Craig wrote us from Iraq and sent a picture! It sounds like it's still crazy over there...I hope he stays safe. I still cannot understand exactly what he is doing there...I mean, he said something about running some of the American bases in Baghdad...in fact, the one Bush visited is one of his, though he wasn't there for the surprise. He didn't even know Bush was there until he heard about it on the news! Crazy. Anyway, it sounds like he is in a safe zone, but he did say he travels around to other parts of Baghdad. He also said something that we have been hearing on the news a bit - that the insurgents have now turned their attention away from US soldiers and are attacking Iraqi civilians. The whole situation is so fucked up. I hope stays safe and comes home soon. He says he is only there for a year...I do hope he is not compelled to stay any longer than that.

On other matters...date number two went well. Better than date one. But I think that's to be expected. And actually, if your first date blows you out of the water every other date just has too much to live up to, I think. Anyway, date two was good. I hope for a date three. This whole approach to dating is so new for me. I mean, After A___ and I broke up, I went on a date with Ross and then about two weeks later I went on a date with another guy. But Ross and I ended up hitting it off and even though we were "taking it slow" I really liked him and didn't consider going out with any other guys after our third date. When that ended I went on a random date or two with Seth and then I met Broadway...After our first date I was certainly not interested in going on a date with anyone else. He, apparently, went on one date with someone else in between our first and second dates (at the time he said that he had already had it planned and he didn't want to cancel...in hindsight I wonder...but anyway...). But after the second date it was pretty much just us and I was so crazy about him that I would not have considered a date with anyone else. Since Broadway I have been on several first dates but no second dates until last night, which may have actually been date three if you count the night we met (new years)...Then there was Ross part two. And so, as I look back on date #2/3, and look forward to date #3/4, I realize I have very little experience with dating...relationships, yes. Dating, no.

But it has been and continues to be an interesting learning process. I think it is good for me. I never used to believe it would be. I thought dating was a waste of time...if you like someone, why not just decide to be together and see what happens. The freedom of a relationship has always seemed so much more satisfying to me than the constrictions of dating. But now that I am dating...with the idea that it will lead to a satisfying relationship...now I see that there is a lot I can learn about myself. And I can also see that the intensity that comes from a fabulous first or second date is not a sufficient basis on which to build a relationship. So, a good first date and an amazing second date seems like a perfectly good place to start, making sure to keep the drama and false intimacy out of it. See, I'm learning.