This is a new one for me.

I haven't written much about my dating life on this blog. For those not in the know, it has mostly involved long-distance relationships--when there was a relationship--over the last several years. In a surprising twist for me, lately I've been spending time with someone who also lives in Chicago. It has been fun, but also a little challenging to balance the significant chunk of time we spend seeing each other with meeting my obligations in the rest of life. I find myself feeling sleepy more often than not and constantly scrambling to make early morning appointments after yet another night in which I planned to get a full night of sleep, but instead hung out with him until it was too late to do so.

I know--this is like saying I have a problem in that my wallet is too small to hold all the gold bars in my possession. But it's something I am struggling with, no matter how sweet the struggle. :)

So, I'm reaching out to you for ideas. The obvious one is: have some self-control, make a plan on how much time is reasonable to spend together, and stick to it. But I'm hoping for something more creative and fun, I guess. Thoughts?

The Emasculating Puff

"To my warped mind, the puff screams out emasculation."

These are the words of my friend J, regarding his discomfort with his girlfriend leaving a puff in their shower. Then he explained why the shower mitt, to which she has now converted, does not bother him as much. I'm guessing that the extreme wonder, bordering on hysterical humor, with which I listened to this story is just one of the many reasons I remain single at age 37.