Most of Tuesday was miserably boring. It started off okay. I got up early enough that I had time to go to Starbucks and sit and watch the world go by for a while, which is one of my favorite activities. I'm feeling more and more comfortable here in D.C. and I'm almost certain that at some point I'm going to move here.

But once I got to the office in Maryland, the boredom ensued. To start with, I hadn't noticed that the first meeting today was not until 10.00, and I'd gotten there for 9.30. Moreover, I'd forgotten my novel, and hadn't brought my laptop, so I had nothing to divert myself with. I ended up in the kitschy lobby of the Doubletree Hotel, next door, reading the Washington Post.

In the Doubletree Hotel, passing time

I practically fell asleep in our 10.00 meeting, but unfortunately I don't have a photo to prove it :) After the meeting, a long lunch hour loomed - two hours. What was I to do with myself? I walked the entire length of "Congressional Village", a large strip mall across the turnpike. Thankfully, they had a Tower Records, where I perused the magazines, and a Starbucks. I sat outside Starbucks for an hour reading Attitude magazine, a British gay rag.

Back in the office, I found that our 2.00 meeting had been delayed until 2.30! So I lowered the blinds in my office, closed the door, and took a nap in my chair.

I wasn't too happy about the constant cancelling and rescheduling of our orientation meetings - these people were conveying to us the clear impression that we are 2nd class citizens. Our final two meetings of the day were a complete waste of time. Neither of the people we met with had anything new to say to us, and more or less just stared at us as we tried to think of questions to ask.

At 3.30, I bolted from the office, ran across the street to the Metro station, and gleefully took the subway home.

It must have been the boredom of the day, but I felt very tired when I got back to the hotel, and snoozed on my bed for an hour or so before getting up to shower and shave.

Before heading out for the evening, I changed my return flight home so that I could stay in DC for the weekend. Then I walked over to Dupont Circle to meet a guy I'd scheduled a date with. Like most blind dates, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. I mean, I'd seen the guy's photo, but a single photo doesn't always tell you much. He'd seemed a little too quiet on the phone, although by the end of our conversation the night before, I'd gotten him to laugh at least.

But when I saw him at Starbucks, with his big round eyes, broad smile, lithe, muscled body in a close-fitting white t-shirt and cargo pants, I almost swooned :) Errm, bingo! Jason had moved to DC with his family from Vietnam ten years ago, and was now working at the Pentagon. Although he wasn't in the military, he certainly could have passed for a Marine, with his body and his short hair, and he seemed to have identified with the military values of honesty and integrity.

He was a charming, easygoing guy. We chatted for quite a long time at Starbucks, and then decided to order food to go at Kramerbooks. We ate in my room at the hotel and, like an old black and white movie, I'll politely end the scene there, drawing a discrete curtain over the rest of the evening :) But I will admit that we've set another date for Friday.