Intrapersonal mangos

Mangos topped with coconut rice, pumpkin, and syrup. This was the dessert that we had at the local thai food kitchen. Adrianne had publicly declared that she craved a certain Thai soup. Thankfully I have no relation to Tom Cruise, cuz this was mission possible. Anne was the helpful woman with a thick as curry accent. As I hung from the ceiling dangling by a cord, I spotted on the menu the soup that Adrianne had mentioned. As I packed up all my spy gear to leave, Anne commented that I was one of the best examples of a boyfriend, with the research I was doing. I just went along with it not to ruin Anne’s evening.

Duty called and before I was to pick up Adrianne, a home teachee of mine called for a blessing. After this wonderful experience I was left with no time to change back into my non prom attire, bowtie and all of course. As I forewarned Adrianne of the sitch, she conveyed to me that her brother-in-law asked if I would be able to assist in giving her older sister a blessing. That was a first for me on a date and I hope never to be a last.

Anne was so disappointed to hear that all we wanted was dessert. I fear that breaking her huge thai heart was not the most attractive thing for me to do, but isnt assertiveness also attractive?

Thai dessert + adriannes company = delirium of delight

Simplicity is king, especially when your dealing with exceptional people like Adrianne.

Translation: a turn around the block.

Conversation came easily throughout the evening.Like Jimmy Stewart, Adrianne too leads a wonderful life. On her list of whom she admires her parents are definitely contenders for the top spots followed in suit by more than half a dozen siblings. Cramming a mission and 3 months serving in a Nepal orphanage between her bachelors and a masters degrees have afforded her the fullest of lessons life has to offer.

Well, i’ll slip into my captain obvious suit as I start into my observation of the exceptional in Adrianne. Her sense of humor is definitely one, bedazzled with wonderfully pithy puns. Another flair for discovery of new places and people. However, my opinion is that there is a quality of hers that eclipses all the others -- her sense of self. Educational guru Howard Gardener slapped the label of intrapersonal (different from interpersonal) intelligence on this one. Amongst a slew of other things, people like Adrianne are intuitive and have an uncanny ability to decipher and articulate their reaction to just about well...everything worthwhile. (Turns out this makes for a great lawyer, great choice on the LSAT)

Merci Beaucoup for you time Adrianne!

Long time no type

January, February, and now almost March and only silence. With the completion of the original premise for the blog, momentum found the nearest window and escaped.

If I didn't care for you the reader, I might start an exhaustive list of excuses why this was.

However, excuses are like armpits, everybody has them and they stink. (I know there are so many holes to that theory, but I am going to go ahead and plow right through them since my momentum just found its way back in.)

As for the progression of my search for exceptional people, Im going to adapt exactly to the wonderful feedback given from you the readers(all two of you wonderful comment givers)

Improvement #1: include what in the world did we did on the date

Improvement #2: visuals will be abundant(dance floor being torn by the tie)

Of course that would be wonderfully ignorant of me to think those were the only improvements that could be made. Feel free to keep em coming and ill provide my best impersonation of a tossed salad, throwing something new in the mix.

Oh, and my life is an open book and I thought redecoration was in order.

My blog is getting some love!

Feedback numba 1:

Rudd, I love what your doing and reading about it. I would like to hear more about what you did on the date and if the girls approve even pictures!! I don't think you should have to take a girl out more than once...what if you really don't feel that spark? Don't feel obligated to ask the girl out again unless you really dig her. That's my little suggestions.

Feedback numba 2:

I second the motion on pictures! As well as not needing more than one date, b/c that would just lead a girl on if you didn't feel anything for her. I like the princess idea personally and I think going to different cities would definitely make it more adventurous. And if the dates don't turn out as great, then you've at least gotten familiar with a new place.

A goal is a dream with a deadline

I dont know if I stated it before in my blog but the reason that I do all of what you see if so that one day I can get married. It may not result from one of the exceptional ladies that I write about on the blog but most importantly it will only happen if I am actively dating. Friends have expressed that Im making things too complicated by setting a goal or missing the opportunity by focusing too much on my goal. If you feel this way too...TELL me about it and how you think I could change things so it would be that way.

Other friends expressed how they want to hear more about what we did on the date. You too? Tell me about.

One suggestion I had was to compare the next ten dates to any of the disney princesses. If you think that be great...diga me

Another ambitious suggestion would be to travel to other cities and see how many exceptional people I can meet there in a couple of days. Bad idea?....shoot a suggestion back.

What if I were to make asking all the way to a third date mandatory on my part?

Im all ears...

Finish Line!

Amanda, aside from being exceptional was also the 16th girl thus completing the original goal of going on 16 dates. Please dont read back too far because then youll also find that the original time frame ended 3 months ago, but good things take time.

In order to apply to any of the disciplines within the school of communications it was required that a journalism class be taken. If you havent been able to tell already, writing would be on the top 5 of my enjoy list and so naturally I thought, "Wonderful! a class after my own heart."

The second week revealed that the writing I did and the writing required in journalism would not be considered two peas in a pod. Plant my words and flowers will grow because that is what they are:flowery. Plant journalistic writing and what do you get? Nothing, simply because these are the cold hard facts. To write journalistically, the who, what, where, when and how must be identified. Then the journalist must assert what is most news worthy and write their piece accordingly. This is a talent that I dont have.

Amanda would make a smashing reporter. She is exceptionally assertive. It isnt that this was the lot she was delt in life, but is something that she enjoys doing. Not that she looks for them or creates them, but when she finds herself with a dilemma or problem identifying the immediate factors and making a decision comes instinctively. Example: being the one to ask Amanda out, I naturally pay for what I plan to do. Well I did my research and when we got there the prices were something different. A dollar more than I had in cash to be exact. Sheepishly I told Amanda id go find an atm lickity split. To this she said "no, Ive got it." Later on in the evening she told me that in that situation she had run through the possible options to my thoughtlessness and her covering it would have been the best option. She has a BMW for a brain, the ultimate thinking machine. And the list goes on...

Amanda thank you much for your time and dollar:) I owe you a lot more than that in the perspective you gave me.

OH WAIT, THERE IS MORE!

To everyone that is reading: gratitude fills my...well I hope it would be my blog. All of these posts are getting oftly lonely with all those comment boxes empty. The reason to have one of these fancy dancy blogs is so that I could get some o dat interaction.

Now that Ive completed the original goal, I need to set another one. I promise I didnt procrastinate so that this would happen right around the new year. So lay your comments on me! I like them just like my peanut butter on my pbj's...nice and thick!

One in a million dining experience

French poodle skirts with plush red booths. Slick haired johnnies "cutting up the rug" on the checkered dance floor to the blaring jukebox. Heaping hamburgers with crispy onion rings topped with cheese. Fresh banana splits with everything and the cherry on top. A slice of the musical "Grease" served every half hour--Ed Debevic's, the one in a million dinning experience.

Unfortunately the closest Ed Debevics is in Chicago ruling out of the options for Rachel and I. However, the date did take place on Turkey Day morning which would be the day that most houses turn into restaurants, feeding dozens of family and friends. If only those cooking would sing and dance, then Ed Debevics would be on the endangered restaurant list.

Rachel you see is a lot like Ed Debevics, exceptionally fun. (Dont worry Ill expound rather than leave it to a three letter word, ironically Rachel prefers some three letter words:) Conversation with Rachel is one of the most complete ab work outs with all the laughing that goes into it. With Rachel she can be perfectly at ease in a tense situation. Explanation: We decided to ride bikes along the beach that morning. Holiday mornings are a great time for biker bobs to storm the paths as well. While riding along, we'd hear a menacing "Coming up on your left!" Move it or lose it is what comes to mind when you do a little reading between the lines. Rachel never took a swing at them, making them careen off into the sand, or was even phased by this. She's definitely has got one up on me. Rachel even leads a secret life, I mean is that not the role model for fun!?

If Rachel were a dining experience, it would definitely be one in a million. No doubt about it, laughter is pretty much delicious for anyones attitude. Rachel, thanks so much for your time spent with me, especially on such an important holiday to the restaurant business:) Please sign me up for some more o dat fun.

Appreciate

In the world of finance-where that world is well never know- the best investment that one can make is a house. Houses are useful for plenty of things like eating, sleeping, playing, storing, building and the list goes on. It would make sense then that all houses of similar sizes would be the same price across the nation right? Wrong. To explain this mystery we welcome our guest:appreciation. The ability for something to become more valuable by just sitting there. Lazy money I would say. Reasons for homes to appreciate deal a lot with how valuable the property becomes to the market(you and me). This value has a lot to do with perception and little to do with mathematics.

When someone says "I feel appreciated" they are stating that you made them feel of value. Of course everyone is of infinite worth (see "strait shooter" post) but their "cool factor" is often based on the perception of others. If only WE could be the ones to decide how cool we really are.

Katie did an exceptional job at making me feel appreciated. Although the activities that we did catered to my interests, they were the "cherry on top" for her too. Tying bow ties, entertainment system demonstrations, ice cream pit stops, and bocci balls smeared in glow stick juice. I could do no wrong in her view. What I had to say and wanted to do was never uninteresting or embarrassing. She spoke about her family and what she admired about them which appreciated them in my eyes. She appreciates all types of music and never turns ones away because it could be "weird".

It truly takes a wonderful person to find the value in others. Thank you so much for your time katie. Youll never be accused of being that mother whose children yell "you dont appreciate me!"