Nov. 8, 2003: Roger that!

EH provided another match, Roger, 35, 6'0”, a management consultant from Evanston. His profile looks very promising: he believes in "lifelong learning," reads (just read "Nobody's Fool," by Richard Russo, one of my favorite authors), likes sports and arts, shows a sense of humor, mentions both NPR and Letterman. I went ahead and requested communication but wasn't very optimistic. But he's already responded. And answered that 0 would be the ideal number of kids!!!

For my other four questions, he opted for the fill-in-the-blank answer option, which is cool. It shows some initiative and creativity. For indoor activity, given the choice between bowling, cooking, shopping, or a video, he suggested cooking dinner together and then a classic movie—that works for me. His idea of adventure is deciding on a Thursday to spend the weekend on another continent. He laughs 17.3 times per day; "statistics and the way they are reported can make me laugh." And he made his photos available, and I liked what I saw. One shows him laughing, another in a shirt and tie, another out hiking.

Now I feel some pressure about my answers to his questions. For my idea of a romantic time, I wrote: "You, me and a bottle of wine, on a beach, by a fireplace (I've got one—convenient, ay?), under the moon, etc." I'm so saucy! I am definitely putting more thought into these responses than usual. And I just heard from Robert in Elmhurst, too, so I'll have more questions to answer. Roger also asked the question about the kind of schedule you'd like your match to possess; I answered that as long as I always look forward to seeing him, schedules can be worked around. See how flexible I am? Or vague?

Turning to Robert. Oh, Robert—he said he'd like two kids. Well, did you read my profile, buddy? His other answers are pretty good—loves to cook, loves to laugh but can be serious when necessary, loves to try new things, chemistry is more than physical. I'll answer his questions but …
I know it's foolish to even think this, yet alone write it (both for fear of looking ridiculous and for setting up a jinx), but I'm cautiously psyched about Roger. I hope we rush through the various stages this weekend and move to open communication quickly. Holy cow! Just looked in my Inbox, and he's replied to the last round already. Well, all right!

Now his must-haves and can't-stands. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Man, oh, man—not only do I think I possess all his must-have qualities, his last one is "I must have someone who shares my desire to not have children." This is getting too good to be true (and yet, I find myself wondering why he doesn't want kids—how hypocritical is that?). Let's see the can't-stands. Holy shit! I just realized our lists, for both must-haves and can't-stands, are identical!

Doh—I just realized I was looking at my lists, not his. Calm down, girlie.

OK, OK, I've settled down. Our lists don't totally match, which would be pretty freaking amazing, but I still think I fit his criteria. Now I need to come up with three short-answer questions. Ugh. I'm copping out and choosing from the EH list: proudest achievement, interest you'd like your partner to share, romantic evening after dating for a year.

Now I’m running out to do some errands. I hope to come home to another communication from Rog, as I call him now.
***
I'm back. No communication from Roger, but he hasn't closed me out either. I thought about some of my must-haves (no kids, need my personal space)—maybe I should tone those down a bit. They might make me seem cold and too independent. Ah, the strategizing. This is all so romantic and fulfilling.