I have an idea... How about the "Hey Christine" dating show? We can make an actual game out of this whole matchmaking thing: send out invites for single guys willing to be matched up to Christine/others (it's been a while, but I believe they were Ginny, Angela, and Barbara?), do a dating game style Q&A forum, and dating matches would need to bring along a pen cam to take lots of pictures!

BTW, by "we" I meant "you," since you're getting the brunt of Christine's impatience. And Ginny, in case you've forgotten again, I do believe I've suggested that Shenal be your Seattle agent...

I didn't have the chance to flick anybody's forehead in San Jose -- I had to cut out of San Jose early and didn't get a chance to audit Agent Paul and Hidden Jim (Jim, where are you, stop hanging out with your GF and help Agent Paul out...haha)

I'm actually in Maryland Christine -- long story...

Sprout -- Shenal has a hardtime finding himself hooked up in Seattle -- he wouldn't have time for us...because he'd rather be his own agent (haha, I'm assuming he's reading this and will flick my forehead when I return to Seattle on Wed.)

Christine -- read my journal if you haven't been doing so....of course I leave all the really juicy details for you in person. Hee hee...*wink*

I'm being awful on this forum -- sorry, it's the air in Maryland.

Ginny

Agent Paul will be delivering a gentleman caller to Taipei, Taiwan on Jul 17th. This gentleman and scholar is a very good friend of mine and Jimmy. Please see to it that you (Christine), Angela, Acer Ginny and Barbara show him a good time. Perhaps take him to Room 18 or VS, and get jiggy with it. His name is Bryan, and he was on the Taiwan trip with us a few years back.

What does that MEAN exactly???

Talk... amongst... ourselves... hmmm.... ok. Whatever.

Agent Paul:

SHOW * ME * THE * MONEY.

Mmmm...I can smell the street vendor food already.

If you want us to "talk amongst ourselves" you have to give us a TOPIC!!!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: What is your scoring system and how do you award postive and negative points, which eventually get cashed in for a second date or the boot. How does one earn bonus points?

But essentially, one can break it (him) down by the following first impressions:

1. Their online personalities
2. Their "in-person" personalities, and
3. Their physical appearance (of course).

Note that none are necessarily better than the other nor is one more or less reflective of the person's true self. Per usual, it's a package deal.

Let's take our new friend Bryan for example. Since I haven't met him in person yet, I can't comment on 2. or 3. But I *can* make some observations from his postings.

For example, in his very first posting:

I quote:
Yeah, I'll be in Taipei July 17-23. Paul says you guys are a fun bunch, so I'll seeya in a few weeks. I'll be at the Westin Taipei.

B.

We note that a) he doesn't greet us, and b) he doesn't tell us anything about himself. ANYTHING.

Impression:

He's probably not in business, or in a position which requires a lot of interaction with people. But that's okay. Quiet types are good too. Maybe even better that the suave, smooth-talking Peter Chungs of the world.

Next, we note that he is staying at the Westin Hotel.

Impression:

Good sign. If he is out on a business trip, it means his company is doing better than average -- must not be working for a dotcom bomb. If he's out on a personal trip, it's an even better sign.

And finally, we note the way he signs his name. "B."

Impression:

Bryan is either a) a man of few words, and even fewer characters, or b) extremely busy right now.

Again, this is a neutral observation and requires more analysis, but I would guess that at least he is not *into* himself, like some guys. Guys who love themselves too much, love their names and sign it in full wherever possible (not talking about email signatures).

Now let's move on to his last posting:

I Quote:
All right my flight leaves for HK Tuesday nite, so I'm gonna start to lose contact with this board. Best way to reach me is via email (bryanbma @ hotmail). Drop me a line and let me know what's the best way to get a hold of you guys when I finally make my way to Taipei.

Mmmm...I can smell the street vendor food already.

B.

First we note that Bryan abbreviates Hong Kong to "HK", spells night "nite", and even more interesting is that -- he leaves out the ".com" in his email address.

Impression:

Bryan could be a very, very, laid back kind of guy. This could be a good thing (easy going, relaxed, takes things as they come, low stress) or a bad thing (downright lazy!). Still too early to tell.

Other impression:

We also note that he *could have* gotten our email addresses from Agent Paul before he left, but alas, he did not.

Again, it's still too early to tell whether this is a good or bad sign, but THEN, we note his last comment, "Mmmm...I can smell the street vendor food already. "

Perhaps getting a date isn't on the top of his list of things-to-do while he's here, and perhaps his friend Agent Paul is getting desperate and put poor Bryan up to this?

How am I doing so far?

uh... Christine - you're going to scare alway ALL our gentleman callers!!!!

... uh. is work keeping you busy??!!

Bryan, don't get scared away by Christine's comments. We are all very very beautiful and nice girls in Taiwan (even Christine, she's just a little *munchkin*!) and are also great dancers!

Christine forced me to post. So here are some positive and negative impressions that I have when I first meet men.

Positive:
Their appearance shows how well they take care of themselves, like is he coordinated, is he neat, is he athletic, and does he have an earring. That really matters. I like guys with earrings because it shows that they are quite fun and unconventional.

Negative:
Major turnoffs include bad breath, bad haircut, beer-bellies, flabby arms, and really PALE skin tone, which shows that they've never been under the sun. That really turns me off (I like a really nice tan, really healthy guy). Just too many to list here.

You are one tough cookie (Bryan...she's harmless in person...really) In all fairness, Bryan will just have to impress Christine in person...plus, Bryan probably didn't know Paul was just going to throw out this random rate/first impression topic...

As for my impression...sorry, no impression at all...is that worse than Christine of just getting right ot the point? Perhaps =)

I am curious though Bryan -- have you even taken the time to READ all the postings? if you have, then you should be able to state some impressions you have of us...this could be your way to get back at Christine (*winking @ Christine).

Having never met her in person, here are some of my observations of Christine:

1. First, her cartoonish photo at the top of this page. She is twisting her mouth and raising an eyebrow at us, like we have just been caught with our hands in her jar of fortune cookies. She doesn't say something like "Hello Honorable Sir, I am at your service." She says "Hey you! So whassup?!"

Impression:

She is either a) the big sister type who is used to hangin' wit' the guys and talkin' like a New Yawker, or b) HeyChristine.com is really a cartoon drawn by Simpsons creator Matt Groening.

2. Next, she writes often like this:

"SHAKE IT BABY! LOL! I GOT IT GOIN' ON!?!?! SHOW * ME * THE * MONEY...POR FAVOR, SEŅOR!!!!"

Impression:

Boy does she love that CAPS LOCK! Christine is probably a) an outgoing, take charge lady who is a lot of fun as a friend and a lot of pressure as a boss, or b) she is so irrepressibly enthusiastic you may have to hold the phone a foot away when calls you, and c) her high school Spanish teacher must have had his hands full with her.

3. Finally, we have written a bunch of emails to each other over the past few months. Her emails all end with this signature:

VISIT http://HeyChristine.com OR ELSE.

Impression:

a) Christine is a marketing genius who will, for Oriented, appear in the next Britney Spears Pepsi commercial, singing "OOPS! I got lost again..." or b) she's got mob connections. (The Top 11 Signs Your Town's Mayor has Mob Connections)

Psychiatrist's report by
Agent Raymond