No, really.. I mean it this time...

OK, so I ended up doing the on-again-off-again thing with P for another 5 months.. God's truth is I kind of used him for the last 3-4.. Let's face it, masturbation is just no substitute for the weight of a real body on top of you.. On the plus side, I doubt most men would really care if they were to find out that the last 3-4 months of a relationship they were kept around strictly for sex, even if it was pretty sporadic towards the end... I just didn't have the energy for a break-up.. I got laid off from my job, the house finally sold (after 14 months on the market and $6K in structural repairs), the custody woes are clearly never going to end.. And that was just February and March.. Come on, you can't blame me..

Anyhow, so I finally severed the ties and took my rightful place as co-captain of Team Single. Thankfully D has kept the team in fighting shape and we're all looking towards a kick ass season. So far, things are looking up for all of us.. D has a wonderful recurring semi-monogomous FB relationship with one of our friendly neighborhood bartenders.. This satisfies her personal desire for sex with an accent as well as my desire to continue receiving deep bar tab discounts.. AJ remains firmly entrenched as an alternate/bench warmer.. She can't quite seem to meet the cut for making the team but she always show up for practice.. And then of course there's me..

During the waning weeks of my relationship with P, I started assessing the playing field and contemplating what worthy opponents I might could meet there.. One night I had a wonderful, deep coversation with my beloved Daddy (the only man I can actually identify in any of these articles).. He had an interesting assessment of my dating needs and goals.. He said "You know, J, you really need to date a man..".. I found this interesting because barring a few bullshit smooches with D to get my bar tab reduced, I'm pretty much starting pitcher for the Heterosexual All Stars.. He clarified.. "You need an actual man.. A grown-up.. A guy who has a career, not just a job.. A man you don't have to fix.. A man you can't walk all over.. A man who wants to buy you flowers, clothes or jewelry, not because you would ever ask it of him, but because it will make him proud to provide these things for you..".. Hmmm, clearly Dad has never been a single woman in his 30's.. But it was an interesting thought.. Does such a man exist? Are there men out there who are actually interested in doing nice things for a woman because it shows they can, not because they feel they have to? Men who know the right things to do, the right words to say and yet don't get so gung-ho macho that they make you feel as though they missed the whole point of the feminist movement? And what does he mean by "A man you can't walk all over"??

Anyways, I'm hoping to find the answer to these questions with someone I met recently.. Call me nuts, but I don't want to jinx it by doing my usual verbal dissertation of the gentleman in question at this point.. I will say this; with only 3 dates to go by so far I can reveal he has an actual career, he in no way qualifies as doormat material and he wouldn't let me chip in anything for dinner the other night.. Hmmmm.. Could it be I'm dating that elusive, rare specimen of the male species known as "A Real Man"?? Nahhh, not with my luck.. He's got to be a closet cross-dressing serial killer.. Or at the very least a Republican..