Personal Ads: A Dystopian Noah's Sex Ark

I recently moved house so I've been trying to do things that make me feel more at home, trying to hasten the process of feeling settled. First up was unpacking as quickly as possible, finding homes for my stuff and getting rid of the boxes which would otherwise have lingered for months. Then stocking the fridge and cooking meals - some kind of connection to a place because you have leftovers and leftovers represent some kind of domestic continuity. I also bought a local paper. I've not done that in years, not since I live in a different semi-rural locale and half kept up with local gossip and half sniggered at the ridiculousness of it all - the man arrested for simulating sex with the city wall, for example.

But the thing I used to do, and still do today is try to match up the people in the personal ads. That's my own little newspaper game, and far more fun than the actual puzzle page.