NAME OF DATE: “THE GYMNAST”

ACTIVITY: COFFEE

VENUE: COMFY WORN-IN NEIGHBORHOOD COFFEE SHOP

MY OUTFIT: BLACK GAUZE WITH VELVET FLOWER OVERLAY SHIRT & PANTS (it’s good to wear pants on a first date)

AMOUNT OF TIME BEAUTIFYING: 25 MINS (whole lotta good that did me!)

FOLLOW-UP DONE BY: HIM, 2 DAYS LATER (offering some food he made before he went out of town)

WILL I GO OUT WITH HIM AGAIN: YES, WE SAID WE WOULD GO FOR COFFEE AGAIN OR HAVE TEA AT ONE OF OUR APTS.

NARRATIVE: I just can’t seem to get away from this guy; seeing him over and over has the conspiratorial coincidences of a Charles Dickens novel:

#1: Waiting for the bus on a freezing cold day several weeks ago; standing by a bush instead of with the mob of pushy people on the sidewalk. I look over to see someone looking at me–a short guy, little creepy-ish mustache, but on the plus side dark hair, olive skin, and soulful brown eyes. He approaches and asks if it’s better to stand by the bush and I say, “Yes, because it seems to be a wind break,” and explain my philosophy about not trying to crowd onto the bus. He responds favorably, we start talking.  I’m thinking this guy must be interested in me (no one ever talks at the bus stop). We continue the conversation throughout the bus ride and I discover that I like him. His car is parked at the end of the route and he asks if I would like a ride home as we have discovered we live in the same apartment complex. I say, “Thanks, but I’m used to walking,” don’t really know this guy and don’t want him to know EXACTLY where I live or accept a ride. I figure I will see him again anyway since there’s a good chance that we will be catching the bus often more or less in the same place.

#2: A week later, I’m sitting by my bedroom window with the curtains open looking like shit (no shower, pjs, crazy hair, glasses, and streaked makeup from day before) and he ends up walking his dog right outside. Oh geez. I hear him go up the outside stairs and discover that he lives in one of the two units more or less above mine, the odds of which are about 1 in 500.

#3: I keep seeing him around the complex for about a month, but we are not near enough to be forced to acknowledge each other and I just feel really shy and awkward so I decide to leave it; plus, I’m overly weirded out that we’re neighbors. It’s like, “Ack! I actually like this guy but I don’t want him up in my personal life yet.” He seems to notice me but says nothing as well. I’ve noted by this time that he does in fact live directly above me.

And I’ve coined a name for him:  The Gymnast. I’d just started complaining to friends about this crazy dude who lives above me (right before realizing it was him). Said dude likes to get up at 3:00AM, tromp around as loudly as possible, apparently doing cartwheels, summersaults, moving furniture and dropping lead weights.  Every time I start to drop off asleep, the ceiling sounds like it’s going to come down over my head, and that’s not all, The Gymnast has another skill of stopping his perambulations directly over my head and then starting again and circling through his ENTIRE apartment, like he’s caged or something.

#4: I go out of town for a couple weeks of beauty rest and return to find a small blanket with girly pink and purple designs hanging over my patio railing. Either there’s an 11-year old homeless girl who’s been sleeping on my patio or it’s blown down from the balcony above, which means it belongs to The Gymnast. This makes me wonder, since he seems to be neither a decorative Drag Queen nor an 11-year old girl–I hope it belongs to his small poodle. Now I have a dilemma: do I a) throw the blanket out into the landscaping (hoping he’ll see it and retrieve it) which seems rude; or, do I b) knock on his door like a normal grownup and ask if it’s his? Instead I do c) stare at it with annoyance for over a week as it does not match my décor and chicken out on knocking on his door

#5: Problem solved: he’s out walking the poodle when I pull into a parking spot. I have to cross his path to get inside, so we finally greet each other and play the “Oh, is that you, did I meet you before on the bus?” etc, etc game even though we both know very well that we’ve recognized each other about a zillion times since then. But it’s a good opening to inquire about the blanket, establish that we are in fact neighbors, and to exchange numbers. He invites me to his apartment “for Persian tea sometime.”

<<<Dickensian-style coincidences will be put aside momentarily until I have finished describing THE DATE.>>>

So, I get tired of waiting for those brown eyes to envision me sitting in front of him and I text a week later to see if he’s up for getting coffee/tea. Going out seems a wiser decision relative to entering the apartment of a guy I still hardly know.  We set a date.

#6: Wait, one more in honor of the D-man: The very day that we are go out on the date, he’s boards the bus with a colleague (when I haven’t even seen him since that first fateful day). He says “hi” and introduces us but it’s awkward, as they talk shop while she stands right in front of me and he next to her, as  we’re squished in like sardines. I just feel shy all over again and I don’t want to see him like this, when I look like crap after a hard day’s work–I want the Romantic-coffee-shop-gaze-into-each-other’s-eyes-experience. But by the time the main mob has left the bus (and the Colleague has as well) he sits next to me and we talk and then I allow him to give me a ride home this time from the bus stop. It’s weird when he drops me off and we’re like, “Well, see you out here again in 2 1/2 hours!” Dating your neighbor is certainly convenient.

Ok, so the actual date: We went to a coffee shop more or less in our neighborhood–old wooden flooring, eclectic chairs, hipsters and hippies, students staring at laptops, a few people chatting intently here and there as we ended up doing.

We talked for about two hours, the time going by quickly yet feeling like an expansion as the girth  of subjects we discussed covered politics, government, ethics, literature, and music. The conversation came easily, felt like we were seeing eye-to-eye.

Gazing into his soulful, deep eyes didn’t hurt my general feeling of well-being either, although it may sound trite.

Toward the end of the “date” a bomb dropped in my lap in the form of the words, “my girlfriend.” Included in a sentence with his accent throwing me off (or my wishful thinking), I heard what could’ve been “my past girlfriend.” If it really was just “my girlfriend,” why be here with me? And more importantly, why did I pick up the Interest Vibe from him in the first place? For him, it must’ve just been friends going out for coffee–apparently I’m just too intense, reading too much into it. His life sounds pretty busy and as an immigrant, he’s probably homesick and perhaps lonely. He should be able to go out for coffee and conversation with his neighbor, right? If I picked up a more-than-friends vibe it could be more my fault than his. On the other hand, am I making excuses for him? Is it a universal principle that when a guy singles you out at the bus stop to start a conversation, he is hitting on you?

I reacted in the moment by taking the girlfriend  comment in stride and the conversation went on. But then in the car on the way back he said that he is thinking of asking her to immigrate so they can be together; well, there could be was no wishful thinking for me to toss this aside!

Part of our coffee shop conversation included how we are very similarly troubled by making decisions, even big ones. Then in the car he referenced this in saying that he was having trouble with the decision to invite his girlfriend into the next phase of their relationship by trying to get her to immigrate to be with him. Oh geez! Now what the heck should I think? Maybe he thinks I’m a safe bet to allow him some companionship because he’s seen me in the parking lot with Lawrence and knows that he comes over, figures he’s my boyfriend. Who knows??

Of course, there’s a thought in the back of my mind about if I were That Girl who would try to use my obvious geographical advantage over the Girlfriend to steal his heart away. (Evil laugh, rub hands together.) But, I’m not, which maybe makes me a little sad because he is nice-looking and smart.

Might as well admit, I’ve been a cheater and been cheated on, and worse yet, lied to. And I’ve been the Other Woman. If I can’t trust someone’s honesty and personal integrity, it’s a no-go at this point in my life. As long as he isn’t asking me in the future to aid and abet cheating and is just going for intellectual discussions; that could be okay, I guess we’ll see.

On an interesting side note, he did ask me about his noise level tromping over my head and I told him my experience diplomatically, without of course telling him that he is The Gymnast. What I really want to ask is, what has he heard coming from my place, but it somehow seems inappropriate (not to mention personally mortifying) to ask someone on the bus if they’ve heard, for instance, any strange vibrating noises coming from your apartment. Maybe there’s a lesson here about dating your neighbor.

There’s certainly a lesson about keeping one’s mouth shut until you know who’s in a public place with you…and this my absolute Last Shout Out to Dickens:

#7: Today, which was exactly two days after my Date-Non-date with The Gymnast, I went out to lunch with my co-worker near work.  I told her about him: that’s he’s cute, what country he’s from and how I like him but he has a girlfriend. And of course as soon as all those words are out of my mouth, I see him two tables over!! He’s at lunch with a friend as well; why should I even be surprised at this point?? I can only hope he didn’t hear anything because he would surely know I was talking about him. I don’t actually know that he even saw me. It was noisy and crowded and I couldn’t hear him talking so it would stand to reason that he couldn’t hear me either. Please, oh please, I don’t need to feel any more dumb.

Rating Him:

Face shape: 9 (he has a very nice nose)

Body: 7

Eyes: 8.5

Hair or lack thereof/Facial hair or lack thereof: 5 (better off without the stache, but at least he’s got a nice hair color)

Voice: 6

Sexiness: 7.5

Overall Physical Attractiveness: 8

Fashion: 6

IT-ness (the IT factor, you either have IT or you don’t): 8

Deportment: 9

Charm: 7

Amiable: 8.5

Polite: 7

Interesting: 9

Kiss-o-meter: Ha!

Rating Myself:

Face: 3.5 (got home, looked in the mirror and realized that I looked like a ghost because of how I’d done my makeup: awesome!)

Body: 7

Smell: 8.5

Fashion: 8

Overall Physical Attractiveness: 5

Deportment: 9

Amiable: 8

Confidence: 5

Polite: 8

NAME OF GUY: “OSWALD”

ACTIVITY: visiting a backyard “museum” of junk, coffee and walk

VENUE: some dude’s backyard; coffee shop in the hip part of town; hiking area

MY OUTFIT: Adorable blue thrift dress with tiny silver stars, rain boots and ridiculous giant boot socks that went over the boots and sort of matched my leggings (hey, when it’s cold, it’s cold); changed into jeans, sweaters and tennis shoes for walking

AMOUNT OF TIME BEAUTIFYING: 30 minutes, included a timely eyebrow and weird facial hair plucking

FOLLOW-UP DONE BY: too soon to know

WILL I GO OUT WITH HIM AGAIN: yes

NARRATIVE: I realized right after the fact that our date was like a guidebook example for our city: we went to some guy’s backyard (by appointment) to gawk with other couples at a three-story sculpture of junk. Then we went for coffee and sandwiches at a slightly snobby, hip, crowded coffee shop filled with young people from that neighborhood (I guess this could be anywhere). But then we went on a hiking trail (after I had changed into something more outdoorsy). And this is all within a pleasant drive-able distance on a Sunday.

I felt a real level of comfort with this guy. Is that good because I know him through mutual friends so was even trusting enough to let him see where I lived and invite him in while I changed clothes? (I did not change in front of him, BTW, for those of you with dirty minds.) Or is it bad, because I felt few nerves in his presence? Or, is it good because I felt comfortable and relaxed around him? Or, bad because not having nerves means no chemistry? ANYWAY….

I found out he had kids about two hours before our date was set to begin and was like, “Oh no! (bang head on wall) Why did I not ask the person who set us up about that?!?” I haven’t been planning to date any one with kids because I have been in relationships before with people who had them and it just did not work out. That’s not to say it never could, but I really do want to find the right person and the right situation for the sort of relationship I need. But, I guess for the purposes of this blog, a date is a date. It doesn’t mean I have to get into a relationship or marry the guy.

I felt it would just be too late to cancel the date anyway without being rude. Then, darn it all, we had fun. Oswald was just very nice and easy to talk to, which is why I asked our mutual friend to set us up after having recently met him at one of her parties.

Three good things that happened:

1) he paid (I have been a bit broke lately and it’s just a nice gesture anyway)

2) we seemed to strike a chord talking about religion of all things; we’d both grown up in a traditional religion and then went non-traditional and seem to have similar motivations and perspectives (as much as one can tell in a 15 minute conversation)

3) we both want to travel/live in other countries in the future

The kid thing honestly terrifies me but his are growing up and they’re not around all the time; thinking of moving to another country seems to indicate that he’s not too tied down.   ?????????????????????

Once again, I may’ve found a good comparison point between two guys. My last date, Leopold, is not a ton older than Oswald, who’s close-ish to my age. They are both mature and smart enough to be entertaining, engaging and fun dates. Unfortunately, I am not attracted to Leopold physically but he’s free as a bird with no kids. Oswald is much more my physical type but has kids. Guess I’m figuring things out more and more through an applied process (dating) of elimination (certain traits or things that a person would bring into a relationship).

One more thing is, why must the end of a first date always be awkward? First, I had to get out of his truck to get into my house; so, I just got out. But then he felt he had to get out. So then I thought maybe he would try to kiss me (he had mentioned chewing gum and offered it earlier) and it would be weird because there was no working up to it. So, I probably ruined it by jumping out of the truck. But, I also didn’t want to kiss him because of my doubt on the kid point, and I wouldn’t want to start LIKING him unless I knew it was okay. (Geeeez, too much thinking!)  So I guess it’s okay that I ruined it.  We met on my side of the truck and hugged–it was standard–the hug went fine, we said we had fun, said “bye,” he left, I went inside.

Rating Him:

Face shape: 8 (his beard covers a lot of face, so it’s hard to tell the structure underneath but it looks like he probably has a good jaw, which could elevate him to a 8.5; however, I could live with his nose being a little less hooked

Body: 8 (may also be too early to tell) but he’s got the basic shape I like: thin but doesn’t look like an anemic weakling; tall; some guys canNOT  pull off cowboy boots, this one can

Eyes: 5 (there’s some light there but they are a bit small)

Hair or lack thereof/Facial hair or lack thereof: 4 (hair: shoulder length, which can be sexy but it’s too thin in comparison to the forehead and beard so gives the triangle head effect; trim the stash! the beard works)

Voice: 8.5 (tonally pleasing)

Sexiness: 7

Overall Physical Attractiveness: 5.5

Fashion: 5

IT-ness (the IT factor, you either have IT or you don’t): 6.5

Deportment: 10

Charm: 9

Amiable: 10

Polite: 10

Interesting: 8

Kiss-o-meter: N/A

Rating Myself:

Face: 8 (facial blemishes but I had one of those glory days of makeup settling perfectly)

Body: 6.5 (recent weight gain is upsetting)

Smell: 7 (how do my old hiking clothes smell? I’m not sure)

Fashion: 7

Overall Physical Attractiveness: 7.5

Deportment: 10

Amiable: 9

Confidence: 9

Polite: 9

The One: he must be out there >>check it out<< without the babies

NAME OF GUY: “LEOPOLD”

ACTIVITY: dinner, drinks/bar, hookah bar

VENUE: nice restaurant, sort of dive-y bar, hookah bar

MY OUTFIT: sort of short, possibly vintage, tank dress in thick cotton lace flower pattern with fringe at bottom; red leather platform heel sandals

AMOUNT OF TIME BEAUTIFYING: 15 mins (extra makeup and costume change in the bathroom at work, how exciting)

FOLLOW-UP DONE BY: him, next day, said he had fun, said we’d go out again soon

WILL I GO OUT WITH HIM AGAIN: probably

NARRATIVE: This date seemed doomed to fail when I looked up the wrong bus schedule before leaving work and went about 4 miles in the wrong direction. Which I then had to walk in 95 degree, 85% humidity, near heavy traffic and in platform shoes. My date offered to pay for a cab, which I was unable to flag and was too mad at myself to seriously pursue chasing one down the street anyway. I arrived an hour late and a sweaty mess, but I must’ve had a healthy, glistening glow because he said I looked great and actually meant it!

That cut into our drinking time, so I downed a margarita in 10 minutes instead of 50 so we could get to our restaurant downstairs on time for the reservation–my second mishap was that I was already well on the way to intoxication. Dinner was great, the food was excellent; I felt very pampered at this fancy pants restaurant, especially finally sitting in the air conditioning.  The conversation was good, although I won’t pretend that everything was not pretty blurry, what with the dehydration and working into that second drink.

Then he gets this brilliant idea to take me to a dive bar, where we talk some more and, you guessed it, drink. I’m at three strong ones at this point, which could’ve been okay since I ate, but I just got started all wrong with my death march from the bus. So, then he makes his move in the parking lot, pulling me in and kissing me, even with some tongue as he goes to load me back into the car. “Mmmmmm, salty,” he comments about my margarita-flavored lips. It hardly seemed that my taste would be all that attractive,  I would’ve much preferred to have a mint first, but by this time I’m really too intoxicated to worry. Luckily he’s driving me all over town in his little sports car, which did feel pretty cool. (And he paid for everything.) Who knows how long it’s been since I’ve even been in a car like that, or if I’ve even dated anyone with such a car. Guess I’m not really that kind of girl though, when it comes down to it. He’s more Status Guy, I think and I’m just more Hippie Girl.

So he threw me a little bit of a curve, albeit a pleasant one, by wanting to go to a hookah bar next (this was a long date!) He was quite impressed by my skin show-age while stirring up the hookah’s coal. It’s definitely okay with me to have a guy be flirty like this when he is a bit turned on as long as he’s classy about it. Well, the hookah part was good, chatting some more–I think he was testing the waters perhaps for an unending night but I was firm on getting dropped off at home.

Leopold is quite intelligent, with a golden laugh that makes everyone around him happy. We were set up at a party by mutual friends and he even showed up there later just to meet me, which was nice. Unfortunately, he’s pretty overweight and just not very attractive to me. To make it worse, he’s this really wonderful, got-it-together guy with tons of friends; the kind of guy everyone loves but who still apparently winds up alone; probably due to his taste for a decent-looking girl but with his weight in the way of that. What I do know is, he’s been working on it, he’s lost a ton of weight and I give him major props for that. I think we can be good friends. There’s a lot of value in ending up with many awesome friends who were dates at one time.

Maybe Leopold and I are not really compatible anyway, he has guns for Pete’s sake!!! And maybe even in spite of the weight, there just isn’t enough chemistry. Here is another guy I can’t quite read. Something tells me he protects his heart. Something is starting to tell me that I guess I expect a guy to wear his heart on his sleeve more. But can I really expect that if I’ve also been burned and keep my own heart so well-guarded at this point?

Rating Him:

Face shape: 3

Body: 2

Eyes: 8.5

Hair or lack thereof/Facial hair or lack thereof: 6

Voice: 7.5 (big points for the laugh)

Sexiness: 1.5

Overall Physical Attractiveness: 3.5

Fashion: 7

IT-ness (the IT factor, you either have IT or you don’t): 4.5

Deportment: 8.5

Charm: 9

Amiable: 10

Polite: 10

Interesting: 8

Kiss-o-meter: 6

Rating Myself:

Face: 8

Body: 8.5

Smell: 5

Fashion: 9

Overall Physical Attractiveness: 7.5

Deportment: 8

Amiable: 10

Confidence: 8

Polite: 9

NAME OF DATE: “LAWRENCE”

ACTIVITY: COFFEE TURNED MUSEUM/WALK TURNED SHOPPING TURNED YOGA

VENUES: OUTDOOR/INDOOR COFFEE SHOP, INDOOR/OUTDOOR MUSEUM, STORE, HIS PLACE

MY OUTFIT: BLACK & WHITE PATTERNED STRAPPY 80’S-ISH TANK VERY LOW-CUT WITH ANOTHER LOW-ISH CUT TANK UNDERNEATH, JEANS, HAIR COMBED BACK A LITTLE ON SIDES; CUTE RED PLATFORM SANDLES (low-cut & red sandals win again!)

AMOUNT OF TIME BEAUTIFYING: 30-45 MINS (although I was very excited to go out with Lawrence, I worked out in the morning thinking of his fit-ness and how he seemed more of a Nature Boy, and also had less time period; was also tired of my period by this time)

FOLLOW-UP DONE BY: ME (I asked him on the coffee date we had planned via text sent 4 days later); HIM (after the coffee date, he contacted me the next night via text)

WILL I GO OUT WITH HIM AGAIN: YES

NARRATIVE: I met Lawrence a week earlier when I went to an event to sample varieties of tea. When I walked in the door of the coffee/tea shop and scanned over the faces of the participants sitting at the table together, one face stood out. A nice-looking chap at the back of the table. I think we’ve lost something by giving up Phrenology, which was popular 150-300 years ago. This guy was the perfect specimen. He had the effect of a large head (balanced by the fact that he was tall and just large enough of a person overall, while not in the least fat).

The shape of the entire face gave off a very noble effect. Large, beautiful blue-green eyes with an intelligent look; quite tall with the proper shoulders to support the head and go with the body and a long-ish well-shaped nose. A little nerdy looking and fairly nerdy talking. My God, I am a sucker for these types.

After the event, we both ended up coincidentally in a store nearby and picked up the conversation again a couple times. I then joked that I was following him out of the store when we even ended up leaving at the same time. Due to the serendipitous timing, we were able to walk down the street together to my car. He mentioned he was going to go on a run. Attractive—in shape!! Then he asked me out for coffee and we exchanged numbers. He seemed quiet, introverted and slightly nervous, versus his personality when we were in the group. It was kind of cute.

Onto the actual date: A gentleman, he tried to pay for my stuff. He helped me cross the stones at the creek. He not only volunteered to go shopping but carried my shit to the car.

Part of the attraction, beyond his nearly perfect phrenology, is his calmness and a quality that I would call centeredness. He seems to have an imperturbable center within himself, which in turn creates a certain quiet confidence.

First, there was coffee. He seemed a little more interested in listening over talking (which is always refreshing!) but there was also a pretty even interchange.

I thought we would just have coffee; I couldn’t exactly gauge his reaction to how well the date was going. He is a little hard to read in some way. But then on his suggestion, we went to a historic house/museum and walking trail. Touring the house and trail added a romantic atmosphere to the conversation and we warmed up toward each other.

Then, shopping to get it over with so we could continue hanging out. Then we went to his place. More talking and watched some TV. At some point there may’ve been kissing (allegedly). We also ate dinner and did yoga. His Yoga-ness and the way he looked in those basketball shorts was hot—a guy with great calves is a gift to the world. Further hotness when I noticed even more the beauty of his eyes. The intensity of one color circled by a darker color—whew!!

So what the hell am I doing, is this Scarlett O’Casual caught in the trap of lust?? Let’s just say it was a very, very good date. I liked getting re-introduced to my own sensuality, it’s been a long time.

Rating Him:

Face shape: 9.5 (yipes!)

Body: 8.5

Eyes: 9.5 (can I just say I’m melting?)

Hair or lack thereof/Facial hair or lack thereof: 7

Voice: 7.5

Smell: 8.5 (I couldn’t really smell him but that’s a lot better than smelling something I don’t want to)

Sexiness: 8.5

Overall Physical Attractiveness: 9

Fashion: 7.5

IT-ness (the IT factor, you either have IT or you don’t): 8

Deportment: 9

Charm: 8.5 (sense of humor adds a lot)

Amiable: 10

Polite: 10

Interesting: 8.5

Kiss-o-meter: 7.5

Rating Myself:

Face: 8.5 (looked kinda natural and glowing, I thought, but makeup a little smudged at the end)

Body: 8.5 (period, ugh but was getting through it; felt skinnier than I had in a while)

Smell: 7.5 (I was kinda sweaty on the trail)

Fashion: 8.5 (I like the shirt and I rocked the shoes)

Overall Physical Attractiveness: 8

Deportment: 9

Amiable: 8 (I was stand-offish in the coffee line)

Confidence: 7.5

Polite: 9

NAME OF GUY: MET 24 GUYS

ACTIVITY: SPEED DATING: 3-4 MINUTES TALKING TO EACH GUY

VENUE: INDOOR DOWNTOWN BAR, AFTERNOON

MY OUTFIT: BLACK TANK W/ GOLD SPARKLE DESIGN WITH VELVET JACKET; JEANS; BOB COMBED FORWARD, HAIR NEWLY CUT UP TO TOP OF NECK IN BACK; CUTE RED PLATFORM SANDALS (decided NOT to wear a low cut top to see if it would generate less interest and I think I was somewhat right; wore jeans because I was having my period and was bloated) (a guy on the street noticed my strut and my cute shoes—I know this because he said “Hey, how are you?”—he wasn’t creepy and he wasn’t too hard on the eyes, I almost decided to go on a date with him instead)

AMOUNT OF TIME BEAUTIFYING: 1-1 1/2 HOUR/S

FOLLOW-UP DONE BY: RECEIVE E-MAIL WITH CONTACT INFO OF THE GUYS WHO PUT ME ON THEIR INTERESTED LIST; IF I PUT THEM ON MY LIST, THEY WILL GET MY CONTACT INFO—STILL WAITING FOR THE E-MAIL

WILL I GO OUT WITH HIM AGAIN: YES, TENTATIVELY TO SCHEDULE A DATE WITH ANYONE WHO IS MUTUALLY INTERESTED

NARRATIVE: Well, this experience felt like taking crack–although I’ve never done this–it seems like it would be frenetic. How do you judge a guy based on 3-4 minutes? It turned out to be fun, even though I was irritated and bloated beforehand and didn’t particularly feel like going, I paid over $20 + parking so dammit, I was going! I learned something very interesting: presentation is crucial.

For example:

1) Almost every guy asked me what I do for a living. I decided to understate the importance of it, if anything, rather than make it sound like a more important job than it really is. Result: most of the guys seemed pretty unimpressed. Question: does this mean they are looking for a Sugar Mamas?

2) I was un-attracted to one guy’s high voice but he has a dog and seemed nice so I decided to add him to the list. (It’s all about what you say and your attitude.)

3) There were two guys who seemed a bit tired, pessimistic and disinterested. I had no interest in dating them regardless of any other qualities they may’ve had.

Who went on my list? Hotties, nerds, and guys who captivated me with a single detail—like the dog example, also a conversation about spirituality, and a guy who loves classic films.

It will be interesting to see who picks me and if I remember who the hell they are after the crack whore experience. Will it be the drunk guy who looks like Gilligan? I am curious to see  if the people I thought I liked really are the ones I like. I also could potentially have almost 20 new dates!

NAME OF DATE: “RICK”

ACTIVITY: SINGLES’ GROUP VALENTINE’S PARTY FOR PEOPLE WHO DO NOT LOVE VALENTINE’S DAY

VENUE: OUTDOOR/INDOOR CASUAL DOWNTOWN BAR

MY OUTFIT: BLACK & WHITE PATTERNED LOW-CUT, KNEE-LENGTH STRAPPY DRESS WITH VELVET JACKET & KNEE-HIGH GRANNY BOOTS; HAIR SLIGHTLY FLUFFED ON SIDES

AMOUNT OF TIME BEAUTIFYING: 1-1 1/2 HOUR/S

FOLLOW-UP DONE BY: HIM, NEXT MORNING VIA TEXT/PHONE CALL IN AFTERNOON

WILL I GO OUT WITH HIM AGAIN: YES, WE SAID WE WOULD ABOUT 2 WEEKS AFTER 1^ST DATE

INTRO: It seems fitting that Rick is Date #1—he would want to be. The question is, is this because of Short Man’s Syndrome or real confidence? Or both?

NARRATIVE: I arrived at this casual outdoor/indoor bar, such a typical example of this common venue in my City. A tall, old wooden fence surrounding the outdoor area, with rustic benches and tables contained alongside it. Inside, a DJ and a badly proportioned room that is too small for the crowd.

My first goal on arrival was food: protein to feed this beast. So I fought my way up to the bar to order and was standing by a guy who on first glance looked like Jemaine Clement (HOT!!) from Flight of the Concords but later did NOT look like him. (If it had been JC, I would’ve married him on the spot—if he’d have me—and forgotten this whole dating shenanigan of an experiment.) JC-NOT-look-alike politely let me order first as I had been standing there a few seconds before him. In response, I made the faux pas of saying I was there a little bit before him and making a weird measuring gesture with my finger. I think he thought I was being sarcastic, although I wasn’t. Oops, one mistake already and I had been there all of five minutes. The best things about this interaction were that 1)I dipped my toe in the water and had at least spoken to a member of the male species 2)since he turned out to be a poorly dressed schmuck with a dorky backpack and not like JC, I didn’t feel too sad about not getting to talk to him again. (Ah, the judgment comes out so soon! But if I’m going to do this blog, it’s got to be honest observation. And don’t worry Gentle Reader, I will be ever so harsh on myself later as well.

After this transitional Faux Pas Point, I was now ready to find a place (somewhere else) to go. Scouting out the bar I had an inner monologue moment: “Not a lot of options—inside, outside, hmmmmmm. Try not to look like a lonely dweeb. Remember, everyone here is probably a lonely dweeb—after all we are single at a non-Valentine’s Valentine party.” Were we all Barbie & Ken, we’d be driving through the dusk in the pink Corvette to make mad passionate love in the penthouse ‘til at least 2 A.M. And the perk the next morning would be waking up with peppermint breath and perfect makeup.

So at this point, I decide to walk around and scout where to Be, to exist unobtrusively. “Nope, still the same scene. Still alone, dang.” Noticing everyone as a Potential. Make notes of how attractive/non-creepy each individual is. Then, try not to think this because it only adds to my feeling of social awkwardness. “Should’ve stayed home and watched Netflix this weekend for the 64^th time running!” Anxiety. “Ok, calm down.” Talk my brain down from the jump off the balcony—go on auto pilot. Pick a table outside, sit, wait for food. Pretend to be nonchalant, watch people enter from sidewalk.

Enter: Rick. Shiny bald head, he’s short but looks fairly built, wearing jeans, button-up black shirt. Eye contact. He asks me a question about the event, I answer. He smiles, walks inside.

Again, alone and awkward, I get my food, thank God! Start snarfing and Rick comes back and asks if he can sit with me. Double relief. I’m flattered.

Next words out of his mouth are about his career/job. It’s a perfect funny moment to me as I realize this is just like in The Science of Sex Appeal which I watched as a dating-prep movie the day before. It is apparently important to the majority of men to give a potential mate their career information because of the biological drive to show themselves as capable providers. And maybe it’s working just a little on me as I check out his capable, strong looking forearms protruding from the black sleeves and his tough-looking tattoos. For all of his 5’7” build (he says he is 5’8”), he has a strong jaw and a great 5 o’clock shadow. And that bald, tough guy thing! Whew. Sadly, I think of Jean-Luc Picard, a.k.a. Patrick Stewart (God, I am such a nerd!) Someone once told me that women like his head because it looks like a large penis tip. (Read into this what you will but go easy on me, please.)

So, Rick and I end up talking, a lot. Luckily, in the five hours we spend together, the conversation was a pretty good interchange. We found out that we have weird personality quirks in common—like an affinity for cleanliness, over-organization and minimalism.

We spent the entire Event together except for a few interruptions. The longer the night went on the more drinks he kept going back for (eek!) and a couple guys stepped up to talk to me. I felt conflicted between wanting to mingle and act open and ready to talk to other people and trying to be polite to Rick, plus having a desire to be exclusive with him. I let my urge for exclusivity take over because I was enjoying his company and because I suppose it was easier than getting rid of him or introducing myself to new people all over. It’s also difficult to tear yourself away from someone when you have immediate chemistry and are having fun with them. And what is the first date supposed to be if not fun?? It may be good to practice letting something unfold with someone a bit on a date and then pulling back and playing the field again the next time up. There are obviously different angles to examine in this learning process. My self-analysis for this week includes fully acknowledging that I have consistently had a problem pulling back and establishing boundaries I am comfortable with when a guy shows more interest in me than I am ready to return. I am also aware that this may be the point at which my problem begins—why I end up in a relationship wherein the other person is in love and I am not. These are inevitably committed relationships, so usually stay with the person for a year or more and then cut and run. On some level, I am ok with playing a part, as much as I hate to admit it. It took me a long time to own that responsibility; for one thing there are so many things one can blame a bad relationship on that have to do with the other person. I also hate to admit this actor-like quality in myself because when it comes to breaking hearts, it becomes despicable. I am soft-hearted enough to hate hurting someone in the short-term, so much so that I become a coward and won’t get out of the relationship, even though I know it is all wrong. Then, when it’s time to finally let go of my frustration—and consequently Mr. Wrong—I am frustrated and hard-hearted enough to go through with it. So this dating experiment and blog is all about not falling into this trap again.

I want to know why I put so much pressure on myself to return an equal amount of interest in a guy that I don’t necessarily feel. Partly out of cowardice but also partly out of insecurity? A fear of rejection if I don’t return the interest and then he turns away and rejects me? An urge to be so nice that everyone will always like me? Maybe. This is something that will require more thought as the experiment continues.

Back to Rick. So, I felt apprehensive when he asked me what my plans were over the next couple days. I immediately felt the urge for more space. The flip side to this is that I was already charmed by his looks and sense of humor and knew I wanted to continue getting to know him. Plus, there is a definite rush of flattery when someone texts you “good morning” the next day and then calls later and asks you to go on a hike with he and his friend. (Hope they are not freaky-deaky axe murderers!) I was relieved, however, by the fact that I was unable to go due to time constraints, what with my need for space. We decided to get together again when he moves here in about two weeks. Now I am realizing that maybe I’m just a Commitment-Phobe hiding in an Over-Committers clothing, which is confusing.

The conclusion of the date was the bar gradually emptying out and Rick getting more interested in talking to a group of girls whose dance skills he was impressed by. I had no one to talk to and felt kind of punished for not wanting to dance due to self-consciousness.

A little later, when I got tired, he walked me back to my car and I gave him a ride back to the bar. I felt that in talking and being silly jumping on some weird fake turf on the sidewalk that we re-connected a bit. Dropping him off in front of the bar was a pragmatic operation involving a narrow street with nowhere to park. We shook hands, which felt a little weird, but hugging or kissing would’ve felt awkward under the circumstances.

Overall, I’d say it was a good introduction to the experiment—had some fun and got a little dolled up. Met someone I had some chemistry with and got a dose of some pitfalls (anticipated or not). Just getting out and getting started is a huge positive.

Rating Him:

Face shape: 8

Body: 6.5

Eyes: 6

Hair or lack thereof/Facial hair or lack thereof: 9

Voice: 9 (great phone voice)

Sexiness: 7.5

Overall Physical Attractiveness: 8

Fashion: 9.5

IT-ness (the IT factor, you either have IT or you don’t): 9

Deportment: 10

Charm: 9 (sense of humor adds a lot)

Amiable: 7

Polite: 7 (got me water, lost points talking to the girls w/o including me in the conversation)

Interesting: 7

Kiss-o-meter: N/A 

Rating Myself:

Face: 8 (makeup started out great, smudged by end of night)

Body: 7.5 (dress was loose around waist, felt a little overweight & thick around the middle)

Smell: 8.5 (I was not sweaty & did not stink)

Fashion: 6 (see Body)

Overall Physical Attractiveness: 8 (the most effective part of my outfit was apparently the low-cut top, caught Rick checking out the girls)

Deportment: 9 (I carried myself well)

Amiable: 7 (I lost points for not jumping in to dance)

Confidence: 6

Polite: 10