Valid proof that I am an idiot

I consider myself a reasonably intelligent person. It's possible that, as something of an academic, I lack some common sense, but really. I'm not stupid. Which means that last night, when I decided to ride my bike home, someone had stolen my brains and replaced them with oatmeal when I wasn't looking.

I had left my bicycle on campus all week, and decided that it was high time it came home. I also needed it this morning. So, despite the fact that it was dark, cold, and snowy, and that I didn't have my helmet with me, I decided to ride it home. I thought about the bus, but I have an irrational fear that the driver will not listen to me when I say I need to get my bike off the bike rack and drive away with it. Anyway. I rode on the sidewalk because I'm not completely brain-dead, and planned on walking the last stretch because the lights are bad.

I was doing just fine when, out of the blue, it happened. I started to slip. In one of those omniscient-disaster-moments, I knew I was going to bite it.

And I bit it. I saw the inevitable and had a moment where time stood still...and then the wheel was going right and I was going left and crashing into the wet sidewalk and there was another moment where I was very lucidly aware that in the next second my head was going to bounce off the ground. It did. Then I was in fast-forward again, realized I had lost my hat, ripped both my gloves, and was standing up already - the ground was cold. I got my act together, cursed a lot, made sure I wasn't bleeding and was probably not concussed, and walked the rest of the way home.

I'm fine now, other than being a little sore. My left knee got skinned through jeans, and my right hand is skinned, and my gloves are ruined. The two friends I told both asked if I was ok, and then immediately asked if the bike was ok. Which is how I know they really care ;)

This man is my husband

John Green reaffirms my hope in humanity.

Seriously, I just keep talking about this dude, but he is so worth it. John Green is an author of young adult novels that are so good they have literally changed my life. He only has three books out, but he is already one of my favorite novels. His most recent novel, Paper Towns, debuted at #5 on the New York Times bestseller list this week. John also just revealed today that Paper Towns has a movie deal with the folks who made Juno. His main characters are nearly always nerdy high school guys with crushes on vibrant, mysterious girls, but there are always strong themes of growing up, understanding and enjoying life, and having spontaneous adventures. He also has one short story in a collection of holiday romances (yeah, I know, it sounds awful, but really isn't) called Let it Snow. I cannot recommend his novels enough.

In addition to being a stunningly good author, John also videoblogs, because of a project he did with his brother Hank called Brotherhood 2.0. John and Hank communicated via videoblog for a year, and made it public online, creating a huge following (called Nerdflighters) and generally being wonderful. They still blog, and it continues to be good.

Also, yeah, John Green is my husband. He just doesn't know it yet. And is married to someone else. For the videoblogs and the Nerdfighter community, go here. For John's website, go here, where you will also find info on buying my favorite of his novels, An Abundance of Katherines, for $3.99. Can't beat that! DO it.

I might be a poser

I'm sitting here at work, wearing skinny jeans, a generic-looking V-neck tee, a gray cardigan, and black Chucks, listening to indie rock from my coworkers Mac. Today we've discussed progressive politics, Beck, a band most people haven't heard of, and obscure movie quotes.

I'm an accidental hipster. I swear, I don't do it on purpose. I am so not cool enough to be a hipster. Also, nearly everything I'm wearing comes from Alloy.com, which I think saves me from being a real hipster. I can be pretty pretentious though. Yikes! Is there hope for me? Or should I just give up eating in favor of being skinny enough and being able to afford American Apparel?

Virgin=Christian?

I'm starting to get a little annoyed with a trend I've been seeing. Whether it be from other Christians, from Christian blogs, from Christian literature/media, etc., I'm beginning to have a problem with the assumption that being a virgin makes someone a better Christian. I know that for many Christians, waiting till marriage is very, very important, and central to their perception of their faith life. While my personal faith has a slightly different focus, I can respect the beliefs of others enough to understand the desire to wait till marriage.

However, I keep seeing people who say things like "well, I'm a Christian, I was saved when I was 12, and I'm 25 now and I'm still a virgin." Nicely done. You resisted temptation better than most people. But how would it sound if I said, "I'm a Christian, I'm 22, and I've never lied."? (Not a true statement, btw.) If you believe pre-marital sex is a sin, it should be on the same level as any other sin, and it seems odd to me to advertise that one particular sin you haven't committed. I mean, I also haven't murdered anyone...I guess I could announce that as my proof of being a good Christian.

Is virginity a requirement for being a young woman (or man) and Christian? It's not like saying "I'm Jewish and I'm circumcised," which are usually connected characteristics. "Christian" does not equal "virgin." What about "I'm Christian, I was saved when I was 12, and ever since I have endeavored to love everyone as Christ does"? See, that comes off as pretty arrogant. I do not understand why virginity has become the standard for Christianity. I would far prefer to be known as a Christian who devotes herself to helping others.

My problems with this assumption have many other aspects, including the awful sex-guilt I think a lot of Christians have, myself included. Also, I read today in a Newsweek article that 95% of Americans are not virgins when they get married. I'm pretty sure I will not be part of the 5%. Does that make me a bad Christian?

So.....dating...

1. I might have spent the last 10 hours with AA. Hiking, pizza for dinner, baking (really bad, actually) cookies... making out more than I ever have before in a single day. So, point two shouldn't be a surprise:

2. I can't blog about online dating anymore, because I'm not. Because for the first time in, well, eons, I am not really single. Woah. He called me his girlfriend today and I didn't want to sock him, which is my usual response to guys saying the "gf" word. I even - get this - changed my facebook status.

3. I am now at a loss as to what to blog about. Since I think I only have one reader, does it matter?

Keep on rollin'...

I discovered a day or two ago that I might actually... like Syracuse. Gasp! I know, I know. I didn't blog about it, but all I did all summer was bitch and moan about how freaking horrible this city is. Actually, I still think the city is ugly, and boring, and lacking in most of the things I really want from a city, including a relatively easy way to get around without a car. So, maybe it's not Syracuse in particular. Maybe it's just that I've been having a good time lately. I've made friends with some seriously awesome people, and I've been having a great time with them lately. I have some fascinating coworkers, and I spent half the morning today talking to one of them about the environment and religion and the end of the world and interesting ideas in general. It also helps that autumn has pretty much arrived, and that automatically makes me much, much happier. Even with the rain that won't leave us alone, this is a good season. I miss my sister, but I'm not overwhelmingly homesick, and I'm definitely not miserable, like I was my first month or so here. My default setting is "content," and while I strayed for a little while, I'm back.

On another note, I fail at this being an online dating blog, and for that matter I think I fail at online dating. Between being busy and actually meeting someone interesting in real life, the online thing has been on the decline since. I might pick it back up, but I'm much less enthusiastic than before. My other default setting is "single," and since I'm content again I think the single thing looks more and more appealing. I think I was trying to fix my discontent with the city and other things by fixing my relationship status, which wasn't actually the problem at all.

That being said, I have a date tomorrow. It's AA again, and I think I'm looking forward to it. I tend to get less enthusiastic about something the more it seems to be working, which is a problem I should probably work on, because if I keep flipping out when things are going well with a guy I WILL be single forever. Then again, it's a little too soon to worry: it's only the second-ish date/first formal date/fourth time we've hung out at all, so it's WAY to early to be concerned.

I just cleaned the hell out of my apartment, there is a candle on the counter, my cat is no longer sick as a dog (haha?) and I only have one class next week. I would not be surprised if an asteroid landed on my apartment building tomorrow, because way too much is going right for me right now.

I'll be back with some interesting dating emails soon, I think.

Who are you and what have you done with my normal life?

Reader, I had two dates today. Now, I am sure that there are women for whom that is not completely weird. I, however, have gone many months without a date at all, so this is incredibly odd. However, internet dating does kind of promote more dates than I would usually have - If I'm communicating with someone there is never that concern about whether a date could happen - it's the point.

So, date 1: Unfortunately-Named-Man (UNM): Late, late, very late. He was driving from a distance though, so I decided to be forgiving. The whole day didn't look like it would go well though. I got rained on waiting for the bus, which I was taking because I will not immediately ride in a car with someone I found online and have never met before. GOOD RULE. Stand by it, online-dating ladies. So, rained on, bus, then he called and said he was going to be very late. Then I got to the restaurant and found out it was closed till 5pm. (We had a lunch date.) It was a very interesting restaurant and I was bummed... and hungry. At that point I thought about giving up and going home.

He eventually showed up, and ... was very attractive. Sometimes pictures are seriously hit-or-miss, but this one was a hit. So that's a plus. I gave up and let him drive me to a different restaurant, since there was nothing close. He neither kidnapped nor murdered me. We had a pretty good lunch and made some good conversation, mostly small talk, but nice. After we ended up going to the Museum of Science and Technology, which, unlike COSI or Cleveland's science center, sucks. It was also filled with hoards of screaming children and didn't have anywhere near enough fun interactive things. I'm like a kid, I love the interactive exhibits. We meandered around and it was ok, but not spectacular. I suggested he drive me home so I didn't have to take the bus, and since I am directionally impaired we put my addy into his GPS to ensure efficiency...and got lost. It used the wrong address and we had to redo. Embarrassing!

I did eventually got home and we had one of those awkward first date goodbyes, but that's ok. The verdict's still out on this one. Hot, Christian, nice... very slightly boring.

Date 2: Last week I met a guy in one of my classes and pretty quickly developed a crush. I don't crush that easily, being incredibly picky, and this one didn't make that much sense - he's conservative, for one thing. But I had a great time talking to him at a party, and kinda facebook attacked him after. I was just sitting here doing homework when he called tonight and asked if I wanted to come out with him and some friends. Um, yes. My crush just called me? Hellz yes I want to go out! It's like I was in high school. I even did a happy dance, which is not something I ever want him to know.

He picked me up and we played darts with his friends for a while. I fail at darts. The we went to a different place and had drinks, and his friends left but we kept talking, which I think moved it a little more clearly into the "date" area. Then we got pizza, which I appreciated because really, I am always hungry. I am not that woman who doesn't eat. Also, the pizza was great.

This guy is less attractive than UNM, but is really more interesting, and seems cool with a woman who will bite back in the face of smart-assedness. A friend has already made up an acronym for him: AA (yes, I know, it's taken, but this is different.) AA is pretty damn nerdy, but I kinda like that. In general, I like him, and I'm pleased that this date developed organically, without having to work at it so much. I think we will be hanging out again.

So, in conclusion: I got no homework done today AT ALL. It was probably worth it.