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Courtney, you tried and tried to get into the Mottola family. First you tried going after me, but I resisted your advances. Then you tried going after Sergio, but you encountered some legal hurdles you couldn't jump.

Way to pick up the broken pieces and settle with Scott.

Congratulations on the engagement Scott and Courtney!

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Reason #2,454,342 why I should destroy Scott...

He posted a damn Craigslist personal ad for me, without my knowledge, and has been forwarding me the responses.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/m4w/271996578.html

So embarrassing. The grammar is just horrible, too.

Update:

Since I published this blog post, I've received a couple good joke responses to the ad.

Chris Brown sent me: "Dang boo you look hott lets get a drink sometime, call me (911) 352-8997."

Moos sent me: "Hi- Can you hook me up with the hott blonde guy?? he looks like fun. hahahahahahaha."

I did get one real response from a girl at SPU who said:

"Don't tell anyone [Paolo: whoops], but I'm replying to your CL ad. In my defense, I'm bored and a little restless, and I thought meeting someone new would be a great way to excite things. Your posting is the first that does not sound desperate, expecting a relationship to magically occur after a couple e-mails and a coffee date, or displaying stalkerish (I realize that 'stalkerish' is not a word, and I would never try to play it in scrabble) tendencies. So, here I am.

"Here's a little about me: I'm a 21-year-old student. I read the NY Times daily, and take pride in knowing what's going on in the world, and I greatly respect people who feel the same way. I read a lot and I'm good at pairing my friends with books they'll love. I love being outside, I ski in the winter, hike in the spring, and go for a run almost everyday. I laugh and talk a lot, people usually like that about me, but not always. I am best when I'm busy, but I'm notorious for spreading myself to thin. I want a puppy.

"Sorry for all of the random facts, but I just concluded that there is no good way to describe yourself to a stranger. If I've piqued your interest at all let me know. I've attached a few pictures (I chose ones where I was on the right side, to make it easy, I'm practical like that) maybe I'll talk to you soon, if not good luck on your search."

This reply came really early, probably when the ad was at the top of the Craigslist page. Even though Scott's description made me sound like I'm gay and didn't finish high school, I really figured I'd get at least a couple more responses, but then again, I haven't dated in a year and a half now (Has it been that long? Yikes.), so maybe I should keep the ad's success relative. This was a good experiment for why I have no desire to pursue online dating, and Scott, I give you kudos for a hell of a prank.

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Vista launched yesterday, and Bill Gates was on The Daily Show last night to promote it. This wasn't the funniest interview Jon Stewart has conducted, but it is interesting to hear Bill Gates talk about how he envisions us interacting more with computers in the future.

The best parts of the interview are listening to Bill Gates laughing like Peter Griffin from "Family Guy" and watching Bill Gates leave the stage right after Jon Stewart closes the conversation. Gates' geekiness is overwhelming.

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I've told my roomates a few times over now and I tell all my female readers: Go get the Gardasil shots. In short, Gardasil is a preventative vaccine that protects women from contracting an STV (sexually transmitted virus) called human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cervical cancer.

Especially all of you "I'm not getting married 'till I'm 30 types," save your fertility and get the shot. If you stay true to your word, you're likely to have at least a couple partners (hopefully) between now and then, and that one great, respectful guy you end up with might have had some fun in Vegas (before he met you, of course) and contracted the STV without his knowledge because he hasn't and won't see the symptoms. And his ignorance could become your problem.

According to the FDA, "at least 50% of people who have had sex will have HPV at some time in their lives." The odds are against you.

I actually first heard about the shots listening to Loveline. Dr. Drew said, "We've needed this for women for a long time. It should be required that women get these shots." Today, I personally know of two women my age who have developed cervical cancer as a result of contracting HPV.

The Seattle Times published a frontpage story about Gardasil today:

"Last summer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed the use of Gardasil as the first and so far only vaccine to protect against four strains of HPV, or human papillomavirus.

"Two of the HPV strains cause 70 percent of cervical cancers, and the other two strains cause 90 percent of genital warts.

"The vaccine is recommended for girls and women ages 9 to 26, but especially for preadolescents who aren't sexually active. That's because the vaccine is preventive, rather than therapeutic, with the greatest benefit realized before exposure to HPV."

Gov. Gregoire's budget proposal requests $26.2 million for childhood vaccines, including the HPV vaccine. With lawmakers' approval, a state-sponsored HPV vaccine program would begin May 1. For girls age 11 through 18, the shots would be offered at no cost, though providers could add a charge for an office visit or administrative fees. Some state legislators have rallied to make the vaccine mandatory for entrance to school.

"There's an unprecedented amount of attention to this vaccine," said Michele Perrin, a health-promotion and communications manager with the state Department of Health. "It's a breakthrough vaccine in terms of women's health care and cancer prevention."

I stop short of requiring the vaccine at schools. This politicizes the issue. The reality is, women will only contract HPV via sexual intercourse. This is an important but preventative measure. So, just as we don't force adolescents to buy condoms before entering junior high, neither should we require girls to get the Gardasil shots.

Parents should be educated, and should consider the option for their daughters. To all my female readers, I trust your choices. I don't trust the choices of the men in your life now or in the future. Consider the Gardasil shot. I'll leave a discussion of the political and moral(?) implications of this recommendation to the comments box.