did I do good?

[MineralDiva]

You did very well!  But the next time you go out for a hamburger with Paul, make sure Randy and the "hot dog" aren't coming along too! 

Now you've made me want an In-N-Out double double with cheese...and the closest one to me is 45 minutes away!  LOL

[Sandi Papaya]

where in SoCal do you live that an In-N-Out is 45 MINUTES away!?  I would die!

In fact, I nearly died when I found out that In-N-Out wasn't as close to the UC Riverside campus as I initially thought. Fortunately my aunt and her former husband at the time lived in Studio City, so I could get my fix on weekend visits to my aunt and uncle's (he really WAS my uncle, as opposed to her current husband, Uncle Boor).

You don't know how glad I was when they started moving up the coast to NorCal, and planted me almost directly between 2 of them - BLISS!

I've yet to find a gentle way to let Paul know Randy and his adorable dog are not invited along on our dates unless I specify that they should come by, because I did like Randy well enough (am I overstating that just to convince myself?) , but I'm a bit creeped out by his overattachment to the dog.

[MineralDiva]

I'm in the mountains.  No chain anything up here.  I have to drive off the "Hill."

[artk2002]

You don't know how glad I was when they started moving up the coast to NorCal, and planted me almost directly between 2 of them - BLISS!

First you steal our Trader Joe's.  Now you steal In-n-Out.  What next?  You NoCals are nothing but thieves.  Well, you'll have my Tommy's Double Chili Cheesburger when you pry it from my cold, dead (of congestive heart failure) hand!

On a slightly more serious note, yes, I think you should make it clear that you'd like some 1-on-1 time with Paul.  And, I think that you should be making calls and not just waiting for him to call.  Got it?

[Sandi Papaya]

First you steal our Trader Joe's.  Now you steal In-n-Out.  What next?  You NoCals are nothing but thieves.  Well, you'll have my Tommy's Double Chili Cheesburger when you pry it from my cold, dead (of congestive heart failure) hand!

On a slightly more serious note, yes, I think you should make it clear that you'd like some 1-on-1 time with Paul.  And, I think that you should be making calls and not just waiting for him to call.  Got it?

You can keep your Tommy's heart-attack-on-a-bun, thanks. I'm not a big fan of chili on anything or in anything, other than in a bowl with a nice big slice of cornbread, and with cheese and onions on top.

I have no qualms about calling him - I'm not stuck in the '50s with that "a woman (or girl) never calls a man (or boy)" mentality. It's getting him to call BACK that can be a pain, because he's not much of a phone person. But we did have a nice conversation last night - I had to cut it short because my voice was going. It's now completely GONE. So now I can't call him even if I want to

So we're getting our 1-on-1 time sometime soon - a belated Christmas get-together was part of the discussion (we mutually agreed that Christmas "officially" lasts until January 6th), so we don't have to get together while we're both sick, although he's invited to my Christmas Eve brunch tomorrow (later today?). Whether he shows is another matter, but I'm not stressing it. It's just a little low-key, friends-and-family deal.

I'm not shy by any stretch of the imagination.   I'm just trying to make my interest clear without making a great big pest of myself. It's been known to happen. 

[artk2002]

I'm just trying to make my interest clear without making a great big pest of myself. It's been known to happen. 

Really?  Naw, you're kidding! 

In any case, it sounds like you're doing well with this.  (Unfortunately, I know all about that telephone thing... I hate the telephone!)

[Sandi Papaya]

In any case, it sounds like you're doing well with this.  (Unfortunately, I know all about that telephone thing... I hate the telephone!)

Yeah, I don't know many guys who DO like the telephone. Personally, I like talking to him face-to-face and prefer it that way, but we're not exactly at a point where that would happen all the time. Especially now that I'm going to work in about a week, I'm going to like the telephone less and less, because I'll have to be on the phone most of the day - it's the nature of the beast when you work in a call-center environment, and even though I'm a social-services caseworker, I work out of a "service center" - so I will be on the phone about 75% of my time.

We don't usually call each other "just to chat" unless it's something important, or we're making arrangements to get together. Every once in a while we call each other just to check in, but that's about it. I had to beg off early Friday night because my voice was going, and he could tell I was straining to talk.

But I'm not scared to call him (or any guy, for that matter!). I've always been pretty forward, but have learned to tame myself so that I'm not the one doing all the chasing. That gets pretty exhausting. And it usually doesn't bring about the results you want, unless he's the lazy/shy sort and WANTS you to do all the chasing so he doesn't have to.

[goblue2539]

And it usually doesn't bring about the results you want, unless he's the lazy/shy sort and WANTS you to do all the chasing so he doesn't have to.

And if he is that kind of guy..... take a step back.  Cause it probably means you'll be doing all the relationship work if you do get together.  BTDT. 

So.... did he make it to the brunch??? Inquiring minds want to know!

[Sandi Papaya]

No, he didn't make it to brunch. We actually ended up eating later than we intended to, and I was sicker than I wanted to be, so I called him and told him I was really sick, and I knew he had his mom's Xmas eve party to help out with, and we hadn't even started by 11 - he said not to stress, he'd call me the next day.

He did call me on Christmas and told me not to be upset about my cousin June and her tackiness toward me, that she wasn't worth it. He doesn't know her, but he told me her whole problem with me is that she's just jealous of me because I have a "beautiful soul." I'm not sure what to think about that comment - does his opinion that I have a "beautiful soul" mean the rest of me is not quite so much? Does it mean just the opposite? It's left me a little puzzled. I don't speak or translate "guy" as well as I'd like to, sometimes.

We're still making plans to get together again and hang out when we're not both trying to hack up a lung. I'm still a little sicker than he is - being close to bedridden for 3 months didn't do much for my immune system. I haven't called him much because my voice is still a little bit hit-and-miss - it faded out on me after a 15-minute phone conversation with a friend last night.

I'm still of the opinion he likes me, though, and that his "beautiful soul" comment meant just what I think it does (because it makes me feel better to think that he thinks I'm beautiful! ). I mean, he worried about my family's opinion of him and wanted to know what my brother thought of him when they met, so I'd say that's a good sign!

I'm trying not to twist myself into knots overanalyzing things here, but unfortunately, I still have too much time on my hands to do just that. Next week when I go back to work I'll have less time to worry about that and more time to concentrate on just getting together with him when I can and not tear apart the subtext of every one of our conversations. 

[MineralDiva]

does his opinion that I have a "beautiful soul" mean the rest of me is not quite so much?

Moon, when I read that comment, I immediately thought that he believes you to be as beautiful inside as you are outside! (Whereas June's "beauty" is more superficial...you've got the total package!)

What a lovely thing to say!  Give him an extra piece of chocolate!

[Slartibartfast]

You mention your voice isn't so great right now . . . I just wanted to interject that this is what email and IM are for :-D

[Sandi Papaya]

You mention your voice isn't so great right now . . . I just wanted to interject that this is what email and IM are for :-D

or in our case, heavy doses of MySpace and text-messaging. I just got a sympathetic text-message "hug" and an "I'm sorry" because my neck is still really sore and achy tonight, as it was at 4 am this morning when I texted him out of sheer agony, and on top of that the leftover enchiladas I had for dinner (which were quite yummy) are causing my stomach considerable upset tonight, so I'm going to bed feeling sick as a dog (and making a mental note to go buy myself a course of Prilosec OTC tomorrow before I go to my brother's to help babysit the twins).

My voice is coming back...slowly...he mentioned earlier today that my voice sounded "much better" and I thought I heard him mumble something about "kinda sexy," but when I asked him to clarify, he said, "Oh nothing," just a little TOO breezily. *giggle* 

[Sandi Papaya]

does his opinion that I have a "beautiful soul" mean the rest of me is not quite so much?

Moon, when I read that comment, I immediately thought that he believes you to be as beautiful inside as you are outside! (Whereas June's "beauty" is more superficial...you've got the total package!)

What a lovely thing to say!  Give him an extra piece of chocolate!

It also struck me that when we spoke on Christmas, he said we needed to get together again because he hadn't seen me in "like, a month" - we went to In-N-Out 2 weeks ago. And just today, he asked me if he had dreamed that I had done him a favor we've talked about, or if I told him I was going to do it. Turns out he dreamt I'd already done it (which means I need to go and get it done! Oops!) - but he's dreaming about me - even if it's innocuous, I'm on his mind!

I can't say that I've had a dream about him yet - innocuous or not so much! But apparently I'm front of mind for him - or close to it.

On that note, though, I'm going to bed - my stomach's bothering me still, my neck is still sore, and I need to start getting myself on a more regular bedtime schedule before I return to work next Tuesday!

[willow08]

Hehee, sounds like someone is celebrating their freedom from the halo with illicit smoochies!

[goblue2539]

because I have a "beautiful soul."

Here's your translation-- he thinks the rest of you is just as beautiful as your outside.  It's a superb compliment, and I echo Ms. Diva in saying get that man a treat!  He really sounds like a keeper. Sorry you didn't get to see him this weekend, but it sounds like things are going super great!  Now, don't slack off the updates.