Gold Stars

Date #40 tonight: wine in Burlington.  In keeping with the rule of only positive things in the blog...I am SO happy to be home!

Moving on...

I'm so appreciative of all the support from all my readers and my sweet friends.  One friend in particular has been very enthusiastic about this project and has now set me up with THREE different people. She definitely gets a gold star.

Would you like a gold star, too? Set me up with someone you'd want me to be with. I'm getting a little wary of online dating, especially after a dear old friend recently described it as "the land of broken toys." So I'm putting out a plea to my loyal readers to help me find my last 12 dates.

I have a lot of travel coming up, but would be delighted to go on dates in different cities, and am totally open to the idea of my big love being somewhere I don't necessarily live (location? just a detail, despite what many of you have to say...).

Here's my upcoming schedule:
October 11-20: Vermont
October 20-25: New York, NY
October 25-30: In transit-- contact me for details
October 30-November 21: New Orleans, LA
November 22-24: Williamsburg, VA
November 25-December 4: Detroit, MI
December 5-9ish: San Francisco, CA
December 10-22: Detroit MI

How about it, readers? Who wants a gold star?

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.

Date #36: A Haiku

Hung out with this guy again (yeah, him! the same one!), and it was so awesome, I just had to get poetic. So here you go:

much deliciousness
serious hilarity
thanks, delta airlines

A Kick-ass Liver

Happy Monday, readers! Hope everyone's weekend was as wonderful as mine.

I saw Mr. #35 (AKA Mr.  #34 and 31) yesterday.   He informed me that he has a kick-ass liver, as evidenced by the fact that after spending Saturday at a beer fest, he powered through a 5 hour hike with me.

But beyond that, I would have to say he IS a kick-ass liver, as in, one who lives a kick-ass life. My first indication of this was when he cancelled our original plan for Saturday because he realized he already had plans with a friend to go to this beer fest.  While bailing on that plan in favor of a date would have been fully supported by the universal "Bro Code," he didn't do it-- a sign, I think, that he is someone who does the right thing and is loyal to his friends. He is also open, considerate, un-frazzlable (I just made that word up. Like it?), and hilarious.   He somehow managed to order up the most gorgeous day for this amazing hike:

(I don't know who this girl is who got in my picture. I'm pretty sure she's NOT the same girl we almost accidentally pushed off the rock.)

Two thumbs up, readers. He is just a lovely, lovely person, and we have plans to get together again in a few weeks.  I don't think you'll be seeing me before then, but I'm pretty sure I'll be smiling.

My First Rainbow

Hi readers!
I finally met up with Mr. #34 on Sunday. (We've met him before, but only on Skype.) He lives a few hours away and travels a lot, but we've had several phone and skype convos in the intervening weeks, and I even got to see China from the window of his hotel.  Ain't technology great.

We met for a drink at a not-quite-mid-point between our houses (he over-drove, I under-drove), and decided to go somewhere else for dinner. (YES, I had both a drink and dinner on what some might say is technically a first date. Rules are made to be broken, ok?) When we walked outside, he pointed out a rainbow-- the first one I'd ever seen. How cool is that?!?!? Maybe a sign of magic to come.

As for the date, other highlights included lots of laughter, conversation, non-awkward silences, openness and honesty. It was real, and it was fantastic. I'm seeing him again on Saturday-- already smiling in anticipation.