Well, I found her. After about a month of searching and driving all over SoCal I landed upon a nice little '98 manual (arctic silver with boxster red interior) and just couldn't pass it up. Previous owner was a wonderful guy, genuinely cared for the car, and just recently traded up for a 911 turbo. Price was fantastic and the seller was even willing to knock off quite a bit for the rear tires that will be due for a switch in the next couple months. Given that he just put nearly $4k into it at the end of March to replace the power steering pump, water pump, front wheel bearings, and the catalytic converter, he was a bit sad to see it go, but I'm all the happier for it! I test drove it on Tuesday and just made the offer/picked it up yesterday.
Drove the 50 or so odd miles home through the winding mountain roads and just couldn't help but smile the entire time. I've already got a few minor tinkering projects lined up (desnorkel, add a wind deflector, some minor interior maintenance, etc) after giving her a good once over during the ritualistic first wash, and I just wanted to throw up a quick picture for your collective viewing enjoyment!
I'm sure there will be more to come!
(Oh, and pardon the gloom and dreariness. It was a bit of a foggy morning near the coast.)