Destinations, Discovery, and Disappointment?: An Update

"Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now" -- Airplanes (B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams from Paramore)

A little after 9 this morning I found myself leaving my home for my weekly venture through the Eastern suburbs on foot. Unlike the last post with this title (Here) I'm feeling quite centered today. Why? I asked the unaskable question and it was answered. Not the answer I would have preferred, but an acceptable answer nonetheless (even if the answer wasn't acceptable, just having an answer would have been a weight off...I don't do well without explicit closure).



In the "aww, cute" discovery column today early in my walk I found myself at Shaker Lakes' Horseshoe Lake and after stopping for a few moments to just gaze across the bounded water and a small armada of geese moving away from my shore, I resumed my walk. Out of the corner of my eye, in the midst of a muck of algae there was a driftwood log. On the log was a turtle peacefully sunning itself, though I think when my presence was noticed its head turned and I got a distinctly reptilian "What do you want?" look before it went back to peacefully bobbing around on the log. I didn't have my real camera with me, but couldn't keep myself from pulling out my cell camera. Despite the low quality, you can see the glint of the sun on his/her shell.

After I stopped for my near-weekly visit to the Cleveland Museum of Art... a lot of art has been cycled through the contemporary galleries recently and I really like some of the pieces that I don't think have been on display before (recently)... stop by and check it out. Remember, CMA is one of the great things things that's always free in CLE.

And because the question has been asked by a surprisingly large number of my readers, to clarify the friend referenced in recent posts: She is indeed a she and I'm enjoying sharing the experiences with someone, but we are just friends... If you have anyone looking to try kissing a frog, don't let that stop you from sending her my way.

Lincoln

Paciencia y Fe / Owner of a Lonely Heart

The title of this post (Translation: Patience and Faith) is the title of a song -- and a recurring theme -- in the musical In the Heights. While I am In the Heights, but not in the Heights that the musical is based in, I find two aspects of my life where I am reminding myself of the importance of both Patience and Faith.

I'm having one of those biweeks that simultaneously uplifting and depressing: On the uplifting front, in the past two weeks I've bumped into more people I "know" in places I wouldn't expect in the nearly five years since moving to Cleveland, it kind of makes me feel like I have a place, on the not so uplifting...

Violin Wise... I really thought I was doing reasonably well, but I had an awakening about exactly how bad my intonation is. I feel like I've taken a big step backwards, but I'm working on it: Over the past week if I play at somewhere around 1 BPM I can usually hit fairly close to the note I want. Of course, it's a matter of practice, practice, practice, and training my ear to hear the oh-so-subtle differences between perfectly "on" and a more-than-a-little "off".

I also feel like my rhythm is slipping out of control but that seems like it's easier to fix at tempo...just when I fix that any semblance of proper intonation goes out the window. Paciencia y Fe. It's of no surprise to anyone who knows me, but I am not the most patient person out there, apparently, particularly when it comes to dotted notes where I don't pause long enough. My violin teacher circled all of them in a piece that I'm working in to remind me to slow down... I couldn't help but to think that they all looked like happy faces. How can you say no to two Gs on the linked on the same bow? Paciencia y Fe.

Relationship*-wise all I can say is Pacinceia aargh Y aargh Fe. (I'm temporarially supressing the rest of this category under the heading of "questionable judgement"...but it may return.

Lincoln

The LincolnInCleveland 2009 Annual Report

As we wind up 2009 it's interesting to take a few minutes to look back on the year behind:

Travel: Still haven't left the continent, but crossed off states #25 (Tennessee), 26 (Minnesota), and 27 (Wisconsin) on my list. I was in the air 25,465 miles for nearly 59 hours, bringing my total since 2003 to 151,102 miles, and 392 hours, equivalent to a little over 6 times around the world in 2 1/3 weeks. Since January 1st I spent 53 nights in 26 hotels, all but 5 of those being work related.

Highlights included two extended visits to San Francisco and a spur-of-the moment weekend in Philadelphia -- both cities that I last visited when I was much younger and very pleasantly surprised on my solo visits. Both cities are immensely walkable and there's something liberating about being in a city without a rental car or GPS. "Its amazing what you can find when you aren't looking for it" is my motto to justify not making plans before arriving in a city... and I've yet to be disappointed.

Thanks to a friend of a friend I visited all four of the Walt Disney World Resorts (Disney World, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios) for the first time while on business in Orlando -- have some great memories and Disney World brought back some weird de ja vu compared to the west coast's Disneyland. I also made it to Cedar Point for the first time...that's just pure awesomeness.

Oh, the places I've been... My travel by land and air through 12/29 - click for the big version:

Performing Arts: The beginning of the year saw the end of my challenge to attend at least one performing art event each week, every week, for a year. Not only did I complete this goal, recently my average attendance has been 2-3 per week, with a high in the beginning of December of 5 events in 5 days. And there are still events I was interested in that I managed to miss.

I discovered the musical Spring Awakening and stalked it across the country -- 6 times in 3 states, but the most amazingly memorable performance was when I was on stage in Philadelphia. Words cannot describe. I might still wind up in in Hershey or Cincinnati to try for #7.

The more you listen, the more you learn and I became a common sight at Cleveland Orchestra concerts. I discovered a passion for classical music that I am still exploring, through the Orchestra, CIM, and the [HUGE] number of organizations dedicated to the art in Cleveland.

I found that I prefer classical live and contemporary recorded -- my iTunes music collection passed the 4,400 track mark covering 400 years and virtually every known genre. The 20GB iPod I thought was insanely huge 5 years ago is now completely full... my iPod touch has a sliver of room remaining.

Singleness: I met more women in 2009 than the rest of the decade combined... but still haven't found someone with whom things have clicked. Maybe my standards are too high. I'm not lowering my standards any time soon. (I'm tempted to add that women tend to silently fall of the face of the earth making the not interested/interested but playing games/out of town thing so much harder to figure out, but that may fall into the category of "rash generalization")

I think that sums up the major areas in my life...


Lincoln

"Can anybody find me somebody to love?" or I'm Pretty Sure My Deity is Mocking Me, Pt. 2

No event for me tonight. [Relatives, please stop reading here.]

Ok, so I'm displaying a complete lack of shame here, but I'm flat out of other ideas.

As brief recap... I met the fantastic young woman I mentioned in "I'm Pretty Sure My Deity is Mocking Me" recently; as much as I'd like it to happen my chances of earning a followup meeting with her are somewhat worse than getting hit by a bus and winning the lottery on the same day. Keep in mind that I don't play the lottery.

When it comes to meeting people (women) I have a lot working against me.

• I was born in Central California, raised in Southern California; I know next to no one in this time zone that's my own age.
• My coworkers are all guys... and with one exception, married and nearly old enough to be my father.
• My nightclubbing/barhopping phase lasted about 2 weeks when I was 22. Hitting a bar socially is fun, but alone I just don't get; borrowing from The Hold Steady's You Can't Make Him Like You "They say you don't have a problem / until you start to do it alone..."
• The places I most enjoy -- museums, theatres, Severance Hall, are also among the places I think it would be weirdest to hit on, or be hit on by some random stranger.

The online dating thing isn't working for me. It seems like every single single woman in this town is a sports fanatic; most guys would dig this; for me its a problem since I can barely tell you the difference between the Browns and Indians... and that's about the extent of my interest in sports (but I won't turn down the atmosphere of a Cavs game in person from time to time).

The thought of offering a "Finders Fee" for an introduction has crossed my mind before...and been quickly dismissed. Then I came across across this post at "27 Dresses in Cleveland" [so I'm not alone!]... and opening line of Queen's song by a similar title caught my ear at Monday Evening's Wicked Rocks Benefit. So I figured I'd put it out there.

Can Anybody Find Me Somebody To Love...

I'd like to follow the date first/friends second/something more if it clicks approach, and I'm not in a hurry to get married... but on the flip side, one date an average of every nine months just isn't healthy. Those goals in mind, I'm not sure what kind of finders fee to offer and at what milestone to trigger it.

So what type of woman am I attracted to? A seemingly impossible combination of intellect and tallent. I'm narrowing it down, but in the words of Supreme Court Justice Stewart in Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964)*, "I'll know [her] when I see [her]".

Physically is where I'm least picky and most flexible; age somewhere in the 23-32 neighborhood; as a 6'0"/130 walking stick I'm most attracted to slender-to-average women, though tall is cool, and age isn't critical (but not too old, now!).

Intellectually, I'm attracted to creative personalities, particularly it seems professional [string] musicians. I value someone who is independent, driven, and is working on a successful career. A woman who's not afraid to challenge or be challenged, be that intellectually or physically (gosh darn it, I wasn't to have a passionate discussion with someone about a performance! It's so much more fulfilling when you can get someone else's perspective). She's versatile, spanning everything from "stupid movie" to "night at the opera" with "day on the couch", "10 mile walk/jog/run", and/or "nice dinner" mixed in. Outgoing, confident, and not afraid to speak her mind are pluses, as is someone willing to share her interests. I think that gets the general idea across.

Does this woman exist? Does she exist in greater Cleveland [Heights]? Is she still single? Is she sane?

I have a lot to offer, don't play mind games, and have passed background checks.

So... if you are this person, or think you might know her, stalk me, er, find me at one of the events up top, drop me a line, leave a moderated comment, use telepathy... whatever.

Lincoln
* - A case that revolved around what constituted "obscenity" based on a film shown at the Heights Art Theater, now the Centrum, in Coventry Village about a 3/4s of a mile down the street from my house. There's your US Supreme Court factoid of the day.