I read Jason's blog this afternoon, and I got started thinking about what the ideal girl would be. So I started thinking of all the characteristics I've ever admired in girls. Started making a list, in fact. 'Course, the easiest way to do this is to think about girls I know and list off what I like about them. So, after going through a dozen girls like this, I came to two conclusions:

1) The traits that I like in people differ depending on the person. I like the fact that Erika's very sweet and nice, whereas I also like Meredith's caustic wit. I really like the fact that Abbie's kinda airheaded. The little things she doesn't catch make me smile. On the other hand, the fact that Laura Ann catches every subtle witticism you toss at her is awesome. Erika can't dance. She's practically tone-deaf and absolutely doesn't know how to move unless she's totally trashed. Conversely, Anna dances pretty well. I like both. So, what traits are ideal?

2) If I somehow managed to find all the traits I like in girls and lump them all together into one person (either mixing personality traits or omitting ones that contradict), the end result would give me an inferiority complex, and probably run off with some surfer dude.

So, what's the point? Forget the "ideal girl" myth. I'll choose between one of the two archetypes I like the most:

1) The intelligent, book-smart airhead. She can hold a conversation on politics, do calculus, write well, discuss theoretical physics, or whatever, but if you hit her with a double-entendre she's totally befuddled. She's very sweet, probably ticklish, and blushes when she get embarassed, which happens pretty easily. In short, girl #1 is Erika, Abbie, or Raissa.

2) The intelligent, people-smart girl. She has wit to spare, catches double-entendres and responds in kind, tells dirty jokes, and flaunts what she's got, but through it all she's very nice. In short, girl #2 is (most of the time) Laura Ann or Hannah. (Both of them violate the "through it all she's very nice" clause, but close enough).

Then again, there are other people I've met who enchant me, not because they're the most intelligent people I've ever met, or because they're incredibly gorgeous, but rather just because they're very, very interesting. The biggest problem I have with too many people, male and female, is that they don't have genuine interests of their own. That's one thing that I like about Laura Ann so much. We have very similar taste in many things, but our interests are almost totally different.

Well, there you go. Time for me to go to the party. See you guys there.

Man, so I've been busy lately. Actually, I've been busy doing lots of nothing. Party last night (that'd be a Saturday). Spent about fifty hours last week playing Baldur's Gate II. I finally beat it, which is nice, because it means I'll be able to get more work done on my thesis (hopefully). I don't know why I keep calling it my thesis. It's not a thesis anymore, it's just a project I've been working on since September that I need to get done if I want to actually get that nice little diploma. <sigh>

Read Heather's blog. I was quite amused by the video game character one, so here's mine:

I am Mario. I like to jump around, and would lead a fairly serene and aimless existence if it weren't for my friends always getting into trouble. I love to help out, even when it puts me at risk. I seem to make friends with people who just can't stay out of trouble. What Video Game Character Are You?

I liked the result.

So, I met Anna's sister last week. I don't know what I was expecting, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't expecting THAT. Anna told me she was hot, but we know Anna's prone to exageration. However, in this case she was a bit off the mark in the other direction. Gorgeous comes closer to the mark. Abbie's a little bit young, though I suppose seventeen isn't too awfully young. At least she's out of high school. She stayed with us for four nights, and then browbeat Andy and me into driving her and Anna to Corsicana so she could go home. (Apparently Anna hadn't discussed the timeframe of her stay with her, and hadn't arranged for her to get taken back home, and Abbie wound up missing her mother's birthday because of it.) I'm left with one overwhelming impression of those five days: drool. Lots of drool. All of a sudden I'm left with a new reason to hope Andy and Anna stay together. On the other hand, she's a flirtatious prude, a shy attention whore, and possibly the girliest person I've ever met. With a resume like that, how could I resist? I don't know if it's just because she's gorgeous or if I liked the NUMEROUS contradictions in her personality, or if there's something else, but I was quite saddened when she left. )c;

I played tennis today. Damn, it's been too long since I've done anything physical. On the bright side, I did win, but on the down side I'm sure I overdid it and now I'm going to have to wait another three or four weeks to start up playing frisbee again. <sigh> I should just stick to swimming until the summer's over.

I saw "The Stepford Wives" the other day. I have to say, while I wasn't incredibly impressed with the movie, it was kinda fun. There were some good gags in it, the acting wasn't bad, and while the plot was far-fetched, the movie didn't take itself too seriously, so it could get away with it, kinda tongue-in-cheek. I did like the "gay Republican" comment. It's so true, and I'm glad that, while I do think of myself as a conservative, I don't subscribe to the particular brand of conservative provincialism that denotes homosexuality as a communicable disease that will somehow infect us all unless we denounce it at every turn. Kinda like black licorice. Damn, I can't stand that stuff.

Laters.

Okay, most people know that I'm not particularly enamoured of cars in general. Yes, I want a Dodge Viper (the RT-10, not the SRT-10. Granted, the SRT-10 is a better car in every way, except that the RT-10 looks a lot better), but that's just a dream. I'm not the sort of guy who sits around discussing ways to lift, port, balance, tune, or tweak out cars. But, I've found a goal. Heck, it even makes good economical sense:

I found a turbocharger for my Lancer online. There are actually two of them. I think it's the same turbo, actually, but the second one comes with a more complete kit for getting a lot more performance out of the upgrade. The lesser one runs $1,999, and adds approximately a 30% boost to total horsepower (after it spools up, of course). The other is $2,999, I think, and claims to boost total horsepower by 56%. Nice, eh? Especially since, if I drive conservatively, the increase in my gas mileage is proportional. Sweet!

Now, a litte caveat: These tubos fit my car just fine, but they're designed for the Evo. That means the numbers will be different for my car. I'll probably get less of a boost than they're rated for. Even if the larger one still gives me the same boost, it's not going to get my car over 190 hp (and still with regrettably little torque ). But, that's a damn sight better than the 120 I'm currently running, especially since it'll improve my gas mileage.

Anywho, thought someone might be interested in my new goal. I'll let you know how it goes. First step: getting $3,000.