In order to see me, you must...

...floss.  At least once.  EVERYDAY.
...bathe.  At least once.  EVERYDAY.
...like music.  On the regular.  And live.
...be responsible for yourself.
...read.  Not just know how, but enjoy it.

...love dogs.  They will always be around.

...NOT have small children.  Or an ex-wife who has been an ex- for less than two years.

...NOT drink to the point of stupidity. 

...like to hike.  But I do not camp.

...not be some psycho-jealous-everyone-I-hug-or-kiss-on-the-cheek-is-a-threat-to-you type. 

...be goal-oriented.

...like to socialize.  With my friends, your friends, all people.

...like to just hang out in silence.

...be smart.

...eat healthy.

...enjoy junkfood.  Sporatically.

...like sports.  Playing and watching.

...be an adult. In actions.

...enjoy goofing off.

...like adventure.
...respect my independence. 

I'm making this list.  This is the beginning of it.  I've decided that it would be a fun little experiment to join a dating site.  Instead of filling out the "About Me" section, I'm going to make it "About You".  About all the things YOU, potential dater, should be.  And if YOU happen to be all these things (and more, of course!), I may consider going to meet you for coffee.  Oh, there's another thing...Must respect and enjoy coffee.  Both inside and outside of the home.  Because I am fiercly addicted to Starbucks.

I think this could be a fun time.  I will first ask the potential (as that is what I have decided to term these un-named, faceless men) to read this list.  If they find a few things on here that are them, they can move on.  If they find themself in every line, then, yes, definitely contact me.  I am tired of wasting my time with people who I want to change, who want me to change them, who are in no way compatible with me, who believe that flossing is not important (notice where it is on the list?  It is important!).

I haven't decided which dating site to attack yet, but that's my next step.  For now, I'm trying to add to this list, I want it to be as complete as possible, I am not wasting anymore time. 

On a sidebar, I am not negative or bitter.  I am just completely at a loss as to why there are so many great guys out there that are great for other people.  I am intensely picky.  And I spend a lot of time in relationships trying to fix things I knew about going into the relationship, and that should not be the case.  I want flaws to be cute and small.  Not big and glaring. 

Whether this works or not, we shall see.  But I'm going to give it a go.  I think the best part of all this is knowing that I'll know if they are lying right away and can get up and leave.  And if they aren't lying, I'll meet some cool people who I have a lot in common with.

Officially. Out. Of the box.

Never again. I am never going outside my little box again. Never.

Did I mention NEVER?

Remember a few blogs ago, when I said I wanted to clean out my ipod and make room for some new/different tunes? Well that's never going to happen again. From now on, I'll just spend the money and buy a new iPod when the one I have is full. Steve Jobs, you now officially have my soul. I guess you need it, as you sold yours a long time ago...

Let me back up.

This morning, I innocently plugged in my laptop to charge it, preparing for my out-of-box-stepping at lunch. Then, I plugged in the USB for my iPod. Then, a little box shows up (as it always does when I plug in my iPod) “Scan Device or Continue without Scanning”.

So, yeah, you guessed it. I hit the wrong one.

My iPod FORMATTED.

ERASED.

EVERYTHING.

My life is over.

Okay. Not really.

But it felt that way when I clicked on the first playlist to delete and it was empty. Here's the thing. I don't buy my music from iTunes. I get it elsewhere. I don't buy my music from iTunes because I refuse to give my entire soul to Steve Jobs. So, there is no emailing iTunes and saying, “Um, please send me my library because well, apparently, I'm a dumbass.”

So it's back to the drawing board. I still have some music on my hard drive. Thankfully, I am so obsessed with The Beatles that I will never delete them. That's a lot. And I have the entire collection of Simon & Garfunkel, and Paul Simon. I have a couple other random albums stored on my computer. Then, there are my CDs. Unfortunately, there isn't much to do with them, as I haven't bought a CD in over five years. So now, I must go elsewhere.

Mission accomplished, I suppose. I told you that I wanted to clean out my ears and get a fresh start. I did just that. Step out of my box? Check. Big mistake? Double Check.

So, for the next few evenings. I'll be crying over my computer trying desperately to find the music that I was not going to delete. And, though I will not be purchasing them from iTunes, I will utilize the “Genius” function to see it there are any fun titles based on what I have inserted on my newly-empty iPod. Maybe this could be fun!

Later. When it's done. That's when it will be fun.

I will say, I am excited to have three new bands on my iPod. Kelly has given me Vampire Weekend. (You may remember them from my post about the Oxford Comma song.) That song was the only one by them I had, and only because it was about the Oxford Comma. But, I now have two of their albums on my iPod and am excited to hear more from them. Then, there is Marva Wright, a blues singer from Louisiana. I found her through my friend Pam, and this woman can sing the blues like crazy! There's a feeling of being in a smoky bar, maybe in the 50s or 60s, when she is singing. I believe she will bring delight to many of my journeys.  And then there's Lady Antebellum.  Amazing.  Guitar riffs and vocals that will blow your mind.  Thanks, Ric, for the suggestion.  Thanks, all of you, for your expansion of my being.

On that note, if any of you have any suggestions, please send them onward. I am looking to fill my life with my old standards, and find some new ones.   With your comments, I promise to try to find your suggestions and give it a listen.

So much for not ever getting out of my box again.  I think maybe this could be an interesting new path. 
So here's to new beginnings. New journeys.

How I Got Here

I love to write and observe what is around me.  I used to write it all down.  My pants pockets were filled with scraps of folded up paper with random sentences and fragments, hopeful that they would someday turn into something.  Anything.  When laundry day would come, I would either file them away in the ever-growing pile next to my bed (strategically located just behind the clock stand) or they would end up in the trash.  Very little ever came of my musings.  Very little.  College kind of killed the writing spirit.  All I ever wanted to do was write, so I majored in English.  Wow.  WRONG DECISION.  I quit writing.  I quit musing.  It all became papers and reading and required.  I felt as though my creativity had been squashed.

When I graduated in July, I set off on life.  Without writing.  Something kept kicking me, though.  I didn't recognize it for a while.  I didn't know what that missing piece was.  I have a job.  I have friends.  I have a gym membership.  Haven't I arrived? 

No.

I wrote what became my first entry on this blog to share with some friends.  Really, I wrote it for myself, inspired by a new-found feeling of joy.  The feedback was amazing.  My friends reminded me that I am a writer.  I even had to remind myself.  It felt good to write that short piece about something as simple as a new feeling in the morning. 

Now, I feel as though I have arrived.  Writing, everyday so far, has been a great pleasure and excites my soul.  I feel alive again.  Things around me are crazy.  So I log onto blogspot and write.  I notice new things, things I wouldn't have noticed a week ago.

I was at Wendy's for lunch today.  I opted to sit at the table next to this elderly couple, thinking they would be quieter than the group of twenty-somethings or the booth of construction workers.  These people were 85 if they were a day, and I thought that would be a safe place to sit and write for my next blog.  What I was going to write about, I did not know, but I certainly never imagined they would end up in my blog.
It turns out, the twenty-somethings were all studying for a test or something of that sort.  The construction workers obviously didn't like each other - they barely talked.
The elderly couple, in all their livelihood, talked to each other excitedly and LOUD.  It was clear they were in love and crazy about each other.  They talked about going to see their grandkids this weekend.  They talked about going to the grocery store on the way "Because you know she never has anything for me to cook - those children could use a decent meal!"  LOUD.  Okay, maybe they were hard of hearing and had to talk loud, but I don't think so.  I think they were just like two teenagers in love.  They had matching canes and were about the same size in stature.  They were beautiful. 
No, I'm not married, nor am I in any kind of relationship at the moment.  But I appreciate love when I see it.  I know "all you need is love", and I was reminded again. 
Wow. Lesson learned. Good lunch.