Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Muchas Gracias....

Miracles, men, Mom, madras, martinis, mashed potatoes (didn't know I liked them until college), Matthew & Mark & Mary (lest I forget her as 'tis the season), mahi mahi, Mercer, Mad Libs, and misteltoe....

Ministers: I especially love Tim Keller and Andy Stanley. When I first started going to church after college (but didn't actually believe in all of it), Andy got me hooked on a series of sermons, and I attended church 13 Sundays in a row. Every sermon seemed directed at me, and I would often think about his words for the rest of the day. Oh, guess what? Looks like I'm going to NYC for a quick weekend trip with Ozzy in February and will get to attend one of Tim Keller's services. I don't think I've ever been so excited about attending a church.

Michelle: She's probably the sweetest person I know. Even her voice is sweet. We have our Bible study at her house, and she is such a lovely hostess, often baking cookies or making other treats for us.

Matchbox 20: The song "Push" totally resonated with me when I first heard it during my sophmore year of college at UGA (a very dramatic, depressing year). So I was really excited when they played at a small venue in Athens for $5, although only one of my friends was willing to go to the concert with me. No one else had heard of them, and the bar was embarassingly empty. The next time I saw them it was over ten times as expensive and at Phillips Arena.

"Meet Virginia," Mercy Me, Michael Jackson's music (one of my few memories of kindergarten is sitting on my teacher's steps and listening to Thriller with her son--on a record player), Molly's Yes, "Manic Monday," marshmallow scented Urban Decay powder (which has been discontinued), and my favorite Cure song "Melt with Me."

Mellow Mushroom, Monkeys, Moes, the Magees, mission trips, Miami, M &M bars, milk chocolate, mysteries (Agatha Christies, Nancy Drew)....

M*: He saw me in a restaurant downtown almost two years ago, and his lawyer friend figured out which firm I worked at and contacted one of my bosses. Predictably my boss just gave them my e-mail address and phone number, and I received an e-mail entitled "At Least This Should be a Departure from Any Morning Briefs" (I pasted it below) asking me to dinner. So sight unseen (on my part) with only knowing that he was ridiculously smart, a doctor, and 43, I met him for dinner. We talked for almost two hours before we stopped to order. I'm sure the waiter loved us. I am such a sucker for brillant people. Unfortunately I didn't feel any physical attraction after another date (I once had a two date rule), but we became an odd kind of friends, exchanging amazing e-mails, letters, and very clever gifts. M* served a really cool purpose in my life at the time and helped me overcome my cyncism for all things romantically related. He also knew me better than 99% of people I know. It seems silly, but he immediately knew my Myers-Brigg type (guessing 1 out of 16 types, particularly when my type is less than 1% of the population impressed me:) and instinctively seemed to "get me." Even the postcards I randomly receive from him (from all sorts of cool places) make me smile all day.

Here's the e-mail I received from him; it struck me as a bit odd and reminded me of an online dating profile, but I figured why not?
I wish that I had some terribly clever way to begin this
note. It would have been nice to meet you on a train
platform in Barcelona and find out after ten minutes of
conversation that you were from Macon. Or even to have
crossed your path at the library while you were checking
out a book that was a favorite of mine. I'm afraid the
real story here is considerably less exotic.

I was eating lunch with XXX Attorney at Adriana's last
week when you walked through the line. I thought you
were very pretty. He recognized your lunch company as
fellow attorneys. You had the bearing of being an
attorney as well, so I deduced that you were both
pretty and bright. As the combination is a desirable
commodity, I am writing to see if I might take you to
dinner.

I'm not in the habit of (read: never) making this sort
of invitation, and imagine you're equally not in the
habit of accepting them. I promise I make safe and
easy company. I would be pleased to supply you with
any information, references, bios, photographs,
driving records, old report cards, or anything else you
might want to clear on a pre-approval basis. To give
you a general feel, I would say that I am well rounded
and well read, intellectually curious, and drawn to
people with engaging minds. I like music more than
television, game night more than clubbing, NPR more
than Fox, and oranges more than apples.

I think Jane Eyre is a masterpiece, thought Amelie
was charming, think Scooby Doo has it all over the
Flintstones, wish I spoke better German, and like
to participate in a number of sports, none of which
I am particularly good at.

I have a strong social conscience, care about making
the world a better place, and think it's cool, even
if you have no interest whatsoever in dinner, that
you've been involved with Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

I know that's not a lot to go on, but it might at
least help you, with a little questioning, pick me
out of a lineup (I do promise I've never been in one).
If it sounds like we might make good dinner company,
drop me a line sometime. It doesn't need to be now
if it doesn't fit; I'll be around.

Cheers.

14 comments:

ella said...

Wow. First of all weekend trip with Ozzy? Just the two of you?

Secondly, that e-mail from Mark was almost perfect. I am sorry that there was no chemistry there.

Aaron said...

Wow, men before Mom? I hope you were going in alphabetical order!

You and Ozzy to NYC to watch a sermon? Whos idea was this? Is he:
a.) Still exercising an 'ulterior motives' fantasy
b.) Interested in watching this sermon
c.) Just good company
d.) Becoming more than friends. :D

I've written very similar letters to women I was interested in that barely knew me. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong. Or perhaps he appears more trust-worthy than myself. Or perhaps, you were just desperate for a date. :D

Anonymous said...

Ally, I had to pay 4




Ally, I once had to pay $4 for a Hallmark card with the same words sent to you by M(ark). Dr rjj









4

Accidentally Me said...

That's actually really cute...and really hard to pull off that sort of stunt.

And you better watch out...I still say you are already dating Ozzy and you just don't know it yet!!!

anne said...

That was wonderful and that e-mail was something else. He sounds like a *m*agical guy.

Unknown said...

Tim Keller rocks and I’m glad you’ll get to see him in person. You gonna ask him to autograph your favorite sermon CD’s? lol

Looks like you’re gonna have to post M*’s email address, so the single guys can ask for dating advice and the single women can get to know him better! Of course if he is still single at age 45 then perhaps the latter would be better use of time than the former?

Ally said...

e.b.: He definitely is.

A.M.: I've had lots of friendships with guys, and while this one is a bit different, it's still far from dating.

Dr. RJJ: I'm surprised you ever paid $4 for a card:)

Aaron: My lists are certianly not in order of priority or importance. I'm not going to NYC to attend church. I'm going to NYC to see NYC, and it so happens, that one of my favorite pastors preaches there so.... Ozzy had already planned this trip and just invited me to tag-along simply because we enjoy each other's (friendly) company.

Ella: This won't be the first weekend I've spent with Ozzy. I went to the Grand Caymans with Sam a few years ago and just generally don't think anything of traveling with my guy friends. As for M*, I've often wished there was chemistry there, but I'm not sure I could mentally handle being around someone so amazingly brilliant all the time. It's pretty exhausting.

Jordan said...

Ally- I agree with both you and Jeff...Tim Kellar is one of my all time speakers/pastors. I was able to hear him in October and it rocked. I have been ordering the Trouble with Christianity Series. The guy knows how to speak brilliantly yet coherently enough for us laymen to understand and appreciate.

Ally said...

Jeff: Keller definitely rocks. And while I probably won't ask for his autograph, I'll try to get there early and sit on the front row:)

As for M*, he's been married before, has three awesome children, and has lived a very colorful life, so he could give all sorts of advice. In fact, he's given me lots of food for thought. I'm just not sure he'd appreciate the mass distribution of his e-mail address though.

Jordan: I'm so glad you got to see him speak. Keller has such an awesome way of breaking things down and making them seem so simple. He's able to pull out principles and thoughts that I just totally miss.

Whine Girl said...

Yeah, that is too bad there wasn't physical chemistry. It seems to work that way for some reason.

Do you believe that (possibly) someone could become more attractive to you if you really get to know them even if there is no physical chemistry to begin with?

Kimberly said...

mmmmmmm. My M list...muffins (blueberry, pumpkin or orange cranberry), mixes (i love making cds for people), moonlight, miracles, magic tricks (when not sinister), mellow mushroom (can't believe you didn't put that one!), my brother Matt and my boyfriend Mark, and Mom...
That guy seems to have some serious persuasive powers...and some serious sleuthing abilities. What is your Myers Briggs type by the way and do you agree with it? I am between ENFP and INFP (moments of both).

Kimberly said...

oops I just saw that you did put mellow mushroom. well, I agree.

Ally said...

Kimberly: I like muffins too--especialy when I add chocolate chips to strawberry ones. And mixed CDs should definitely be included. Like you, I'm borderline extrovert/introvert. When I took the in-depth one years ago, I was deemed an INTP. A combination of INTP/ENTP is right on target, and I definitely agree. Do you argree with your type?

Jordan: Yes, I think physical attraction can develop. A lot of guys I've dated have fallen into a "kind of cute and the personality will either seal the deal or make them unattractive to me" category. But in general, there has to be something physically attractive about them to me from the get-go. What do you think?

FC&F: He's very cool, and I have tons of his e-mails printed out because they are so much fun to read. He's a wonderful writer.

Whine Girl said...

I just typed out a reply and it disappeared into blogspace!
Anyway.. I was saying that I've had attractions to guys that I wasn't initially attracted to, but their personalities, intelligence, sense of humor and wit changed my view.... but then there are some that no matter what, there isn't one iota of physical attraction.