June 1, 2006
Well, the application deadline has passed, and...
If you had told me when I started this that more than a handful of guys would bother to apply, I wouldn't have believed you. If you had continued to tell me that I was actually going to meet so many wonderful people — through e-mail, on the phone, in person — I would have laughed it off. And if you had dared to suggest that I would actually end up asking someone out on a bona fide date, I would have sworn it wasn't gonna happen. But it has.

The funniest part is his name isn't even Eric. Oh, and he lives, like, five blocks away from me. And he goes to the coffee shop around the corner from my house every morning. Really. I couldn't make that part up if I tried.

Who knows what will happen from here. Will we become boyfriends? It's far too soon to tell. But I know that there seems to be something there, something we both think is worth pursuing. I don't need or want to be swept off my feet or to have my life turned upside down. And I don't think he does either. We seem to be on the same page.

So this is where it ends. Or begins, I guess. We'll see. But I won't be writing about it anymore. At least, not on the Internet. I still cannot completely comprehend everything that has happened, all the connections and exchanges, all the support and enthusiasm. It has been overwhelming. It has been humbling. It has definitely changed how I see the world. Thank you for that.

And finally, one last look at the numbers...

Total number of visitors	11,925
Number of unique visitors	10,631
Number of page views	33,025
Percentage of visitors outside the United States	16
Number of countries represented by these visitors	76
Number of boyfriend applications submitted	136
Number of applicants named Eric/k/ch/ck	67
Number of non-Erics who explained not being an Eric	34
Number of phone interviews completed	22
Number of in-person interviews completed	5

May 24, 2006
Eric No. 6, last but not least
The final "interview" happens this Friday when San Diego Eric comes to town for a few days to visit some friends. We'll be meeting in the afternoon, probably for coffee and a walk over to Dolores Park. There's no panel for this one — it was logistically too complicated given everyone's schedules. So it's more just an in-person meet to see if there's any chemistry or not. We've already talked a few times by phone to see if this was worth pursuing. I think we share concerns about dating long distance, and it seems like the place to start is to find out if there's enough of a spark to justify figuring it out. I do know Eric is a solid guy, someone who has been through his fair share of ups and downs and taken responsibility for his choices. I am confident he will be thoughtful with this process through to the end.

As for the third and fourth interviews...
I met Blake Eric on Monday in Los Angeles. We were set to do a videoconference with my panel, but it turned out to be significantly cheaper to fly to LA for the day. Besides, I really needed to get out of town. Anyway, Blake is such a great guy — so smart, nerdy in all the best ways (he loves presidential libraries!), outgoing, a great storyteller, adorably cute, and he has a wonderful dry sense of humor. Alas, he and I both agreed there was no romantic chemistry to speak of. It was definitely not a wasted trip, however, because I'm hopeful that Blake and I will stay in touch and become friends. Plus, I ran into a very close old friend of mine while I was waiting to meet Blake, and as anyone who has read this site could probably guess, I believe coincidences like this happen for a reason. All in all, it was lovely.

As for young Eric, he is amazing. Cute, funny, full of energy, easy to talk to, down to earth. We had a mini-panel and kept it very low-key over a couple of cocktails. Eric charmed the pants off my friend Julie (not that easy to do). After she retired to go get some dinner, Eric and I hung out a bit longer to finish our drinks and talk some more. The time flew by, and even though I had arrived slightly irritable after a frantic day, I felt completely at ease and relaxed by the time we left. Eric has promised to send a picture and some words to share. I will post them as soon as I hear from him.


May 18, 2006
Thought this was fitting...






















May 15, 2006
Eric No. 5
So, no picture again, but here's what I can tell you: Eric No. 5 is not 30, not anywhere close actually. He's 23, lives in San Francisco and is a printmaker. How did he sneak into the running then? Well, he didn't sneak. Eric e-mailed me before he applied and asked if it would be okay to submit an application even though he wasn't 30. I admitted my skepticism, but I told him that I recognize that some 23 year-olds are more mature than others. He is, indeed, very mature for his age and has dated guys older than him in the past. His group of friends spans a wide range of ages. Long story short: If he can be open-minded about it, then I guess I can try to be, too. We'll see what my friends have to say. We meet Eric on Wednesday, May 17.

Preliminary report from the first two interviews
The interviews yesterday went really well. It was surprisingly not as weird as you might think to meet a potential new boyfriend with three of your close friends in tow. It's to Eric's and Scott's great credit that it was as comfortable as it was. Both of them were very game.

Eric brought his sister, who lives in San Francisco, along to videotape the interview. I'm assuming it's so he can show his friends back in Santa Barbara that I am an actual person. Foolishly, I had been worried that audiotaping the interview might be intrusive. No need — Eric does not seem shy in the least. And he graciously allowed my friends and me to stumble a bit as we figured out who should ask questions in which order.

Below are a couple of pictures from Scott's interview. All of us wrote our questions down on strips of paper and then threw them into a glass to be drawn at random. It helped keep any one of us (Scott, me or my friends) from feeling like we were under the spotlight for too long. Scott was totally prepared with typed (!) questions that went way beyond the normal "What three qualities are you looking for in a boyfriend?" I think, actually, he interviewed us more than we interviewed him.

May 11, 2006
Eric No. 4 from Santa Barbara, kissing Marilyn











In his own words:
I sent you a rather strange pic of me, but I feel it captures my personality the best rather than a posey-posey picture. I've always had a Marilyn Monroe fixation since I was a child, so the day I went to the Marilyn exhibit was a fun and exciting and awe-inspiring day. ...

When I first heard of the website, of course I felt inclined to apply simply by being, in fact, a gay Eric. What surprised me was how well laid out and organized the website was. All the information really added to the fun of "applying" to be Daniel's boyfriend.
 
So far I've found the interview process to be very much like the website — a bit of tongue-in-cheek fun blended with a really innovative and practical way to meet people. I was pleasantly surprised to see the side-by-side comparison of Daniel's and my [responses to the] questionnaire, and I had a great conversation with him on the phone (which is odd for me, as I hate to talk on the phone). The question that keeps popping up in my head is: Can one meet their mate through an organized website-based search? It will be interesting to see what unfolds for Daniel — and I'm psyched I get to be a part of it.

My two cents:
I would say Eric and I are both goal-oriented people with a great deal of drive and ambition. I admit I wasn't quite sure at first based solely on the application, but within a few minutes of talking by phone, it was pretty clear we had plenty in common. Eric strikes me as very generous and giving of himself, and coincidentally, he just happened to be coming up to San Francisco this weekend. We agreed to set up an interview, which will take place on Sunday.


May 9, 2006
Erics Nos. 2 and 3

Eric No. 2, whose real name is Jim, has withdrawn for personal reasons. Working full time plus taking classes at night toward a master's degree makes the idea of dating cross-country feel a bit too impractical. Did I mention he lives in DC? Anyway, it's my loss because Jim is, I think, a prince of a guy. How do I know that chivalry isn't dead? Because a) Jim offered to change his name to Eric for me if things worked out; and 2) he offered to kick the ass of my potential stalker (turned out there was no need to worry, but you get the point). Any guy who would send me a picture of himself eating a taco (I don't have his permission to post it — but you can imagine how hard it is to look cute mid-bite, which he totally managed to pull off) is good in my book. Finally, I feel privileged to have been given access to Jim's blog, something he admitted he normally wouldn't share so early on with a potential date. He thought I could handle it because my website somehow convinced him I must be a tech nerd (I'm so not). (Oh, and by the way, if anyone can score Jim tickets to the out-of-town previews for Xanadu, The Musical, before it heads to Broadway, please let me know so I can put you guys in touch.)

Eric No. 3 lives in Los Angeles. Actually, his middle name is Eric and his first name is Blake. He politely declined posting a picture on the site, and so I have yet to see what he looks like. I do know he adopted a shark for his goddaughter at the aquarium and they recently took a trip to go meet it. Seriously, how cute is that? Anyway, Blake has been doing rounds of interviews for a new job, and he says he is more than prepared to handle anything my panel of friends has to throw at him. We'll find out on May 17 when we interview him via videoconference!


May 8, 2006
Meet Eric No. 1, aka Scott, from San Francisco

No, his name isn't Eric. But when he submitted his application, Scott apologized for his parents' lack of foresight in not choosing the right name for him, completely unaware of its future import. In combination with his other answers, I was charmed and willing to accept his admittedly feeble explanation for why he should still be considered.

I asked Scott to say a few words from his perspective, but he deferred, telling me to write whatever I wanted. He did graciously send this very cute picture, however, which I hadn't seen before this point. All I can say about him after reading his application and talking to him on the phone is that he is very funny, he shares my love of words (he recently finished writing his first novel), and he has great taste in screwball comedy film classics. Before I saw what he looked like, I would have compared him personality-wise to sex-advice columnist and author Dan Savage; the picture confirms it.

Anyway, Scott has been extremely good-natured about the process. I'm guessing it's the writer in him, because he's said more than once that he's always up for new experiences. To wit, he will be interviewed by a panel of my friends over cocktails this Sunday, May 14.


May 7, 2006
It's finally time for the panel interviews! I've invited six applicants to participate, and all six have said they are interested in moving ahead. Now it's just a matter of working out the logistics. Schedules are being arranged as we speak, and the panelists are busy thinking up questions. Each interview will be a little bit different, depending on what feels most comfortable for everyone involved. Some of the long-distance interviews will be done via videoconference; a couple of the long-distance Erics happen to be visiting San Francisco over the next few weeks; and a couple are local. That part, at least, seems to have worked itself out.

The panel will consist of me and three friends, though for scheduling reasons, it won't always be the same three friends for each interview. Overall, probably five of my friends will be involved, but I'll try to keep it as consistent as possible.

And check back soon because I've asked each of the interviewees if he would be willing to let me post a picture of him on the site, along with a paragraph or two explaining his take on the process so far. There won't be any online voting or anything, and it's not mandatory at all, but I know a lot of you repeat visitors have asked if there will be a chance to see some of the Erics. I'll post updates as I hear back.

Guess that's all for now. In the meantime, I'm still taking new applications until the end of the month. Now that school is finished for the semester, I have a little bit more flexibility to respond in a timely manner.


April 28, 2006
Despite my appearance on the Logo network (or maybe because of it — did I look fat? And do I really sound like that?), things have slowed down a bit this week. Traffic has leveled off, and since most of the hits are now coming from non-gay sites and blogs, there are understandably fewer applications. Still, I had four more phone interviews this week (three Erics and a Scott), all of whom were smart and funny and very open-minded about the whole thing.

Some of you have asked about the media stuff, by the way, so let me just take a minute to explain. I have not contacted anyone about doing a story or posting me on their blog. The whole thing has been word of mouth. If a reporter or a producer hears about the site and e-mails me, I will respond, just as I respond to every person who writes or submits an application. I'm not uninterested in the attention because it's a way for more people to find out about the site. But I can be a little shy, and I really hate seeing myself in pictures and on camera. So, thank you for the many suggestions of shows to contact, but I'm not actively pursuing the media. I'm just taking things as they come.

More soon. I have finals next week, but I will do my best to keep up with any applications and e-mails. Keep passing the word along!


April 21, 2006
The site has been up for three weeks now, and the response thus far has been greater than anything I ever would have imagined. I am more than a little overwhelmed (in the best way, of course) by all the supportive e-mails and the really terrific applications. Yes, there have been a fair share of jokesters, but that comes with the territory.

When I posted the site, I thought, perhaps naively, that no one would pay much attention. I placed some ads on Craigslist Missed Connections the first week or so, and then I waited to see what would happen. Thanks to your help, word of mouth keeps on spreading all over the place — and I mean ALL over. So far, there have been visitors to the site from 65 countries!

Some other stats from Friday, March 31, to Friday, April 21:

Total number of visitors	8,458
Number of unique visitors	7,634
Number of page views	23,750
Number of boyfriend applications submitted	116
Number of applicants named Eric/k/ch/ck	52
Number of non-Erics who explained not being an Eric	29
Number of phone interviews scheduled or completed	17

Applications are being accepted through May 31, 2006, so please tell your friends. In-person interviews will begin sometime in the middle of May.