Project PANDORA

The kisses with Hotel Sierra were much better on the second date than they had been on the first date. She was less nervous, or her actual technique had improved, or I subconsciously held her to a lower standard, or whatever. Yippee! I'd never before made out in a motorcar, so I can add that experience to the ol' C.V. (I'd made out while leaning against motorcars in public house parking lots several times, but never before in the front seats of a motorcar. A less than ideal venue, certainly, but we both live with our parents, so what else is to be done?) So, with that out of the way, we now turn to the thornier question of how much I actually like her. Do I really like her? Or do I like how much she likes me? Do I simply like having someone to kiss & to paw? Simply enjoying our affair for whatever it is is less of an option than I would prefer, because she lives in northern Indiana. Motoring to see her, or having her motor to see me as she did for the first date, is a major undertaking, involving both scheduling & the commitment of resources. A quandary, to be sure.

The exchange of emails continues with Mike Lima & a second girl, placeholder code name: November, because I only know her given name. The missives to & from Mike Lima are lengthy & of a fascinating philosophical bent; she seems to be a girl of ideas & significant thoughts. The missives to & from November are much shorter, but also possessed of a charming lightness. I am more infatuated with Mike Lima than I am with November, but I'm scheming to ask both of them out. Not that one can really come to know a person through an online dating profile, but Mike Lima describes herself as a girl who does not date, who only has serious relationships; so, while I remain, or at least strive to be, intrepid in the execution of Project PANDORA, my sense is that "softly, softly" is the best approach to use with her. With November, I'm thinking about being a little more reckless, maybe even asking her out before we've exchanged 'phone numbers & calls.

Autobahn
This afternoon, I espied a Saab 9-3 carrying the vanity license plate THRLME2. I'm reading that as "Thrill Me 2," though extrapolating it out to the vehicle's name, I wonder if that is the Thrill Me 2 or the Thrill Me Too. Was there an earlier Thrill Me? Also, I have the oddest fascination with Saabs. Methinks that fascination has its genesis in the brief "Born from Jets" advertising campaign, which I alone seem to have loved.



Or perhaps not I alone.