I’ve had a lot of dates, lately. Or, more correctly, “a lot” for someone who has oft been described as a “serial-monogomist” (and delivered, by the way, like it was some kind of admonition). Each one has been, honestly, a struggle, and only slightly more entertaining than what I would have been otherwise doing (watching TV in my underwear covered in Cheetos dust). There was:

.: the girl that talked about what she needed in a boyfriend, and how that related to me… on a first date. Nevertheless, we went out ~4 times.
.: the absolutely gorgeous mountain biking girl that nevertheless talked about her ex-boyfriend for two hours… and then followed doing so (without any sense of irony) with, “…but I don’t have any issues.” Went out twice with probable re-enactment sometime.
.: the girl who literally, seriously, and without exaggeration said next to nothing for 4 hours. It got to the point where, crippled by my un-ending monologue, I stopped talking completely for 5 minutes just to see if she would say anything to fill the void. Eventually, after noticing how quiet it was and giving me a quizzical look, I said to her in only the way you know I can if you know me, “Oh, I wasn’t going to say anything until you threw out at least some small talk.” She laughed, then looked a little panicked, and said in earnest, “I’ve got nothing.” Yeah, no.
.: the girl who, really, is from a different place than me. I will say no more. Went out twice…
.: the girl I met at the place that asked my friend about me afterwards. Haven’t pulled the trigger on that one, yet.

I think the main issue with all of these girls, besides their obvious and overwhelming flaws (I keeeed), is that for the most part I’ve been pretty apathetic with them. They were all hott, some super hott, and most at least somewhat interesting; but, it seems to be true that there is this unspoken, unseen, something that triggers chemistry between people.

I’m a big believer in love at first sight (or at least ‘intense like’) having experienced it a few times in the past to great effect. I realize, though, that this isn’t the norm, and that I should give things a chance to click (thus the multiple dates with each). All thigns being equal, though, I’d rather the instant draw. To wit:

.: the girl from this weekend. Gone out with once. Had a great time, and made plans for a second. Has all 10 fingers and (presumably) toes. No immediately noticeable signs of The Crazy. Stunning. Interseting and funny; and, more importantly for my fragile ego, thinks I’m hilarious.

We’ll see what happens; you never know.

.: I've read 20 of what Time considers to be the 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923 to Present. A dubious achievement considering that there isn't a cool acronym for any future awards ("Wow! I'm on the 100 B.E.L.N.P. list!"). 'Cool acronyms' being the yardstick for evaluating valuable awards, you see. (via bluishorange)
.: I've seen 18 of the Top 100 Movies