I did something tonight that I haven't done in a long long time. I had enchiladas, I saw a film, I threw darts, I laughed. What counts is, I did it WITH someone. Not just any date, a first date.

I am a big fan of the first date. Since I rarely ask out anyone I don't know, and I don't go on blind dates, first dates with me are not all just getting to know you junk. They are getting to know MORE of you. After all, why would I want to have dinner with a stranger? What if she picked her teeth with her fork or something weird? So first dates for me are kind of a big deal. It means I am getting to spend some quality alone time with someone I really like, and I always hope that by the end of it, I'll want to keep going. I dont get a lot of first dates, I seem to fall into relationships by accident. I end up dating someone I have been hanging out with, without any sense of formality. We just suddenly move to the next level. Those kinds of involvements are fine, but I like the old school approach better. I love first dates.

I do have rules, when it comes to dating, and in this instance, I am breaking one of those rules. Thankfully, so is she. Anyone who knows me knows I hate authority, and despise being told what to do. I make the rules, and I get to chose when to break them. However, there is one rule that dictates what one shouldn't do on the first date that someone else made up long ago, and it's a rule I always stick to. On first dates, you shouldn't, and I didn't.

But God I really wanted to.

Also, I think about a week to go on the aforementioned haiku contest. Remember, "I was a chinese sprinter" Good Luck to all.

ok, so here are the goings on........
ONE. Marrilee managed to solve THE GREAT SQUARE mystery in about 2 seconds. We're driving down the street on our way to lunch, and I say, "Hey, remember THE GREAT SQUARE post?" and she looks at me (as she often does) like I have quite simply lost what was left of my marbles. Then, as we reach the corner, near where the GREAT SQUARE sits, I point. She looks across the street, recognition and memory flash across her face, and suddenly, I am Jack's extreme disappointment. Because, as Ed said (that was an unfortunate rhyme, but still), "And then, SHE RUINED EVERYTHING."

"Its a drafting table."

AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! I hate it when she is matter of fact. and right. To top it all off, she wants to buy the thing. And actually USE IT FOR SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE! Stanley Kubrick would not approve.

DOS. Halloween has come and gone. I was Satan again, this year in a rock-a-billy theme. Cowboy hat. Pearl snap shirt with flames and skulls on it. Pointed black boots (I wear them all the time actually. I am Jack's redneck fashion sense). Fake tattoos. Wallet chain. Too much fun. Kevin was someone famous. Wilford Brimley. Juan Carlo Esposito. Rita Hayworth. Had a black t-shirt made with simply the words, "someone famous." Wore all black and his geek-chic glasses. Five people got the joke, smiled, and nodded. Very Kevin.

TROIS. It's NANOWRIMO ! My new favorite holiday. I've got about 500 words so far, a bit off my game. Oh well.

I am Jack's buildup of momentum.