At the age of 26 I think I’ve figured out what combination of factors causes me to be attracted to another person. And I’m not talking about the instant and brief infatuation of seeing the hot one walking by on the sidewalk or the one night stand with too few words exchanged. I’m talking about the *spark* that causes you to be sincerely attracted to (maybe the right words are intrigued by) another.

I told Jason about this today, and he looked somewhat incredulously at me, as if I was crazy to try to rationalize such a thing. But I caught myself recently when one such spark flew that I wasn't ready for, and I’ve been pondering it, and I’ve discovered that I’m a very simple creature. I need three things (and possibly in this exact order):

1. Physical attraction: the root of all evil I know, but there’s no getting past it. Tall blonds and Latin brunettes catch my eye quickly. Not that you have to fit my stereotype of gorgeous for a spark to fly, but you have to be more than bland on the eyes.
    
2. I have a habit of lapsing into playful witty banter when I first meet a new person. And every once in a while, they will share a style of retort that is very similar to mine. I know its happening because it feeds back making me feel even more playful and witty… and very happy. This generally ends in shenanigans (details unimportant).
    
3. Everyone who knows me well knows I have a painfully annoying addiction to pop punk music. Green Day, Offspring, Good Charlotte, Blink-182-style nonsense. I love it; it makes me giddy; it lives somewhere deep inside me. You just need to know the words and sing along… seriously I mean sing along.

Now you’ve all got to be reading this and thinking, “This garbage is embarrassing!” Dude, I’m right there with yah. But after reflecting on prior experiences for about a week, I’m fairly certain it’s accurate. I might not be able to explain the exact mechanics of steps 1 & 2, but I know when they happen. And realizing what causes you to be attracted is liberating because you’re finally playing a game you understand! A lot of previous encounters start to make sense. You have a framework for understanding future situations. So far I’m stoked.

PS - Pray for snow!