*BUZZER* Bachelor # 1 'Decent Guy Looking for a Blast'

--DELETE-- #1 is out, no contact. This so sucks as I really thought that he had the most potential for compatibility. Sadly, I have emailed him twice with no response and he is checking his personals account at least once a week, so I have to cut this one loose. Bye, bye, #1


Decent Guy Looking for a Blast

Age: 29
Marital Status: Single - never married
Body Type: Average
Height: 6' 4"
Eyes: Green
Hair: Dark Brown
Ethnicity: Caucasian (white)
Sense of Humor: Friendly
Social Setting: Shy at first, but warm up quickly, Better in small groups
TV Watching: Movies, I want to be on a game show too
Smoking: Smokes occasionally
Drinking: Drinks socially
Living Situation: With roommate(s)
Have Kids: No
Want (more) kids: Not sure
Education: College Grad
Employment Status: Full-time
Occupation: I'll tell you later
Income: I'll tell you later
Religion: None/Agnostic
Attend Services: Never
Political Views: I'll tell you later
Astrology: Libra
Languages: English
Interests: Movies, Outdoor Activities, Reading

In my own words:
I'm a pretty regular guy with decent characteristics... at least no one has told me I'm a dog yet. I'm easy-going and can have a good time with pretty much anyone as long as they have some sense of humor (nobody likes a serious sapper). I enjoy auto crafting, listening to 80's music, going to parties with friends, and doing the dinner&movie thing. I'm not really looking for a serious relationship so much as someone to hang out with on a semi-regular basis for pool, darts, movies, conversations, and heated debates over what really prompted the downfall of the Roman empire....(OK, just kidding on that last one!) I like people who are somewhat outgoing because I'm usually not, but this doesn't necessarily exclude the shy type. Looks are a factor but not the most important by far. I'd much rather spend time with the regular girl next door type with a great personality and is a blast to hang out with than the ultra-sexy sophisticated type with all the charming characteristics of a brick. I'm not too much into sports, but hey...that doesn't mean I hold anything against you athletic types out there. Oh, and a good sense of humor helps too because I'm a clutz. Yeah, I know...I gotta work on that. See, the thing about that is...................

About My Match
Age: 24 - 37
Marital Status: Any
Body Type: Average, Thick, Voluptuous
Height: 5' 5" - 6' 2"
Sense of Humor: Friendly, Clever / Quick Witted, Goofy, Raunchy
Social Setting: Shy at first, but warm up quickly, Better in small groups
TV Watching: Reality show addict, Movies, I want to be on a game show too
Smoking: Smokes occasionally
Drinking: Drinks socially
Education: Some High School, High School Grad, Some College, College Grad, Post-Graduate
Employment Status: Full-time, Part-time, Homemaker, Self-employed, Student, Work at home
Languages: English
Interests: Movies, Outdoor Activities, Reading

----I took out anything that his preference was 'any'----


OK- emails:

I went on a flirting frenzy yesterday and sent about a dozen 'icebreakers', Bachelor#1 received one...

HIM:
On 01/18/2005, Bachelor#1 wrote:
Hey, How´s it going?
Got your message. I'm doing pretty well, yourself? You sound like a nice person from your profile. Then again...so did my uncle. Of course, that was before he murdered 5 people. Oh wait, that was a police profile.......never mind. Just kidding. Sorry, I´ve got a warped sense of humor that a few people find funny. Yeah...yeah, I know. I´m a fruitloop. Well hey, don´t let me talk your ear off on the first shot. Have a good one.
Talk to you later, Bachelor #1

MY RESPONSE:
On 01/19/2005, you wrote:
Hey Bachelor #1,
Thanks! I can solemnly swear that I have no homicidal history.. unless I inadvertently blocked it out.... hmmmm, maybe I should talk to my therapist... lol, j/k. No murders, no therapists :)
So here I was all ready to debate over 'what prompted the fall of the Roman Empire'... I'm going with religion :P
Anyway, um... yeah. So I am outgoing, I can talk the ear off of... well anything :) That's important to me, being able to have a good conversation... not necessarily about the fall of the Roman Empire mind you :) I am into debates though and can hold my own in most.
I have kids, three girls who I love more than anything. Being a mom really is the center of who I am. It has, over the last 8 years, sort of forced me into making the decisions about the person I want to be. And I am cool with who I am right now.
Ok, so now it's time for me to keep from talking your ear off :)
~ Kate

HIM: On 01/22/2005, Bachelor#1 wrote:

Hey Kate,
Sorry for taking so long on this, but it's been a busy week. Whew! Glad that one's over. Well, I must say I envy you. Not only do you have what seem to be terrific kids, but it sounds like you're really happy with your life, and that's a rare thing these days. Oh, don't get me wrong...I'm doing just fine too, but it's just that I don't know what the hell I want to do in life yet...you know? Sorry, I'm rambling again......and that's how styrofoam cups are made.
Anyway, glad you're into debates and constructive arguing....even if you're not a fan of Roman history. I guess I can forgive you.....just maybe. So, what do you think about abortion? States' rights? George Bush fan? Guess I'd better stop there. Don't want you to think I'm too political so I hope you at least get a small laugh out of it....as long as it's not too much. My Dad always used to say.."Son, don't you ever trust a funny person. Especially if they laugh at you. They're just no darn good." And I still don't to this day. I think it all goes back to the day I went to the circus as a kid and a clown killed my dad.......

talk to you in a bit,
Bachelor #1

MY RESPONSE: On 01/22/2005, you wrote:

Hi Bachelor #1,
Hope you are enjoying your weekend :) We are... I am so lucky that I get to have Saturday and Sunday off. Gives me a chance to get caught up around the house and spend time with my girls. I just got back form Emilee's basketball game and she is really kicking ass. Basketball is turning out to be a lot more fun than Soccer was, there is a lot more running around and participating.
You envy me huh? Normally this is a comment I would balk at, but I have been thinking about it since I read your email this morning and I realized I really do have a lot to be envied. My kids are terrific :) (Bare with me while I brag :P) I consider myself very fortunate to have such great daughters and I am proud that I have been the sole reason that they are so awesome. Everyone who has met or spent any time with my girls has been pleasantly surprised at how well mannered and smart they are. My oldest daughter, Amanda loves using big words and reading. She was in UIL creative writing this year... It made me realize how alike she and I really are. My middle daughter, Emilee is in first grade and very advanced. She reads on a third grade level and is really into Multiplication right now. She will be helping me set the table and she'll say "Mamma, give me a nine times... give me an eleven times..." She's one of those kids that you can see thinking, lol. Triniti is two and a half and cute as can be. She just recently started talking so the girls and I are having a blast with that. She loves Dora and Blue's Clues and I swear she can repeat entire shows in Triniti-Speak. They really are great kids and I am proud to say they are mine... If they would just clean their room without a knock down drag out fight to the death, then I would be ecstatic :) And with that, the bragging ends :)
As for what I am doing in life... I am just shooting to be stable and happy, lol. I like my job a lot and I am good at it so that helps and I plan on staying in this line of work for awhile. When I started there, I was looking for a job... I think I accidentally stumbled upon a career :) I am happy. I enjoy my job, I love my kids... if someone else would just come and cook and clean, I would be thrilled :P J/K
So what do you do (job-wise)? Is it what you want to be doing? How'd you end up in San Antonio? Family? Tell me more about yourself :)

Constructive arguing. Ooooh, I like that. I love a good debate. One of the few things in this world that truly gets on my nerves is close-mindedness. I don't like to get into a constructive argument with someone who has just made up their mind that they are right, period. No room for discussion, no room for consideration.

Abortion? Bush? Oh man, this letter would be something like 15 times this long if I get into all of that! :)

Ok, do you see how long this is? Did I mention that I am longwinded?

Talk to you soon!

~Kate

HIM: On 01/23/2005, Bachelor#1 wrote:

Hey Kate,
Me again. Wow, you really do have quite a brood! Don't worry about bragging too much....I'm pretty sure all parents do it. I'm not certain if fathers are worse than mothers, but they do it as well. I remember my dad used to brag about me to his friends as well (this was before the infamous clown incident). Except it was mostly negative bragging in this case....."My son's dumber than yours!" "No way! I've got the winning entry in that contest! Just the other day I asked that idiot of mine to find the square root of an oak tree....and he's still digging in the back yard!" "Oh yeah? Well that's nothing! Let me tell you about the time my boy went down to............" Oh well, you get the picture. It wasn't so bad, I guess. He was basically a good father when he wasn't drunk, which was pretty much all of the time. Oh, and the beatings.....the terrible beatings..... Just kidding. My dad's a pretty good guy. Same with my mom. Unfortunately, I was cursed with an older sister growing up, but now that we're out on our own things are somewhat better. I'm not terribly close to any of them (in fact I just remembered I need to call them this weekend sometime) but that's mostly due to lack of time growing up. Both of them worked when I was little and we just never bonded, I guess. But I still see them from time to time and do the phone thingy. You know how it is.
Let's see, what's next? Oh yeah, work. Well, I'm in the army, which is also how I came to be in San Antonio. I'm originally from Charleston, SC and ran a commercial diving company with 2 of my old college classmates. A little over 2 years ago, I got bored and decided to sell out to my friends and join the army. Just that simple. I'm stationed here at Ft. Sam Houston as part of a small intelligence detachment. This unit's pretty small and it's mostly made up of hispanics who speak Spanish, so how I wound up here I'll never know....I took German and Russian. My first day here my squad sergeant looked at me and said:"Buenos dias senior bachelor #1. Se habla espanol?" (which I only now know meant "Good day Mr. #1, do you speak spanish?" I gave him a confused look and my reply, of course, was "Ceopktet bishkek, raketnye voiska strategicheskogo naznachenya?" Surprisingly, he also gave me a confused look, and we never spoke again. The next day I got a new squad sgt. I can't imagine what the confusion was all about, it was a plain enough response.
Anyway, we go on short missions to South and Central America, as well as the Caribbean. Usually these are force protection missions where we go with doctors, nurses, and veterinarians who set up treatment sites for free aid to the locals. They usually last 3 weeks to a month but sometimes that changes too. Last summer I was in Haiti for 4 months but this past October the one to the Dominican Republic was cut to 2 weeks. Still, it's a lot of fun and I'd like to keep doing it for awhile. Well, there's more, of course but I'd better cut it short for now. If you can call this short. Don't worry, you're not the only one who suffers from long-windedness!

catch you later,
Bachelor #1

Ok, my rather lengthy response, On 01/23/2005, you wrote:

Hey Bachelor #1,
Thanks for the letter :)
Well we have had a busy morning here. It is in my 'Mommy Contract' that I have to actually cook breakfast on Sunday morning. (Saturday is cereal and toaster strudels, lol) So this morning I had three little heathens in my bed claiming to be starving :) Considering the amount of food that your average child consumes, I am nearly positive that this was an exaggeration... Of course they all want different things to eat, so Sundays include every kind of breakfast food you can imagine (sans cereal and toaster strudels of course)... It's more like a buffet. Another stipulation in said 'Mommy Contract' is that we all have to sit down together to eat on Sunday mornings.
So after our sit-down breakfast, my children zip out of the kitchen at lightening speed to avoid being the kid that gets picked to help clean up :) Why? Because they don't want clean up to cut into their ever-so-sacred brain mush cartoon time. See, I am one of those evil moms that only allows TV during the weekend. So they are only allowed to watch TV Friday after school through Sunday at 7:30pm. I'm sure that this seems horribly unreasonable given all of the wholesome learning shows on TV these days... but I figure too much Sponge Bob Square Pants isn't as good as Nickelodeon would have you believe. Besides that hollow, glossed over look that my daughters have after about 30 minutes freaks me out.

Cursed with an older sister huh? LOL... I can relate because I am an older sister :P My father was quite the slut back in his day... He has five children in Canada and then three with my mother. I am 6th... I have four older half brothers and one older half sister as well as a younger brother and sister. I didn't know about the older siblings until I was in my late teens, so in our household I was the older sister :) My brother, is 22 and in the Navy. He is currently stationed in Hawaii (Yeah, I know, rough huh?). My sister, is 18 and she lives with me.. She has lived with me for the better part of the last four years. She graduates this May.
I am originally from Texas (born in Dallas). But we have moved so much... My parents were very much into that whole hippy-type lifestyle, lol. For about two years, we lived in a bus that my father had remodeled.. I was four I think. Anyway, we lived in Texas, Arkansas, California, North Carolina and Hawaii while I was growing up. I went to high school down on the coast here in a town called Port Aransas. I frequently take the girls down there. My best friend still lives there and we go and see her about three times a year.

Ok, so I am sure you knew I was going to ask what "Ceopktet bishkek, raketnye voiska strategicheskogo naznachenya?" means... :) I'm sorry to say that I don't speak any other languages. I know very little Spanish, I retained next to nothing from two years of it in high school. I am planning on ordering a program for my daughters to do this summer that promises to teach them Spanish. They also have programs for German, Italian and French which I plan to use to make their summers as painful as possible :P No, seriously, their education is very important to me. They do really well in school. They have a ribbon board in their room with a ton of blue "A Honor Roll" ribbons on it :) I think Amanda has made two "B's" total and she cried!!! lol If she gets an eighty anything on an assignment, she wants to sit down with me and go over it :) For now, Amanda wants to be a Veterinarian and Emilee wants to be a Chef... Triniti wants to be Dora the Explorer, but I think she will out grow that :)

Your job sounds pretty interesting. Lots of traveling. It must be cool to get to see all of those different places. It's got to beat sitting in an office all day :) Which, incidentally is what I do, lol... I work for a Ford dealership. Need an F-250, crew cab, long box, four wheel drive, diesel? I'm your girl :) I deal primarily in Internet Sales. Ford has only recently implemented Internet Departments and Business Development Centers (BDC) in it's dealerships so I was lucky to get in when it was all starting. I am very good at my job, so good in fact that our BDC, which only has two coordinators (myself and my co-worker Jennifer) won a contest held for all of the BDC's in the Southwest Region (think Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma) for the biggest sales increase in 2004. Ok, yeah... so, I'll stop now before I put you to sleep :P

Well another thing in my 'Mommy Contract' is tackling the never-ending laundry monster, so I had better get to it :) Don't ever sign anything with out having a lawyer check it for you first... you could find yourself with three girls who have to eat multiple times a day and a endless stack of laundry to fold and put away :)

I hope you are enjoying your Sunday :) I'm looking forward to hearing from you again...

~Kate

FINALLY, lol 1/25/05, Bachelor #1 wrote:

Subject: Can I get an F-250 with a Hemi in it?

Hey Kate,
Good to hear from you again. Great Scott, your weekend morning routine sure does sound busy! I'm sure it's worth it though..... I'm too dangerous to be let loose in the kitchen, and a fire is usually the end result. I could ruin cereal. As for Spongebob, well I hate to admit it but I actually saw that movie. It was pretty funny, but if you tell anybody your'e done. I kind of like that guy Plankton.....guess it's that whole taking over the world thing.
Sounds like you come from quite a large family. I can't imagine what that must have been like but I'll bet it was fun. I was pretty much an only child growing up because my sister and I are almost 10 years apart so she was just old enough to be a bitch (pardon my French) and I was just old enough to be a general pest. It sounds like you moved around a lot as a kid. Your parents sound like like they're pretty cool. A remodeled bus? Awesome! Oh, and where and how long were you in Hawaii?
Let's see, where was I? Oh yeah......"Good morning Sergeant, Is your Russian as good as your Spanish?" That was what I said to him that fateful morning. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't mad, I just think it cut him for a flip and he decided to assign me to someone else. The other Sgt. I got was pretty cool and we got along great. He got out last year, and I was sorry to see him go. Oh, and that was actually one of the few complete sentences I could say in Russian without hacking the hell out of it. I haven't seen or used it since 93 in college. It wasn't really my idea then either. I went to a military college and the languages were not electives, they were assigned based on what was needed by the armed forces at the time. Then, it was still Russian since the wall had only been down a few years. But the next year, they cancelled the Russian program and put in Arabic and Persian Farsi. We needed 4 semesters of a foreign language and a lot of us were in Russian when they pulled the plug, so they let us pick what we wanted to fill in the remaining 2 semesters since we wouldn't have time to complete the Arabic. So, I took German since my grandfather spoke it and I picked up a little bit as a kid. A little bit, mind you. Anyway, I squeaked by in that just like I did the Russian, but I never took anything past 2nd semester in either. So, instead of learning 1 language well I just got "exposed" to 2 languages and had a little training in them. Still, it's a hell of a lot better than my Spanish, which is practically nonexistant.
Your work sounds very interesting. I worked at a Rick Hendrick's Chevrolet service center for about 9 months before I started diving. I enjoyed it for the most part, but I never liked working on other people's cars as much as my own. As for you, that must be nice knowing every single option package offered from the factory, as well as what trim levels certain options begin to be available at. That was what proved to be a nightmare to me. I had no idea a single model could have so many different variations available. But I wouldn't be any good at the sales part. I couldn't sell a heater to a freezing eskimo.
Well, let me cut this one off here. I'll catch you in a bit.

talk to you later,
Bachelor #1
PS: Good luck with the laundry! Mine's slowly but surely taking over the corner of my room.

Ok, sorry guys, I know these emails are getting LONGER and LONGER! It's funny, when I am replying I am also trying not to bore ya'll, lol.
MY REPLY:

On 1/25/05, you wrote:
Hi Bachelor #1,
Weekends are crazy… Most people dig being at home for the weekend because it is time to relax and kick back… I am the opposite; I like the weekends because I have several hours of uninterrupted time to get things done. Ideally, by Monday morning, my house is clean, my laundry is done and my week is organized and scheduled and we are prepared for school and work.
I am a scheduling nut. I keep saying I am going to buy a Palm Pilot or something so that I can mesh everything together. I’ll give you a sneak peek into my craziness… I pick out everything that the girls and I are wearing on Sunday night and put it in the organizers in the closet (You know, the ones labeled Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc?)… That includes a change of clothes for Emilee in the slots for Tuesday and Friday for basketball… What else? I also plan out our menu a month in advance because I loathe grocery shopping and I like to do it all on one day, once a month and be done with it. I take full advantage of the Microsoft Calendar on my computer by inputting all of this info into it and printing it up once a week and hanging it on the fridge… Scared yet? :)

We saw the SpongeBob movie too. Amanda’s birthday fell on the day the movie premiered so she and two of her friends and Emilee and my sister and I all went to the SpongeBob movie together… Of course, there is rarely a kid movie that we miss. We also saw The Incredibles. That was the first movie we ever took Triniti to and she was great! I thought for sure I would be fighting with her the whole time to keep her in her seat. Turns out the movie and the popcorn took care of that for me. She didn’t try to get up once…

Hawaii… We lived on Hawaii in a town called Na’alehu for about four years. We moved there when I was ten and then back to Texas when I was fourteen. Hawaii, of course, is gorgeous but the people are mean. I was one of maybe three white girls in my school. It was fine my fifth grade year, but once I entered middle school it was scary. There were girls threatening to kick my ass on a regular basis for no other reason than my skin color. I can’t imagine what high school would have been like.

I would think that even some of two languages is helpful. I was always kind of bummed that I never learned Spanish… or at least paid better attention when it was being taught. More than anything, I would just like to know what people are saying when they are standing right next to me. They are probably all pissed off “Did you see that chic just cut in front of you Maria?”… And I don’t even know until I hear ‘Puta’ thrown in there a few times with some glaring side-glances. Not that I intentionally cut someone off in line at the store, mind you… lol

Oh yeah, I can give you trim levels and options and equipment and prices… but when it comes to working on them I am clueless. The extent of the work I have done on my own vehicles has been limited to changing a few tires and changing out that big hose that is connected to your radiator. I feel like I must be destined to be around cars at this point in my life. I work at a dealership and I live next door to a garage, lol. It’s great though, I love learning new things and there is never a shortage of things to learn in either place. The man that owns the garage is my land lord and he is great when it comes to my annoying little (‘what’s that sound mean?’) questions in regards to my car :P

I think there is a method to selling though. It involves a lot of tricky wording and role-playing and it seems to me like a royal pain in the ass to master properly. We have an interesting selection of salesmen (the guys that actually work the floor)… While the turnover rate in car sales in extraordinarily high, we do have some guys that have been here forever. You just watch them work and they are slick. If you aren’t careful you walk in to get your oil changed and drive out in an ’05 Mustang GT, screaming yellow, no less :) I do enjoy it though. Everyone is always dogging car salesmen, but if they actually saw first hand all the crap that they have to go through then they’d probably be a lot less harsh. We recently got a new guy out here that admitted last week that he gave up his social life to work here and when you sell cars, that’s very true. Especially when you are establishing yourself. It means lots of ‘bell to bell’ days and few days off.
It was hard establishing myself here. I came from a background that involved NO, absolutely NO car knowledge. That and I am a girl and this is a male dominated line of work. With in my first few months here, I had several guys that either laughed at me or chose to deal with a more ‘seasoned’ salesperson. This was wonderful fuel for my learning fire. I very much dislike not knowing what’s going on around me and since cars are going on around me, I suck in as much info as I can :)
Ok- I’m getting boring again, sorry :P

Anyway, I was planning to tell you more about myself… But this e-mail got too long… so I guess if you want to know anything in particular you’ll just have to ask :P

Hope you are having a nice day and I look forward to hearing from you again. ~Kate

On 1/27/05, Bachelor #1 wrote:

Hey Kate,
You know, I thought about getting one of those palm pilot thingys myself once, but I figured it would take so much time for me to keep it updated and current, as well as the added aggravation of waiting for it to access files to bring up information that I need regularly, that I just never bothered. Wow, was that all one sentence? My grammar teacher's spinning in her grave, I'm sure. But I do get excellent results from my .37 cent pocket notebook with complimentary ballpoint pen. I just hope the batteries don't give out, because I can't find where they go.
Sounds like your kids are very well behaved indeed. Didn't move a peep....even for Spongebob! That's quite an accomplishment! I think I used to be like that as a child myself, but only after my mom put the rum in my milk.......
I've heard that about Hawaii as well. I had a friend back in Charleston who was in the 5th Infantry Division. He used to tell me that the locals there didn't like caucasians, especially military. He said you could function there, and buy supplies and get around, but there was this ever-present "I'm better than you, why are you here?" attitude that they projected. Also, it's supposed to be very expensive to live there. He said they got a cost of living adjustment to their pay each month that amounted to almost what his regular pay was and it was just enough to get by on. And that was without owning a car. That's a big stickler in my book. I have to have my own transportation. I'll live off stale bread and water if necessary to operate one. Oh well, we all have different priorities........ Oh, and I'm right there with you on the Spanish deal. It all sounds like jibberish to me, especially when they speak fast. And I work with these people every day. But, you can still pick out the occasional "Puta" and "Punyeta" (I'm sure I spelled that one wrong, but it still means shit either way).
Well, it certainly sounds like you got lucky with the whole landlord deal. Pay your rent 5 days early and get a free oil change. Fix that overflowing toilet yourself and get a complimentary tune-up at no additional charge. I know what you mean about the salesmen that you work with, though. I've seen some that just don't seem to be cut out for it, and others that could sell sand to an Arab. I'm definitely the former. But it is neat that you seem to be surrounded to some degree or other by something that is affiliated with the automotive field. I've always loved working on cars myself. Especially older models. Carburetors are a lot like people in that they have different personalities. Two identical ones on the same model car and engine combination will usually behave differently to some degree. And each one will have to be tuned differently to achieve the same operating characteristics, or if tuned the same way, they will operate like night and day. Fuel injection, on the other hand, is more like a batch of clones. They all pretty much work, malfunction, are repaired, and tuned the same way. What works for one will most likely work across the board. But even though you don't know that much about mechanics, you've got the right attitude. It's good that you're willing to listen and try to pick up on things like that before forming an opinion (often a wrong one) that you just can't do it. Well, one of these days I'll actually get around to sending a short note.....but not today. I'll cut this one off here. Let me know what's going on on your end.

catch ya later,
Bachelor #1

On 1/27/05 you wrote:
Hey there Bachelor #1,
Well this morning my boss walked in and asked how I was doing. I told him I was doing fine (which was true on account of the coffee).. Then he asked me if I had done any drugs lately... I told him no... In fact I can't remember the last time I did any kind of illegal drug, I know it was several years ago. He says, "Good, go upstairs, they are doing a random drug test and your name was pulled..." LOL.. Yay? So, up stairs I go. There are about 25 of us... everything from salesmen to cashiers to mechanics to me. This is like inter-department mingling and no one is too sure what to say, lol. The mechanics and porters and parts guys are all kind of joking around and the salesmen are bitching about missing 'ups'.
It's interesting to see your co-workers get drug tested. In fact, I was quite surprised to see how lackadaisical this was all handled. We are all on the third floor sitting in a hallway. Think twenty people, four chairs, lol. At the end of said hallway are the restrooms. The nurse chic sends you to the lady's room to wash your hands and then you take off your sweater, hat, jacket or anything else you may be wearing that you could conceal someone else's pee in and she hands you a cup that literally looks like the cup your OJ comes in from Taco Cabana and sends you to the men's room. You are instructed to pee in the cup just over the temperature bar and then walk it back to the nurse. This means carrying your own pee past all of your co-workers... Slightly uncomfortable. Then the nurse chic makes you watch (and all of your co-workers watch) while she pours your pee (with very shaky hands) into a tube and seals it. I was SOOO sure this chic was going to spill pee or someone was going to trip walking down the hall and the contents of their cup would just go flying.
The irony of this is event was that I know of at least a half a dozen people that work here that do drugs (99% potheads) and NONE of them were up there! Instead the majority of us were people who obviously don't do drugs. Anyway, it was an interesting way to spend my morning.

So Amanda finally picked an activity. She wants to take gymnastics. So I call the gymnastics place and talked to a very feminine man and it looks like she starts in February. I was really hoping that they would have classes for her age on Fridays at 4:30 so it would coincide with Emilee's basketball practice at 4:15, no such luck. Turns out that the only class times offered are Tues-Thurs... more driving but that's ok. I have pretty much resigned myself to spending 25% of my life in my car :P I wonder how close that is to being true.. statistically :) Hey, but with the amount of time I spend waiting for practices to be over, I betcha I could figure out a palm pilot huh? LOL

I am a sucker for gadgets. I will even go so far as to admit that I read gadget websites. The thing I am dying to get is a digital picture frame, preferably wireless that plays MP3s... I would love to get one that had a pretty large screen and hang it on my wall at work. I think those are incredibly cool. My MP3 player was the love of my life for the better part of a year. 1000+ songs at my disposal any time, any place... I like to know how it all works too. My most recent jaunt in technology involved lots of html code and absolutely no knowledge on my part. I have a friend in England who works for Symantec and I could have never figured it out with out his help. Sadly, I was hooked for about a week before the intervention. I'm all better now and only do html about once a week. :P

Ok, so I am off of work now, so I am ending this here :)
Hope you are having a nice day
~Kate

On 1/29/05, Bachelor #1 wrote:
Hey Kate,
Well count yourself lucky! I think we've got a urinalysis test coming up at the start of next month, maybe even next week. We're supposed to do random testing all year but instead we usually just test everybody every 6 months. The last one was in August so we're due anytime now. It's kind of awkward though. The Army doesn't trust any of us, so they try to do it by surprise. One morning, when we'd usually do PT, your squad Sgt. calls you up and tells you to show up to morning formation in full uniform, not PT's. Of course, this sounds strange, but when you ask why all they can tell you is that the alert roster has been activated (a list of everyone's phone numbers). 9 out of 10 times this means a urinalysis test. When you show up we have a regular accountability formation, and then they'll say something funny like "This morning we'll be conducting Operation Golden Flow." Then we all have to go to the conference room and we can't leave until we've given a sample. They bring water in, but you can't leave unless it's to go to the can. But when you get your cup, you have to hold it out from your body in plain view while someone accompanies you to the john. That's the worst part. You're nervous enough as is, but then you've got this guy standing right there eyeballing your stuff and you know......well it kind of makes it hard to go. So if you can't go the first time (and I usually can't) you have to take the empty cup back into the room (still in plain view) and put it back on the table and continue to drink water until you feel like you're gonna hurl. Plus, everyone now knows you couldn't go, which is embarrassing and only exacerbates the situation. Eventually, after about an hour of drinking, simple physics take over and all that water has to go somewhere. But by that time, you're so bloated and in so much pain that it actually hurts to start due to the pressure. One way or another it gets done, but then you have to pee every 15 minutes for the rest of the day. Plus, last time the "eyeballer" was this guy in the unit that no one's sure about......similar to the feminine sounding guy who scheduled gymnastics for Amanda. I can't be sure, but I could have sworn he had a little smirk on his face or really weird smile. BBBBRRRRRR! Still gives me the willies. A lot of guys are insecure enough without something like that worrying them. Oh well.... the girls have their fair share of problems too from what I understand. But at least they get to sit down! LOL And that's why I dread urinalysis tests.....
Oh, and don't worry about your gadget addiction. I'm infected as well, but mostly with specialty tools. "Hey look! A ninety degree spark plug ratchet that lets you remove plugs on engines with exhaust headers. I've gotta get one!" "But I thought you already had one. You bought it from Craftsman last month." "Silly, that was a three eights drive ninety degree wrench. This one's a half inch drive size. Besides.....it's blue!" And just like that, a new tool is acquired.......
What was that about doodling around with HTML code? Isn't that what is used to construct web pages? I took a class on it back in '98 but I remember squat about the details. I do remember that it was kind of tough. We had to construct 2 web pages, one for a business and one personal. I did it by the deadline but just barely, and they were'nt that great. And you do this every week? Wow, you must be pretty good at it. Well, once again I've started a novel, so let me end this here. No wait.....right......here. No, here. Wait a minute....right here. There, that's better. Right......here. There.

catch you in a bit,
Bachelor #1

On 1/31/05, you wrote:
Hey Bachelor #1,
I'm sorry I have been out of touch and I must apologize because I will continue to be for a few more days.
My friend died on Thursday in a motorcycle accident and I am trying to deal with everything that goes with that. This is the first time anyone in my life has ever died and it is probably the most painful thing that has ever happened to me. The only way I could imagine it being worse is if it had been one of my girls. Thank you though for this e-mail, it made me smile and that is something I am not doing much these days. Please keep writing as I would like to still hear from you, just be patient with me if it takes me some time to respond.
~Kate

On 2/1/05, Bachelor #1 wrote:

Hey Kate,
No way, I'm not buying it. Your failure to promptly respond to my message was completely unforgivable. I must say, of all the........
Well, you can tell me to shut the hell up any time. I'm really sorry to hear about your friend. I would say I understand what you're going through but I've never lost anyone really close to me. My oldest sister passed away when I was seven but I don't really remember that too much. It was a lot harder on my other sister since they were only about 3 years apart. But hey, take your time......as much as you need. Actually, We're going to be busy this week-end at Camp *****. It seems we're all going camping for three days.....Yay! I took a look at the site where we set up the tents yesterday, and with all the rain, it's now a lake/swamp. I don't know how we're going to spend 3 days there, let alone get a training exercise done. Still, it was pretty funny: "Bachelor#1! Did you set those tents up in the middle of that lake?" "Well, Captain....the lake wasn't there when we set everything up." "No excuses! I want it all taken down and moved to the alternate site!" "But sir, you never approved the alternate site. You said we wouldn't need it anyway and to save time, I left it out of the report to the Colonel. Of course, I could send him an E-mail informing him the exercise will be canceled due to unforseen circumstances, and that we..." "No! Never mind! I think the site's just fine where it is. Just a little wet.....that's all. Good work Bachelor #1." "Thank you sir. You know, we could try to....." "Shut up Bachelor #1." "Yes sir." And that's how things get done in the army. Ain't it great?
Anyway, let me run. I hope you start feeling better soon, but I realize these things take time as well.

talk to you in a bit,
Bachelor #1

On 2/5/05, you wrote:

Bachelor #1,
Thank you for the e-mail.
Her services were on Thursday. I was asked, by her parents, if I would choose the music for her Memorial. This was sort of ironic seeing as I hadn't been able to listen to any music since she had passed. It was also very hard. Veronique and I shared some similar tastes in music, but she listened to some things that I do not (such as Godsmack, Disturbed, Korn). When I asked her mom what type of music they would like, she said things that Veronique liked but also were appropriate. Ok... um... KORN??? Yeah. So, anyway, several hours later and after many tears, I compiled ten songs. I e-mailed the titles and lyrics to her father for his approval and he said that they were fine and thanked me. Then came my next task, choosing the pictures to have of her at the ceremony. So I sorted through the 100 or so pictures I have saved of her on my home PC and my work PC and chose twelve. Eight of which are her with someone she cared about. Those went into a collage frame. I also chose an 8x10 of her that she had taken with her new digital camera the week before she died. And then three random shots for another collage frame. Her services started at 7 and I had to be there at 6 to get everything set up.
I have never been to a funeral or a memorial or anything even remotely similar. I don't know what I was expecting. I gave the nice man who was in charge the cd and the pictures which he helped me arrange around the book you sign in on. And then I walked up to the front to see all of the flowers. Then I was there, standing in front of a little wooden box of ashes. My friend was in the box. My composure went to shit right about there and remained as such for the next two hours. I was the first one there and the last one to leave. It felt like leaving was admitting defeat or made it real. Anyway, that part is over I guess.
The next part will be going to Dallas with her parents to pack up her apartment and bring her car home. Considering how I had no idea how to prepare for the Memorial, I imagine it won't be much different for moving her things.
My boss kind of let me know that my work was suffering on Friday. I already knew that of course. The only reasons I was even going to work were (a) that cash is always a good way to from writing hot checks and (b) that I needed something to do to fill up the day that didn't involve me wandering aimlessly around my house or laying in bed. I think I did a decent job of getting myself caught up on Friday. He wasn't mean or anything. He knew Veronique and even cried when he found out, but he has noticed that I am not my usual KICK ASS self ;) Same thing at home. I never in a million years thought I would say this but -shudder- THANK goodness for my mother. She has really saved my butt last week. Helping me with the girls and doing the little things like cooking and laundry while I handled... well every thing else emotionally and detail-wise in regards to Veronique.

Ok, so I am really interested to know how the camping thing went. I personally loathe camping. Now, wait.. before you roll your eyes! Damn it, you already did huh? There really is a valid reason. I swear it isn't because I am a chic and need some place to plug my hair dryer in. When I was ten, we moved to Hawaii. Now my parents, being psychopaths, hand very little forethought involved in this. My father went about three months before us and then sent us tickets. The total amount of things he acquired prior to our arrival were a van, some tents and... oh yeah, that's all. So, you guessed it, we lived in tents in a park for something like THREE MONTHS! Three months, I shit you not. A week or so before we moved into a house, my mother was cleaning out the van (equipped with a bed for my parents) and she unfolded a towel and an eight inch centipede scurried out. To this day, thinking about that gives me chills. And to this day, I have no desire to sleep with sand in my sleeping bag or the ground underneath me. And yes, I know I am depriving my kids of a so called "experience", but they'll live :P

Speaking of kids and experiences. Amanda starts gymnastics Tuesday. She is thrilled. I have been instructed to buy her something appropriate to wear when I get off work Monday night. :) I'm happy that she is excited. I am also happy that my good friend Neisha decided to enroll her daughter, so our daughters will be in the same class at the same time... Yup, you guessed it, CAR POOLING. Trust me, this is reason enough for champagne and a short celebration. When you find yourself in the position of being able to share driving duties with another parent... I just can't explain the elation.

Anyway, I'm headed to bed... well to read anyway. I have a new (ahem.. borrowed) book that I am just jazzed about starting. Write when you can, I am looking forward to hearing from you again.

Good night,
~Kate

On 2/10/05, you wrote:

Hey there Bachelor #1,
How are you doing?? Everything here is just swell :)
I spent 130 bucks today on a plane ticket. I'm going to a single parent thing in ----- on -----weekend. I have been jazzed for months and finally got up the courage to buy the ticket. As much as I love to plan, making set-in-stone plans this far in advance kinda scares me. I have no idea what is going to happen in between then and now... oh, well... too late :) In a way, I am a little proud of myself for biting the bullet :) An entire weekend - kid free. I've never done that before.
So, Amanda is talking to my sister while getting a drink of water in the kitchen before bed. I was sitting on the computer waiting for her so I could tuck her in. I was half heartedly listening to what they were saying. It was a discussion about school lunch or something. Anyway, Amanda says "Well, beans are gross and you eat beans... and they make you fart." To which my sister replied "Amanda, I've got news for you girly... Everyone, everywhere, farts." Emilee, who is already tucked in says "Nu-uh, Kangaroos don't fart." I spewed water everywhere. They crack me up :)
Anyway, I hope you are doing good. The rain finally let up but it got cold again, which blows. Write when you get a chance :)

~Kate

------------------------------------COMMENTS----------------------------------------------

He is tall with green eyes...shall i say more, LOL jk...lets see...He is funny, i like that, and I know you do too. There might never be a dull moment! That would be good to have around. Plus he has emailed you back, and he was funny...He is definitely my first choice right now but you have to post more emails when you get them.
~Veronique~

1/22/05
Ok, ya'll I like this guy... So far (despite unresponsiveness) he is my favorite... Sense of humor, likes to discuss/debate things that are going on in the world! (Ya'll know how bad I am about that... c'mon Jiffinner! Remember the Abstinence Only program??? lol)
Tell me what you think!
~Kate

What a goofball. When he said he was a fruitloop he wasnt kidding, LOL. Okay, but that is not always a bad thing, after all, we could all use a goofball every once in a while to make us laugh. As long as he doesnt overdo it...which in this case you wont really know unless you meet him in person because maybe he just likes writing goofy emails. From the looks of it though, he seems like a goofball all around, so just hope he isnt too goofy for his own good. Other than that, we all love a guy who gives compliments!!! and also one that can hold an intelligent conversation/debate. He sounds like a sweet guy, just keep emailing him and we will see what happens.
~Veronique~

Ok, so RAVE reviews on #1...

Jiffinner says: I liked #1 from the start but he seems even better for you now... I mean, someone who actually 'likes' to debate!?! You would never run out of things to talk about and if you got bored with constructive arguing (yeah right, like that would ever happen) he could still make you laugh; and a sense of humor is always a good sign. :P

cnfg says: Hehehehe. I agree- this one sounds even more promising. Really liked the joke about not trusting funny people and the clown killing his dad bit. :) But then I might be biased since he writes like M. Hee hee. As for burning through all the guys, don't worry. You only need to find ONE great guy. ;)

anonymous says: I just like him! I love a man that's intelligently funny. And being the smart ass I am, I love a guy with a crass comment. He gets my vote. Sounds like he is trying to define his life and part of that is finding a life partner. Very good, very good.

Hmmmm... This could be good :) ~Kate
1/23/05 Sooooo, what do ya'll think? I just got his email this morning and I think this guy is great. Of course, in the past, I have been WRONG a lot, lol. See my other blog 'My ex is a putz...'
Anyway... what's the next move? Should I give him my number? Keep talking via e-mail... What is the process? Thoughts are appreciated and THANKS guys for all the comments and support!! You chics so totally rock :)
~K

cnfg says: One vote for e-mailing back and forth at least a little while longer, then you can say something about how you loathe e-mail as a primary means of communication due to editing capability and lack of intonation... and say here's my cell phone # if you're interested in getting to know me better.Personally, I prefer to get the phone # from the guy so I can call without the "half-pint peanut gallery"
interruptions.

I say lets forget about all the other bachelors and concentrate on this one. Hehehe, I like him, so far he looks like he would be good for you. He is still goofy but in an intelligent way. He is going somewhere in life, which is great and he seems to be having fun doing it. You are also great for him because unlike so many women out there you wouldnt mind him being away for months at a time because you can handle your own (you have been doing a great job at it for so long now!) I could see this working out. I still think you should wait a while before you email him your number because you should take it slow, if he hasnt mentioned anything about it then it might mean he isnt ready for that yet. Wait at least a couple emials before mentioning the phone #.

~Veronique~

OK I just read that he is not-religious! Hell yah! This is VERY good, I really like him now, how did I miss that?!

anonymous says: I still like Bachelor #1. He's funny. Army? Did he have college prior? If he did, he's an officer. Very nice, very nice. If you know his rank, I think a Staff Sgt is around an E6, you can look up on DFAS and see what his pay scale is. I always run internet backup checks on people I meet. I like him the most.

1/24/05 Yup, I like this one the most too.. Nothing from him this morning yet... Oh, but I needed to mention that the last two emails he sent came at odd times. One came at 12:35am and the other at 4:37am... This probably isn't a HUGE deal, he could be on grave yead or something right??? Anyway, just thought I would mention it :)

~Kate

1/25/05 FINALLY a new letter today!! Am I crazy that I am all jazzed to hear from him again??? Anyway, I haven't even finished his letter but I had to post it on here!! :P I'll post my reply asap :) ~K

Jiffinner says: Sooo...go ahead and forget about the rest of the bachelor's because even if I didn't think he was great for you, the look on your face when you got the latest email from him would have convinced me. Maybe you should get his phone number...

Well well well...I wish I could have been there to see "the look" I bet that was pretty interesting. So um I read his email and it was BORING, he talked way too long about the whole language and school thing...but ehhh you might like that so who knows, but I was like.."come on already, just give her your number!" LOL anyways he is still funny and the whole email wasnt like that so its ok...maybe you should give him your number...well...no.. wait at least one more email. :)

~Veronique~

Ok guys... Next step? Are we doing good on the e-mails or do you agree with Jiffinner and Veronique that there should be one more email before some phone time? And how do I ask for his number?? Should I ask to meet?? HELP ME :P BTW- the total dork in me just did a collective word count from our e-mails to each other. The total: 4,203... Had me laughing... how many e-mailed words before it is appropriate to talk on the phone, lol :) ~Kate

cnfg says: Your anonymous commenter is not necessarily correct regarding assumptions about his rank. (M enlisted with a bachelor's. I also have enlisted guys working for me with master's degrees.)B#1's timeline is confusing. How is it he went to a military college in 93 (where he learned Russian and German) but only joined the army two years ago? Not to mention it's rare to join the military for the first time at the age of 27. So you know, I don't mean this in a suspicious way, just that I think this guy's lived a rather full and adventursome life.Personally, I prefer to have the guy offer his phone number. Some of them are a little embarrassed or nervous about the internet dating scene. Maybe you could ask him about how many other people he's met off of that website and ask him for some pointers. :)You know I'm rooting for this one! ;)

1/27/05 Ok, people... I am about to start my reply to his letter... Any thoughts? Should the email after this ask for a phone number?? Or should this one?? This is moving V-E-R-Y slow... especially for me :) (No comments necessary there guys, thanks anyway :P) Let me know what you think... ~K

2/6/05

anonymous says: Bachelor #1 still rocks. He's kind and funny! What a doll. Grab him up quick!

2/10/05

cnfg says: Hey, you know, you could always ask this guy if he'd be your Valentine! Hahaha. (Or Un-Valentine for a day other than Monday. With his sense of humor that might go over better.) FYI, there was one guy I met after something ridiculous like 6 weeks of e-mailing. Turns out he was dating 4 other women and considered it a "big negative" that I only had time to date one guy at a time. Not like I wanted to marry the dude, I just wanted to meet him! Oh, and my bet is on "broken service," meaning he
enlisted, left the military, and came back in. He probably doesn't make a lot of $$. Just so you know. BTW, good to see you starting to post a bit more.

~Thanks :) It feels good to be posting again :) I have kept an eye on his yahoo account (tells you when he has been online)... Of course, it says when I have been too, which is about once a day... But I haven't heard from #1 since 2/1. I wrote him back on the fifth... no response... We'll see ;) ~Kate

Steve says: Wow - that's a lot of messages! Some people send one or two and those are just to determine where they're going to meet. I think I like your way better, though. Anyway, interesting reading - I'll be sure to check back. - Steve "Games are for children"