Love for a Hobo?

"A hobo wanders and works. A tramp will work. A bum won't work." --My grandfather
"You can have anything you want. You just can't have everything you want." --My mom

Readers, if you've been following me on this journey, you know that I've been living and dating in all different places this year: Detroit, Chapel Hill, Vermont, and soon, New Orleans. I've deliberately designed my work and my life so I can live this way for a little while (not forever! I promise!), and I honestly believe that this is not in conflict with my dream of finding a great love.  In this age of skype and cellphones, where we all have a zillion frequent flyer miles and lightweight laptops, why shouldn't location be, at least for now, just a detail?

I'm starting to question my own logic, and so is Mr. #39 (the nerd again). We met for breakfast this morning, which was delicious (who doesn't love Vermont maple syrup?!!?), but our conversation centered around my next move, and left him looking forlorn and me wondering if my current lifestyle is not conducive to finding love.

What do you think, readers? Can a nomadic lifestyle work in conjunction with real love, or do I only get one or the other?

Nerding Out

Mr. #38 is a huge nerd.

Wait! That's not a bad thing. Only positivity in my blog, remember?

We went out for a mediocre dinner and had a really good conversation about epidemiology (he was impressed that I knew its nickname, "epi"),  survey pre-testing (I'm all about it this month), and academic passions (he has many, I have few).  It was so refreshing to NOT be the nerdiest one around, I might make him #39 as well.

And on that note, here's another picture of sweet Vermont.  I'll be here for another month, if any of my loyal readers want to either visit (!!!) or set me up with a mountain man.

Onward...

Well hello again, readers! I know some of you are surprised to see me, and  disappointed, as was I, that things didn’t work out with this guy. I recently read something about “a failed love affair,” a phrase I really like, because it implies that it’s the affair that was a failure, not me.  Also, I hate the term “back in the saddle,” so please don’t use it.

Anyway, I’m living in Vermont right now…how can I be sad when this is the view I see every day?

Whoa.

Also a Vermont resident: Mr. #37. We met for coffee Friday morning and he introduced me to the term “flat-lander,” which is what Vermonters (like him) call people who are not from Vermont. I like it. He’s really interesting, calm and steady, change-oriented and a big-picture thinker.  Coffee and conversation was such a nice way to start my day, and I learned a few things…

1. I’m not as much of a morning person as I thought (I balked at his suggestion of a 7AM date, and we compromised at 9:30).

2. After 26 months caffeine-free, a latte will leave me buzzing for a good 12 hours.

3.  Getting back in the saddle makes my stomach hurt a little bit. Or maybe I can blame that on the latte too.