Cass, you okay? Would a glass of wine help?

I had some warning. It has to do with her not being ready for a relationship and blahdy blah blah commitment-issues-cakes. I am not made for the casual dating thing - when I like a girl and she likes me back, I want her to be my girlfriend. She can't do that, so she said it was best to just end it. I figured it had to be coming, but I held out hope.

It's annoying, because I can't even imagine putting myself out there if I was completely against the idea of a relationship. What's the point?

My head STILL hurts. Worst. Hangover. Ever. And I haven't lesson planned for tomorrow at all.

{{{gris}}} {{{vw}}}

Yay for great parties, Suzi!

Doggie~ma for Darcy, Laura.

Quick healing ~ma to Darcy. Dogs are so incredibly resilient, Laura, may Darcy do her kind proud with the getting well.

Aw, Gris. So sorry. And, still, I hope it is good that she was honest with you. Better that than not being 'in it' the way you wanted to be. This must mean the right one is on the way. May it be so.

Bonny, I'm sending lots of good vibes your way. Patience for the situation and healing for your foster-mom.

Thanks Wind. Patience is needed all around. More tests tomorrow. Maybe we'll know more.

The girl I like told me she can't see me any more. A fine ending to a day that consisted of nothing but being very hung-over.

I'm sorry, Gris! You rock, and clearly the right girl is out there somewhere for you. Stupid girls. I'm still bitter at them, myself.

Also bitter at the whole "didn't get home from work trip until 9pm Saturday night" thing. Even if I did get an extra hour in teh weekend.

But I did a bunch of unpacking, and put together one of my three new bookshelves, and am doing laundry. So what if I haven't done enough laundry, put together the other bookshelves, or made real food (instead I'm eating salsa and chips. And beer). Who cares?

So, my niecelet is on a plane and heading up here right now. Things have not exactly been good at home for her. And I, dutiful aunt, just called my brother and sister in law's house to tell them where she was. This panic can go away any time now. In theory, the hard part is over. Yay?

Why do I keep reading the aish.com dating columns? I know that they're full of stuff that makes me roll my eyes, like this latest:

Work hard on honing your list, limit it to ten items, and then prioritize it. As you date people, stick to your list no matter what. If your heart tells you one thing and your list tells you another, listen to your list. That is your litmus test to determine if you are on the right track or not.

After a date, sit down with your list to see if your date has at least half of the items on your list. If they don't, they are not for you. If they do, go out again. Simple as that. You'd be surprised at the extraordinary amount of love, devotion, and chemistry that grows when someone is meeting your true, deep needs -- even if in the beginning there is minimal attraction.

but I can't stop reading it.

(I can't even find any logical reason to keep reading it. The letters sections are full of people saying "I've been dating using your methods for a year now," but very few people who complete that sentence with "and I met the person I'm going to marry." Because these dating methods are nuts. It's explicitly stated that the point is to get engaged within six months or a year.)

That's pretty crazy. But fascinating. I'm going to try not to start reading it, though, since I will be waking up in 5 hours or so.

What is aish? I'm scared to go there now.

Of course, I'm also restraining myself from putting an ad on craigslist, because I'd rather give meeting people in person a shot (what can I say? I'm picky on physical attraction, so online dating rarely works). But boredom and internet are a dangerous combination...

I've met some pretty great dates on the internet. But not so much craigslist. I'm a big fan of OK Cupid.