women I know to avoid them.

There's another type of man, though, that is even more frustrating, and that's the man who is a genuinely nice person. He doesn't lie or cheat or steal, nor does he want to. He actually wants to make his spouse happy and he loves her and is interested in her. But, for some reason, whether it's emotional or developmental or behavioral, he's unable to appreciate how lucky he is. He can't see what he has and what he would lose unless it's explicitly explained to him. He cannot maintain the attention span to functionally perform his role as a supportive spouse for more than a few days at once.

I want to shake this type of man and say, "Don't you understand? You need to appreciate her. And provide for her in ways other than financially. If you fuck this up, it's only your fault, and you've had it explained to you time and time again. What is fucking wrong with you?"

I'm far from perfect, and I know it. I have plenty of selfish moments and I've done things that have been chauvinistic and misogynistic and egocentric. But I'm aware of how lucky I am, and I strive every day to consider the happiness and well-being of my spouse with every action I take. And if her happiness means that I make the occasional sacrifice or bite my tongue, so be it. It's a small price to pay to be with someone who makes me happy, whom I love and who loves me, who completes me as the person, not the man, that I am.

Halloween Announcement!

For those of you who will be traveling from out of state or even within the state but want to set up arrangements to stay somewhere after the party, I've got some information for you:

Flights:

You can fly into either Sanford Airport (SFB) or Orlando International Airport (MCO). They're both about 30 minutes from my house, which is located at:

605 Birch Blvd.
Altamonte Springs, FL 32701

Sanford doesn't have many airlines, but if you're coming in from the Midwest, you might be able to fly through Allegiant Air, which has pretty reasonable fares. They won't show up on any travel discount sites, though, so you'll have to go to their site directly.

Orlando International Airport has plenty of airlines flying in. A taxi from the airport to the general area near my house will cost about $50, but all taxis in Orlando take credit cards for payment.

The party will be starting Saturday night, November 1st, around 8 PM. If you are going to be departing on Sunday, November 2nd, just keep in mind that flying out too early might mean very little sleep for you.

Hotels:

In order to try to find the closest hotels so that you wouldn't be too far from the party, I asked Paul, aka Jestertunes to work his travel agent magic and see what deals he could wrangle. And what a deal he got!

The Hilton Altamonte Springs is only 2.4 miles away from my house and right off of Interstate 4. The hotel provides complimentary transportation within a 3-mile radius, as well.

The normal room rate for the Hilton starts at $139/night, but we have a special Halloween Party group rate of $99/night. These rooms contain two double beds, free WiFi, a gourmet coffee maker, and premium amenities.

The rooms we have blocked off at this rate will not last long, so if you are planning on coming, you'll need to reserve them quickly.

How do I reserve my hotel room? Just contact Paul by phone from 11-5 PST at 1-800-474-5678, ext. 5402, or email him at paul@cruisemagic.com and he'll get you all set up. If you're still looking for plane flights, he can help find you the best rate out there, too.

Room or ride sharing? If you are interested in sharing a hotel room or getting a ride with someone to drive to the party, email me directly and I'll start keep a list of people so I can try to help anyone who wants to cut costs. My email address is my first name at my last name dot com.

If you have any questions, you can email me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!