Let's Review The Score, Shall We?
Monogamy, 1 ... Martini, 0.
thanks to Steve for the inspiration of the title for this post.

It's the end of an era, so to speak.

Since everything with R was final last year, I've spent my time dating a lot ... known here in Martini-land as "doing stupid things with even stupider people (with a few exceptions)". I've wallowed in self-pity and regret, only stopping long enough to drown my sorrows with copious amounts of work, vodka, and sex. Yeah, it's been real. And it's been fun. But it hasn't been real fun. After everything I've been through, I needed to spend a year of my life on my own figuring out who I am, what I want, and where I'm going ... instead of concentrating on what someone else needs, who someone else wants, and where someone else wants me to go. Everyone I've dated has had their own agenda, their own motives for everything they do ... and also their own preconceived notions of what a "significant other" should be (remember that Martini loathes the word "boyfriend" in the context of referring to someone you love / sleep with on a regular basis ... how high school of you ...). I'd recently resigned myself to just being the ring-leader of my life's circus (also affectionately known as "Martini's Boyfriend-Go-Round"), just dating as many people at a time as my schedule would allow. I thought that there really wasn't anyone that was fully capable of not only tolerating all of my quirks and character flaws ... but instead someone out there actually celebrated and appreciated them. Really, I'd just given up - I was sharpening up my #2 pencil to sign up for the Old Bitter Spinster Society.

Until now.

See, I've always maintained that there is a major disconnect between what you "want" and what you "need". Sure, every guy - and most girls - I know want to marry Jenna Jameson and have wild kinky sex for days on end. But realistically, what you need is someone that loves and respects you for what you are, what you want to be, and where you've been. The kink just finds its way into your life if you find the right person. He's not what I wanted - he is the antithesis of everything that I've fought for the past year of my life. He's completely out of the norm of the usual Martini Boy-Toy type. I've broken all of my hard-and-fast rules about the type of person that I'd date, much less end up with - the kind that might actually settle me down and make me a one-man-woman again. But you know what ... he's exactly what I needed.

Last night, we had "the talk". This whole thing between us has been going on for nearly a month, we spend the better part of our free time together ... and if we aren't together, we are on the phone or on IM chatting the night away. I'm ridiculously comfortable and happy when I'm with him, and he with I. Most importantly, "the spark" is there. We have enough in our lives that is parallel, but we also have enough that is perpendicular to spark discussion. He tolerates my political ranting and raving, my volunteer work, my Miss America obsession, my "scandalous" friends, my need to be independent, and he even admits that I know far more about college football than he.

So, ladies and gentlemen ... raise your glasses to D. He's accomplished the unthinkable. This shall serve as your official notice that Martini is off the singles market.