sexy lexy comes to town

january 2002: i've just arrived in salt lake and head over to the main media center to meet up with sara, so i can get the lay of the land before diving into work on the following day. once through the mag & bag, i head for the administrative offices and see the most beautiful man i've ever seen. 6'4" sandy blonde hair, chiseled jaw. beautiful.

i enjoy the scenery and think to myself, 'what are the odds that i will ever see this guy again? there are 15,000 people working in this building.' so i continue on until i find sara, and she begins giving me the grand tour.

about twenty minutes in, i see this beautiful man again. i couldn't believe my luck. then sara says 'oh good, there's lex. let me introduce you, you'll be working together a lot.'

have you ever had one of those moments where the world just seems to stop? it seems to pause itself so that you have an opportunity to absorb what you've seen or heard before proceeding on with the normal functions of being human (e.g. speaking). that was one of those moments.

but then the world started and i thought, okay, so i'll work with him--what are the odds he's mormon? keep in mind that the media center was filled with journalists and staff from around the world, so just because we were in utah, didn't mean much when it came to that.

but of course, he was. and he happened to live a couple of blocks from my aunt's house where i was staying. and oh yeah, just happened to drive my dream car--a jeep wrangler.

basically, over the course of the next few weeks, i totally fell for this guy. and when you can work with someone for 18 hours a day, every day, for weeks, and still find time to spend time with one another outside of the workplace, you know it's good stuff.

(then)

but, he was quite literally an international playboy. a world traveler, a jack of all trades, a hopeless wanderer. needless to say, the aftermath of our experience did not include a romantic relationship. however, we did manage to develop a comfortable friendship, which involved checking in through email from time to time. when i was in utah, i would pop in and say hello, but our encounters were usually brief.

that did not change the fact however that he was my dream man. every guy got compared to him, and with every failed relationship, the thought 'well, i've still got lex.' would pass through my head. he went from being my future husband (in my mind) to being my safety net.

some of you will understand the irony of this more than others, but on monday night, i got a phone call that i've never before received in the four years since the olympics. it was lex. he was coming to town, did i have any time for him?

those of you who understand the irony of this timing and don't already know may well be picking your jaw up off the floor. i certainly was.

so last night, i picked him up at his hotel and we headed to dinner. it was almost as if no time had passed. it was easy, it was fun. and he was lex. after dinner we headed to the bowling alley where we were joined by a few friends, and where we spent the rest of the evening.

(now)

afterwards, i dropped him at his hotel and we said our farewells. i have loved him from the first moment i saw him. i still love him. he will probably always be my dream man, largely because i never spend enough time with him to see his flaws.

in the end, i realized that the reality of what i have is far better than a dream that would likely collapse under closer inspection.