Toys

I retrospect, I realize I spoke out of turn when I said I only have one vice. Actually, I have three. The others are electronic gadgets - toys - and women. I mention these because I want to create and full verbal picture of myself, which includes the positives with the negatives.

The first vice, electronic toys, is created from the presence of too much disposable cash. I do not want to mention actual numbers (to dissuade any gold diggers out there), but I am VERY well compensated for what I do. I own a nice three story brownstone near the Art Museum in Philly, with plenty of furnishings. I drive a nice car, I have investments portfolios and bank accounts with plenty of liquid cash on hand. What I do not have, do to the lack of family, is a lot of responsibility. So I need SOMETHING to spend my disposable cash on. So I tend to be the first buyer of any new electronic gadget that comes on the market. (Hint: I am eagerly looking forward to the new iPhone!) That directly impacts how I spend some of my free time. If I am inclined to surf the internet, I tend to frequent sites like www.msmobiles.com; www.gizmodo.com, or www.engadget.com to see what the next big thing is going to be. If I am out shopping, I tend to be drawn to stores featuring technology.

I say this, because there aren't a lot of those kind of stores in Old Orchard Beach.

So I have to be content to play with the two cell phones I brought with me. Just so you get an idea of the depth of my love for gadgets, I have two cell phones, one for work, and one personal, and each one of them has a back-up cell phone, in case the primary fails. What happens in reality is that I tend to trade the SIM Cards in each phone to whatever phone I am the mood to use on any particular day. With four phones, I can have many possible combinations. I end up switching phones on a day to day basis the same way a guy may change his watch to match the suit, or women change their shoes to match their mood. I've given a lot of thought to this phenomenon, and I think it is an outgrowth of my undergrad days (at Penn State) when I used to collect pieces of stereo equipment. Same type of thing going on. For those of you keeping score, I only brought two cell phones with me, the Blackberry 8800, and the RAZR V3xx.

The lack of . . . choice . . . of cell phones is making me feel somewhat out of place. So you know one of the first places I looked for when I went into "downtown" Old Orchard Beach was some type of strore to satisfy my urge. I ended up disappointed. That was short lived due to the third vice.

Let me preface my comments. I love women. I personally think they are God's greatest creation. I can imagine a more compelling or perfect collection of lines and curves in the entire universe. But, the man upstrairs is not without his sense of comedy. He has made it impossible for men, including me, to understand what makes a woman tick. And THAT, my friends is the great mystery of it all. The mystery, is, of course, my kyrptonite. The women in my office once asked me what I liked in a woman (in an effort to cxonstruct a checklist to play matchmaker). It was not possible to articulate any one personality trait, or physical characteristic (such as blue eyes, or a great rear end, etc.). The only thing that I was able to express to them is that is is something I know (or recognize when I see it). More accurately, when I FEEL it. The only thing I could tell the women in my office is that if I meet somebody, and my heart beats faster, that is the person. It is no set combination of factors.

However, when pressed, I was able to tell them that one quality that will draw me like a bee to honey is the sense of mystery about the woman. The greater the mystery, the greater the attraction. I cannot explain how it works, but it does. Unforutnately, those are the worst type of women for me. The relationship, if it indeed gets started, is always a train wreck. The primary cause of the wreck is the mystery, and my compulsion to solve the mystery. I have often wondered if I should just concentrate on a pretty piece of fluff, with barely a thought in her head. It would require no mental energy on my part. But I would bore very easily, and I know that. It is like eating vanilla ice cream. I mean, vanilla ice cream is tasty and all, but, really, how many times can you eat it before you get bored of it.

Which leads me to the primary physical characteristic which attracts me. Women of color or different ethnic heritage. To me, Caucasian women are like the vanilla ice cream I just described. I dated them all of the way through my life, high school, college, law school, and even after law school. I grew bored, especially American Caucasian women. They all have that same sense of entitlement and privilege toward relationships, marriage, and sex.

Boring.

But women of color, or other ethnic heritage, or even other countries, have this overwhelming air of, and here's that word again, mystery about them. They come from a background, culture, and attitude/beliefs about sex, realtionshps, and marraige than the one I was brought up in. It makes my heart beat faster. And, if I have to choose a woman of color or cultural origin, it is usually an Asian woman. There is s0mething about them.


Which FINALLY brings me to my point.

Yesterday, after making an entry into this blog, I went downstrairs and asked the person at the front desk for directions into town. I was in time to see two women, between 25 to 30 years of age, getting ready to leave for the beach. One was a little taller than the other. Ther shorter one had straight black hair to the middle of her back, My "radar" was immediately alerted to the possiblity of an Asain woman, maybe an attractive Asian woman, staying in the same Inn as Inn as I was. She must have sensed my thoughts, or, maybe, heard my heart racing, because she turned and looked right into my eyes. She was, indeed Asain, and using my powers of observation, must have been of Japanese descent. She was perfect.

Anf then she smiled at me. She gave me THAT . . . look . . . that said she had a secret that I didn't know. A mystery.

Then she said, in a musical voice, right to me, "I'll see you later . . . "

My heart actually skipped a beat. An invitation. An invitation to solve her mystery, to pry her secret from her.

And then she was gone. Out the door, and to the beach, for a day in the sun with her friend. It took me a few seconds to catch my breath.

I turned to the another person out in the front lobby, some type of delivery person, and asked, "What is a good place to go for lunch? Maybe something down by the beach?"

She told me, "Try JJ's Eatery. It's down on East Grand, right by the beach. Best seafood sandwhichs in New England. Trust me."

"Can you give me directions?"

"I'll draw you a map."

I collected the map, and my car keys, and headed out, hoping to see that little Asian Doll again. I thought about asking the person at the front desk for information about her, but then stopped. That would be too easy. I wanted to find ouyt on my own.

It's getting on to about lunchtime now. I have to shower, and get moving for the day. I will try to post more about my first day in Old Orchard Beach a little later. Interesting town.

It has that same atmosphere and aura as Breckingridge, Colorado during ski season.