Signs of Life in the Hauptstadt

Determined not to spend another Big O without the appropriate, shall we say, equipment on hand, and equally determined to avoid beautiful bad boys, I've been leafing through the proverbial little black book. I thought of Pantyhose Guy, as that never did go anywhere, and I do have to admit to being intrigued by the thought of his 'n her hose, as long as his are black fishnets! But oh dear, he has been a bad boy, cute bad, just enough to make it back onto the blog... It wasn't until several flirty on-line exchanges that he admitted (in a message wracked with guilt but which concluded with even more pantyhose-related flirting) that he has a girlfriend. In his own words, "The thing is, I am completely obsessed with pantyhose... so if anyone touches this spot, I go weak!" Bad Pantyhose Guy, Bad, Bad!

Then in a weird coincidence just last week, the man I think of as simply too French to be believed, who I briefly dated in the summer of 2007, had sent me an announcement of an art opening in one of his cafes. It had to have been a sign, I decided, so I took matters into my own hands and, for the first time in my life, sent him an Email proposing a NSA fling during my stay in Berlin. He responded enthusiastically but when we briefly got together prior to a trip he had scheduled to Paris, I was left feeling that somehow I’d just been interviewed to determine my girlfriend potential. Oh dear, said girlfriend potential could really not be lower, but he's French; he'll figure out what to do upon his return. After all, before leaving, he did reserve three slots on my dance card for next week.

Something even more surprising happened my first evening here, as I was innocently sitting in the focacceria near where I used to live and appear to have smiled (or so I was told afterward). This was a red-letter-day for Berlin, I can tell you, and the next day, Der Spiegel featured the following headline:
"ATTRACTIVE FOREIGN WOMAN SMILES,
MID-NOVEMBER IN PRENZLAUERBERG CAFE!
Carpe Diem: German Male Dares to Chat Her Up"
This man actually asked me a question from across the room (admittedly it is a small and cozy cafe) and I was so astonished that I had to go ask him what on earth he was thinking, speaking to a complete stranger like that! And then I had to say yes when he invited me (IMAGINE!) to a glass of wine, and then I actually had to give him my Email address! Signs of life in Berlin -- whatever has changed? Could it be ME??