Umm, no I am not planning to tell everyone that guys suck and that I should try dating girls. Sorry ladies! All of my questions would probably be answered if I would just read Finding the Boyfriend Within, but I just refuse to read the book on principle.

So, instead of reading I've been spending quite a bit of time thinking about how I relate to those people that I date. In the past, I have tended to just jump into a relationship with some. It isn't like some gradual thing either. I spend hours on the phone with them and then spend massive amounts of time together in person over an extremely short period of time. In one sense, I am getting to know the other person, but in another sense, I am making a commitment without really knowing them.

I strongly feel that there are two ways to know a person. Over a few conversations, you can learn many facts about a person. You learn about their family, job, school, friends, beliefs, etc. This can happen in a short amount of time, but just knowing facts about a person doesn't really mean that you know a person. By talking and spending time together, you get to know the person inside. What makes them tick. It isn't possible to learn how someone will react when scared or when they are unhappy by just talking to them for a little while. This takes time and a lot of energy. Once you start to understand the essence of someone, then you can have a real relationship with them, not just some physical and superficial relationship.

So, why did I say all of this? Well, in the past I have just jumped into things and not given myself or the other person time to learn who we really are. You can't decide if you are compatible with someone over a period of a few hours, days, or weeks. In my next relationship, I want to take some time to get to know the other person before I jump into anything. I need to turn down the intensity and just take things slow. This is what I hope to do when I meet the *next* person... Let's see how this updated strategy works.

Anyone have any thoughts on this??

I just sold my 15" PowerBook and put in an order for a 17" PowerBook. I should be happy, but I will have to wait until at least the beginning of March to get the new machine. I will have to use my CR iBook for at least the next month. How sad.

Today has bee an interesting day. I resigned from the board and active membership of CommonGround today. After the events on Tuesday, I just believe that my vision of the group is not the same as the general membership or the remaining board members. The impeachment process ended up being more about popularity and not hurting people's feelings then about leadership ability. I feel like I stood up alone and those that supported me were silent. If members cannot stand up and evaluate their leadership then how are they going to be able to stand up for their right of having a supportive environment.

CommonGround has become more about finding a trick or putting on a good show then being a support/activist group. It is sad that I have to let go of something that I invested so much energy and time into. My desire is that the group will prosper, but my gut feeling is that the group will continue to dwindle and fade away. Maybe I will be wrong, but CommonGround is nothing like it was a year ago. It is nothing like it should be or could have been with STRONG leadership.

I did what I thought was the best thing for the group. That was my final gift to the group. My talents and leadership are best applied elsewhere in the community where they will be valued and have a real impact.

Wow, I cannot get to amazon.com for the first time in like forever. I know it isn't my connection because I have tried it at home, NKU, and up in Grand Rapids. Odd...

Phil and I are having a lengthly discussion about the merits of Safari vs. Chimera et al. If you have no life, feel free to join the discussion.

Hmm, I feel that I like ellipsis just way too much. They appear after 99% of my titles and sentences. Maybe I will grow out of them one day.

Well, I am pretty close to home, but I haven't made it there yet. Last night, Nick picked me up from the airport and then we went out to dinner at this place called Hops. I guess it is a Dayton thing. The food wasn't too bad and it was nice to spend time with him. So far Dayton seems kind of odd. Almost like a larger version of Lima. I keep seeing stores that were in Lima, but didn't seem to make it up to Cincinnati.

I spent the night at Nick's place. He attempted to make a fire, but was unsuccessful. I even gave it two tries. Somehow my manhood has diminished now because I was unable to master the fire. If I was straight, I would have to go and either have sex with a girl or burn down something. Since I am gay, it doesn't bother me too much.

So, I spent the entire day just hanging out at Nick's place while he was at school (WSU). Once I figured out that today was Mac World SF, I started watching the keynote. I started drooling over the new PowerBooks and then downloaded a copy of Safari. There were lots of kick-ass announcements from the show today including Airport Extreme, 17" PowerBook, 12" PowerBook, Keynote, iMovie3, iDVD3, iPhoto2, and a host of other things...

In other news... Jordan's interview/tour went well!

Apparently there are some issues near Cleveland, so my flight has been canceled. Now I am going through Newark again, but I will arrive 18 minutes eariler. I guess I got lucky.

We are about to leave the gate, so let's hope for a good flight.

I'm at the T stop near Fred and Jean's house for the last time on this trip. I am ready to go home and am pretty excited to see Nick tonight. Apparently he bought real wood for the fireplace!

This morning, I was hoping to go to MIT to get Jordan a t-shirt, but I didn't have enough time. Sorry Jordan! I thought that it would take about an hour to get to the airport, but the ticket agent person told me that it would take me about 30 mins. If that is the case, I will have a few hours to kill at the airport.

I just left the CambridgeSide mall and am sitting on the green line train heading towards Harvard Square. For this trip, I decided to bring my iPod along for the ride. I now wish that I had done the same thing for the last two days, but there is one peoblem... It is hard to not start singing. I think that I would look like a total freak if I started singing "I don't know why" by Norah Jones for everyone on the train... If Jordan was here we would probably do it anyway!

Boston has been cool, but I am really excited about seeing Nick. It isn't like the last 12 or so hours on the phone haven't been awsome, but a hug and a kiss would just hit the spot. Spending the night with him just felt right. I have a feeling that we will broden each other's horizions in many different ways. I have to say that the relayed was extremely odd.

I've been in Boston for about 3 days now abd I have some extremely mixed emotions about the trip. On some levels, I feel that this trip has been great and has allowed me to just spend time relaxing and not dealing with any issues from home. At the same time, I haven't spent too much time seeing all of the sights and such. I mean I did go to Harvard square, MIT, The Boston Museum of Science, and the Apple Store (to get Fred and Jean an Airport). The point of my trip wasn't to sight see, but I feel like I have been extremely lazy and have kind of wasted a trip. On the otherhand, I feel rested in body, mind, and spirit. So, maybe the trip surved it's purpose.

I'm on the T right now and there is a sign that proclaims "you don't HAVE to do it! Everyone is having sex, right? Actually more of us are waiting then you think." PLEASE... I beg someone to kill me. Isn't Bush doing great things. Don't get me wrong, if you don't want to have sexj that is totally cool. But I don't believe that not giving options like safe sex to those who are going to have sex is just a bad idea.

I'm in the CambridgeSide Galleria eating Indian food from the food court. Can you believe it? They have an Indian place in the fast-food court. How cool is that?

Last night was bunches of fun. I had an awesome time with Nick at dinner and then we spent the rest of the year at Kevin & Elyse's house. It was nice to ring in the new year with people that I care about. It has been a tradition for the last 5 years.

So far, everything looks great with Nick. I'm trying to not get too excited or think too far ahead because that could put me in a bad spot, but things are definitely looking good right now.