The day I decide I hate online dating and am quitting it I get an email...from a fish whose profile/pictures interested me. I had emailed him about a week and a half earlier and he had finally emailed me back. I found this ironic. My friend thought it was meant to be. Seeing as he was about 1 of 5 fish that I actually sought out to email I decided to email him back. I seriously contemplated it though. As you know from my last post I was extremely frustrated and fed up with the online dating and was quitting. I'm a quitter. We emailed daily and his emails were engaging. They were not short superficial emails, but actually had some thought in them. He seemed appealing. I learned that he lived about 100 miles away (25 miles outside of my distance range), but he lives in the middle of nowhere so he didn't have much of a choice for his location option. Plus he will only be there temporarily, so I figured I could let the 25 miles slide. I suggested meeting Friday night - because as you know my theory, we can always get along over emails, but you never know what someone is going to be like in person. We decided to meet for drinks and if we felt like it would stay on for dinner.
I typically do not work on Fridays so I had a great pre-date day planned for myself. I got up with the sunrise and met a friend at Weight Watchers. I just joined. I am sure I could make a whole blog about that, but I will refrain. I have a cruise in a mere six weeks and I would like to drop some poundage before I embark to sea. The weigh in was pretty awful, but I want the little bell rung for me next week (to indicate I have lost weight) and I have motivation to stick with it :) After the early 7:15 a.m. meeting I got my oil changed as I would be driving 20 miles to meet him. I then went home, laid on the couch and watched a very motivational show for dating...Cougar Town. I kind of identify with Jules, the main character, she always has a glass of red wine. A wise man on the show said "maybe being optimistic actually makes good things happen in your life." I thought that was a great quote to try and carry with me throughout the rest of the day. I would be pushing my skepticism aside and remaining optimistic. Next, I took a nap. It was fabulous. I had an afternoon massage, which really worked out my tense muscles. I then had to go get my out of control eyebrows threaded. Must maintain fabulousness on a first date and the eyebrows frame my eyes. I had a coupon for a free car wash that I decided to use. I mean what if he walked me to my car and saw the fur coat I was making from Lola's dog hair scattered about the car, or all the napkins leftover from eating breakfast on the way to work, plus bird poop on the window is just plain icky. I knew going to get the car washed would cut into my getting fabulous time, but I felt it was necessary.
I quickly rushed home to jump in the shower - only to realize the jeans I was planning to wear that night were in my dirty laundry basket. Shit. I do the next best thing - I pull them out of the laundry, throw them in the dryer with a fresh dryer sheet and turn on a quick cycle. They will be smelling fresh in no time! I have an hour to get ready. This seems like plenty of time. I quickly shower and begin the art of date night makeup. I use my foundation primer to keep my Bare Minerals looking fresh all night. I create a smokey eye and apply an extra coat of mascara. I curl my hair a bit more and give it a little fly away look. I look good (if I can admit that). I wear the previous date shirt I bought two weeks ago. It is a lavender silk strapless tank top with a beaded empire waist. I pull it out to iron it and notice there is a spot on the front!!! WTF! I did not notice this when I bought it. Lets home PoF date won't notice it either. It is towards the bottom. I wear a little black cardigan with it. I wear the aforementioned "freshly dried" jeans and my knee high suede boots. Fabulousness. I wear my diamond necklace, dangley earrings and a big ring. Ooops I should have left seven minutes ago. I rush down the stairs, feed Lola and realize I did not spritz myself with perfume. I rush back up stairs, quick spray and spray my hair one time more as well. I must stop at the ATM as well - always good to have some cash on a date, just in case. I stop at the ATM and am at the stoplight to get on the freeway. I am supposed to be there in 10 minutes. It will take me at least 20 to get there. I get a Blackberry instant message - he's there. Shit. I haven't even gotten on the freeway!! I feel immensely awful. This is going to be a horrible first impression. He is 10 minutes early (which gives him 1 point). I tell him I didn't time things very well and it might be a bit. He says no worries. Nice guy. 20 minutes later I am at the exit I need. I am officially 10 minutes late. I send him message that it will just be a few more minutes. Seven minutes later I am parking. I am 20 minutes late by the time I walk into the restaurant. Minus 2 points for me!
I walk in the door, look around and see him sitting at a table by a window with a Christmas tree behind him. He is looking out the window. First thing I notice - his biceps. Perfection. Plus 2 points for him. So he is up 3 points and I am down 2 points. Not a good start. He has a shaved head with just a smidgen of hair and glasses on. He is wearing a green Lucky brand t-shirt and jeans. He looked nice and casual. I walk over and say hello and give my best I'm sorry smile and apologize profusely. He is very polite and is drinking a ginger ale. Hmmmm I'm going to need something stronger than that on a first date to loosen myself up so I can chat. I can tell he is a little nervous. I am the first girl he is meeting off the internet. No pressure! Even though I am quite shy I can be very good when it is just a one on one situation. I immediately start chatting and asking him questions. I can see him start to ease up a little after talking about himself and conversation becomes more flowy. I order a Purple Exposure - its a martini of some sort. We talked for an hour before even looking at the dinner menu. He has a fascinating story. He is from Brooklyn, NY. Currently in the service doing IT work and is hoping to possibly stay in this area when he separates from the military. He is 29, no kids and has a job. Really my list of requirements has been met! We eventually ordered dinner. I get a very basic staple for me - chicken quesadilla. He orders the grilled salmon with veggies. Hmmm probably what I should have ordered after joining Weight Watchers this very day. I don't eat my entire meal, but I do order another cocktail. He gets one as well. He paid for dinner and I said thank you. Always important to say thank you. We sat and talked for another 3 hours after we ate. He used to be very overweight. I never would have guessed. His shoulders and arms look amazing. I must find an excuse to touch them. He is staying at a hotel for the night since he drove an hour to get here. We discussed what to do after dinner. We asked the waitress what our options were. Not many - she basically just gave us the names of a few bars. We went to one of the bars, walked in and immediately assaulted with the overwhelming stench of cigarettes. It wasn't even tolerable. We went to another one she had mentioned. It was not open. We were kind of at a loss of what to do, but I think neither one of us were really ready for the night to be over either. We decided to play a little Blackjack (good thing I stopped at the ATM). We gambled for about an hour. I doubled my $40. He lost $30. We had to sit close at the Blackjack table and my arm got to touch his perfect bicep. We had a good time. It was 11:00 by this time and I was getting sleepy and had to drive 25 minutes home. We decided to part ways and I thanked him again, said I had a good time and if he wanted to do this again some time to let me know. He said ok. So I know I had a good time, but did he have a good time? Would I hear from him? He wasn't a smooth player type so I didn't know how I expected the night to end, he didn't suggest another date, so as I got in my car I didn't really know where I stood. I mean I was 20 minutes late for dinner and I don't know how my points were going on his scale, but he definitely had more points on my scale. He didn't say anything stupid on the date. We didn't discuss anything controversial or political. In fact he said something very important when we were discussing interracial relationships, "If you limit yourself you may not find happiness." I like this statement. I also do get the vibe that he may be a little on the shy side, but is an overall good guy who may not have a lot of experience with dating. I may have to make the first initial contact. Hmmmm. I got home and decided to just message him to say I had gotten home and thank him again and say I had a good time. He responded with that he had a good time as well and hopes we can meet up again sometime. I took this as a good sign. So hopefully a second date will be in the future...
Tonight I am going to a comedy show and then going to see my sister. Let's see what fun things can happen.
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