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.

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

It's a Jewish group. Their stated purpose is to get less-religious Jews to become more religious. They're somewhat cult-like. And they focus a whole lot of getting Jews to marry other Jews.

(I've got a friend who went to study at their program in Israel. There were several months when she was learning and not interacting with guys at all, and then a few months of dating with the intention of marriage -- the head of the women's school would set up dates with the head of the men's school. She ended up coming back to the states and marrying a religious Jewish guy that she'd been seeing on and off before going to Israel.)

I haven't tried to meet someone in so long, I'm not even sure I would remember how.

I will say that I'm not sure that a list would've helped me, in as much as I was dating a guy who would have met all but one thing I would like, but I cheated on him with the guy (I eventually married) who I told "I just need to date someone like you." Take that as you will.

Also, I have tried to keep up, but between being drugged (wicked cold) and the weekend I don't remember much except that there's much good vibage needed for my bitches. All I have is yours.

Edited to close quotes-still drugged

So odd, Hil. I can tell you know why I married my DH, and I guess that if I had made a list some of those things would be on it. However, I dated a lot of guys that were smart, readers, and more or less serious- minded people. Oddly, a number of guys I dated, but not so seriously - had one major thing in common with Matt , and that is enthusiasm for life. I think you have to date some people you know aren't forever to know what you really want. and Honestly, it is only looking back that I can say which guys had what characteristics in common with DH.