Lately I've lamented the lack of other people (and specifically, girls) impulsive enough for me. More and more I realize how much I love adventures. Even failures/disasters can be great if they make a good story. I love the excitement in doing something unconventional, especially on a whim, just for the sake of doing it. I think this goes along with my philosophy of "doing the thing that is hard" and never backing down or shying away from a challenge. Doing things for the sake of an idea.

The best example I can recall of something I've done like this is when I drove 700 miles from Atlanta to Pittsburgh on one days notice to help some people move and to get some free bbq (not counting, of course the impulsive quitting of my job the week before that provided me the free time in which to do it). One day I was talking with some friends about someone bringing their child to college for the first time which reminded me of how much I liked orientation and that it was happening that weekend, and the next day I was driving to orientation. With most people it's always scheduling and planning. Boring. Why should a lack of foresight prevent me from doing something fun now, if I happened to have a good idea right now.

Lately I've noticed myself be frequently disappointed with my friends for not being interested in doing something cool right now. But even more I've realized how this affects my dating. It explains why I'm so excited about meeting people in unlikely and impractical places like in airports, on airplanes, or on vacation.

What really brought it all together for me was a conversation I was having about New Year's Eve plans. Like a lot of people, I yearn for that perfect New Year's celebration. Normally I don't do very much about it and just do whatever comes along, or nothing. This year I thought for sure I could end up doing something good since I live right in a great city and I've got lots of friends. So far I have been pretty disappointed in my options. I have been invited to at least two parties. Most of the time I'd be excited about a party since there was a long part of my life where I was left out of these kinds of things, but for New Year's I'm just not that interested. There's nothing special about spending the night drinking in a place I've been to before with a bunch of people I already know with no chance anything interesting will happen with any of them. I realized I don't know exactly what I am looking for but it would probably involving doing something unusual (not just for me but in general, because I contemplate going to a club which I don't do much but it is still very cliche) and meeting some new people and having something interesting happen with them. It seems like it is just a fantasy.

What I need is someone (a girl) who is as interested as I am in treating unrealistic jokes as serious suggestions. Besides just doing unconventional things, I'm really into breaking the conventions of things you can do with someone you barely know. Which is why I think that old skool sleepover (with sleeping bags on the living room floor, movies, junk food, etc), which already defies convention for normal activities for 20-somethings, is an even better idea as a first date. I honestly still think of it as one of the best ideas I ever had. It started as a joke in an IM conversation with a girl I'd just met online. It may have been my idea to then take it as a serious suggestion, but she accepted the proposal and went on to be my first and only (so far) girlfriend (even though that date didn't actually happen).

I wonder if this person I'm looking for is even out there. At least now I know what I'm looking for.