Hey there. It's me again, sneaking in yet another diary update. I guess it should go without saying, but life has been a little hectic. I just started the Winter quarter at school with two more courses I'm trying to get out of the way, Evaluating Human Computer Interaction and Server Side Web Application Development. If I pass these courses I will have 7 more to go.

The latter class is the foundation for my E-Commerce degree which blends 3 concepts: HTML, Object Oriented Programming such as Java and Visual Basic.NET and Database Technology like MS Access along with SQL to query the database. The last time I tried to take this class, I had to drop in the middle of the quarter because the workload was overwhelming. I didn't like the instructor's teaching style too much either.

I know this quarter won't be as pretty either, but I am determined to see these classes through. Actually having gone through the first week of my courses, I have a generally positive outlook. I have a feeling I can tackle everything this time around. I just need to stay on the ball.

As for the other "fronts" in my life, I actually satisfied one of my self-imposed requirements for my New Year's Resolution. I asked someone out on a date for this Saturday and she said yes. =) She's actually someone I've known for quite a long time. To make things easy I'll refer to her as J. When we first met, I was in still in the relationship with my ex, engaged to be married actually.

Around 4 years ago, my uncle, mom and my cousin Ray along with one of Ray's best friends shared a house and somewhere in between J moved in and became one of the roommates. She had gotten pretty close to my mom and in time my mom had become a mother figure of sorts to her. I didn't associate with them too much at the time. I guess I was busy with my own life.

There was a falling out of sorts. J threw a party at the house and it went totally awry. My mom was upset but I think she was more than willing to forgive and forget. I think J felt guilty with the whole thing though. She decided to move out rather than risk any further transgression. I think she wanted to punish herself for breeching my mom's trust as well. I think it was because she just had that much respect for her.

Anyway, that was the last I heard of her until Ray's funeral about 2 and a half years ago. By that time I had already divorced and was single and available. I think that's when we began vibeing each other. Unfortunately she had hooked up with a steady boyfriend by that time.

We barely kept in contact after Ray's funeral. I invited her to the Halloween 2001 Party. It was supposed to be a big bash to celebrate Ray's and my B-day and the last big party at Ray's house before it got sold. She was with her boyfriend and I was with that drop dead gorgeous chick whom I was in love with that would eventually break my heart that night, yet again. If there was one thing thing I remember vividly about her, especially that night, it was that she really knew how to embrace. Actually I recall mentioning a similar, more recent hug with her in this entry. 

I haven't really made any moves on her because I know about the whole thing with the boyfriend. They are still living with each other but it's at the point now where they actually agreed to see other people. I met the guy a few times even and he seemed like a pretty nice guy. It wasn't until recently when I heard her talking about actually dating other guys that I actually considered asking her out on a date. I guess didn't want to fall into another "sticky" situation like I did with the drop dead gorgeous chick. She came by to talk with my mom was about her most recent dating experience. Without going into her own personal details, let's just say it didn't turn out too well.

When it was time for her to head back home, I walked her to her car. It was then she gave me this wicked vibe. After we hugged she asked me to call her and then she began walking to her car door and glanced back with one of those "I want you" stares. Damn it's been a while since I have gotten one of those stares. I actually don't know what to expect on this date, so I'm just going to lay on my charm and see where it take us from there.

If that isn't enough to rock my boat, I actually got a marriage proposal from f-v. O.o It was inspired by Britney Spears' recent Marriage and Annulment very shortly thereafter. She wanted to have a gag Vegas-Style wedding Drive-Thru Chapel and all just for shits and giggles. I began entertaining her whim by suggesting an ELVIS Drive-Thru Wedding. I also wanted her to legally take my last name, even if it was only for a few hours, because my ex-wife never took my last name. I figure if there was at least one woman willing to do that for me on this planet I could die a happy man.

So she agreed, but only if we could get a divorce instead of an annulment so that she could refer to me as her ex-husband. Also she wanted to extend her marriage long enough so that I could meet her parents and family and subsequently freak them out to no end. We were going back and fourth with this for almost 2 hours when her best friend Cosmo finally put her food down and said no. She did not give us her blessing to proceed with the gag marriage, and since f-v can't possibly have a marriage (gag or legitimate) without her hetero life partner at her side the whole thing was called off.

I suppose in a way that's a good thing. Having 2 divorces on my resum� could easily be misinterpreted as me being a 2-time loser. Being a 1-time loser is enough for me I think. =p But at least now I can refer to her as my ex-fianc�, as she began referring to me. =p