Bad things tend to come in twos and threes, and I’m beginning to suspect that good things come in fives.

First of all, I recovered from the disastrous first date B. and I had without the damage I expected to incur. And in fact, it led to a second date. Tonight, in fact. I have to say, though, that the possibility of an actual relationship made it impossible to sleep last night. What will I talk about? I really don’t know. I really have no idea whether B. likes sci-fi, or video games. I wonder if I might be able to talk to her about racquetball. That seems like a more typical “guy thing” a non-geek might talk about.

I feel fuzzy-headed, but I’ll take a nap later in the day. I don’t have anything I have to do today, except go and buy some new deodorant and aftershave. I’ve let myself go a bit lately.

Second, I got The Orange Box in the mail from Amazon.com yesterday. I am now spending every available moment playing Portal. This might be the best video game ever created. I already got to the end of the game, where I got to hear the end credits song — which I immediately recognized as something Jonathan Coulton could have written. A few moments with Google showed me that in fact he did write the song.

Anyways, I’m playing through the game a second time right now, this time trying to destroy all the security cameras as I go through. If you love action / puzzle games and have a sense of humor, I can’t recommend this game strongly enough.

Third, I have gotten an interview with a bank’s IT department. Monday. The upper end of the salary range is lower than what I used to make, but to tell the truth I’m willing to take a lower-paying job just to get past the anxiety of unemployment. I can keep looking for a better job once I’m working again.

Fourth, I got the Bloggie award. That’s validating. I wonder if I could start selling advertising on this site now. I’m not sure what kind of ads I’d sell, though. Ads for dating services, maybe? Ha.

And finally, I had an excellent conversation with my sister yesterday. She called, and I answered her questions directly and without rancor. Although when I say “directly,” you shouldn’t assume that also means “truthfully.” Which is to say, I told her my job is going fine, and that yes, I am now seeing a therapist and am making good progress. I was tempted to tell her about B., but I knew that would just bring questions and probably disapproval.

The total conversation duration was nine minutes, a new recored for brevity. I believe I will tell her her exactly what she hears from now on.