You know, you could visit us, too. :-)

If you weren't having coffee with Harvard Lawyer Boy, you could join me in a bit of Ottoman cultural imperialism this afternoon. A damn fine little local group, if I may say so.

Also, if you want to get exasperated at human stubbornness, check out the film I rented last night.

Having been re-reading some Christopher Moore of late, I'd suggest The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove

"to have coffee with the buffoon today."

Well, at least you're starting without preconceptions.

First, any man doing a fucking whirlwind tour of various cities to have dinner with potential wives is going to annoy me in principle. Second, I did speak with him on the phone.

Third, he is a lawyer (ha).

Buffoon.

There are a couple of Harvard Law grads I can entirely tolerate.

But I must warn you: no matter how cold a shoulder you offer, it's entirely possible that he will call again. Cheering thoughts!

First, any man doing a fucking whirlwind tour of various cities to have dinner with potential wives is going to annoy me in principle.

Your contempt for attorneys, especially successful Ivy League ones, is not shared by a large fraction of the female population. The typical problem for attorneys attempting to date is a lack of energy and time, not a lack of willing partners. If this guy has to fly around North America looking for dates -- hell, if this guy has time to fly around the country looking for dates, he must be a loser of epic proportions.

Actually, I don't really mind lawyers. They play nicely into my suit fetish.

I was just picking on Matthew (and possibly you).

Regardless, I blew him off politely.

might i suggest that you show up with hidjab and naqib. should put the kebash on any unwanted advances.

i reccomend hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy (the whole damn series of a gazillion books). nice, completely pointless reading. quite relaxing.

Hey, some of my best friends are lawyers!

Hopefully he will at least provide some nice scenery.

Well, I'm completing a whole cycle of Japanese samurai stuff:

The Unfettered Mind, by Takuan Soho
The Life Giving Sword, by Yagyu Munenori
The Book of Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi
Musashi, by Eiji Yoshikawa

I've been reading these in exactly this order, and it actually works well, since all three, of course especially the third author, figure in the fourth and final book here, which is a novel about Musashi. The translation is off-putting in the novel (the others are decent, far as I can tell, which ain't far, of course), but the story is good anyway.

"If this guy has to fly around North America looking for dates -- hell, if this guy has time to fly around the country looking for dates, he must be a loser of epic proportions."

Or South Asian, with a deadline and pushy parents. Who never bothered to learn the intricacies of the dating game because job, degree, salary and family background are supposed to do the talking.

Actually, I called him up and cancelled. Maybe he'll think I'm a arrogant bitch.

Ah, one can hope.

nah, he'll probably just think you're playing hard to get and try, try, try again. except this time he'll preceed himself with two dozen roses.

The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker, 100% genius/hilarious/quick/mandatory read, real good for INTJs. kind of more an airport than a beach novel, though. and I've always thought of Mr. Nice as a pretty unfuckwithable vacation read, lots of travel, exciting locales, 'etc'

forgot to suggest earlier...

Motoring With Mohammed

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067973855X/002-5874449-0944007?v=glance&n=283155

good escapist litterature.