The beginning

This is the beginning, I suppose. I'm not new to this... I have had one of the longest-running web.journals in the world, dating back to 1997, and this is a new experiment. What this is, in short, is a log of my social life. That's right... dating.

To give you some background, I'm just divorced, and going back into the dating world for the first time in ten years. The world sure looks different these days. A lot different than 1993 or 1994.

I suppose we'll see what happens. I suppose I should introduce the cast of characters here.

Me

The ex-wife

The friends

• Mark is one of my older friends. He and I used to work together, and he now is married to the wife from hell and has twin daughters he loves and who I suspect the wife will use to manipulate him, if she isn't doing it already.
• Gretchen is a woman I met online last year, first as a date and then as a friend. She and I can tell each other just about anything, and we sort of coach each other through our social adventures online and elsewhere.
• Judy works in the same organization I work in. She's a lawyer, and I met her right about the time Mark got married, so I've known her about five years now. She's divorced and has a smart but difficult 7-year-old son.
• Dave works with me every day. He's a contractor and over the years has become really easy to talk to. He's reserved, but occasionally whips out some insight that's surprising. He keeps doing nice things for me and I am never sure why. Just because, I guess.
• Bill is another guy I work with, but in another building. He's a little standoffish and awkward, but he's good to hang out with and talk to about stuff sometimes.
• Sallie is another federal worker, she and I met last year through an ad, but we ended up being friends, drinking companions and confidantes, though we do occasionally have a physical thing for each other. She's extremely smart, a little heavy, and a slight disability that makes it difficult for her to wear heels. A pity, because she has cute calves.
• Kate is another woman I met as a date online but later became friends with. She keeps and trains horses and does some sort of financial analysis thing for a living. She has a truck that's almost as big as mine.

The women

• Penny is my sweetheart right now. She and I have dated off and on for several months, and she is just adorable. She's easy to talk to, smart, sweet, gentle, and is probably the best lover I've ever known. No, take that back, she IS the best lover I've ever known. I love the way she dresses, how she smells, her hair, her eyes, her bed. I have a a hard time thinking of things I don't like about her, but at the same time, my instinct tells me that she and I will end up with other people some day.
• Debra was a woman I dated seriously for about a month. I thought she might be The One, but things came apart when I realized I wasn't quite done playing the field yet and she didn't want to be part of it. I still miss her a lot, but know in my heart we're not quite right.
• Liz is tiny, 45, and a teacher. She has the tiniest wrists I've ever seen, deep-set dark eyes that she thinks are her best feature, and she kisses terrifically. She has sort of a New Jersey accent, though, and it's a little hard to listen to at times.
• Mary is 38, smart, sweet, and very talented... she sings and acts and has a day job in the field of the arts. She's a little heavy but moves gracefully and I have the feeling I've only begun to explore her mind and body.
• Heather is my ex-girlfriend. Her brother introduced us last December, we dated stormily for several months, and then it was over. She is the sexiest woman I have ever known, but she also can be very thorny and hard to be with. She has a lot of issues leftover from her marriages, and she has some issues with self-esteem and confidence. We still talk surprisingly frankly sometimes. She has jet-black hair and dark eyes, which I love, and killer legs and a way about her that just always attracted me. She also has a killer temper and a mean streak.
• Teresa is sensual, intense, a little gruff and unvarnished, and I love being with her just talking openly about... anything. She's an accountant near DC and drives a little sports car. She has the nicest cats of any woman I've ever dated.
• Linda is a fellow federal worker and lives in suburban Virginia. We're not really serious with each other, but I like doing things with her and she's easy to talk to. She might be the most conventionally beautiful woman I've ever dated. 40, blonde, clear-eyed, and nice. She has cats.