Feeling human is nice. Been talking to that woman I met on Sunday every evening, we're getting dinner tomorrow. She makes me feel indescribably good about all sorts of things, especially myself. It's odd to be having a conversation with someone and feel like everything they're saying could have come from your own lips or mind. She's got this deep, base-level curiosity that I find absolutely enthralling and meshes well with my own desire to know and understand more. The thing that's the most 'odd' in a way that I'm unfamiliar with is that she's poly, and just got out of a relationship with a couple. I've never been a part of a plural relationship, and if you had asked me on Saturday if I would ever entertain the notion of it, I would have told you a solid 'No.' After talking with her about it, I think I'm starting to understand why it could work for some people, but I'm still not sure it's something I'm cool with. It's sort of immaterial at the moment, because she's not seeing anybody else. It is something to think about though. Work is going swimmingly. I'm finally closing enrollment on two studies, and my pet project is taking off rather nicely. We're going to be conducting a pilot study to see if the changes I've recommended to our clinical research operations are having the effect we want. My preliminary data supports the idea that if you personally engage patients and families in your research project, take them into consideration when you're designing studies, you decrease dropout/Lost To Followup rates and collect higher quality data, to make better recommendations to physicians in the future. If the pilot study comes back with anything convincing, I'm going to be applying for a grant to do something more comprehensive. The tricky part now is looking for an MD or MDPHD willing to get onboard as a Co-PI, but I think I've found one. Dinner date tomorrow night, bowling with some friends on Friday.
Poly: Read "The Ethical Slut" right away, please. Despite the unfortunate title, this is an excellent primer into the complex landscape of poly relationships. Just dropping into a relationship with a poly person, without any of the linguistic or conceptual tools to navigate those conversations, is a recipe for hurt. I have a very large number of poly friends who represent every different possible poly configuration, and every one of them recommends this book as the place to start. Good luck with it! It sounds like she has your kind of fuel for your engine. Hopefully you provide the right fuel for her engine, as well.
I will also add that the frontier where the Poly community romantically interfaces with the real community is a wartorn DMZ with fields of dead. You're either in or you're out and switching from one to the other is traumatic. I cannot recall a single anecdote from my past experience that is not a cautionary tale.
Consider it Chekov's relationship. I and a wide range of my social circle also participate in open or poly relationships, and we've all chosen to do so for a reason. While some people migrate back and forth from being monogamous and poly, trust me when I say it will definitely come up again. I really hope it works out for you, you sound hopeful, but definitely be able to have that conversation, and retain the ability to do what is best for yourself, while respecting their lifestyle choices as well. I'm not trying to be preachy, apologies if it comes off like that, but I have seen relationships advance with this dynamic, and it's a tricky thing to manage properly for all involved,It's sort of immaterial at the moment, because she's not seeing anybody else.
While polyamorous relationships are a sea I've never navigated, it's great to hear how excited you are about Ms. Boo Thing. Love makes things make sense.