June 24:

Last Saturday, Kayla (my dog) and I went to the Fremont fair, and had a great time. She was a little freaked out by all the people, so when I saw an AMAZING woman who I wanted to walk over to and just say, "Hi, I know you're rushing off to something or other, but I'd really like to meet you..." all I got to see was her red hair poking from beneath a stylish yellow net hat, and the curve of her back as she arced (arc'd?) away into the throng. But hey, it was a very evocative moment, and if it was meant to be, I'll see her again someday.

The solstice parade was SO much fun - over 500 nude cyclists/skaters this year - and their 'costumes' were very witty. I especially liked the 'Evil Kenevil' inspired blue jump-suits... Kayla got a bit antsy at the bands, so we had to leave the parade early. We did manage to speak to two trumpet players from the Rainbow City Band - Seattle's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Trans-gender friendly band - I told them I'd worked on a documentary about the band in 2007, and knew Scott, the band's founder. They said I should come and play, but I said I wasn't "hip" enough. They said, "there are a lot of allies in the band". "Allies?", I said? "Sure... Straight but not narrow". And so, I guess I *AM* an ally after all.

This month's Singles Connection / Resource Roundtable was a discussion about 'Abundance'. Afterward, my best-friend (married) emailed me asking "Isn't THAT an oxymoron? A 'Singles'... GROUP!? What do you *DO* anyway? Sit around playing cards, drinking beer, and comparing pick-up-lines?"

I explained to him that Single people today (unlike when he got married 20 years ago) have very few social structures around which they can meet other like-minded people. Churches (mostly gray, marrieds), fraternal organizations like the Elks or Masons (gray, and out-dated), and the like... mostly non-existent for modern singles. The upwardly-mobile society hasn't got the kind of interpersonal structures where your friends would try to make sure their single-friends could meet each other socially, say... at a dinner party, and so today's singles have to BUILD THEIR OWN support structures / community. That's probably why we meet people on-line, and find we have so little in common with most of them... we're not meeting in ways where people that know us can pre-screen both parties, and by doing so improve our chances of hitting it off / having chemistry.

I told my friend that I'm "on sabbatical from relationships". I've been spending the past couple of years alone re-discovering myself, my dreams, aspirations, and goals for my independent life, and making the opportunities (not waiting for them) to 'grab the brass ring'. Now I'm at a point where I feel comfortable that I could share with someone who is like-minded, and enjoying THEIR independent life. So we can be independent... together? Hmmmm... sounds about right.

I've been reading "Conscious Dating" - this book (full text is on-line on Google books) and "No More Mr. Nice Guy" should be required reading for people dating in the 21st century. The bus commute is down to a routine now, and I'm spending more time in the city in the evenings, rather than rushing straight home to let the dog out. She doesn't seem to mind.

The workouts aren't paying off with weight loss as I had hoped - but I have trimmed down a belt-notch, and have greater stamina. I'm looking forward to joining a dance class in late July... tonight, it's "12 Angry Men" from Netflix, and a night of scratching Kayla on the couch. Last night's Mariner's game was a disappointment... I left just after Ken Griffey's solo homer, thinking the game was completely lost - and it was - but the 9th inning was exciting from the 9-7 score (I left when it was 9-to-2!).