Harmony

Last week, in order to confuse myself further with additional email addresses and passwords, I started up a new set to 1) take over where Bloglines left off and 2) take over where I already had a hetero e-Harmony subscription.

In my quest to figure out if there are people like me, as my therapist insists, I decided to do the gay e-Harmony, which I do not know the official name, so I call it Gay Harmony. It suits.

I was lucky to do it before their (meaning eH AND GH, although GH doesn't get the media exposure, of course) collective 10 days free. Not so much with the idea of meeting anyone, I have been in the stilted, laborious GH conversation mode with two women. At the "reduced" rate of $32/mo, I don't see me really joining, unless desperation sets in later. However, it would be handy to have access to their pictures!

Lest anyone think I'm shopping, I guess I am...in a way. I am mostly seeking affirmation that people like me exist - educated, articulate, art geeks who like to drink Sam Adams and watch Bravo on TV and never, ever watch a Lifetime movie. This is my dream and it could be a he or a she. It is not a particularly dreamy dream, but I'm not the flashy sort. I am not looking to substitute anyone with Bea and I would actually be upset if this worked ahead of my time line. However, over the weekend, it struck me for the first time how it would feel to hurt Bea, b/c I do make her happy. Of course, fear of anyone's hurt is no reason to stay in a relationship, but it is a consideration. Further, I wouldn't want to taint any new relationship with an overlap or vestiges from an old. Read below and you'll see how fair-minded I really am.

Both eH and GH use a personality profile. Because I haven't yet found BiH (BiHarmony for us bisexuals), I will take the results of eH and GH to heart, mostly b/c there's no difference between the two personality tests! We are not, I repeat not, worlds apart, even when a religious-based dating site has to accommodate *those* people. Either that or their expert psychologist is too lazy to create a new test.

I absolutely love some sections of the GH/eH report. I'll include them here for my own edification, but I'll share, too:
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A General Description of How You Interact with Others

You are important. So are other people, especially if they are in trouble. You have a tender heart, but you know how to establish and keep personal boundaries. You are empathetic and compassionate, but you also believe that it's best if people solve their own problems and learn to take care of themselves, if they are able.

You are deeply moved by the needs of others, but you know that if you don't take good care of yourself, you'll wind up being of no use to anyone. So yours is a thoughtful compassion. You strive to be fair and sensible, taking care of others while also taking care of yourself.

When someone really is in trouble, you like to collaborate with them toward a solution; they do their part, you do yours. You consider carefully, and respond in a sensible way; they do their part, and together you move through the difficulty.

You seldom act impulsively; rather, when a problem arises, you take your time to think through the situation. This contemplative quality usually means that you'll arrive at a diplomatic solution, one that's fair for the other person and also fair to you. It's frequently a win/win situation.

A General Description of How You Approach New Information and Experiences

You think like an artist. Or better, you SEE like an artist. While most people look at life's straight lines, its height and depth and width, you're bending the lines with your imagination and turning black and white into shades of blue and yellow. And in conversations at work or with your friends you want to ask, "Do you see what I see?" A few might, most don't, but you've piqued everyone's curiosity with your own original and inventive ways of thinking.

You can, if you must, think in conventional ways. But left on your own, you'll usually opt for the eccentric or avant-garde; in fact you're usually bored with what everyone else is comfortable with. You learn from reading, talking, watching people and other fauna and flora, and simply sitting in the soft chair of your mind and wondering how people would learn how to count if they could only use uneven numbers. You are out in front of conventional ideas, bravely originally defining true and false, right and wrong, the good, the bad and the ugly.

A General Description of Your Reactivity

In some ways, you've got the best of emotional worlds. When emotions rise up from inside you or are brought forth from a conversation by a friend, you know how to engage them. You deal with sadness, fear, joy, anger - whatever comes up - in ways that are perceptive and flexible. You can adapt to whatever level of emotion is appropriate to the moment. At other times, you are able to cope with your emotions in a more reserved manner. Because you are aware of what does and does not make emotional sense in a particular situation, you will decide when it is an appropriate time to express your emotions and when it would be best to keep them to yourself.

All of this gives you a rich emotional life. You are free to express your passions about certain subjects with appropriate people. But you are also emotionally adaptable; if the conversation needs to be more cerebral, you'll keep it "in your head" and talk calmly through whatever issue is on the table. This emotional awareness serves you well. You seldom get in over your head, either by opening up to the wrong person or by triggering in someone else's emotions they may not be able to deal with.

A General Description of How You Interact with Others

When you take on a task at work or at home, you are reliable; you get the job done. In an organized way, you define the goal, lay out a plan, figure how long the task will take, and get to work "solid and dependable you".

But and this is important you're not a slave to the plan. You're committed to it, but not chained to it; the connection is more casual and informal. You know that sometimes "the best laid plans" fall off the tracks; when this happens, you clean up the train wreck and start over, undeterred.

Though not happening often, when plans change, you're okay with it. In fact, sometimes you change the plan. It's too nice of a Saturday to finish organizing the garage. Let's go for a bike ride instead. True, the next rainy Saturday will likely find you back in the garage, but for now the work can wait.

What an interesting combination of qualities in you're organized, but casual; solid, but compliant; and dependable, but informal. At home and at work, people know they can rely on you. You take great satisfaction in knowing that people think of you as disciplined and responsible, but you also know that you have something of a free spirit in you, and when this spirit moves you, off you go, following the impulse of the moment. You are rightly proud of your work ethic, but you also enjoy your willingness to lay the tools down, crank up the music and play like a child.

~~~~~

That's enough for now. Have to upload paintings to my other blog. Rough life.