A Weird cold, working at night, and what? a girl?

About 2 weeks ago, I had a sore throat for an hour or two and then it went away. I still had this scratchy feeling though and by the end of the night at work, it sounded like I had lost my voice yelling at some sporting event. That stayed for two days and then on top of that I got congested and started coughing. It has been on and off like that since it started. Every time I think it's going away it comes back later. Now, you need to know that I have a very strong immune system and I don't get sick often. Last time I got sick was about 5 years ago. My Dad is also an acupuncturist, so conventional medicine was never really an option. Now that I live on my own and Dad isn't around to help out, I get medicine as a last resort. This is one of those times, but I still only use a half of a dose or less. I guess I'm still not used to taking medicine.

This past week at work, I had a slight change in my schedule. Instead of working 5 eight hour shifts starting Sunday night, I now work 4 ten hour shifts starting Monday night. My body is certainly not used to it because I have been exhausted by the end of the shift. I thought it was bad that I was sleepy before, but this time I really have to fight it. The good thing about the change is that I'm not traveling as much. I'm saving 45 miles on my car and about a fifth of a tank of gas every week because of the change. I don't mind that at all. I still find it hard to sleep at night when I'm not working though. Maybe you could tell that by what time I posted this.

Lately, I have been trying to get to know a girl from church. I have gone on two dates with her and had fun both times. We were able to talk and I was able to get to find out a little more about who she is. I won't give details about what happened, but know that I would like to ask her out again.

Now, here are some thoughts I have on dating. First of all... dinner and a movie is not a date. The point of a date is to get to know one another better and by that, I mean actually finding out about personality, likes and dislikes, and what kind of person they are. When I go on a date, dinner might be included, but there is always some activity that we can have fun at and still be able to talk. You can't really do that at a movie.

Next, from my end, a first date means a lot. Before I ask a girl on a date, I observe how they dress, how they act, how they treat others, and their church activity and commitment. A girl catches my eye by meeting minimum standards I have set, and then I ask her on a date. By going on an actual date as mentioned before, I find out more about the girl. By the end of the date, I usually have learned some crucial information to confirm if I am still interested in her. If that works out, the 2nd date happens. If I ask a girl on a 2nd date, I am interested in her. The complicated part is that by then, the whole guessing game starts with me. Does she like me? Is she interested too? I've shown my interest in her by asking her on 2 dates. Now, I'm expecting something in return to show if she's interested or not. Give me an obvious sign.

I think I may have got a sign from this girl from church. She wrote me to ask me over to an Easter egg coloring party she had. Now I don't think it means she wants a relationship yet, and as much as I'd like one, I know I'm not quite ready for one myself. . One thing I do know is that next time I see her, I'll ask her on another date. From there, I guess we will all have to wait and see what happens in the romance part of my life, but let's not get our hopes up yet.

Anyway, I guess that's all I have this time around. Till next time.