691.

Happy Tuesday folks.

A sista is tired. Too many nights of staying awake until the wee hours. Last night it caught up with me. I nodded off before 11:30 p.m.

Baby Bliss woke me when she came in from the gym, after 1 a.m.

I was sitting on the floor in front of the sofa, sound asleep.

She looked at me and said she knew why I hadn't returned her texts earlier.

Yeah...

I thought I would make it to my bed but it didn't happen. I passed out (again) right where I sat and slept until 5 a.m., when I managed to drag myself up to the sofa.

I've been laying here for two hours, thinking I'd go back to sleep. Nope. I've been watching the news, checking e-mail, sorting electronic files, and looking for photos of my Sunday dinner date. (We exchange photos periodically via text messages.)

Let's call him Chuck. (He resembles Chuck Norris but his face is indescribably more handsome.)

Our date got off to a late start, almost an hour late because of some weird GPS glitches (his and mine), maybe a satellite or the area we were in. *shrug*

We were both late but I arrived before he did. Funny because as my regular readers know, usually I'm the late one and my date is waiting for me.

I waited nervously in the foyer of the restaurant, texting with two of my sista-friends and my daughter, telling them he was late and I was waiting. Of course the ladies had snarky (humorous) comments. I had a fleeting thought that I might be stood up but didn't truly believe it would happen.

Chuck and I have been conversing for over a year and I didn't believe he would have taken the time to invite me out, say he was right there in the area, then not show up. Not that I know this man but from our (limited) interaction, it didn't fit his personality.

He walked in almost running. When he looked at me, I caught my breath. Although it seemed that his energy should have felt frantic, it didn't. His face was perfectly serene and he was beautiful.

Yes, his face was handsome to my eyes. He was a few inches taller than me and had a solid build. He wore faded jeans, boots, a gray Old Navy tee shirt. A little bit of a belly (which has never been a deterrent to me), muscular arms...  I found myself wondering what his thighs looked like.

Naughty me.

I stood up and we hugged hello. It was a really good hug. Any apprehension I'd felt instantly evaporated.

Wow.

Chuck apologized for being late, we were seated, and the date officially began.

It was a wonderful two hours. So much good conversation, laughter, a few heart-stopping moments as he shared a few hair-raising tales...

It took every ounce of self-restraint to not grab his hands or initiate a game of footsie. But again, even though we've been conversing for over a year, it's not been anything seriously romantic. A few flirty texts here and there. Never anything that would ever be considered remotely inappropriate.

His spirit felt good and he's a southern gentleman.

Lord knows, if we lived closer, he would be mine. (Yes, I said it.)

In addition to his other fantastic traits, he's a mechanical engineer. Built his house and can fix just about anything that can break. He seems patient and kind. From many of our conversations, I believe he is a romantic and steady lover. (The noun, not the verb.)

Just overall very attractive to me.

We left the restaurant at 8. We hugged goodbye but talked in the parking lot for another 30 minutes. Chuck said he didn't want the evening to end and asked when I was coming to visit him. Caught off guard, I and hemmed and hawed on the answer. He laughed and said he would visit again.

Then 8:30 rolled around and I really had to go. He told me he had a bluetooth in his helmet, said I could call him during his drive if I wanted, we hugged goodbye again then parted.

About an hour later, I got a lovely text from him. He said he enjoyed my company, I was beautiful, he was glad we finally got to meet, and he wished we'd had more time. I called him and we talked briefly.

*sigh*

I don't know if we'll ever see each again but I sure hope we do.

Amen. 

690.

I meant to post this yesterday (Sunday, August 28, 2016) around 3.

* * * 

Happy Sunday everyone!

It's been a quiet weekend here but today is revving up to be a busy one. After I drop the darling daughter at work, I have a date.

Not that me having a date is a surprise. It's the circumstances.

There's a guy I met online over a year ago who lives a few states over. We've kept in touch via texts and phone calls since we first connected.

Nothing seriously romantic but everything else. Sometimes a little flirty.

Well he's riding his motorcycle today and he's in my state, a few hours away. He has invited me to dinner.

I accepted with the caveat of him having to drive another two hours to meet me closer to home (a few towns up the highway from me) because I have to get the child from work later.

He said yes and I accepted.

It will be wonderful to finally see him face to face.

More later folks!

689.

Hey folks.

Happy Friday!

This one will be short because I'm closing in on the tail of a project I need to get back to a client by 6 p.m., latest.

I love checking out the GroupOn website a few times a month. Lots of interesting stuff to look at and think about buying.

Occasionally I do buy stuff.

Usually discounts for food or events like the Steely Dan/Steve Winwood concert that Baby Bliss and I attended last month.

Several weeks ago I purchased discounts for our favorite local fro yo place as well as a set of six essential oils.

My family tends toward holistic/alternative healing modalities such as acupuncture, Reiki, homeopathy, essential oils (EOs), etc.

We don't partake instead of Western medicine, rather as an adjunct to, especially in cases of non-life threatening maladies.

For at least the past two decades, I've always kept a supply of essential oils in my home.

I've usually purchased them from "health food" stores or similar. My brands of choice were Aura Cacia and NOW.

GroupOn had a good deal on EOs by a brand I've never tried (or heard of) but I was willing, pending the outcome of satisfactory (and extensive) research.

The six EOs: eucalyptus, lemon, lavender, tea tree, orange, and peppermint. They are my staple oils, with the exception of orange and lemon.

And while I've bought lemon EO in the past 20 years, I've only bought it once. I've never bought the orange EO and have never used it.

The other four oils will be used for a variety of medicinal purposes. The citrus oils will mostly be used for cleaning purposes.

Here they are:

Alright folks, it's back to work for me.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend.

688.

Hey folks.

What's shaking?

Lots over here.

I've been conducting some non-scientific (and secret) experiments using the guys on the dating sites.

Seems like I can guess their personalities by looking at their photos.

Funny and not funny because I don't like to pre-judge folks. I try hard to keep an open mind because I like being (pleasantly) surprised.

But the men I've talked to in the past several weeks (via e-mail and/or phone) have displayed the character traits I ascribed to the facial expressions and actions they displayed in their photos.

Maybe I read too many of my mama's psychology textbooks back in the day.

Or maybe I've been watching too many episodes of "Psychic Detective"...

Either way, I'm gonna do some real research -- you know, using Google -- to determine how much and what kind of data I can find about the correlation(s) between facial expressions and personality traits.

Back later with more.

687.

Happy Monday y'all.

I hope your weekend brought fun and excitement. Or peace and relaxation if that's what you needed.

Mine brought both.

I had a "first date" Friday evening.

It was a long one. We met at 9 p.m. When I next darkened my door sill, it was well after 5 a.m.

We have much in common, got along well.

There was dinner, lots of lively conversation and laughter, walking arm in arm, sitting, smooching.

And something amazing happened: I saw his aura. Actually I saw both our auras.

No, that wasn't on the agenda. We weren't discussing anything remotely aura-like when it happened. It just... happened.

Initially I thought I was seeing things. Hallucinating. Experiencing technical difficulties.

But I wasn't.

We talked about it after I realized what was happening.

He embraced the process and subsequent conversation readily but wasn't at all surprised at the occurrence.

While it didn't frighten me, I'm not sure I want to see more of the same. It feels invasive somehow, to see another person's energy without their prior agreement.

I'm sure someone reading this is a non-believer. It doesn't change my thoughts about it. We all believe in something. I believe in lots of things, seen and unseen.

Partly because I know that what is initially invisible to the "naked" eye can become visible with the help of any number of ocular-assisting tools.

Like that time in science class when I put an onion skin under the microscope for the first time and was able to view it on a cellular level.

Without the microscope, it wasn't possible.

I'm not trying to convince anyone. It's just a reminder of the possibilities that exist for the existence of things unseen, whether or not we believe.

And now I'm dismounting from my soapbox because I have a lunch date.

Same guy.

Should be interesting, as are the two of us.

686.

It is with a modicum of decorum that I announce that my most recent suitor has become my most recent ex-beau.

It happened in the wee hours of Sunday morning, after our Saturday (July 23) date.

I thought our date had gone well. There was lots of smiling, smooching, nodding and foot tapping along to the tunes his friend's band was cranking out.

Fast forward to the wee hours and once again we were texting, as had become our habit. Then he mentioned something we did -- and something he thought I didn't do but should have -- on the date. He seemed not to like my response which led to him saying something I didn't like and thought of as passive-aggressive.

Stop the bus honey cuz this is where I exit.

I tried to lead him to what I felt was a more appropriately adult way to engage. No response. I wasn't sure if he'd dozed off or if he was busy elsewhere but several thousand heart palpitations and a few hours later, I realized I wasn't up for retrieving whatever bug he had up his ass.

Before I laid me down to sleep, I let him know how I viewed his actions and how I had no place in my life for that type of interaction.

I also let him know I wouldn't be seeing him again.

Our situation was too new for that kind of crap. In addition, I felt like his reaction was residue from some bad thing that had happened in a previous relationship.

Lawd knows I'm dragging my share of baggage. But I'm not dumping it on anyone nor am I anyone else's dumpster.

Work out the heartache from a previous situation before it becomes quicksand; most importantly before attempting to engage in something that might cause regurgitation of the bullshit ingested before I came on the scene.

One thing I know for sure: what you allow is what continues.

Come in peace and we can hang, for a day, a week, a month, longer... Conduct unbecoming of a gentleman is frowned upon and cause for expulsion.

This is the only life I'll remember folks.

Although there have been and will be circumstances beyond my control, barring those occurrences, I choose to get every ounce of happiness I can while I'm able to appreciate it.

Amen.