I’m trying to grow out my hair on top. Not really sure what I’m going to do with it, but it’s something new.

Last week, I noticed a girl I had never seen before on the morning bus. I figured she was new to the area or something. When we got to the Metro station, she was the last one off. I tried to lag behind a little, so I’d have the opportunity to say hello. I walked all the way to the turn gate, then took a quick look behind me. She wasn’t there. Damn. She must have stayed outside & transferred to another bus.

I felt bad, because if she wasn’t a regular on the bus, I probably wouldn’t see her again. So there was no risk. All I had to do was say hello.

Fast-forward to yesterday, when I saw her on the bus again. Since I’ll only be riding the bus another week or so, I was determined to approach anyone who I thought was interesting. I was going to introduce myself to her.

When we got to the station, I lagged behind to get a copy of The Onion. I was surprised to see her going inside. I quickly followed.

Luckily, there wasn’t a train at the station yet, so I walked up to her on the platform and asked her if she was new to the Oakton bus. She looked at me like I was an idiot (I get that a lot) and said she’s been riding the bus for a long time now.

Okay, my bad.

It’s a good thing nobody remembers the opener anyway.

We talked about commuting to our respective jobs and gave quick overviews of our backgrounds. She’s originally from a “third world” town in New Mexico. I told her I could relate, because I spent five years in West Virginia, where the closest high school was 30 miles from my house. I told her I appreciated my time there, because it gave me an appreciation for living in open, scenic areas.

She said, “I like that.”

Very Juggler-esque of her, I thought.

When the train arrived, she basically cut off our conversation, introduced herself (her name was Bridget), then headed into the train. I thought it was kinda weird she didn’t want to continue talking on the train, but whatever.

Fast-forward to this morning. Peter was at the bus stop again, so we talked for about 15 minutes until the bus came. When I got on the bus, Bridget & I exchanged hellos, but I still sat towards the back of the bus. During the ride to the Metro station, she kept looking my way, so I figured she was at least interested in making eye-contact. Girls who aren’t interested will simply not look in my direction, so I figured this was a good sign.

When we got to the station, we were instep with one another, so I turned and said, “How’s it going?” She seemed very open to conversation. I asked her if she knew Peter, who I had “just met” at the bus stop. She said no, then asked me if I go up to complete strangers and start up conversations with them.

Aside: In retrospect, I should have simply said, “Only the cute ones.” Instead…

I said I’m not normally so talkative, but I’ve been making a concerted effort to be more social. I have a feeling she took this to mean there wasn’t anything special about her.

Again, we talked on the platform, but this time, when the train arrived, I tried to continue our conversation while we entered the train. It didn’t really work. We did get in together, but it seemed very awkward, when I tried to decide whether to sit beside her or not. She had pulled out her newspaper and seemed to insinuate she wanted to be left alone. Maybe I misread her actions, but I sat behind her instead.

I figured she had ample opportunity to express interest in continuing our conversation, and since she didn’t take the opportunity, I had all the evidence I needed to drop it altogether.

When I got off at my stop, she did look up and in my direction… But a couple seconds too late. It was more like a courtesy glance. I said nothing and exited.

I figure I’ve done my part to initiate contact. Now it’s time for me to pull back and for her to step up to the plate.

I had lunch with a really fascinating girl last Friday. She’s a recent graduate of MIT and a new recruit at TSA. She was brought in to revamp the screening checkpoint process (a project otherwise known as Checkpoint 2.0).

I knew that much about her, when I asked her to lunch. But during our lunch, I discovered a great deal more about this remarkable girl (who I will refer to as Smarty Pants or SP in my blog).

We met at the elevator at 11:45 AM, then walked across the street and through Pentagon City Mall to get to the restaurant/shopping area behind the mall. With a plethora of choices, I suggested we go to the French café. We went inside and requested one of the outdoor tables. The waiter seated us and said, “Bongiorno.”

“Wait… This is an Italian restaurant?”

The waiter confirmed. SP and I briefly considered going next door to the actual French café, but decided Italian food was okay.

“We’ll go to the French place next time,” I said.

During our conversation, we touched on a bunch of topics I won’t go into here (most involved work, movies, etc.).

I did make a conscious mental note to disqualify myself every chance I got (Juggler would be proud). I knew she was obviously smarter than I was, so I accentuated some of my areas of ignorance.

When she told me she was from Wisconsin, I asked her where that was on the map. She was shocked. I asked if Wisconsin was one of those rectangle states in the southwest. She looked at me like I was an idiot. She said it was near Canada. “Oh, one of those great lake states, right?” She nodded. “But it’s square shaped, right?” She shook her head no.

“Are you thinking of Wyoming?” she asked.

Maybe.

There’s a joke one of my classmates in high school made about learning Science through osmosis (i.e., laying his head on his text book and having the information soak in). I’ve used variations of that joke ever since. I don’t remember what SP and I were talking about, but I broke this joke out, thinking she’d appreciate it more, since she double-majored in Biology.

“That’s funny… but only because you used ‘osmosis’ in the wrong context,” she said. “Osmosis is transfer via water. What you’re thinking of is diffusion.”

Damn.

But that’s okay, because every time she made me feel like an idiot, I was more and more interested in her. She seemed really challenging. And I like that.

I asked her what she did for fun during college. She said she started a software company and sold it in her spare time.

…

“That’s amazing! What kind of software did you create?” I asked in astonishment.

She told me about her digital audio software, which reduces background noise (and is a plug-in for ProTools). She also said the software can create “new sounds” and was used to create sound effects for movies like War of the Worlds, Minority Report, etc.

She eventually sold the company, but remains somewhat involved.

Since I was feeling a bit inadequate, I decided to steer the conversation towards something I was more knowledgeable in… foreign language. I mentioned how I knew we were in an Italian restaurant as soon as the waiter began to speak. I asked her if she knew any foreign languages.

She said she was fluent in five.

I asked her if she ever shot a gun. She said she had (her father and brothers were into hunting). I didn’t mention that I used to own a Glock 9mm handgun, but did make a mental note to see if she ever wanted to go to the gun range at some point.

Aside: My date with Siobhan at the Blue Ridge Arsenal in Chantilly remains my most memorable first date.

I asked her if she ever bowled (another one of my “highlight interests”), and she said she did. Although, there was some confusion over what duckpin bowling was. I think they have different names for things in Wisconsin. I told her about my awesome skull ball, and she said she had to see it.

Sounds like a future bowling date is in the cards.

Because we were on a deadline, neither of us finished our lunches (I had some yummy pumpkin ravioli). We headed back to the office and arrived on the 11th floor not quite in time for her 1 o’clock meeting.

We spent the rest of Friday emailing back and forth, deciding on whether or not we could hang out again, if she didn’t move to Clarendon (which she is considering).

My overall impression of SP is that she’s going to be very challenging to hang out with. But I really dig that about her. She’s super smart and a real go-getter. She says what’s on her mind and is extremely blunt. That’s okay, but I can see how that might wear thin after a while. She says she’s trying to be more diplomatic.

I love her intelligence. She’s someone I can bounce ideas off of. She’s not really “geeky,” though. It doesn’t seem like she’s interested in typical geek things like sci-fi, video games, and tech gadgets. She’s just really smart. And an entrepreneur.

I’m still really interested in hanging out with her.

If she doesn’t mind stooping down to my level.

Psychology Today has a really interesting article on blogging. It tries to explain the motivations behind people who blog. Jessica Cutler (aka Washingtonienne) is featured in the article (I enjoyed her book, which is based on her blog). The article sounds pretty valid. I’m sure I share the same motivations as most of the bloggers mentioned.

Here’s a quote from the article…

A blog makes your mundane life into an electronic saga that turns you into something more than an anonymous drone in a technological and impersonal world. “You now have a story and perhaps you’ve even become the focus of other watchers and listeners,” says Singer. “You become a character, a speaking part, in the larger theater of society.” Even if you’re playing the role of the loser—blogging about being unhappy and unattractive—at least you’re part of the show.

Click here for the full article, entitled “The Decline and Fall of the Private Self.”

Now that I’m done with all my home purchases and post-moving expenses, it’s time to shift my focus onto something else.

Since this was Memorial Day weekend, the community pool outside my window just opened. I felt compelled to go down there and soak up the sun… But I remembered that I wasn’t in swimsuit shape.

I’ve been so distracted with work and moving, that I’ve completely neglected my health. I’ve been eating food that is cheap—not necessarily good for me.

But this is now changing.

I bought another bike this weekend (selling my previous one was my only regret from last season’s sell-a-thon). Instead of getting the Breezer Uptown 8 (which I discovered cost over a thousand dollars), I opted for the cheapest hybrid bike at my local bike shop. It was a Schwinn 2007 Voyageur GSD, and I like it a lot.

Starting tomorrow, when I get home from work, I will immediately go out for a ½-to-1 hour bike ride. If the weather isn’t nice, I’ll ride my stationary bike. After the bike ride, I will return home and alternate each day between working out on my Bowflex and playing the Wii.

Before you laugh about my Wii comment, I just want you to know that all day today my right shoulder has been too sore to lift above my head. The cause was several hours of Wii playing yesterday, which involved a thorough workout of punches, tennis swings, golf swings, bowling, bat swinging, and—worst of all—baseball throwing. It was pitching the virtual baseball that really did a number on my arm.

That’s what I love about the Wii. Not only does Nintendo make fun party games (for entertaining guests), but because of their new motion-sensor technology, I can play video games alone at home and workout at the same time! I now won’t even consider buying a video game that doesn’t involve physical activity.

[By the way, I just want to thank Cali Lewis for being such a convincing Wii evangelist.]

So, now that I’ve got everything settled with home and work, I’m going to focus my intense drive on getting fit.

…But getting fit on a budget.

Meaning, I may not be able to sign up for a tennis class with my friend Lisa—but we can always play at my community courts anytime we want for free! And I won’t be buying expensive meat for a low-carb diet. I’m not so much worried about dieting, as I am about exercising.

The next month or so will be my big health-kick. Since I don’t have any other time commitments, it should be easy to accomplish. I’m sure I’ll be working out all summer, but the next month will be super-intense, because I want to have some time to enjoy the community pool!