So sad and slow?

"We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another."

Writer Thomas Merton gets the attribution for that quote right there.

Not counting celebrities and men that I just like to stare at, I've been seriously attracted to probably about six people in the nineteen years that I've been around, give or take one or so. Considering how many men I've been around over the years and how many people are around on campus, how is that possible? How can I see people walking around and not just be instantly attracted to them?

Let's just say you go to a car lot to look for a new car. You see some pretty nice vehicles that you would consider buying, but you don't just go over to a car and immediately say "This is the one that I want for the next five years of my life."

No. You get in the car, you inspect the interior, you get to know the car's history and the mechanics or the vehicle. You give it a test drive and you weigh your options, and only then do you agree to buy the car.

This is how I look at men. Sure, I can look at men just as often I look at the Aston Martin website, but that doesn't mean I'm signing my life away immediately. Looking is nice, but learning is even nicer.

Of the six +/- men that I found myself attracted to, they all have one thing in common.

No, they don't all look alike or have the same personality. In fact, as a writer, I can give you chapters and chapters of how each man is different from his predecessor and how each could sink a ship in his own way. That's what I do.

Every single one of them, however, had the same beginning. We were friends. I got to know the mechanics and the interiors before I fell for the car.

People might consider that a high standard.

I consider it a good bit of skepticism before I invest time in something.

People are always talking about how time is valuable, about how life is short, but if life is so short, why would you waste time on something you know for sure won't pan out? Why would you spend time with someone you don't value to his/her fullest? Or someone that doesn't value you?

Why would you buy a car without looking into it, only to have it break down and get a flat tire, to abandon it on the side of the freeway a month later?