Looks can be deceiving!

I was browsing for an apartment and/or housemate on craigslist one day and saw a "perfect" ad: he was looking at a similar price range, didn't smoke, was low key, enjoyed cooking, and was a yoga teacher! So, I contacted him, divulging a bit about myself and what I was looking for.

He wrote back, providing a link to his yoga website, so that I could learn a bit more about him. He also mentioned, however, that he was looking at a place with someone else that same day, but that he would keep me updated, no matter what.

As promised, I got an email that evening. Unfortunately, he said that he was going to go with the other opportunity. BUT--would I be interested in grabbing coffee, regardless?

I went back to that email with his website address and, sure enough, there were photos. And he was HOT! Clean-cut, fit, piercing blue eyes...heck yea I was interested! So, we set up a date for later in the week, to grab some coffee at the Starbucks on Alki. I had a good feeling about it!

Being the excellent student I am, I was studying at a picnic table facing the water when I saw a guy approaching me. He was disheveled and unkempt, with long, stringy, graying locks. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top and he was sporting a threadbare jacket. As he came closer, I recognized the bright blue eyes I had seen on his website, but otherwise, he looked like a different person!

We did get coffee and talked for a bit. We had traveling in common and were able to share stories of past adventures. But, as the minutes ticked by, I was getting more and more antsy to leave! I eventually bid him farewell went back to my car. Only an hour had passed, but it felt like eternity! I didn't feel the need to look in the rear-view mirror as I drove off.

NOTE: I have since moved into a lovely place with two fantastic roommates!

He tamed the blog girl

So we’re sitting at drinks with friends at Eastlake Bar and Grill, SG#1 and I, and his friends are teasing me about the usual: “Is that your phone or a calculator?!”

And someone introduces SG#1 to a new friend as he sits down at the table, “This is SG#1, he’s the guy that tamed the blogger.”

A totally unexpected giant whoosh of surprise hit my stomach. Tamed the blogger? What is that supposed to mean?

The seemingly benign comment threw me into a whirling tumbleweed of thoughts about my dating life. You see, it’s a funny thing when you sign up for online dating sites. Every day you receive in your inbox 10-20 smiling new men ready to take you out to a nice dinner, hand you a flower (if you’re Coqueta) and impress you with stories of travel adventures and their latest big win at work. Pretty soon that thing that married people tell single people to make them feel better when someone breaks up with them over voicemail – “There are plenty of fish in the sea” – starts to come true and you find yourself becoming the emotionally unavailable commitment-phobe you dated three guys ago.

So as any experienced yogi might do, I recognized that one last twinge of my single life and let it float on by. It’s been fun picking dates from the schools of available (and emotionally unavailable) Seattle men-fish, and it was a much needed head-first dive into the dating sea. But, I’m also really enjoying having my person to discover new restaurants, travel to new cities, eat pizza in bed and meet family members (heads up for the post about meeting some of the family!). Just for the record, though, SG#1 may be my boyfriend, but nobody can tame this blogger.

Only missing one thing!

Although many people consider me a dating expert at this point, I admittedly have a lot to learn! When a friend suggested that I make a formal list of the characteristics I desire in a potential mate, I quickly obliged. This activity requires a lot of self-reflection and concentration, but by afternoon, I felt like I had a pretty solid compilation of "must have" and "would be nice" characteristics.

And so, I set that grueling task aside to attend happy hour at The Atlantic Crossing with a group of world travelers. I was one of the first there, and started chatting with a friend. A half hour later, someone walked in and caught my eye. Wow--I'd never seen him before!

We struck up a conversation and it turned out that he had visited and was in love with the country I had lived for 2 1/2 years prior to graduate school. We even knew people in common over there. Small world! As more people filed in, however, we socialized with other acquaintances and I thought that he may not be interested after all. When I announced that I was leaving however, he was adamant that I stay. I declined. So he insisted on exchanging numbers. Sweet!

A few hours later, while hosting a small painting/dinner party with my girlfriends, I got a call:

"Hey, it's me. I know it's a little late, but we're just now leaving and I was wondering if you'd be down for grabbing a drink."

As luck would have it, my morning class was cancelled for the following day. Sure, why not?! And so, we met at Luc from some lovely drinks and fantastic conversation! Eventually, the waitress came over:

"Excuse me, we wanted to let you guys keep chatting, but we closed at midnight."

We figured it was just after, but upon looking at the time, realized it was 1am! Oops! Very gentlemanly, he walked me home but, halfway there, he spun me around and planted a luscious kiss on me. I liked the directness of it! We got to my house and continued talking (and kissing) into the early morning (nothing scandalous happened, get your minds out of the gutter)! And as the sky began changing colors, we bid farewell.

Later, when I reexamined the list I had made for my ideal mate, he seemed to fit every characteristic, including those from the "would be nice" category! He was confident, optimistic, goal-oriented, had traveled extensively, was well-educated, didn't smoke, had a sense of humor, was a good kisser, is excited about learning, easy-going, tall, bilingual, and of course, attractive (amongst many other fantastic qualities)! Perfect kind of guy for me!

Well, except that he starts school in California in September, and is planning on being there for the next four years. I've unsuccessfully done the long distance thing before, and I hardly even know him. We've agreed to keep in touch, but I'm a realist so my heart isn't set on this guy.

I've since updated my list, however, to include geographic proximity! Hopefully the universe listens, once again!

The essence of wetness...is Vancouver, BC

The weekend of August 7th was the wettest weekend in the history of Vancouver getaways. It poured and drizzled and misted my hair into a beautiful frizzy mass on the top of my head. Despite the less than perfect weather, the rest of the weekend was fantastically blissful and, dare I say, honeymoon-like.

With water soaking up to our knees we dodged puddles to find our seats at Cirque du Soleil's, Kooza. If you've never seen a Cirque du Soleil show you must go - a way better solution than a movie on a rainy day in any city. And, if you can pay to sit next to an older woman that squeals with delight at the slightest of death-defying tricks, then you've just paid for your tickets three times over. I swear the show organizers planted this woman in the audience. During the second half, two men wearing nothing but spandex mounted two spinning wheels of death and, completely disregarding the rules of gravity, proceeded to run and jump and flip in mid-air, hanging from the ceiling...and the howling, shrieks of glee pouring out of the woman next to me made me laugh so hard I was near tears by the end of the show. I was sure she would either have a heart attack or an orgasm right there in the folding seat under the big top.

The next day, totally ignoring the soggy clouds settling street-side in Vancouver, we ventured off to Grouse Mountain. Expecting the untethered wilderness of say Mt. Si or Rattlesnake Ridge, we instead entered into the Disneyland of the outdoors. After a quick gondola ride into dense fog, we emerged to find, I am not joking you, a lumberjack show, bears in cages, birds on leashes and (for the untethered wilderness part) completely unmarked hiking "trails."

I know, I know, I'm boring you with a play-by-play review of the activities available for a weekend getaway in Vancouver. But the point is, not even an unmarked hiking trail in ankle-deep sledge, soaking showers threatening to halt outdoor adventure plans or a surprise baby-octopus tentacle popping out of a deep fried tube of I-don't-know-what managed to jostle SG#1 into a tizzy. Who is this guy?!

I must say, after a long conversation about our "Top-10 -Must-Haves-In-A-Totally-Hypothetical-Partner-List," a good travel partner is pretty high on mine. Although travel can be an intense snapshot of deflated expectations, downpours on the beach and stolen wallets. Travel is also just you and your partner against the world. And, if you can turn rainy days and slippery, boulder-scaling trails into fun adventures, then hopefully bad days at work and your future children covered in vomit (yep, I went there) will just be another rock on the trail making up a beautifully manicured pathway to happily-ever-after...Ha! SAPPY! But seriously, I think a weekend getaway is a good gauge for what it would be like to be on SG#1's "Amazing Race" of life and I must say, I like what I see...so far.

I am all kinds of cheese today, but one more thing...if you're ever in Vancouver for dinner GUU is the way to go. GUU is the edible, restaurant version of an orgasmically squealing woman sitting next to you while watching body twisting circus tricks at Cirque du Soleil.

Crossing into uncharted territories

WARNING: if you are not in the medical field and/or get easily grossed out, this may be a post you want to skip!

When you start working in healthcare, it becomes quickly apparent that not everyone wants to hear about the intricate details of your day. From the latest gaping wound you debrided with maggot therapy to the technicalities of ensuring a good latch during breastfeeding, some things are better left unsaid in public. But, alas, I met a guy who was also in the medical field!

There was comfort in meeting up after having finished a long day in clinicals and, when asked how my day went, really being able to divulge things that I found interesting (NEVER detailed or identifying info, as that would be a HIPAA violation).

So, one day, after having dated for a couple weeks, he asked me what I had done in school that morning.

"Today, we had some really creepy, plastic rectal models to practice prostate exams on."

He was shocked!

"They don't have you doing rectal exams on real people?!"

No, that comes later, I explained. He followed with a "generous" offer:

"Listen, give me a couple days to clean out my bowels and I'll let you practice on me."

Hmm...for some reason that just seemed to extinguish the romance. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for edification...but we had only known each other for a few weeks! Needless to say, the relationship did not progress much further.

Keeping it Juicy

I received an email recently from SG#1 informing me that the blog posts are getting a little less than juicy. And it got me thinking. Yes, we have only been dating for a few months now, but is the honeymoon over? Is it the end of juicy? How does one keep it juicy?

I must admit that part of the lack of va-va-va voom is because I know SG#1 is reading my every word, so it’s hard to express my inner dialogue without wondering if he will think I’m a crazy person for what goes on in my head. But, alas, that is what a blog is. So, loyal blog readers, fret not. I promise I will from now on keep it real, keep it juicy and keep writing!

So in real news, we’re leaving today to spend the weekend in Vancouver. It’s our first trip together, so it should be interesting. I think people’s quirks come out easier under the stress of traveling (mine do for sure), so maybe the honeymoon really is over and we’ll start to get to know each other’s real side this weekend. Truth be told, we haven’t had a lot of time to spend with each other seeing our real sides. Between travel schedules and exams it’s hard to find time for more than a quick bite or a movie.

I’m definitely looking forward to some quality time and I also think I’m ready for the honeymoon to be over. I like the inside of relationships. It’s like the inside of an orange peel, where all the juicy goodness is. And after a year of just zesting the peel with countless dates, it’s fun to finally get to the juicy segments…so the juice is not over, it’s just beginning.