I've even raped and killed a mountain panda in the hills of Shaanxi.

I was planning a big indepth essay on dog types vs. cat types in the dating world, but they broke open the beer at work. Not that I would drink at work.

Anyway this is a broad generalization, but some people are really into these games and won't call back immediately and pretend they are busy and don't actually seem to like you. Sometimes this works ok b/c the other person is like that too. These are the cat types.

The dog types, on the other hand, are happy to see you and slobber all over you. If one dog type dates another dog type, they just get super giddy and happy and see each other more and more till it burns out. Not that it always burns out!

So that's the rough sketch.

[Poll #1365663]

a friend asks:

"There is this person that you like that you have been hanging out with lately. Nothing has been spoken on this subject. How do you let them know you are interested?"

[poll options deleted for brevity's sake]

My answer:

"A female tends to suspect that a male who tries to hang out with her a lot is trying to get into her pants... or more bluntly, SHE KNOWS ANYWAY SO DO SOMETHING@!!!1"

Not to say she'll respond in the way you desire, but faint hearts never won fair ladies.

For future reference, the initial stage of a relationship is called infatuation and it's not supposed to last. The goal is to form something more stable in the beginning and let it build into something real.

I read Freud's Civilization and its Discontents, which is mainly only worthwhile for historical reasons, although I now want to read his treatise on religion. When I say historical reasons, I mean to see what someone thought was wrong with civilization and society back then. Not surprisingly, he found a lot of problems stemmed from sexual repression. But he also thought that most people's jobs/work came from this repression - redirected libido. I find this an odd concept, personally. Although it's probably true that there's a negative correlation between sexual satisfaction and job satisfaction.

(work in progress)

• Compliment her shoes.
• If she refuses to tell you what's wrong, it's probably something you did. Go over everything that's happened in the past 24 hours, and if you're still clueless, buy her flowers and tell her you feel terrible.
• When trying to think of things to do, ask her what she WON'T do before asking her what would be a good option.

How do people manage to be so egotistical yet so full of self-loathing?

Fortunately this only applies to one person (I think) reading this.

1. What is the biggest mistake you ever made.

Blowing off my independent study senior year. I've done/not done other things that probably made my life worse, but most of them it's only with hindsight that I see it. This was the only thing I consciously did that was fucking stupid.

2. What brings you joy?

A lovely day in Seattle that's not too hot or cold, and you can see the Mountain. Dancing to excellent live music. Cuddling Reg. Tiramisu melting on the tongue. Jane Austen.

3. Who is your favorite author and why?

Philip K. Dick has put a face to my paranoia. I've always had the idea of "everyone else is trying to convince you you're crazy" in my head, but he actually made a career out of re-writing that story over and over again.

4. Do you think the success of your romantic relationship has more to do with base compatibility with your partner or the fact you have learned from previous relationships. If it's a bit of both what is the percentage ratio? If it's neither what is it?

I'd say more to do with compatibility, since "learned behaviors" seemed to have been rewritten to deal with this relationship within 7 months or so. But the real success is due to sincere politeness when one of us fucks up, and genuine passion still lasting. Which I guess is due to the fact that we are both so fucking hot.

5. Are you racist? If so why? If not how do you deal with prejudice when you discover it affecting your perspective?

I would say I'm racist, in that I think some stereotypes more often fit certain races more than others, but I try to apply these equally to all races. But apart from hating asian girls I don't think I qualify. I think class/culture matters a lot more than race.

Comment here and I won't ask you anything!
But if you want to interview me too, that's fine.

I read this column before I got on the bus this morning. Scroll to the second letter. OMFG what. Her response to him was ok, but I'd really like to know where he pulled the 80% figure out. I mean, did he observe that 80% of women had black boyfriends, or that 80% of women that he hit on told him they only date black men?

thinking of hitting the Low show tonight.