Room #104 and Neighbor Damon – Part 7

His persistence makes me uncomfortable, but no matter how curt or distant I am, he never goes away. In a strange twist of fate, as I was writing his part of the book, I saw him standing in front of the gym I go to. He had told me he was a member there, but I had never seen him at the club in the past. With a thumping heart and held breath, I put my head in my gym bag and walked right by unnoticed – dodged that bullet. I hope to never see him again.

My evenings with Moldy Shower Curtain Jesus, Mr. Cheats on His Girlfriend Room #104, and Cologne-Reeking Stalker Neighbor Damon really gave me pause. What is going on out here in the dating world?

I said to one of my girlfriends over dinner, “I feel like I’m doing a science project.” It was as if a semi-truck had just run over me and I lived to tell the story. Dating rituals are compelling and incredibly riveting acts of human behavior. In just a matter of days, I’d gone from being in my own world of work and counseling, to debauchery with Room# 104, to revulsion with a Neighbor Damon. Jesus started it all just months before. I was onto something.

I have always been intensely interested in humanity and human behavior. I’ve read many, many books on the subject, and there doesn’t seem to be any really honest information for women, or men, about the dating world. There are few works that address making good decisions, share real-life stories – the kind you would never tell at the family Thanksgiving table, but can touch a place deep within you and resonate.

I live by the words, “as long as you are honest, organized and on time you will be fine,” and I am determined to operate from a place of compassion and honesty. I feel very strongly that by being honest we have the potential to open up new and important dialogue. So from that point on, I made my dating life a “science project” and as with any hypothesis, you sometimes get unexpected results.

End of chapter… More chapters to come.