A bit of superficial fluff to counteract the deeper considerations of starting a new decade:

Caution: reading this blog entry may cause you to think of me as a shallow individual.

A friend of mine has warned me that when I start dating somebody, I can just throw out any preconceived notions of what I find attractive. Inevitably, if I like dark hair, I'll fall in love with a blond. If I like outdoorsy, I'll suddenly find nerdy academic to be tragically hot. (This one I seriously doubt.) But that's okay, because the spectrum of things that attract me are so wide and random that anybody I meet is bound to at least have two or three qualities. And when I say random, I mean RANDOM. Here's a starter list (in case anyone out there is looking to find me a nice man):

Baseball tees, motorcycles, strong hands, cowboy hats (and cowboy boots, and horse sense, and western belt buckles, and a drawl), musical taste, musical talent, easy laughter, accents, Birkenstocks, Chacos, straight teeth, knowledge of literary classics, definitive favorites, ability to throw a spiral football pass, rapport with kids, a spirit of adventure (not stupidity), french blue button-downs, kitchen skills, humility, old worn t-shirts, did I mention musical talent?, leather jackets, having a dog, love of old movies, being handy, holiness, being a devoted fan (unless their team of choice is the Chargers), etc.

So there are a lot of options to choose from, and chances are if I'm attracted to him, he'll embody at least a couple of these. And then I can tolerate if all other qualities go against my preconceived preferences. Plus, let's be honest. It's the deeper characteristics- (moral conviction, honesty, compassion) that make the man anyway. The rest is icing on the cake. And I like all different kinds of icing.