Figures.

Age I realised I was attracted to females: 15 (or 10. It's up for debate).

Age I first slept with a girl: 18

Age I came out: 19

Girls slept with: 8

Ex-girlfriends: 6

Ex-girlfriends who turned out to be utter shits: 6

I was on the loo (where all my 'Eureka!' moments happen) today, and I had an epiphany, of sorts. I'm a quarter of a century old and I've had six lesbian relationships, yet I've never had a girlfriend who wasn't a) damaged goods; b) laden with baggage; c) a liar; d) a cheat; e) a complete drama queen; or f) all of the above. Is it too much to ask to find a lovely, honest, educated girl? Preferably one who is solvent and has a nice rack (I'm prepared to compromise on one of those; I'll let you decide which).

Before I elaborate on said epiphany, dear reader, rewind five minutes to when I was sitting in my bedroom listening to music. iTunes randomly selected the song '52 Girls' - originally by the B-52s, although I happen to have The Offspring's version:

Shelly , Jane, Laura, Stacey
See them on the beach
Or in New York City
Jennifer and Cyndee
And Sascha and Marvin

Can you name, name, name, name them today
Can you name, name, name, name them today

Chelsea and Gloria and Wendy and Glenda
These are the girls of the USA
The principal girls of the USA

Can you name, name, name, name them today
Can you name, name, name, name them today

Oh Rose, Rose and Denise
And Michelle and Randi, Kamala and Roma
Cynthia and Lisa, Tammi and Virginia
And Stephanie and Jamie-O
These are the girls of the USA
The principal girls of the USA

Can you name, name, name, name them today
Can you name, name, name, name them today

Whilst I appreciate that this song isn't to be taken literally (I don't live in the USA, for a start, and is anyone seriously called Jamie-O?), I nonetheless found myself mulling it over as I perched on the aforementioned throne shortly afterwards. And suddenly, there it was - my epiphany.

The concept is incredibly simple. I will date 52 girls in a quest to find my soulmate. That really is it. Although for the sake of clarity, I should probably outline a few points:

1. Although the logical approach would be to date one girl per week for a year, the reality is that dating isn't an exact science. One week I might meet nobody at all; the next I might find myself in the company of more than one lovely lady. Essentially, I will persevere until I hit the magic number. It really is a magic number, too. It's even the opposite of my age - 25.

2. I won't turn down a date with anyone (age, sex, location and relationship status permitting), even if I'm not initially attracted to them. You never know, right? If nothing else, it might make for a great blog entry.

3. I will be upfront about what I'm looking for - namely casual dating with no pressure or expectation. I'm not doing this to hurt anyone.

4. Only first names will be used to protect the identities of the girls involved.

5. If I find my soulmate at any point before date 52, the project will stop immediately. I'm not prepared to wave goodbye to Miss Right for the sake of a few more juicy blog entries. If I reach date 52 and I haven't found my soulmate, I will then decide how to proceed. I only had my epiphany an hour or so ago; don't expect the finer points to be ironed out just yet.

Finally, this project is not to be confused with http://www.52burritodates.com/, the existence of which I discovered a mere five minutes ago when Googling the lyrics to '52 Girls'. No burritos to be found here, unless the date takes place at a Mexican restaurant (or, if a Lottery win comes a-knocking, in Mexico).

Let the dates begin...