I’m already planning out every little detail of the weekend Marvin comes up to Philadelphia in January. I was debating as to whether or not I should take him to Old City to show him that stuff, but I’m not sure how interested he’d be since he’s not American. I primarily just want to hang out around South Philadelphia and maybe Center City. He’ll have his first Pat’s cheesesteak. I’ll show him the ridiculousness of South Street. Penn’s gorgeous campus. Rittenhouse Square. Northern Liberties. Boathouse Row.

There isn’t a whole lot to see in the suburb where I live. The only thing that I specifically want to show him is Cossart Road and the DuPonts’ property, which was one of the central themes of my high school recklessness (if you can call my high school years reckless). Maybe if we get hungry in the middle of the night we’ll go to Tom Jones.

We’re definitely doing a lot of cooking, as we usually do when we’re together. One day, I am making him Eggs Chesapeake for breakfast (like Eggs Benedict but with a crabcake, it’s a DC thing) and he is going to finally teach me how he makes guacamole, because his is amazing.

King of Prussia? Maybe. It is, after all, the biggest mall in the US.

January 15th I move into my apartment in DC. It’s in the only apartment building on American University’s campus, which is pretty cool. I’ll unpack, then we’ll probably hang out downtown. We both have off on the 16th, then my classes start and his continue on the 17th. Then things should be pretty stable until early December, when I graduate. I can’t wait to be with him consistently again.

What is one aspect of your partner’s personality that you find remarkable?

He is one of the most driven people I know. It doesn’t matter what life throws at him, he just picks himself up and beats the odds every time. He knows what he wants out of life and does what he needs to do to get it. He doesn’t complain, he just does it. And he never brags about it. I wish I had that kind of work ethic.

What do you remember most about your first date?

Our first date was pretty low-key, but I was still pretty nervous. We went to this bar right off of Dupont Circle called The Front Page on a Sunday night in June. I remember the whole night very clearly, so what I’ll describe is the first thing that comes to my mind when someone asks me about our first date.

We were sitting at the bar, there was barely anyone there. He knew the bartender and I wasn’t driving, so I had a beer. He had a Jaeger, a beer, and a club soda with no ice. We held hands a little bit and he told me about his life and a bunch of stories from his childhood. I hung onto his every word and didn’t say a whole lot about myself, which was fine with me (I prefer to listen than to talk). We had a great night together.

I’m starting a new one because the old one is over, it was really helping me get through this time that we have to spend apart, and now I’m sad. Once this one is done, there will be less than a month left until we see each other again.

Got this from Examiner.

Day 1: What do you remember most about your first date?
Day 2: What is one aspect of your partner’s personality that you find remarkable?
Day 3: What is one physical trait of your partner that you adore?
Day 4: What is one thing you miss about your partner when you are gone for an extended time?
Day 5: What is your partner’s favorite color?
Day 6: When arguments arise, what is one thing you would like your partner to do differently in conflict?
Day 7: What is one thing your partner could do to make your day easier?
Day 8: If you and your partner opened a store, what would it be like (based on your combined interests and talents)?
Day 9: Where is one new location you would like to go on a date?
Day 10: Write a short, affectionate note to your partner and hide it in his wallet some day this week.
Day 11: What is one thing your partner does in the bedroom that you find irresistible?
Day 12: What is one new thing you would like to try in the bedroom?
Day 13: If your partner could have one superpower, what would it be?
Day 14: What upcoming event would you love to go to with your partner?
Day 15: Plan a make-believe vacation: where would you to go and what would you do?
Day 16: What is your partner’s favorite movie?
Day 17: If you two bought a pet, what would it be and what would you name it?
Day 18: If your partner could meet/interview anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?
Day 19: Name one thing your partner did that upset you over the last month, that they did not know upset you.
Day 20: Go out and buy your partner a gift for under $10 this week and give it to them.
Day 21: What is your partner’s dream job?
Day 22: How would you like your partner to regularly show his affection: physical touch, words of affirmation, acts of service, quality time, or gifts?
Day 23: Where does your partner spend most of the time at the state fair?
Day 24: What is one habit you would like your partner to break?
Day 25: Tell your partner one secret (it doesn’t have to be huge) that you’ve never told anyone else.
Day 26: What is one activity that you regularly do that you would like your partner to join (from time to time)?
Day 27: What is one thing you love about your relationship today?
Day 28: What is one thing you would like to improve about your relationship in the coming months?
Day 29: Plan to make a special meal for your partner over the next week.
Day 30: Enough talk; give your partner a big smooch! 

Where do you see your future going with him?

I see us being together for the rest of our lives. ‘Nuff said.

When will you see him next?

January 10th, 2012. Picking him up at Perryville train station bright and early and he’s coming up to Philadelphia to meet my family.

If you could have him with you for the next five hours, what would you do?

Get dinner with him at one of our favorite places, maybe go to a bar afterward, hang out at his place, cuddle.

If you had the money/time/connections/whatever to give him anything in the world, what would you give him?

I would get him his son back. Anything he needed so that he could provide for Danny and be the father he wants to be for him.

Sweetest thing he has done for you

He took care of me when I was really, really sick over the summer. I had coxsackievirus, which gives you ridiculously painful lesions in your throat for kind of a long time, and there’s no drugs you can take to make it go away. I had a fever every day and night for about a week and couldn’t eat much. To top all of that off, I was on Vicodin for the pain, which made me paranoid and generally did more harm than good. Despite the fact that I was acting like a mental case, he stayed with me, cooked for me, and made sure I was okay. I was worried that he would get what I had (he didn’t) but he stayed with me anyway. I was still sick when I moved back to Philadelphia, but he got me through the worst of it by a long shot. Might be the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.