INSERT INTO `wp_posts` VALUES (10027,1,'2012-03-14 20:34:25','2012-03-15 03:34:25','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/15/playdate-11-in-home-biscotti-baking-class/dscf6185/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10008\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-10008 alignleft\" title=\"DSCF6185\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/DSCF6185-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>Groupon, I can hardly remember life without you.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWithout you, I would have never <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/07/27/day-300-climb-every-mountain-or-every-rock-gym-wall-if-its-112-degrees-outside/\" target=\"_blank\">felt the fear and climbed that rock gym wall anyway.</a></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWithout you, I would have never <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/04/05/189-urban-scavenger-hunt/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>challenged myself in the concrete jungle</strong>.</a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWithout you, I would have never learned that biscotti means \"twice baked\".  (Even though biscotti is actually thrice baked.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNor would I have ever been taught how to bake biscotti in the comfort of my own home by Phoenix\'s Best Biscotti Bakeress.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nGroupon, if you were a man, I would immediately and shamelessly solicit an invitation for a hot date.  (Although I\'m kinda sorta not dating until after April 30th because I\'ve taken on yet another <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>extreme \"project\"</strong>.</a>  If you stick around until May 1st, I\'m worth the wait.  But you\'re not a man, you\'re a cyber-coupon, so why am I even waxing on about this?  It\'s embarrassing.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nGroupon, enough of the man talk.  Thank you for introducing me to Regina.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRegina is a real live Italian-American woman.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRegina was a biscotti apprentice of her grandmother who is a real live Italian woman.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis translates into Regina knowing how to bake one heck of a biscotti!  (Not once, not twice, but thrice!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd since she also happens to be a savvy businesswoman, she has transformed her skill and passion into<strong> <a href=\"http://sweetitaliano.com/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">Sweet Italiano</a></strong> -- a culinary adventure for the masses.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere is what you can expect when you invite the dynamo that is Regina into your kitchen to work her magic.  And mark my words, you will solicit her services pronto!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n(If you live outside of my fair city, fret not!  Regina will bake biscotti of almost any flavor imaginable and<a href=\"http://sweetitaliano.com/revieworder-desserts.html\" target=\"_blank\"> <strong>mail it fresh to your doorstep</strong></a> for an insanely reasonable fee!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRegina enters your kitchen with cartons of culinary goodies including pre-measured ingredients, recipes, utensils, aprons, chef hats, Italian mood music, photos from Italia, an espresso service, homemade vanilla &amp; anise extracts and 12 year-old parmesan cheese.  (As for the cheese, it\'s a long story.  Every party needs a conversation piece.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow that I think of it, Regina is The Mary Poppins of Baking.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/15/playdate-11-in-home-biscotti-baking-class/dscf6174/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9984\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9984\" title=\"DSCF6174\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/DSCF6174-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRegina also plays the role of Official Photographer for your event.  All you have to do is sit back, relax, and stir.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/15/playdate-11-in-home-biscotti-baking-class/dscf6177/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9985\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9985\" title=\"DSCF6177\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/DSCF6177-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd chop.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/15/playdate-11-in-home-biscotti-baking-class/dscf6184/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9986\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9986\" title=\"DSCF6184\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/DSCF6184-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd mold the edges of the dough using an Ancient Italian Secret Technique passed down by Regina\'s Nonna.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/15/playdate-11-in-home-biscotti-baking-class/dscf6191/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9987\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9987\" title=\"DSCF6191\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/DSCF6191-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nVery good, bellas!  Now it\'s time to place the logs into the oven.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/15/playdate-11-in-home-biscotti-baking-class/dscf6195/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9992\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9992\" title=\"DSCF6195\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/DSCF6195-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd how many times are we going to cook those logs of delectableness, ladies and 3 token gents?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNot once, not twice, but THRICE!  (I\'m obviously infatuated with that word.  It\'s exceedingly fun to say, and how often do we ever get to use it?  Shakespearean actors?  All the time.  Contemporary peeps in our fair cities?  Never.  Until now!  Huzzah!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAfter the first baking, you cut the logs of delectableness with an Ancient Italian Secret Technique passed down to Regina by her Padre (who just so happens to be a real live Professional Chef).\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/15/playdate-11-in-home-biscotti-baking-class/dscf6198/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9997\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9997\" title=\"DSCF6198\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/DSCF6198-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYou then bake twice, THRICE, and presto!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/15/playdate-11-in-home-biscotti-baking-class/dscf6205/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9998\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9998\" title=\"DSCF6205\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/DSCF6205-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor the perfect finishing touch . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/15/playdate-11-in-home-biscotti-baking-class/olympus-digital-camera-717/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9999\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9999\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3110006-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe espresso is ordered online and shipped from Italy.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nEveryone who knows me would tell you that I am very . . .  <em>particular</em> about my espresso.  I would just tell you straight out that I am an espresso snob.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPreviously, I purchased only Illy.  Now, I will turn over half my paycheck to a <a href=\"http://www.espressovero.com/attibassi_products.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>company in Bologna</strong> </a>because their espresso is <em>orgasmic</em>.  And since I\'m currently not dating, I need to get my kicks somehow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nP.S.  Hey, Mom -- We all sampled the raw dough and no one contracted salmonella!  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHave you ever baked biscotti?  How did yours turn out?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf you need the tutelage of Regina aka Phoenix\'s Best Biscotti Bakeress aka The Mary Poppins of Baking, you can reach her at 708.927.7803.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nCiao, miei amici!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #11:  In-Home Biscotti Baking Class','','inherit','open','open','','9980-revision-37','','','2012-03-14 20:34:25','2012-03-15 03:34:25','',9980,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/14/9980-revision-37/',0,'revision','',0),(10180,1,'2012-03-21 10:56:03','2012-03-21 17:56:03','','homeLogo','','inherit','open','open','','homelogo','','','2012-03-21 10:56:03','2012-03-21 17:56:03','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(10031,1,'2012-03-18 10:57:42','2012-03-18 17:57:42','','Auto Draft','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision','','','2012-03-18 10:57:42','2012-03-18 17:57:42','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/18/10029-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(10032,1,'2012-03-18 10:59:05','2012-03-18 17:59:05','<a href=\"http://www.wetmetonaplane.com\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>','','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-2','','','2012-03-18 10:59:05','2012-03-18 17:59:05','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/18/10029-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(10033,1,'2012-03-18 10:59:11','2012-03-18 17:59:11','<a href=\"http://www.wetmetonaplane.com\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>','','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-3','','','2012-03-18 10:59:11','2012-03-18 17:59:11','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/18/10029-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(10034,1,'2012-03-18 10:59:48','2012-03-18 17:59:48','<a href=\"http://wetmetonaplane.com\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>','','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-4','','','2012-03-18 10:59:48','2012-03-18 17:59:48','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/18/10029-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(10035,1,'2012-03-18 10:59:53','2012-03-18 17:59:53','<a href=\"http://wetmetonaplane.com\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>','','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-5','','','2012-03-18 10:59:53','2012-03-18 17:59:53','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/18/10029-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(10036,1,'2012-03-18 11:00:36','2012-03-18 18:00:36','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>','','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-6','','','2012-03-18 11:00:36','2012-03-18 18:00:36','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/18/10029-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(10194,1,'2012-03-28 14:33:14','2012-03-28 21:33:14','','Auto Draft','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision','','','2012-03-28 14:33:14','2012-03-28 21:33:14','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(10038,1,'2012-03-18 11:02:38','2012-03-18 18:02:38','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>','It\'s Spring!  Was Love in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-7','','','2012-03-18 11:02:38','2012-03-18 18:02:38','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/18/10029-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(10039,1,'2012-03-18 16:13:25','2012-03-18 23:13:25','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-8','','','2012-03-18 16:13:25','2012-03-18 23:13:25','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/18/10029-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(10040,1,'2012-03-18 16:14:18','2012-03-18 23:14:18','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nwe live in an age when\r\n\r\nred paper clip?  \r\n\r\na drugged up kid and\r\n\r\nuncle keek?','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-9','','','2012-03-18 16:14:18','2012-03-18 23:14:18','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/18/10029-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(10041,1,'2012-03-18 19:35:27','2012-03-19 02:35:27','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\n\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via fb or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems impossible, but people have still tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a handsome stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right or Mr. Wrong?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means I believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHave you heard of the website <strong><a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\">WeMetOnAPlane.com</a></strong>?\n\nwe live in an age when\n\nred paper clip?\n\na drugged up kid and\n\nuncle keek?','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-10','','','2012-03-18 19:35:27','2012-03-19 02:35:27','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/18/10029-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(10042,1,'2012-03-18 19:39:27','2012-03-19 02:39:27','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\n\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via fb or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems impossible, but people have still tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right or Mr. Wrong?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHave you heard of the website <strong><a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\">WeMetOnAPlane.com</a></strong>?\n\nwe live in an age when\n\nred paper clip?\n\na drugged up kid and\n\nuncle keek?','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-11','','','2012-03-18 19:39:27','2012-03-19 02:39:27','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/18/10029-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(10043,1,'2012-03-18 19:45:27','2012-03-19 02:45:27','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\n\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via fb or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel al.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right or Mr. Wrong?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?\n\n&nbsp;\n\ndescribe him now quickly and reference story below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHave you heard of the website <strong><a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\">WeMetOnAPlane.com</a></strong>?\n\nwe live in an age when\n\nred paper clip?\n\na drugged up kid and\n\nuncle keek?','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-12','','','2012-03-18 19:45:27','2012-03-19 02:45:27','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/18/10029-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(10044,1,'2012-03-18 19:46:27','2012-03-19 02:46:27','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\n\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via fb or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right or Mr. Wrong?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?\n\n&nbsp;\n\ndescribe him now quickly and reference story below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHave you heard of the website <strong><a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\">WeMetOnAPlane.com</a></strong>?\n\nwe live in an age when\n\nred paper clip?\n\na drugged up kid and\n\nuncle keek?','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-13','','','2012-03-18 19:46:27','2012-03-19 02:46:27','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/18/10029-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),(10045,1,'2012-03-18 19:49:27','2012-03-19 02:49:27','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\n\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via fb or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n(Revise:Remember Mr. Paper Clip Guy?  Not romantic, but it worked!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI\'m also a sucker for kooky-fun projects that sparkle with hope.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?\n\n&nbsp;\n\ndescribe him now quickly and reference story below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHave you heard of the website <strong><a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\">WeMetOnAPlane.com</a></strong>?\n\nwe live in an age when\n\nred paper clip?\n\na drugged up kid and\n\nuncle keek?','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-14','','','2012-03-18 19:49:27','2012-03-19 02:49:27','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/18/10029-revision-14/',0,'revision','',0),(10046,1,'2012-03-18 19:50:27','2012-03-19 02:50:27','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\n\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via fb or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n(Revise:Remember Mr. Paper Clip Guy?  Not romantic, but it worked!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI\'m also a sucker for kooky-fun projects that make\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?\n\n&nbsp;\n\ndescribe him now quickly and reference story below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHave you heard of the website <strong><a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\">WeMetOnAPlane.com</a></strong>?\n\nwe live in an age when\n\nred paper clip?\n\na drugged up kid and\n\nuncle keek?','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-15','','','2012-03-18 19:50:27','2012-03-19 02:50:27','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/18/10029-revision-15/',0,'revision','',0),(10047,1,'2012-03-19 19:14:06','2012-03-20 02:14:06','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\n\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf <a href=\"http://http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you kind ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  :-)\n\n&nbsp;\n\ndescribe him now quickly and reference story below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHave you heard of the website <strong><a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\">WeMetOnAPlane.com</a></strong>?\n\nwe live in an age when\n\nred paper clip?\n\na drugged up kid and\n\nuncle keek?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Letter-Bottle-Mothers-Story/dp/1843544202','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-16','','','2012-03-19 19:14:06','2012-03-20 02:14:06','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/19/10029-revision-16/',0,'revision','',0),(10048,1,'2012-03-19 19:19:06','2012-03-20 02:19:06','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\n\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd kooky, hair-brained Internet quests are fun and often life-changing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf <a href=\"http://http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  :-)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story, keep reading.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHave you heard of the website <strong><a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\">WeMetOnAPlane.com</a></strong>?\n\nwe live in an age when\n\nred paper clip?\n\na drugged up kid and\n\nuncle keek?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Letter-Bottle-Mothers-Story/dp/1843544202','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-17','','','2012-03-19 19:19:06','2012-03-20 02:19:06','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/19/10029-revision-17/',0,'revision','',0),(10181,1,'2012-03-21 10:57:45','2012-03-21 17:57:45','','Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM','','inherit','open','open','','screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7-41-44-pm','','','2012-03-21 10:57:45','2012-03-21 17:57:45','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(10050,1,'2012-03-19 19:40:08','2012-03-20 02:40:08','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\n\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd kooky, hair-brained quests on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf <a href=\"http://http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  :-)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh!  And how could I forget!  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTall, dark, and handsome.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSeriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on WeMetOnaPlane.com:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy details -- keep reading.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh!  And THANK YOU!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHave you heard of the website <strong><a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\">WeMetOnAPlane.com</a></strong>?\n\nwe live in an age when\n\nred paper clip?\n\na drugged up kid and\n\nuncle keek?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Letter-Bottle-Mothers-Story/dp/1843544202','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-18','','','2012-03-19 19:40:08','2012-03-20 02:40:08','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/19/10029-revision-18/',0,'revision','',0),(10054,1,'2012-03-19 19:44:08','2012-03-20 02:44:08','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\n\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd kooky, hair-brained quests on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf <a href=\"http://http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  :-)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh!  And how could I forget!  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTall, dark, and handsome.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSeriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on WeMetOnaPlane.com:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10049\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10049\"><img class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-10049\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"402\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy details -- keep reading.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh!  And THANK YOU!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHave you heard of the website <strong><a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\">WeMetOnAPlane.com</a></strong>?\n\nwe live in an age when\n\nred paper clip?\n\na drugged up kid and\n\nuncle keek?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Letter-Bottle-Mothers-Story/dp/1843544202','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-22','','','2012-03-19 19:44:08','2012-03-20 02:44:08','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/19/10029-revision-22/',0,'revision','',0),(10051,1,'2012-03-19 19:43:44','2012-03-20 02:43:44','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd kooky, hair-brained quests on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf <a href=\"http://http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  :-)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh!  And how could I forget!  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTall, dark, and handsome.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSeriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on WeMetOnaPlane.com:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10049\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10049\"><img class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-10049\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"402\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy details -- keep reading.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh!  And THANK YOU!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHave you heard of the website <strong><a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\">WeMetOnAPlane.com</a></strong>?\r\n\r\nwe live in an age when\r\n\r\nred paper clip?\r\n\r\na drugged up kid and\r\n\r\nuncle keek?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Letter-Bottle-Mothers-Story/dp/1843544202','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-19','','','2012-03-19 19:43:44','2012-03-20 02:43:44','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/19/10029-revision-19/',0,'revision','',0),(10052,1,'2012-03-19 19:43:44','2012-03-20 02:43:44','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd kooky, hair-brained quests on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf <a href=\"http://http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  :-)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh!  And how could I forget!  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTall, dark, and handsome.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSeriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on WeMetOnaPlane.com:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10049\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10049\"><img class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-10049\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"402\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy details -- keep reading.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh!  And THANK YOU!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHave you heard of the website <strong><a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\">WeMetOnAPlane.com</a></strong>?\r\n\r\nwe live in an age when\r\n\r\nred paper clip?\r\n\r\na drugged up kid and\r\n\r\nuncle keek?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Letter-Bottle-Mothers-Story/dp/1843544202','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-20','','','2012-03-19 19:43:44','2012-03-20 02:43:44','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/19/10029-revision-20/',0,'revision','',0),(10053,1,'2012-03-19 19:43:51','2012-03-20 02:43:51','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd kooky, hair-brained quests on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf <a href=\"http://http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  :-)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh!  And how could I forget!  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTall, dark, and handsome.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSeriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on WeMetOnaPlane.com:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10049\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10049\"><img class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-10049\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"402\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy details -- keep reading.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh!  And THANK YOU!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHave you heard of the website <strong><a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\">WeMetOnAPlane.com</a></strong>?\r\n\r\nwe live in an age when\r\n\r\nred paper clip?\r\n\r\na drugged up kid and\r\n\r\nuncle keek?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Letter-Bottle-Mothers-Story/dp/1843544202','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-21','','','2012-03-19 19:43:51','2012-03-20 02:43:51','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/19/10029-revision-21/',0,'revision','',0),(10055,1,'2012-03-19 19:46:19','2012-03-20 02:46:19','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd kooky, hair-brained quests on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf <a href=\"http://http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  :-)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh!  And how could I forget!  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTall, dark, and handsome.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSeriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on WeMetOnaPlane.com:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy details -- keep reading.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh!  And THANK YOU!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHave you heard of the website <strong><a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\">WeMetOnAPlane.com</a></strong>?\r\n\r\nwe live in an age when\r\n\r\nred paper clip?\r\n\r\na drugged up kid and\r\n\r\nuncle keek?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Letter-Bottle-Mothers-Story/dp/1843544202','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-23','','','2012-03-19 19:46:19','2012-03-20 02:46:19','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/19/10029-revision-23/',0,'revision','',0),(10056,1,'2012-03-19 19:46:24','2012-03-20 02:46:24','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd kooky, hair-brained quests on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf <a href=\"http://http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  :-)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh!  And how could I forget!  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTall, dark, and handsome.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSeriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on WeMetOnaPlane.com:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy details -- keep reading.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh!  And THANK YOU!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHave you heard of the website <strong><a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\">WeMetOnAPlane.com</a></strong>?\r\n\r\nwe live in an age when\r\n\r\nred paper clip?\r\n\r\na drugged up kid and\r\n\r\nuncle keek?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Letter-Bottle-Mothers-Story/dp/1843544202','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-24','','','2012-03-19 19:46:24','2012-03-20 02:46:24','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/19/10029-revision-24/',0,'revision','',0),(10057,1,'2012-03-19 19:46:31','2012-03-20 02:46:31','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd kooky, hair-brained quests on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf <a href=\"http://http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  :-)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh!  And how could I forget!  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTall, dark, and handsome.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSeriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on WeMetOnaPlane.com:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy details -- keep reading.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh!  And THANK YOU!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHave you heard of the website <strong><a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\">WeMetOnAPlane.com</a></strong>?\r\n\r\nwe live in an age when\r\n\r\nred paper clip?\r\n\r\na drugged up kid and\r\n\r\nuncle keek?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Letter-Bottle-Mothers-Story/dp/1843544202','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-25','','','2012-03-19 19:46:31','2012-03-20 02:46:31','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/19/10029-revision-25/',0,'revision','',0),(10058,1,'2012-03-19 19:48:57','2012-03-20 02:48:57','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd kooky, hair-brained quests on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf <a href=\"http://http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  :-)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh!  And how could I forget!  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTall, dark, and handsome.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSeriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on WeMetOnaPlane.com:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\r\n\r\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy details -- keep reading.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh!  And THANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill you love and excitement!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHave you heard of the website <strong><a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\">WeMetOnAPlane.com</a></strong>?\r\n\r\nwe live in an age when\r\n\r\nred paper clip?\r\n\r\na drugged up kid and\r\n\r\nuncle keek?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Letter-Bottle-Mothers-Story/dp/1843544202','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-26','','','2012-03-19 19:48:57','2012-03-20 02:48:57','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/19/10029-revision-26/',0,'revision','',0),(10059,1,'2012-03-19 21:14:20','2012-03-20 04:14:20','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\n\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd kooky, hair-brained quests on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf <a href=\"http://http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  :-)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh!  And how could I forget!  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTall, dark, and handsome.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSeriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat day he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what those are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on WeMetOnaPlane.com:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy details -- keep reading.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh!  And THANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nExcept on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through London Heathrow.  Fantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSomehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  Perhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  Those American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, I was in transit to see my Romeo.  I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.  This kind of thing happens at London Heathrow all the time.  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em>Love Actually</em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later -- I tried not to notice.  Really I did. -- it was time to hoist luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously hoisted my flowery purple carryon into the overhead bin.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHe stood and smiled.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected that I was sitting next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression seemed to wilt.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-27','','','2012-03-19 21:14:20','2012-03-20 04:14:20','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/19/10029-revision-27/',0,'revision','',0),(10060,1,'2012-03-19 21:17:21','2012-03-20 04:17:21','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\n\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd kooky, hair-brained quests on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf <a href=\"http://http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  :-)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh!  And how could I forget!  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTall, dark, and handsome.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSeriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat day he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what those are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on WeMetOnaPlane.com:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy details -- keep reading.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh!  And THANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nExcept on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through London Heathrow.  Fantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSomehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  Perhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  Those American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, I was in transit to see my Romeo.  I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.  This kind of thing happens at London Heathrow all the time.  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em>Love Actually</em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later -- I tried not to notice.  Really I did. -- it was time to hoist luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously hoisted my flowery purple carryon into the overhead bin.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHe stood and smiled.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-28','','','2012-03-19 21:17:21','2012-03-20 04:17:21','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/19/10029-revision-28/',0,'revision','',0),(10061,1,'2012-03-19 21:20:20','2012-03-20 04:20:20','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\n\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd kooky, hair-brained quests on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf <a href=\"http://http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  :-)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh!  And how could I forget!  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTall, dark, and handsome.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSeriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat day he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what those are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on WeMetOnaPlane.com:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh!  And THANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nExcept on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through London Heathrow.  Fantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSomehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  Perhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  Those American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, I was in transit to see my Romeo.  I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.  <strong>This kind of thing happens at London Heathrow all the time.</strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em>Love Actually</em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later -- I tried not to notice.  Really I did. -- it was time to hoist luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously hoisted my flowery purple carryon into the overhead bin.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHe stood and smiled.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-29','','','2012-03-19 21:20:20','2012-03-20 04:20:20','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/19/10029-revision-29/',0,'revision','',0),(10062,1,'2012-03-19 21:21:21','2012-03-20 04:21:21','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\n\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd kooky, hair-brained quests on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf <a href=\"http://http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  :-)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh!  And how could I forget!  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTall, dark, and handsome.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSeriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat day he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what those are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on WeMetOnaPlane.com:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh!  And THANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nExcept on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through London Heathrow.  Fantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSomehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  Perhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  Those American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, I was in transit to see my Romeo.  I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens at London Heathrow all the time.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later -- I tried not to notice.  Really I did. -- it was time to hoist luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously hoisted my flowery purple carryon into the overhead bin.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHe stood and smiled.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-30','','','2012-03-19 21:21:21','2012-03-20 04:21:21','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/19/10029-revision-30/',0,'revision','',0),(10063,1,'2012-03-19 21:32:04','2012-03-20 04:32:04','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\n\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd kooky, hair-brained quests on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf <a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  :-)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh!  And how could I forget!  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTall, dark, and handsome.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSeriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat day he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what those are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on WeMetOnaPlane.com:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh!  And THANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nExcept on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through London Heathrow.  Fantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSomehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  Perhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  Those American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, I was in transit to see my Romeo.  I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens at London Heathrow all the time.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later -- I tried not to notice.  Really I did. -- it was time to hoist luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously hoisted my flowery purple carryon into the overhead bin.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHe stood and smiled.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-31','','','2012-03-19 21:32:04','2012-03-20 04:32:04','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/19/10029-revision-31/',0,'revision','',0),(10064,1,'2012-03-19 21:34:02','2012-03-20 04:34:02','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>\n\nIf you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd kooky, hair-brained quests on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf <a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  :-)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh!  And how could I forget!  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTall, dark, and handsome.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSeriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat day he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what those are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on WeMetOnaPlane.com:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh!  And THANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nExcept on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through London Heathrow.  Fantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSomehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  Perhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  Those American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, I was in transit to see my Romeo.  I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens at London Heathrow all the time.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later -- I tried not to notice.  Really I did. -- it was time to hoist luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously hoisted my flowery purple carryon into the overhead bin.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHe stood and smiled.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-32','','','2012-03-19 21:34:02','2012-03-20 04:34:02','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/19/10029-revision-32/',0,'revision','',0),(10065,1,'2012-03-20 16:43:00','2012-03-20 23:43:00','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs* are fun and often life-changing.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf <a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Oh!  And how could I forget!  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTall, dark, and handsome.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSeriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat day he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what those are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on WeMetOnaPlane.com:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh!  And THANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nExcept on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through London Heathrow.  Fantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSomehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  Perhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  Those American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, I was in transit to see my Romeo.  I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens at London Heathrow all the time.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later -- I tried not to notice.  Really I did. -- it was time to hoist luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously hoisted my flowery purple carryon into the overhead bin.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHe stood and smiled.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n*********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nyou tell two friends and she tells two friends and so on and so on','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-33','','','2012-03-20 16:43:00','2012-03-20 23:43:00','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-33/',0,'revision','',0),(10066,1,'2012-03-20 16:49:00','2012-03-20 23:49:00','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs* are fun and often life-changing.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf <a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Oh!  And how could I forget!  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat day he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what those are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nExcept on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  Fantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  Perhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, I was in transit to see my Romeo.  I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later -- I tried not to notice.  Really I did. -- it was time to hoist luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously hoisted my flowery purple carryon into the overhead bin.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHe stood and smiled.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n*********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nyou tell two friends and she tells two friends and so on and so on','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-34','','','2012-03-20 16:49:00','2012-03-20 23:49:00','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-34/',0,'revision','',0),(10067,1,'2012-03-20 16:56:01','2012-03-20 23:56:01','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs* are fun and often life-changing.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf <a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Oh!  And how could I forget!  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat day he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what those are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nExcept on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  Fantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  Perhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, I was in transit to see my Romeo.  I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later -- I tried not to notice.  Really I did. -- it was time to hoist luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously lifted my flowery purple carryon into the overhead bin.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHe stood and smiled.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n*********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nyou tell two friends and she tells two friends and so on and so on','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-35','','','2012-03-20 16:56:01','2012-03-20 23:56:01','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-35/',0,'revision','',0),(10068,1,'2012-03-20 16:56:18','2012-03-20 23:56:18','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSince it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  Who knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs* are fun and often life-changing.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf <a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</strong> </a>could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Oh!  And how could I forget!  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat day he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what those are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\r\n\r\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nExcept on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  Fantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  Perhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, I was in transit to see my Romeo.  I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later -- I tried not to notice.  Really I did. -- it was time to hoist luggage into the overhead bin.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously lifted my flowery purple carryon into the overhead bin.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHe stood and smiled.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n*********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nwho what when where why how how much\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nbeginning middle end\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nyou tell two friends and she tells two friends and so on and so on','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-36','','','2012-03-20 16:56:18','2012-03-20 23:56:18','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-36/',0,'revision','',0),(10069,1,'2012-03-20 18:55:59','2012-03-21 01:55:59','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what those are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nExcept on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  Fantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  Perhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, I was in transit to see my Romeo.  I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later -- I tried not to notice.  Really I did. -- it was time to hoist luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously lifted my flowery purple carryon into the overhead bin.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHe stood and smiled.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n*********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nwho what when where why how how much\n\n&nbsp;\n\nbeginning middle end\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that my heart would be curshed.  (Cue hauntingly sad violin music here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSnap out of it!  6 weeks is enough moping.  on to greener pastures\n\n&nbsp;\n\nyou tell two friends and she tells two friends and so on and so on','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-37','','','2012-03-20 18:55:59','2012-03-21 01:55:59','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-37/',0,'revision','',0),(10070,1,'2012-03-20 18:56:59','2012-03-21 01:56:59','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at Heathrow Airport in London, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what those are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nExcept on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  Fantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  Perhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, I was in transit to see my Romeo.  I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later -- I tried not to notice.  Really I did. -- it was time to hoist luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously lifted my flowery purple carryon into the overhead bin.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHe stood and smiled.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n*********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nwho what when where why how how much\n\n&nbsp;\n\nbeginning middle end\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that my heart would be curshed.  (Cue hauntingly sad violin music here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSnap out of it!  6 weeks is enough moping.  on to greener pastures\n\n&nbsp;\n\nyou tell two friends and she tells two friends and so on and so on','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-38','','','2012-03-20 18:56:59','2012-03-21 01:56:59','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-38/',0,'revision','',0),(10071,1,'2012-03-20 19:09:59','2012-03-21 02:09:59','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  (Cue hauntingly sad violin music here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later -- I tried not to notice.  Really I did. -- it was time to hoist luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously lifted my flowery purple carryon into the overhead bin.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHe stood and smiled.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n*********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nwho what when where why how how much\n\n&nbsp;\n\nbeginning middle end\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that my heart would be curshed.  (Cue hauntingly sad violin music here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSnap out of it!  6 weeks is enough moping.  on to greener pastures\n\n&nbsp;\n\nyou tell two friends and she tells two friends and so on and so on','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-39','','','2012-03-20 19:09:59','2012-03-21 02:09:59','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-39/',0,'revision','',0),(10073,1,'2012-03-20 19:11:59','2012-03-21 02:11:59','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly sad violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice.  Really I did. -- it was time to hoist luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously lifted my flowery purple carryon into the overhead bin.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHe stood and smiled.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n*********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nwho what when where why how how much\n\n&nbsp;\n\nbeginning middle end\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that my heart would be curshed.  (Cue hauntingly sad violin music here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSnap out of it!  6 weeks is enough moping.  on to greener pastures\n\n&nbsp;\n\nyou tell two friends and she tells two friends and so on and so on','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-41','','','2012-03-20 19:11:59','2012-03-21 02:11:59','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-41/',0,'revision','',0),(10072,1,'2012-03-20 19:10:14','2012-03-21 02:10:14','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo here.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\r\n\r\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  (Cue hauntingly sad violin music here.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later -- I tried not to notice.  Really I did. -- it was time to hoist luggage into the overhead bin.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously lifted my flowery purple carryon into the overhead bin.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHe stood and smiled.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n*********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nwho what when where why how how much\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nbeginning middle end\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that my heart would be curshed.  (Cue hauntingly sad violin music here.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSnap out of it!  6 weeks is enough moping.  on to greener pastures\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nyou tell two friends and she tells two friends and so on and so on','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-40','','','2012-03-20 19:10:14','2012-03-21 02:10:14','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-40/',0,'revision','',0),(10074,1,'2012-03-20 19:34:00','2012-03-21 02:34:00','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly sad violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Me:</strong>  <em>(Inside my head.  I always have some form of inner monologue running.)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>The ex formerly known as Romeo:</strong> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing .)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe ex formerly known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex formerly known as Romeo\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n*********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nwho what when where why how how much\n\n&nbsp;\n\nbeginning middle end\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that my heart would be curshed.  (Cue hauntingly sad violin music here.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSnap out of it!  6 weeks is enough moping.  on to greener pastures\n\n&nbsp;\n\nyou tell two friends and she tells two friends and so on and so on','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-42','','','2012-03-20 19:34:00','2012-03-21 02:34:00','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-42/',0,'revision','',0),(10075,1,'2012-03-20 19:38:00','2012-03-21 02:38:00','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly sad violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Me:</strong>  <em>(Inside my head.  I always have some form of inner monologue running.)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing .)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody hell.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon ca\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-43','','','2012-03-20 19:38:00','2012-03-21 02:38:00','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-43/',0,'revision','',0),(10076,1,'2012-03-20 19:43:00','2012-03-21 02:43:00','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly sad violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Me:</strong>  <em>(Inside my head.  I always have some form of inner monologue running.)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing .)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody hell.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <em>Under the Tuscan Sun</em> meets <em>Something\'s Gotta Give</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLet Romeo Mio eat cake!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd you already know what the sequel is, right?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-44','','','2012-03-20 19:43:00','2012-03-21 02:43:00','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-44/',0,'revision','',0),(10077,1,'2012-03-20 19:50:00','2012-03-21 02:50:00','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly sad violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Me:</strong>  <em>(Inside my head.  I always have some form of inner monologue running.)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing .)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody hell.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <em>Under the Tuscan Sun</em> meets <em>Something\'s Gotta Give</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLet The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd you already know what the sequel is, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me inspire it\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-45','','','2012-03-20 19:50:00','2012-03-21 02:50:00','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-45/',0,'revision','',0),(10078,1,'2012-03-20 19:53:01','2012-03-21 02:53:01','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/14/karen-liebreich-letter-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly sad violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Me:</strong>  <em>(Inside my head.  I always have some form of inner monologue running.)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing .)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody hell.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLet The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd you already know what the sequel is, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPssst!  Please pass this on!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThank you!\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-46','','','2012-03-20 19:53:01','2012-03-21 02:53:01','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-46/',0,'revision','',0),(10079,1,'2012-03-20 19:59:03','2012-03-21 02:59:03','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly sad violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Me:</strong>  <em>(Inside my head.  I always have some form of inner monologue running.)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing .)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody hell.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLet The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd you already know what the sequel is, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPssst!  Please pass this on!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThank you!\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-47','','','2012-03-20 19:59:03','2012-03-21 02:59:03','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-47/',0,'revision','',0),(10080,1,'2012-03-20 20:02:05','2012-03-21 03:02:05','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Me:</strong>  <em>(Inside my head.  I always have some form of inner monologue running.)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing .)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody hell.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLet The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPssst!  Please pass this on!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-48','','','2012-03-20 20:02:05','2012-03-21 03:02:05','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-48/',0,'revision','',0),(10081,1,'2012-03-20 20:03:05','2012-03-21 03:03:05','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Me:</strong>  <em>(Inside my head.  I always have some form of inner monologue running.)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing .)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody hell.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLet The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPssst!  Please pass this on!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-49','','','2012-03-20 20:03:05','2012-03-21 03:03:05','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-49/',0,'revision','',0),(10082,1,'2012-03-20 20:04:05','2012-03-21 03:04:05','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Me:</strong>  <em>(Inside my head.  I always have some form of inner monologue running.)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing .)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody hell.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLet The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPssst!  Please pass this on!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-50','','','2012-03-20 20:04:05','2012-03-21 03:04:05','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-50/',0,'revision','',0),(10083,1,'2012-03-20 20:04:11','2012-03-21 03:04:11','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #339966;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\r\n\r\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  <em>(Inside my head.  I always have some form of inner monologue running.)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing .)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNot.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBloody hell.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPssst!  Please pass this on!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-51','','','2012-03-20 20:04:11','2012-03-21 03:04:11','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-51/',0,'revision','',0),(10084,1,'2012-03-20 20:04:17','2012-03-21 03:04:17','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #339966;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\r\n\r\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  <em>(Inside my head.  I always have some form of inner monologue running.)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing .)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNot.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBloody hell.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPssst!  Please pass this on!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-52','','','2012-03-20 20:04:17','2012-03-21 03:04:17','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-52/',0,'revision','',0),(10085,1,'2012-03-20 20:08:59','2012-03-21 03:08:59','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\nYou can also click this image to take you directly to the site where you can fb and tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Me:</strong></span>  <em>(Inside my head.  I always have some form of inner monologue running.)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing .)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody hell.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPssst!  Please pass this on!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-53','','','2012-03-20 20:08:59','2012-03-21 03:08:59','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-53/',0,'revision','',0),(10086,1,'2012-03-20 20:11:55','2012-03-21 03:11:55','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou can also click the image above to take you directly to the site where you can fb tweet your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Me:</strong></span>  <em>(Inside my head.  I always have some form of inner monologue running.)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing .)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody hell.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPssst!  Please pass this on!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-54','','','2012-03-20 20:11:55','2012-03-21 03:11:55','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-54/',0,'revision','',0),(10087,1,'2012-03-20 20:12:26','2012-03-21 03:12:26','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYou can also click the image above to take you directly to the site where you can fb, tweet, and comment your little hearts out!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Me:</strong></span>  <em>(Inside my head.  I always have some form of inner monologue running.)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing .)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNot.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBloody hell.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPssst!  Please pass this on!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-55','','','2012-03-20 20:12:26','2012-03-21 03:12:26','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-55/',0,'revision','',0),(10088,1,'2012-03-20 20:13:31','2012-03-21 03:13:31','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou can also click the image above to take you directly to the site where you can fb, tweet, and comment your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Me:</strong></span>  <em>(Inside my head.  I always have some form of inner monologue running.)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing .)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody hell.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPssst!  Please pass this on!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-56','','','2012-03-20 20:13:31','2012-03-21 03:13:31','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-56/',0,'revision','',0),(10089,1,'2012-03-20 20:15:22','2012-03-21 03:15:22','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou can also click the image above to take you directly to the site where you can fb, tweet, and comment your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Me:</strong>  </span><em>(Inside my head.  I always have some form of inner monologue running.)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing .)</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody hell.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPssst!  Please pass this on!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','It\'s Spring!  Is Love Really in the Air?','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-57','','','2012-03-20 20:15:22','2012-03-21 03:15:22','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-57/',0,'revision','',0),(10090,1,'2012-03-20 20:18:49','2012-03-21 03:18:49','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou can also click the image above to take you directly to the site where you can fb, tweet, and comment your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Me:</strong>  </span><em>(inner monologue)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing.)</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody hell.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPssst!  Please pass this on!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Pssst...Pass it on.  It\'s Spring & Love is in the Air!','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-58','','','2012-03-20 20:18:49','2012-03-21 03:18:49','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-58/',0,'revision','',0),(10093,1,'2012-03-20 20:21:49','2012-03-21 03:21:49','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  psst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou can also click the image above to take you directly to the site where you can fb, tweet, and comment your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Me:</strong>  </span><em>(inner monologue)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing.)</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody hell.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\n\n&nbsp;\n\npsst!  Please pass this on!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Psst.  Pass it on.  Because Love is in the Air!','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-61','','','2012-03-20 20:21:49','2012-03-21 03:21:49','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-61/',0,'revision','',0),(10091,1,'2012-03-20 20:19:01','2012-03-21 03:19:01','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYou can also click the image above to take you directly to the site where you can fb, tweet, and comment your little hearts out!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Me:</strong>  </span><em>(inner monologue)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing.)</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNot.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBloody hell.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPssst!  Please pass this on!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Pssst...Pass it on.  It\'s Spring & Love is in the Air!','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-59','','','2012-03-20 20:19:01','2012-03-21 03:19:01','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-59/',0,'revision','',0),(10092,1,'2012-03-20 20:20:00','2012-03-21 03:20:00','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  Pssst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYou can also click the image above to take you directly to the site where you can fb, tweet, and comment your little hearts out!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Me:</strong>  </span><em>(inner monologue)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing.)</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNot.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBloody hell.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPssst!  Please pass this on!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Pssst.  Pass it on.  It\'s Spring & Love is in the Air!','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-60','','','2012-03-20 20:20:00','2012-03-21 03:20:00','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-60/',0,'revision','',0),(10096,1,'2012-03-20 20:23:13','2012-03-21 03:23:13','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  psst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou can also click the image above to take you directly to the site where you can fb, tweet, and comment your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Me:</strong>  </span><em>(inner monologue)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing.)</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody hell.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\n\n&nbsp;\n\npsst!  Please pass this on!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Psst.  Pass it on.  Because Love is in the Air!','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-64','','','2012-03-20 20:23:13','2012-03-21 03:23:13','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-64/',0,'revision','',0),(10094,1,'2012-03-20 20:22:04','2012-03-21 03:22:04','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  psst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYou can also click the image above to take you directly to the site where you can fb, tweet, and comment your little hearts out!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Me:</strong>  </span><em>(inner monologue)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing.)</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNot.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBloody hell.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\npsst!  Please pass this on!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Psst.  Pass it on.  Because Love is in the Air!','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-62','','','2012-03-20 20:22:04','2012-03-21 03:22:04','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-62/',0,'revision','',0),(10095,1,'2012-03-20 20:22:09','2012-03-21 03:22:09','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  psst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYou can also click the image above to take you directly to the site where you can fb, tweet, and comment your little hearts out!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Me:</strong>  </span><em>(inner monologue)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing.)</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNot.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBloody hell.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\npsst!  Please pass this on!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Psst.  Pass it on.  Because Love is in the Air!','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-63','','','2012-03-20 20:22:09','2012-03-21 03:22:09','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-63/',0,'revision','',0),(10097,1,'2012-03-20 20:23:49','2012-03-21 03:23:49','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have even an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  psst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYou can also click the image above to take you directly to the site where you can fb, tweet, and comment your little hearts out!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Me:</strong>  </span><em>(inner monologue)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing.)</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNot.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBloody hell.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\npsst!  Please pass this on!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Psst.  Pass it on.  Because Love is in the Air!','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-65','','','2012-03-20 20:23:49','2012-03-21 03:23:49','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-65/',0,'revision','',0),(10098,1,'2012-03-20 20:26:42','2012-03-21 03:26:42','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  psst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYou can also click the image above to take you directly to the site where you can fb, tweet, and comment your little hearts out!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Me:</strong>  </span><em>(inner monologue)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing.)</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNot.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBloody hell.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\npsst!  Please pass this on!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Psst.  Pass it on.  Because Love is in the Air!','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-66','','','2012-03-20 20:26:42','2012-03-21 03:26:42','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-66/',0,'revision','',0),(10099,1,'2012-03-20 20:27:00','2012-03-21 03:27:00','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook or twitter or email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  psst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYou can also click the image above to take you directly to the site where you can fb, tweet, and comment your little hearts out!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Me:</strong>  </span><em>(inner monologue)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing.)</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNot.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBloody hell.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\npsst!  Please pass this on!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Psst.  Pass it on.  Because Love is in the Air!','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-67','','','2012-03-20 20:27:00','2012-03-21 03:27:00','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-67/',0,'revision','',0),(10100,1,'2012-03-20 20:27:53','2012-03-21 03:27:53','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook, twitter, email or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  psst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYou can also click the image above to take you directly to the site where you can fb, tweet, and comment your little hearts out!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Me:</strong>  </span><em>(inner monologue)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing.)</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNot.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBloody hell.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\npsst!  Please pass this on!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Psst.  Pass it on.  Because Love is in the Air!','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-68','','','2012-03-20 20:27:53','2012-03-21 03:27:53','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-68/',0,'revision','',0),(10101,1,'2012-03-20 20:33:24','2012-03-21 03:33:24','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook, twitter, email, pinterest or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.zromance.com/features/get-features.asp?id=554&amp;catid=2\" target=\"_blank\">It\'s even worked!</a></strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  psst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou can also click the image above to take you directly to the site where you can fb, tweet, and comment your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Me:</strong>  </span><em>(inner monologue)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing.)</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody hell.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\n\n&nbsp;\n\npsst!  Please pass this on!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>P.S.  If you are Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and you have receive my virtual message in a cyber-bottle, I look forward to hearing from</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Psst.  Pass it on.  Because Love is in the Air!','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-69','','','2012-03-20 20:33:24','2012-03-21 03:33:24','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-69/',0,'revision','',0),(10102,1,'2012-03-20 20:36:49','2012-03-21 03:36:49','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook, twitter, email, pinterest or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <strong>It\'s even worked!</strong>  (And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  psst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou can also click the image above to take you directly to the site where you can fb, tweet, and comment your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Me:</strong>  </span><em>(inner monologue)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing.)</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody hell.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\n\n&nbsp;\n\npsst!  Please pass this on!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>P.S.  If you are Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and you have receive my virtual message in a cyber-bottle, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/talk-to-me/\" target=\"_blank\">I look forward to hearing from you.  </a></strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Psst.  Pass it on.  Because Love is in the Air!','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-70','','','2012-03-20 20:36:49','2012-03-21 03:36:49','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-70/',0,'revision','',0),(10103,1,'2012-03-20 20:37:59','2012-03-21 03:37:59','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10030\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo-300x170.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" /></a>If you have an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook, twitter, email, pinterest or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <a href=\"http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/36541\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>It\'s even worked!</strong>  </a>(And I\'m not referring to a Nicholas Sparks novel.  Although....sigh....Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in London?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?  psst!  Pass it on!  Thank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Answer:  Tall, dark, and handsome.</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2\"-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong> WeMetOnaPlane.com</strong></a>:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\"><img class=\"wp-image-10049 alignnone\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou can also click the image above to take you directly to the site where you can fb, tweet, and comment your little hearts out!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt all started in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.  Bloody hell!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them in security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.  I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed in a severely sleep-deprived state\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a Brit and this was already mid-day.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  We American women are so tarty, you know.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because cracked mirrors have sharp edges, you know.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and friend boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile.  Which.  Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAs a friend later pointed out, if he\'s a Brit with a Colgate smile, he\'s probably an actor.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut honestly, I was sleep deprived at the time, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFast forward to Geneva Airport . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI collect my luggage and step out to the lobby to find my Romeo whom I just crossed the ocean to see.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans trying to spot him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Me:</strong>  </span><em>(inner monologue)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?</span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing.)</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because greeting the woman who just crossed the ocean for you with an insult is hysterically funny.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNot.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBloody hell.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I\'ve signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the ending, or can you help me base it on true events?\n\n&nbsp;\n\npsst!  Please pass this on!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThank you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>P.S.  If you are Mr. Gorgeous Bloke and you have receive my virtual message in a cyber-bottle, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/talk-to-me/\" target=\"_blank\">I look forward to hearing from you.  </a></strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nDo you know of any real life stories of missed connections?  Perhaps it even happened to you?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Psst.  Pass it on.  Because Love is in the Air!','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-71','','','2012-03-20 20:37:59','2012-03-21 03:37:59','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/20/10029-revision-71/',0,'revision','',0),