It’s Friday, and I’m hanging in there for just one more day. I just have to make it through today, and then the weekend can finally begin.

It’s been one of those weeks where I’m more than ready for a couple of days to relax, recharge, and not think too much about work. Thankfully, the finish line is in sight.

So, I’m hanging on and counting down the hours. TGIF! I hope everyone has a great Friday and an even better weekend!

I have a doctor’s appointment this morning. I had planned to take the whole day off, but something came up at work, so I’ll have to go in for part of the day.

I was also off yesterday for my Botox appointment. I always take the whole day off when I have Botox treatments for my migraines because my head is almost always sore afterward. I’m sure anyone’s would be after 37 injections in the head, neck, and shoulders. Sometimes the soreness itself causes a headache, which was the case yesterday, so I was very glad I didn’t have to go back to work after the procedure.

Today’s appointment should be much easier. It’s just my regular checkup. I know some people hate going to the doctor, but I actually enjoy seeing mine. I really like him, and I can already hear him knocking on the exam room door and saying, “Hello, hello, hello,” as he walks in.

He’s a really nice guy, and he has been incredibly supportive of my health over the years. He’s been there for me through so much during the past ten years, through good times and bad, and I’ve always felt like he genuinely cares about how I’m doing. At this point, going for a checkup feels a little like seeing a friend you haven’t seen in a while.

Hopefully, everything will be good at my appointment, and then it’s off to work for the rest of the day. Not quite the day off I had planned, but at least tomorrow is Friday!

It’s Friday, but it doesn’t feel like Friday. Sadly, it feels like Saturday. I say “sadly” because that means I still have to work, even though my brain seems convinced it’s already the weekend.

Last night didn’t feel like Thursday night either. In fact, I almost forgot to watch the new episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which is released every Thursday. Apparently, my internal calendar is a little out of sync this week.

At least Isabella let me sleep until a few minutes after 5 a.m. She usually isn’t that patient when it’s a salmon day. Maybe the days getting shorter are messing with her internal clock, too. Whatever the reason, I got to sleep later than usual, and I’m certainly not complaining.

Now I just have to convince myself that today really is a workday.

Have a great Friday, everyone, and enjoy the weekend ahead!

Do You Have a Type?

I came across the picture above while looking for something to use for a Pic of the Day, and my first thought was, Well, if I have a type, he certainly fits it.

Over the years, though, I’ve realized that my “type” isn’t nearly as specific as I once thought it was. My tastes have changed, broadened, and sometimes surprised me. I can find all sorts of men attractive, including plenty who look nothing like the men I would have described as my ideal when I was younger. More importantly, I’ve learned that what’s inside a man can make him far more attractive to me than what’s on the outside.

A man can be absolutely gorgeous and check every box on my imaginary list, but if he’s arrogant, cruel, selfish, or simply unpleasant to be around, that physical attraction can disappear remarkably fast. On the other hand, I’ve known men who might not have immediately caught my eye across a crowded room, but the more I got to know them, the more attractive they became. Intelligence, kindness, humor, compassion, confidence without arrogance, and a genuine interest in other people can transform the way I see someone.

Looks matter, of course. I’m not going to pretend they don’t. Physical attraction is often what first catches our attention, especially when all we have to go on is a photograph or a handsome stranger walking past us. But there’s a difference between what initially attracts us to someone and what makes us continue to find that person attractive.

All of that being said, apparently some things never change.

If you asked me to describe the physical “type” I’ve consistently found attractive throughout my life, the guy in this picture comes pretty darn close. Tall and lithe rather than overly muscular, with a lean, naturally athletic body and just a smattering of chest hair. Give him blond hair and blue eyes, and he would pretty much check every box.

I’ve wondered why blond hair and blue eyes have always had such an effect on me. I suspect there are at least two reasons. The first is that my earliest crush was a blond-haired, blue-eyed boy. Maybe somewhere in the back of my mind, that first experience of being intensely attracted to another guy established a template that has stuck with me ever since.

The other possibility is much simpler: it’s the opposite of me. I have brown eyes, and I had brown hair before most of what I have left decided gray was a better option. Maybe there has always been something particularly appealing about those lighter features because they’re so different from my own.

Of course, plenty of men I’ve been attracted to over the years haven’t had blond hair or blue eyes. Some haven’t been tall. Some haven’t been particularly lithe. Some have been hairy, some smooth, some muscular, some skinny, and some somewhere in between. Attraction has a funny way of ignoring the rules we make for it.

And the older I get, the more I realize that the men who stay attractive in my mind aren’t necessarily the ones who came closest to some physical ideal. They’re the ones whose personalities drew me in. Someone can become more handsome the longer you know him just as easily as someone beautiful can become decidedly less so once he opens his mouth.

Maybe that’s the difference between having a “type” and actually being attracted to someone. A type is an ideal we carry around in our heads. Attraction is much messier, more unpredictable, and ultimately more interesting.

Still, if a tall, lithe, blond-haired, blue-eyed man with a little chest hair happens to walk by, I’m probably going to notice.

I’m only human.

What about you? Do you have a “type”? And if you do, have the people you’ve actually fallen for fit that type—or have they completely surprised you?

I don’t have much of anything to write about this morning. I haven’t done anything particularly interesting lately, and I don’t have any future plans that might make for an interesting post either.

If the weather is nice on Saturday—and it’s supposed to be—maybe I’ll drive up to Lake Willoughby and go for a hike. The lake is a fjord-like glacial lake in Westmore, Vermont, framed by Mount Pisgah and Mount Hor. It’s an incredibly beautiful place, and I haven’t been up there in a while. We’ll see if I get energetic enough to actually make the trip.

Otherwise, there just hasn’t been much interesting going on lately. Work has been boring. Life has pretty much been boring. And, frankly, I’m just bored.

I wish I had a history post for y’all this week, but inspiration hasn’t struck, so I don’t have one planned. A history post isn’t something I can really force. I want y’all to find the topic interesting, and I don’t think I can make it interesting for anyone else if I don’t find it interesting myself.

So, sorry for the rambling and probably somewhat melancholic post this morning, but it’s all I’ve got for today. Maybe Saturday will bring a little scenery, fresh air, and inspiration. We’ll see.