As we travel down the road of life, we all have personal goals: Success, health, financial stability, happiness - and true love. And as we age and grow, we try throughout or lives to attain these goals along the way. Sometimes, we acquire them quickly and easily. Sometimes, we never see those goals met no matter how hard we try. And sometimes - we have to work really hard and go through some very difficult situations before we actually attain that goal - but realize when we finally do that everything we went through to get there was absolutely worth it.

As for the goals that I have had in my life, I am proud to say that at least some of them have been attained. I have professional success and fairly good health - although I am unfortunately still working on financial stability. But of all the goals I personally hope to attain, my most important - and the one I have tried and worked the hardest to attain - has always been true love. To me, love is the true foundation of a person's life. Love is something that transcends wealth, fame, fortune, material possessions - and even success. Those goals, while important and wonderful - are secondary when you have no one to share them with - or are "stuck" sharing them with someone who is negative and draining rather then positive and supportive - but when you have that perfect person to share your life with - all of those other goals will come a lot easier - and faster than you think.

As I have traveled down my own personal road of life, I have tried very hard to attain the goal of true love. And in my quest, I have given my heart and soul to a few women that I thought were indeed "the one" - but turned out not to be. And despite the fact that I have conveyed my love to, moved in with, written about, offered selfless assistance to - and even gone above and beyond the call of duty for - because I loved them at the time - the relationship I had with each of them came to an end. Irregardless of why - or who was wrong or right - that relationship was not "the relationship." - because someone else was.

And now that my life has begun again, and I can start anew how I want, the way I want - and with who I want - I choose to start it with Mary.

I met Mary at the second South Park Convention. At the time, she had been eight months out of a serious relationship - and I was still in one. But despite our imperfect situations, we instantly made a connection that went deeper then we both understood at the time. When we met, we quickly realized that each of us saw the world as well as the people and situations in it a lot deeper than most - and that we saw a lot deeper into each other than we expected when we first met. I remember getting into an elevator with her and her telling me about a very personal experience that led to her harboring certain feelings that took her time to understand - and the shock on her face when I realized what those feelings were before we got to our floor. That is how instantly deeply I saw through her.

When we left the Convention, we tried to stay in touch, but seeing as how we were 1,200 miles apart - our separate lives went on. She and I both continued our paths down the road of our lives trying to attain our goals - one of which was true love. And unfortunately - but ironically - both of our separate paths took us to the same place - involved in a situation with someone who was only happy when they were miserable. And because we were both neck deep in misery - we lost contact - until I got an e-mail from her out of nowhere that began a series of circumstances that led us together - and to somewhere that neither one of us could have possibly imagined.

When she sent me the e-mail, she explained that she was in an unhappy situation just as I was - although I was - unlike her - too blind and too proud to admit it. She explained that she was with someone who - to his own discredit and stupidity - put her under a microscope rather than on a pedestal. Hearing this, I replied to her e-mail and told her that any man who treats a woman like that is no man - and that she did not deserve to be treated that way. Hearing that - she left him. And hearing that - I took my own advice and did the same to the "person" that - to her own discredit and stupidity - clouded my life with negativity and blocked the path toward my goal of true love. And hearing that - Mary almost immediately booked a flight to see me in New York City - and the next chapter of my life - and her life began.

In the days that led to her arrival in New York, we began talking every day and realized through our long, nightly conversations that we were both people who wanted the same goal - true love - but the kind of true love that would be the perfect foundation to build a fruitful life that sees all of our goals accomplished. And that we both realize that the key to that kind of true love is a love without negativity or drama, a love that is so close it grows with the couple rather then independently on its own - and a love that is so close and such a compatible match that you can fit your independent lives as perfectly together as the last two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The other thing we realized is besides the fact that we both want the perfect love - we have both tried so hard to attain it and instead wound up in either imperfect or negative situations - falling well short of our desired goal. We then realized that we were two people wanting the same goal and never being able to achieve it - and were now single because we helped each other out of the negative situations that we were both in - because we each wanted to find "the" one. What could be more perfect than that?

When she finally did arrive for the weekend, which was the weekend of the "Blackout of 2003" - we spent four days acquainting, introducing - and discovering each other on a deeper level than I have ever experienced before. We both saw past the dramatics and the childish issues and fears that can cripple a relationship from the start. We both understood that each of us had a past that should not and could not possibly be "used against us in a court of Law" - because how could someone possibly be wrong for having a life before they knew their current love interest existed? And most importantly - we both realized that the only logical next step would be to see what it would be like to try life together - because if two positive people who want nothing more than to experience true love have spent their lives either in imperfect situations or getting drained by negative people - how wonderfully perfect would life be if we could spend it together?

As for our future, while I am in a place where I have always longed to be and cannot imagine myself anywhere else, I am not going to make any predictions as to where we will end up - because both her and I have done that before and wound up eating our words. I will, however, say that Mary is by far what I have always wanted in a relationship, in a partnership - and in a woman. She goes far beyond the normal parameters of a girlfriend - and has proven to me time and time again that she can see right through me into my very soul. She is independent, mentally attractive - and physically breathtaking. She knows what she wants and is not afraid to go after it. She knows what her hopes, dreams, wishes, wants - and goals are. And what I feel is most important and most impressive about her - she does not need a man in her life to be happy - or need true love to be fulfilled - she wants it. And what I find personally amazing is that a woman with those qualities and traits wants me.

So here we are, in Chicago and in the beginning of something that started with a simple hello, restarted with an unexpected e-mail - and began when we came together once again. And as we travel forward, we will spend each day getting to know each other more, discovering each other more, enjoying each other more, becoming each other more - and loving each other more. And seeing the future not as a scheduled, expected and mandatory destination - but a positive, drama-free and limitless journey that we will look forward to traveling - together.