Warning: Long and mushy. If you're averse to that, last chance to turn back.

So, somewhat over a year ago, I linked the video to Celine Dion's "Takin' Chances" (yes, that sums up my taste in music, what of it? ) to a certain friend. For the almost all of you who've never heard it, the refrain goes

"What do you say to takin' chances /
What do you say to jumpin' off the edge /
Never knowin' if there's solid ground below /
Or a hand to hold / or hell to pay... /
What do you say /
What do you say..."
© K. Dioguardi, D. Stewart

And he understood my shy, indirect hint.
And so, Devon and I have been official technically over a year, but it was solidified when our schedules finally synced up and we managed to meet this year. Yeah, yeah, intarweb boyfriends and all.

At any rate, I've never quite figured out whether opposites attract or not, but after finally dating a few years, I concluded a mate should be a challenge. In a good way. An intellectual equal, someone who'll listen to your opinions, but not blindly. And also someone who'll get you to try new things.
Devon is unquestionably a free spirit and free thinker, and I've found myself lowering my inhibitions when he's around, letting my mischievous side come out more, allowing myself to be goofier. We ignored "Do Not Climb On" signs, and surprise, the world didn't end. We've been canoeing, as averse as I am to water. Hell, some of you have even seen me *gasp* mugging it up in photographs! I know I'm uptight and stuffy, so loosening up is a tough lesson. But I'm getting there.

Sometimes I feel like I'm shooting down his suggestions of things we can try. I mean, my gut instinct is to say no. That doesn't mean I can't be convinced, however. I just have to stop thinking so damn hard about things.

So while I can't say I'm going to go along with everything he does--ie, he's offered to introduce me to some of the, um, pet arthropods from his biology lab, and THAT sure as heck isn't going to happen x.x--there's things I should be willing to try. And I will. Certainly not immediately. Maybe not all even this year. But consider this a reminder of my pledge to him that "no" doesn't mean "no", it means "I'm afraid, and you'll have to walk me through it." So while I never make official New Year's Resolutions, this seemed like a good time to post it.

Pictured above are a few things he's talked about where I've more or less labelled him as crazy (I almost put the song lyrics on the image, but it didn't look right); motorcycling, snow angels in boxers, scuba diving, camping. Fortunately, he considers "crazy" to be a compliment. And maybe I can be a little crazy too.
It's b/w because I had no idea how to merge the background coloration otherwise. My Photoshop-fu only extends so far.

He doesn't have an FA account, so he hasn't seen this yet. I'll show him when I visit tomorrow--so I'll be AFK a bit.

Thanks for reading through my dorkiness. ^ ^;;