2005-03-12 - 9:56 a.m.

...my date with elgan...

Who says that internet dates don't work? I met Elgan yesterday morning at just before noon at the huge glass mall on the corner of Columbus Circle - "You should carry a rose and I will have the New York Times under my left arm..." Well, in the age of cellphone technology, it was much easier than this. "I'm on the top balcony waving at you, are you the woman with the cellphone and the book?"

And I had a blast. Our day sort of turned into a long shopping spree. (I spreed a bit more than elgan, but no matter.) As we moved in and out of posh stores in SoHo, we maintained a constant dialogue - both silly and serious. Elgan is full of infectious energy.

I felt that I already knew her. In fact it is rather fascinating how well we seemed to get along - better than simple electronic entries would allow. It was as if her life *had* been scattered before me in small colorful patches, but now they were sewn together into a coherent picture. As each story began a new snippet fell into its proper place. A wonderful and surprising process.

We walked our feet off, and signing those little credit card papers can be absolutely exhausting! This morning I am still ecstatic about my new solid wooden salad bowl, and still wondering a bit what possessed me in the Georg Jensen store....Must try that necklace on once again to remember.

We returned to our Columbus Circle starting point at the end of the day and hugged goodbye. I took a train back to Queens where a phone message from K was waiting for me, "Hi honey! I hope your internet date didn't turn out to be a serial killer!"

Anyway, I've awakened from my subsequent sleep coma. I am drinking my second capuccino created from fresh-roasted, fresh-ground coffee (ahem), and so now I think I will now call K to let know that I'm not in pieces on the subway tracks somewhere.