I responded to the rare craigslist personal that sounded like someone actually of my tribe--I figured she was somewhere in my social network anyway, because of a specific phrase she used. She mentioned her hair at one point, and I thought, "Huh, I know one person with hair like that." After some pleasant conversation, I see a picture, and sure enough, it's...my friend's nutso ex-girlfriend (without going into details, it was painful). Who I've always thought was hot.

Y'all may know, or have guessed, that I have a history of crazy girls (most of you have been kind or wise enough not to say anything). They have energy to them, and passion, and usually a good sense of humor, so the cute ones are pretty hard to resist, especially if you've had it before. It's like a bad drug. And here was one I'd always lusted after, being interested.

I turned her down, pursuant to decisions I made a few years back about sticking to healthy relationships and people who have their baggage under control. There's apparently been an emotional impact, though, because I'm still bothered by it. I think it's the feeling of a close call, of having almost thrown myself off a cliff down into an old habit; and to try and temper that feeling, the awareness that the rewards of doing The Right Thing[tm] are rarely as explicit or fun as we would like.

I started inching my way back to aikido tonight, joining the basics class. It worked out well since the rest of the class was lower ranks, and it's a lot easier to teach, especially basics, if you have someone more experienced to take falls for you. My body's still holding up quite well, but I'm giving some time for irritated muscles in my back to heal. There's no need for me to rush things.

A handyman got the heat working in the house again: apparently the fuse that looked fine to four different people, wasn't. It's a nice difference between 60F and 68F.

Though I don't really celebrate it myself: Happy Valentine's Day.