Online dating is designed for women.

You see, in the terrestrial world, men first judge if women are physically attractive before deciding to make any investment of time or energy to get to know them as persons. Women, on the other hand, will take time to get to know men even if they don't find them immediately physically attractive. I'm NOT saying that women don't think physical attraction is important, but they are much more forgiving of a lack of physical spark if they think they can connect emotionally. Exceptions to the rule? Sure. But this seems to be the common scenario. How else did Catherine Zeta-Jones marry Michael Douglas?

So here I am, having to learn who a girl is before seeing her and it contradicts all of my instincts. Sure, I see pictures of these girls, but are they cross-eyed, missing all of their molars, or breathe through a hole in their neck as the result of years of chain smoking? You can't see any of this in pictures and it kind of freaks me out. I discovered that I really need to know what a girl looks like before I want to invest any time in getting to know her. Call me an asshole or call me time-efficient.

The fact is this: With online dating, the Juliet is at the advantage because she gets to know who the guy is before meeting him (via calls and emails), satisfying what's most immediately important to her -- who the person is. Romeo has to excercise painful patience, because he ultimately would rather invest time dating an attractive girl, only to realize with time that she's a total bitch, than date a girl who's not so hot but has a stellar personality. That's biology for ya.

And yes, Jeanna, you can repost this to your online dating blog.

As many of you know by now, my cousin Jimmy took his own life last weekend. He just turned 26 this month.

Jimmy was a gentle, kind person. He was an extradorinary musician and actor. He will be missed.

I encourage you to visit http://jamesvincentduruz.virtualmemorials.com/ to learn more about Jimmy.

I just ran into one of my best friends from childhood, Brandon Sewell, when I was grabbing coffee downstairs. He works in the building next door as it turns out. Small world. We lost touch in high school, but I kept up on his successful collegiate career as a goalkeeper on the men's soccer team at Seattle University. Brandon told me he just got married a couple weeks ago. Crazy. Seeing people from your youth really takes you back and grounds you. We'll see how long my feet stay on the ground this time.

My company is really good about hosting classes and bringing in speakers for ongoing education, self-improvement, etc. I usually sign up for them to break up my workday. I'm taking a class today about communication styles and behavior and had to take a personality test of sorts in advance. I got the results today. They were spot on! It's like a 27-page unambiguous horoscope. This analysis only validates my cool factor. Here's the abbreviated, top line summary:

General Characteristics:
Based on Paolo's responses, the report has selected general statements to provide a broad understanding of his work style. These statements identify the basic natural behavior that he brings to the job. That is, if left on his own, these statements identify HOW HE WOULD CHOOSE TO DO THE JOB. Use the general characteristics to gain a better understanding of Paolo's natural behavior.

Paolo wants to be seen as his own person, but usually projects it in friendly terms. He is optimistic and usually has a positive sense of humor. He tries to influence others through a personal relationship and many times will perform services to develop this relationship. He is driven by status and power. Paolo influences most people with his warmth. He seeks popularity and social recognition. He likes to deal with people in a favorable social environment. He is most likely to be at his best in situations where important things, such as values, judgments, feelings and emotions are involved. He prides himself on his "intuition." He can be friendly with others in many situations, but primarily with groups of established friends and associates. He is sociable and enjoys the uniqueness of each human being. Paolo likes quality social relationships. He often will become friends with his customers or clients. He, as a manager, supervisor or group leader can use his people skills to build group involvement and increase participation from the group.

Paolo likes working for managers who make quick decisions. When he has strong feelings about a particular problem, you should expect to hear these feelings, and they will probably be expressed in an emotional manner. He may leap to a favorable conclusion without considering all the facts. He is good at solving problems that deal with people. Paolo is good at giving verbal and nonverbal feedback that serves to encourage people to be open, to trust him and to see him as receptive and helpful. Because of his trust and willing acceptance of people, he may misjudge the abilities of others.

Paolo tends to influence people to his way of thinking by using verbiage as compared with others who like to use reports. He will optimistically interact with people in an assured, diplomatic and poised manner. It is important for Paolo to use his people skills to "facilitate" agreement between people. He tends to look at all the things the group has in common, rather than key in on the differences. He is comfortable with most people and can be quite informal and relaxed with them. Even when dealing with strangers, Paolo will attempt to put them at ease. Paolo is people-oriented and verbally fluent. He usually uses many gestures when talking. He judges others by their verbal skills and warmth. He is good at negotiating conflict between others.
______

This survey, while valuable, fails to recognize my ability to waste time blogging and my arrogant narcissism. Oh well. I'll be curious to know how accurate you all think this assessment is.

Jacking Sergio's work here, but this is why Geo of Blue Scholars is one of my favorite rappers. From "Opening Salvo" off that "Bayani" album...

First Verse:
Yo, it's the opening salvo
Where po scope the people like Mohammed and Malvo
A sample of the battle we're waging against an animal
Made to snuff us out like the wick of a candle
And all the youth dressed in camo, we ready to handle
And no this war is not scripted
Can't change the channel
We cancellin' all subscriptions
This is the last issue
When the casket closed, can't take the cash with you
And no post mortem residuals
We individuals who, indivisible, become the most invincible
But that is not the issue at hand
We demand a simple right to question y'all people
"Where the fuck is freedom at?"
It's all we ask but instead we get our asses assasinated fast
If the first shall be last, it's time to prepare
Black cloud sky fallin,' put a hand in the air

Hook:
My people build monuments to weather the flood
I'ma leave how I came: screamin' covered in blood
Died once born twice, both times we knuckled up
Alongside my people we gonna struggle with love...