It’s a standard morning. Alarm sounds. Hit snooze. Hit snooze again. Shower. Shampoo. Make coffee. Turn on computer to dilly dally before heading into the office. Open email. Scan. Google Alerts. Rachel Ray Newsletter. Name I don’t recognize. Eddie Bauer Summer Sale. Hold on. Scroll back. Mother of all things good…I have his name. Hallelujah! I have his name! I HAVE HIS NAME! Holy shit. I HAVE HIS NAME. You’d think I’d just won the lottery by the way I’m jumping around. Glory is beaming from every pore. Diligence pays off. Thank goodness it wasn’t BigDaddyCrunkDawg1234@hotyahmail.com like I thought it was going to be. Besides being unhelpful, that would’ve also…

My travels are approaching and I’m no closer to knowing his name. My options are narrowing. Balance is now key. How do I proceed in this mission and employ data retrieval techniques without appearing like a sure thing? Regardless if I am or not (please ignore the devilish chuckle), one must demonstrate an air of appropriate behavior that matches that of a fine, respectable young Christian woman. Why? No good reason really. Except for the Asian upbringing that creates a need for a very controlled public appearance (think Myanmar, China, North Korea). Plus, I don’t know if I want to be the one to blow up the illusion of how…

The week has been lovely. Summer has finally arrived. Each day has begun under feather-weight cotton sheets softly resting upon me. As the sun rises, it’s light caresses the corners of my bedroom. The birds awake and sing their sweet songs of morning. Dreams linger as I drift up to the surface of consciousness. Then… BAM! My body rips upright. Possessed eyes bug out. My racing heart clangs against a frenetic breathing pattern. My thoughts race… “What if said boy doesn’t own that phone number anymore? What if I’m coordinating a meeting with a complete stranger? The stranger knows my phone number. He knows my name. He knows when I’m…

The phone sounds. Is that my alarm already? How many mojitos did I have last night? Ugh. I crack open one eye and peer over the pillow mound my nose is pressed into. Around me, the light is streaming in. How did the morning come so soon? 5:15. 5:15??!! My alarm isn’t set that early. I pull my arm from under the covers and swat for the phone. Flip it open. Still, there is only one eye open. It’s a text. Who in heavens is texting me right now? Both eyes open. Head rises slowly. Houston…the boy has responded. He remembers me. Good. He wants to see me. Super. No…

It’s important to pay attention when being introduced to someone in case you hit it off with him and give him your number. It would be poor form to not listen during the introduction because, say, you were in a mood and were just making conversation to pass the time while you were texting friends under the table to determine the evening’s next set of plans. Because you would never want to be in a situation where you did not remember his name and then have to ask your disinterested girlfriend if she remembered so you could assign his name…some name…any name…to the number in your phone for when he…