Sweet

Sweet. That's how I would describe my date last night. A sweet, friendly, cute guy. I was dreading the date. I didn't have much sense of what he was like, other than that he wasn't dangerous. I had more to go on than the average internet date, but not much more. He was there when I arrived and I was exactly on time. Points for him: early and did not call asking for directions.

We met for coffee but I can't drink coffee after noon unless I want to be up all night. All I got was some fizzy water--he got actual coffee. He teased me about not drinking coffee and he paid for my water. I didn't mind and thought it was kind of sweet--the teasing and the paying. I would have teased me under those circumstances.

He was easy to talk to and I vented a bit about Mom and my upcoming trip. He listened, took Mom's side and told some stories of his own.

Sounds good, right? I am pleased that we got along and I enjoyed the evening. However, I'm no more enthusiastic about him than before our date. It's one of those different worlds things. He has an unspecified job at a hospital. He clearly did not want to tell me exactly what he did and I didn't press him. Also, he grew up in a small town in Puerto Rico. Nothing wrong with that but it leaves us with precious little common ground. Oh, and I'm sure he's at least ten years younger than I am. None of this means that I won't call him when I get back from my trip, I will. We may even go out again and have a good time. It just means I don't think he has much boyfriend potential. Perhaps we can be friends or perhaps I'm wrong.

Last, no work today. I stuck around the house and called it a holiday observance. So much for the gym!

While I haven't talked much about this, I'm in good shape in terms of trip prep. I have car insurance and my AAA membership. I received my "triptik" today and some new shirts I ordered that will probably come with me. I have the fancy iPod speakers, a sleeping bag, a road atlas (in addition to all the other maps and travel books), and a mess kit. All I have to do now is figure out what clothing I'm taking and how I'm going to fit everything into the fewest number of bags. I've left myself precious little time to pack, which is good, but because this is an unusual trip, I've started piling up all the things I need to bring that I might forget. I have hopes that it will go well. A week in Seattle, followed by a drive across the country. Am I crazy? No more than usual.

Grateful for: good dates.