Neglected and Catching Up.

Yes, I know. This blog has been quite neglected. I wish I had something exciting to write, but I don't. Well, kinda, but not really. It's been two months, and one would think "Two months, that's plenty of time for lots of awkward dates!" Not a whole lot, but I do have two to report.

The first was with Craft Beer guy, the family friend's friend that I mentioned back in May. We met up for drinks one weeknight and it went pretty well, but not well enough. Conversation did not lag one bit, but that's because he kept talking and talking and talking. I had a nice evening, but overall I didn't feel like there was much for us to go off of. The connection just wasn't there. He walked me back to my place and along the way I got the sense he wanted to hold hands, so I just crossed my arms instead. Eh. After we said goodbye, I never heard from him again. And that was ok. But I did hear about him again.

So as you might recall, originally my mother was involved. And I didn't want her to be. I never told her that I went on a date with this guy, and after it didn't amount to anything, I didn't see any reason to say anything. Wellllllll, my family friend "Paul" decided to mention it to his mother, "Mrs. Marvel," or it just so happened to come up in passing. Well, his mother told my mother, and eventually it came full circle.

My mother felt the opportune time to discuss this was at brunch for Father's day. As we were discussing a completely different topic, she all of a sudden asked "Have you talked to "Paul," lately? When was the last time you spoke with him?"

Gulp. "Um... no, not recently... we were just talking about [whatever it was we were talking about]. What does this have to do with that?"

Mom: "Oh nothing. I was just wondering. So, Mrs. Marvel said that you messaged "Paul"."  Right then, our food came. I have never been so happy to see food in my life. The conversation ended. Thank you, Big Man Upstairs.

A month later..... my parents and I are at dinner, and again, my mother switches gears and brings up a new topic. She starts to go on and on how "Mrs. Marvel" told her about my date and everything she had heard about it. My mother then asks, "So do you still talk to this young man?"

Me: "No."
Mom: "Why?"
Me: "He never called me back."
Mom: "Did you not show enough interest?" (How motherly of her)
Me: "No, I just don't think there was enough chemistry."

The convo fizzled from there. I informed my mother that I go on lots of dates, I just don't tell her about them since they never amount to anything, and same went for Craft Beer guy. No sense in talking someone up who isn't going to stick around.

The second was different and unexpected. I went to a 4th of July party on the 3rd of July, because that makes sense (well, it does, because we had the 4th off, being a national holiday and all, so it's expected to go out the night before a day off). Anyways, I met a guy there. And he was quite awesome. We were chatting it up and he asked if I wanted to go on a walk right then. I said "Yes," and as we started down the drive way, our friends stopped us. We got held up in the driveway and eventually went inside to watch my friend's sky diving video. Then we continued to chat and he asked if I wanted to go for a walk again. I said yes, and again we got held up, but this time in the kitchen. Eventually it got late, so I decided to head out. I was bummed that I didn't exchange numbers with this guy, and thought about it the whole ride home.

When I got home, I decided to take some initiative. I found this guy on Facebook via the event invite list, and decided to message him. It went like this:

Me: "Just let me know if you ever want to go on that walk sometime!"
Him: "Haha, I do enjoy a nice walk."
Me: "Well, if the next time you'd like some company, just give me a call! 555-555-5555."
Him: "Sweet deal. You'll have my number soon. ;) "
Me: "Awesome! Can't wait! :) "

So a day passed, and one Monday night, I got a call from a number I didn't know. I typically don't answer numbers I don't know. But I do look up the number in case it's some telemarketer or such. Nada. But, I then noticed I had a voicemail! HE CALLED! I was ecstatic. When guys actually call, it is major points in my book.

I eventually called him back after being talked down by my girlfriend and got most of the nervous jitters out. He answered, and we started chatting away. It felt so natural and I had never felt more comfortable talking to someone before. We made plans to hang out that Wednesday. After my golf lesson (yes, I attempt to play golf), I gave him a call to see if we were still on. And we were! He suggested coming to his apartment to make omelettes. Now, I said yes, but was very guarded. I did not like that he suggested his apartment for a first date. But I decided to go with it just to see what happens. I got there, and we scrambled, we sliced, we diced, we sauted. It was probably one of the best dates I had been on. We then watched tv as we ate our delicious omelettes. Afterwards, we went on that walk, finally. It got late, and eventually I had to head home. It was really one of the best dates I had been on and with someone I felt so comfortable and like myself around.

A few days passed, and I hadn't heard from him. He mentioned he was going out of town for the weekend, so I figured I wouldn't hear from him and I didn't want to initiate anything myself. Eventually the weekend came to an end, and Monday came and went. Tuesday afternoon, I decided I'd give him a call. So much for not initiating. But I decided I'd give him a call, say I had fun hanging out last week, and would like to hang out again. If he didn't want to, that's ok. There would be my answer. So I called, and said just that; I had a nice time, would like to hang out again, and if not, that's fine. I had left this in a voice mail, and not more than 10 minutes later, he called back! He said he had been planning on calling me to hang out again (skeptical). We made plans to hang out again after my golf lesson that Wednesday.

I gave him a ring, and we decided to go play basketball at a nearby park. It was a ton of fun! If there is one thing I like doing, it's something interactive. We played basketball, then we tossed a Frisbee around until the sprinklers came on unexpectedly, and then hit some tennis balls. It was a ton of fun, but I did feel like something was slightly off. I disregarded it and told myself to just go with the flow. We went back to his apartment again, ate dessert and watched one of my favorite shows 'Modern Family." It was starting to get late and I thought that overall it had gone pretty well.

Then out of the blue, he says "So, I have some bad things to say." (Who says that, honestly?) And that's when I went into shock. He proceeds to go on saying that although he's enjoyed hanging out, he's not looking for a relationship, and the feelings of not wanting a relationship are still greater than feelings towards me. He starts on about his past relationships and how they were bad, and what he didn't like about them, etc. I'm sitting there, taking this all in. Finally, I pipe up and give him my two cents.... or ... maybe more. I told him I appreciated his honesty, however I felt like he was jumping the gun. We hung out twice. TWICE. Did I mention twice? And with this, I felt like he didn't give me a fair shot. Also, if he already felt this way before this date, then he shouldn't have returned my call and we shouldn't be sitting there on his couch. Overall, he pretty much wanted the benefits of a relationship without being in a relationship, if you get my drift. I told him HELL-TO-THE-NO, and that I wasn't the girl he's looking for currently. I also told him how I once was in a relationship that going into it had a definite end, and it ended badly. We both went into it not wanting anything serious, and it got seriously ugly. So I passed along my words of wisdom to this guy that he can't go into a relationship that has a definite end and think it will come out all rainbows and butterflies. It won't.

We left it as being friends and that I would call him to hang out.

I have not called him and don't plan to.

Updates

Several people have asked me what happened to this blog in the past 2 months.

Fine, here's an update.

"Tom" and I still keep in touch. I figure if he wants to see me or talk to me, he has my number and knows how to get in touch. However, I have come to the realization (honestly, although I want to deny it sometimes) that its not going to go anywhere between us. We're in two different places in our lives and want different things. Friendly is going to be where it stays.

Other than that, there has been nothing. I haven't met anyone since giving up online dating, and this is how it works in the real world. I don't have dates every couple of days or every week, and although I do get out there and very frequently, meeting people on your own is a lot harder. So because of that, there are long, LONG, LONG, periods of time where I don't meet anyone. Sorry, just how the game goes. 

In addition, I just don't have the desire to put forth any effort towards someone. Call me jaded, but I've gotten tired of it all and really don't see the point of putting in effort towards a situation that won't go anywhere. I'm exhausted and really don't want to focus any of my time or attention to dating since it doesn't ever seem to end well. 

However, they always say it finds you when you stop looking.

Two different situations. I'll share one here and do another post later. 

I went out for my friend's birthday to a local bar and had myself a pretty good time. It wasn't too crowded so we were all able to mingle and get to know one another. A few drinks later, I found myself chatting it up with this guy at the end of the night. He seemed nice, but I wasn't really 100% drawn to him. As we were heading out, he asked for my number, and I obliged, after he asked me about five times. As we are exchanging numbers, I asked what his name is, and then I asked again, and again, and again. I could not for the life of me remember his name until I went to enter it into my phone. We said goodbye and parted ways. 

The next day, I was looking at my call-log and noticed a missed call from "Aaron" from the night before when we exchanged numbers. I was like "Huh? Oh yea, that guy. Ehhhhhhhh." He just became an afterthought and that was about it. 

The day after that, I was snoooozing away in an afternoon nap when my phone started ringing. It was "Aaron." I was completely shocked while also being half asleep. After I finished my nap, I called my girlfriend to get the 411 on this guy since we had only spoken briefly and I wasn't in a state to really remember anything substantial, not even his name for Pete's sake (if only he were named Pete). I met up with my girlfriend to debrief and found not much other than his age, he has a job, and that he's nice. 

Well I've got news for you; everyone is nice. A few hours later, I suppose his buddy told him I was asking about him, so he texted me. We exchanged a few, and then after I left my friend's place, I gave him a call. Annnnnnnd that's where things were a little different. After only speaking for about 5-10 minutes I realized that this was not the guy for me. Although I really appreciate that he called me first rather than texting, big points in my book (or blog), he sounded like one of the dumbest people ever. Our conversation was lack luster and there was nothing substantial to it. He was talking about the most random things, probably because he was nervous, but still, it was going nowhere. I held out for a little longer until I reached my apartment and said I was going to lose service. So, I said I'd call him back. 

I wish I hadn't. It was another 30 minutes of lack luster conversation that wasn't leading to anything. I finally said "Ok, I have to get going so I can get ready for my week and for bed" (it being a Sunday and all). He said "Ok, call me any time you want." We said "Bye" and that was the end of it. 

Call him any time I want? Buddy, I don't want to call you, I want to see where this goes and actually meet up in person. If you want to talk to girls on the phone, there's plenty of other numbers that provides that service. 

After not being impressed, I decided I didn't want to pursue this any further. He, of course, felt otherwise. The next day he texted me, then called me, and then texted me saying he was going to bed soon. However, I was busy having dinner with an old friend and catching up after too many months passing. The next day, he texted again, 3-4 separate times, and the final text saying to call him that night because he "needs to ask me something." I had enough, and replied back by saying sorry, but I am not interested. It was nice to meet him, and best of luck.

So far..... I haven't heard anything. Terrific. 

It did, however, remind me of the times that I put forth effort into someone and the feelings weren't being reciprocated. Instead of ignoring him and having him continue to contact me, I just decided to nip it right then and there and just tell him how I feel. I felt as if I was polite about it and he got an answer, and we can both move on. If only it could go like this every time.... but it doesn't. And that's when I get to blog about it. 

Stay tuned..... 

A Break.

Hello, again.

So an update. 

I haven't heard from "New Guy" since Sunday. 

Maybe he could sense that I wasn't 100% in this, or maybe I'm not his type. 

It's alright, cause I'm thinking he might not be my type either. 

Although our date was enjoyable, I just didn't feel a spark. 

I tried my best to keep an open mind and not limit my options. 

Oh well, moving on.

"Tom" and I met up this week and chatted about things. We've decided to take a step back and just be friends. 

I do enjoy spending time with him, however, right now I don't think it is the best timing. 

I'm glad we can at least be friends but disappointed I won't get to see where this could have gone. 

He really is someone that I could really see myself with and I think is the type of person who really compliments me. 

I haven't been able to say that in a long time. 

Lesson Learned: Timing is everything. 

Going out with a bang

Hello folks!!

I feel like I owe you all one last post before the new year. 

And it has also been a while. 

Not a whole lot to report but still enough to drop by and check in. 

The "Dude" I was supposed to go on a date with, and then he canceled, and then asked about rescheduling never set any rescheduled set plans. I actually haven't heard from him since last Tuesday morning and today is Thursday. I do know he's out on a cruise, but frankly I don't really care where he is at this point. He lives too far away, anyways so I suppose it's best we never went on a date. Ehh. 

"Tom" has been quite communicative this past week since we last hung out and he explained his disappearing act. I'm honestly not sure what is going on, but he is very adamant about hanging out again and soon. My game plan is to just hang out and see what happens. Since our "talk," I know I can be honest and straight forward with him if I'm confused as to what's going on. For now, I'm really not trying to think about it until something actually happens between us. If something does, I'll definitely write about it! Hold tight until then. 

In other news, I may have a date next week! New year, new guy! I have been messaging with this one guy, and although it's been quite ... I guess sparse is the best word that comes to mind right now..... in our conversations, I think it at least leaves us with plenty to talk about on a date. Since the holidays have gotten in the way, it has not made it easy in trying to schedule a date. I gave him my phone number so the ball is in his court! Stay tuned for new material! 

Happy New Year, Everyone!!!! 

Meh.

Hi, again.

So, really no movement anywhere. Dude who I was supposed to go out with last week never rescheduled, but we're still keeping in touch. However, it's starting to lose its luster. He asked about Thursday, but no concrete plans have been set, and given that tomorrow is Thursday, I don't foresee anything happening. Meh. 

Last night I grabbed drinks (I had water) with "Tom." It was interesting. I had not my best of days earlier that day so I was in a really down mood; more depressed/sad than being angry or w/e. Anyways, he still wanted to get together to "talk" and so we did. He apologized for dropping off the face of the earth and said that he got scared. He said that his thoughts got ahead of him rather than enjoying the time we were spending together at that moment. I appreciated that he wanted to meet up with me and have this conversation face to face. He asked if we could still hang out cause he did enjoy the time we spent together; I was and still am unsure. I'm just not in a place in my life anymore where I really want to see anyone nor just hang out with someone. I appreciate that he's trying to be nice and friendly, but frankly I don't really want another guy friend nor hanging out with one that I've already sort of dated; I feel like there will be some awkward tension and I rather not see him attempt to hit on other girls nor talk about other girls. However, the night was awkward but still relaxing and did lighten my mood. I'm not sure what's going to happen with "Tom," but for now, at least I got an answer. 

Good News Bad News

Hi. 

The good news is I have an outfit to wear for my date tonight. 

The bad news is that I don't have a date tonight. 

Homeboy had to cancel.

He had mentioned to me Tuesday that he was flying to NY on Wednesday for work. 

I asked if he would be back in time and he said yes. 

Things changed, shit shows happened, and he's not coming back till Friday. 

Boo.

However, we did plan to reschedule for next week. 

I'll keep you posted. 

December

I know, I know, I know. 

My posts have been far and few between in the past few months.

Mostly cause, well, there's very little to write about. 

So, here's an attempt at catching up. 

I do have a date coming up next week. He's one of the guys I have been talking to that I mentioned last week. I'm kind of excited, but I am not having high hopes since there is some distance between us. However, he seems like a fun guy (fungi! I wonder if he's a cremini) and outgoing. I'll give it a shot, but have my guard up about the whole thing. 

As for the other dude I was talking to, it went something like this:

He asked if I wanted to get drinks this past weekend. I said yes and that any day would work.

Well, prior to that, he asked me a question which might be my biggest pet peeve of online dating.

"So, have you gone out on a lot of dates with guys from this site?" 

Buddy, it is NONE of your business how many guys I've gone on dates with from online dating. I'm not going to tell you, "Oh yea, I go out on lots of dates. I've even started a blog about it! If you're lucky, you'll make it on there!" Well, he got lucky cause he's now on here, but not in a good way. 

So then I didn't hear from him after he asked about drinks. I decided to send him my number. This is the text convo we had:

"Hey sorry things been hectic. This is "Aaron" from [online dating site]. So I want be honest I kind of started talking to someone and want to see where it goes." 

Talking.... not seeing? You've been TALKING to this girl who has blown you away so much that you are blowing me off for drinks? Right. 

My reply: "Well, best of luck to you then"

HIS REPLY: "Thanks. if want talk maybe hang out as friends would still be cool talk."

Buddy, I am not on this site to make friends. I have enough guy friends. If I wanted to make new friends, I'd go join a kickball team or play golf or something that involves meeting new people NOT ONLINE. 

What is wrong with some folks? I appreciate the honesty, however, use some tact. Good googa mooga. 

Anyways, I got this message this past week. Thought it was a tad funny:

"By any chance did you happen to do the Run For Your Lives around Halloween this year? It was really fun! 5K ... with mud and obstacles ... and zombies."

I didn't know I gave off the "I think zombies are the shit" vibe. 

So, that's my life in a nutshell. "Help, I'm trapped in a nut shell!" 

I'm not sure if you noticed, but I kind of like puns. 

End of November Updates

Hi there. 

So November has been an interesting month. 

Run down of the past week(-ish):

1. No, I never heard back from "Tom."

Most likely we'll run into each other one night and it will be awkward. 

Enough about him.

2. The result of my drunk online dating messaging with the Ginger. He did reply! With this:

"Hey [Me], I think you're pretty cool too and I definitely had fun at homecoming but I kinda started dating a girl a few weeks ago and don't wanna mess anything up with that. :/" 

I replied with this:

Hey "Ginger", 

So there was some liquid courage in that message I sent you last night, if it wasn't obvious. But I will admit, I've thought about messaging you for a while and apparently got enough in me to do it. I got a great laugh out of it today and hope you did too. Thanks for the reply back and good luck with the new chick! See ya around! (Either way, apparently. I have NO idea what I meant by that, nor half of that message.)

3. I've been messaging with two guys, but neither of them have "wowed" me. One I'm attracted to, but he doesn't live near by. The other I don't find as attractive, physically and quickly developing personality-wise, but he lives near by. I might give him a shot, but I'm not expecting much. 

Frankly, I'm very exhausted from all this dating and crap. 

I really have little to no interest to continue online dating, nor dating as a whole.

I'm fine being single and I'm having lots of fun doing my own thing, which is really the most important thing to focus on. 

If someone comes along and wants to be a part of the fun; terrific. But for now, I'm going to just do me. 

It's been an experience, but it's one that I think I've had enough of. 

My subscription ends December 29th to the one site I am currently on.

I deactivated the "free" site because... well, it was free and obviously so by the types of "men" on there. 

The weekend came and went... just like "Tom"

Hello folks!

So, I guess to give you the final update on "Tom," is that there isn't much to update since last week. 

I ended up texting him Thursday afternoon and it went like this:

Me: "Hey hows your week going? How'd your weekend turn out in PA? Didn't realize you were going out of town again."

"Tom": "Its good. I'm working saturday 6-4pm for overtime work, kinda sucks. PA was fun I hadn't seen my buddy in forever so it was good to see him. How have you been?"

Me: "That sucks ass you have to work Saturday. This week has been busy at work n prepping for stuff next week so its not too crazy. Other than that, can't complain! 

That was Thursday evening. 

I haven't heard from him since.

Nor do I CARE to hear from him.

I'm very disappointed. 

Not sure where things went south, but they did.

I get it, you're just not that into me. 

Next. 

A week later...

Alrighty, folks. 

I've left you hanging for a week now. 

Here's the situation:

"Tom" and I hung out last Wednesday evening  and things went alright. So I thought, at least. 

Before he had left, we chatted briefly about when we were going to hang out again next. 

It went like this:

"Tom": "What works for you this weekend?"

Me: "Saturday is good."

"Tom": "Ok, Saturday it is." 

Well, then Thursday passed by, no word from him. That's ok. 

Friday passed by, no word from him. Eh, ok. 

Friday night, after a few drinks with friends and hanging out at a local bar, I sent him a text since I was thinking about him: "Hey What are you up to?" No response. 

Saturday: nothing all day. 

Finally, I bit the bullet and sent him a text:

Me: "Hey did you still want to do something tonight?"

"Tom": "Hey I'm in Pennsylvania tonight."

Me: "Oh ok have fun"

I have not heard from him since. 

Not quite sure what happened. 

We've seen each other once a week now for the past 4 weeks.

Been in communication. 

Up until now.

I was quite startled that he was out of town. 

He didn't mention anything about going out of town anytime soon.

He had been out of town the weekend before. 

I was surprised, and still am. 

It's been about 5 days now since I have heard from him.

I don't think I'll hear anything else from him unless I say something first. 

I'm disappointed, mostly because, I thought things were alright and we were on the same page.

Apparently not. 

I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do now.

I've gone back and forth as to whether I might shoot a text his way to see if he still exists. 

However, nothing has been done nor said yet. 

Maybe that's for the best? 

Not really all that much of a happy camper.

Date with "Peter 2" aka with a gift from God... of himself.

Alrighty, so I went. Saturday's date was with a gift from God... of himself. This guy came off as if he's hot stuff. I beg to differ.

We texted on Friday and decided on my suggestion for a place to meet and a time. Woo.

Saturday afternoon I got a text from him.

Him: We still good for tonight?

Me: Yep! Does it still work for you?

Him: Yep.

Um, we talked the day before and I ended it with "See you tomorrow!" So.... I am not sure why he felt the need to confirm, AGAIN, the day of, that we were still meeting.

I was not excited for this date by any means. I even contemplated canceling the date completely. Before hand, I got sushi with a friend so I was nice and full before the date and there was no room to eat. I really didn't care about this date and I didn't even wash my hair; that's how much I didn't care. Apparently my cleanliness level is directly proportional to that of my interest in a guy. Hot.

I got back from sushi and started to get ready, but was starting to run late. When I was on my way, I texted him to let him know that I was running a few minutes late but I would be there soon. This was at 7:50pm and we were meeting at 8pm. At least I had the courtesy to let him know I was running behind.

His reply: If the professor is 15 minutes late to class then it is canceled. ;)

I was pissed. This was pretty rude of him, and I understand the attempt at humor, but buddy, who are you? God? I'm running just a few minutes late, not an hour. Life happens; you get stuck at red lights and behind slow cars. There is nothing I can do about it.

I replied: I should be there in 5 min but only if I don't keep getting every red light.

His reply: No worries. I'm jamming out to 80s in my car just text me when u get here ill meet u out front.

My reply: Parking now. (literally sent this right after his text.... timing couldnt have been more perfect.... for that at least.)

Ok, so I haven't even MET this guy at this point and I can't believe I'm still going on this date.

I was 7 minutes late; how dare I run so late.... eh.

I am waiting out front and don't see him; where the hell is this guy? Then he comes stroooooolling around the corner at probably the slowest, leisurely pace I've ever seen. Ok, buddy, I get the point. First thought; this guy is so much better looking in person than he appeared in his pictures. Whew.

We hug hello and make our way inside to the restaurant which was much more crowded than I anticipated. I asked the hostess if the bar area was "seat yourself" which it was. We found a place along side a wall and staked out our territory. We agreed to get a beer sampler since the restaurant brews its own beer. As I waited, I was thinking, hmm, this isn't as bad as I anticipated. Finally, the bartender brought over the sampler to where he was standing at the bar, but then I noticed..... he was closing out his tab.

Well, I guess the sampler was it. He clearly wasn't anticipating anymore drinks past the 5 small beers we ordered.

He picked up the sampler and brought it over to where I was standing. That's when the date really began. And it was pleasant! I honestly was quite impressed with his actually self. Conversation seemed to flow pretty well and we seemed to have a lot to talk about. I was starting to warm up to this guy and thought, "Hmm, he's not that bad looking and I feel like we are connecting some. This is a pleasant surprise!"

After a little while, he excused himself to the restroom, and proceeded with the slowest pace ever. It was so weird.

I checked my phone and just about an hour had passed. We were almost done with our beers, so I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen next.

Once he returned we continued talking for a little while longer and finished the last of the beer. Then he announced that he had to get going because he had to be in DC by 9:30pm. He asked if I thought he could get there by 9:30pm and I asked, "Well, what part are you going to?"

Him: "Uhh, I'm not sure, I'm just entering the address into my GPS. But do you think I could make it by then?"

Me: "Um, do you know what part at least? Like Chinatown or.... something.....?"

Him: "Uhhh.... Georgetown."

So then I proceeded to ramble a little and tried to instill confidence that he could make it by 9:30pm to Georgetown.

We headed out the door and did a quick hug goodbye in which he said "It was night to meet you. Have a good evening."

Ok, so this guy KNEW he had to leave by 9pm ish in order to be on time at his next "appointment" of 9:30pm in the city. He did not mention this ONCE that he had somewhere to be later that night.

My question is this; why did he suggest a time of 8pm and only give the date an hour's worth of time when he had another commitment?

To me, this guy was a straight up douche. First, he does a half ass job at scheduling the date to begin with, and has the nerve to suggest me coming out HIS way, TWICE. Then, he's rude about the fact that I'm running just a few minutes late (I was a grand total of 7 minutes late). Then, he announces he has another engagement and has to bounce. Buddy, why did you even want to meet in the first place?

Clearly, you are not putting in a lot of effort because maybe you got burned in the past and don't want to waste your time. And let me tell you; I hear ya on that one. I don't want to waste MY TIME either. Maybe if you gave me a reason to be excited about this date, it would have gone better.

This is why I am over men.

"Jason"

So I had a date Friday night with "Jason."

Jason is 29 and seemed like a really laid back guy. We have a lot in common in that we both had similar majors in undergrad and he also played hockey growing up. Well, I didn't play hockey growing up but I did figure skate, so the fact that I found SOMEONE who can ice skate is amazing in of itself. Not many lads are willing to take to the ice; wimps. Skating is something we first spoke about via our messages and connected with from the get go. He was also from New England where part of my family lives and I really liked that about him as well, since we could share that childhood memory of summers spent up north, and for him... well his whole life. Same thing, right? Yea.

After messaging back and forth a bit, we finally decided to get together and hit the ice, literally. I had just gotten my skates sharpened and needed to dull them down, so we decided to meet up for dinner and some skating afterwards. I kept going back and forth with this guy; we had a bit in common and I was really excited to meet someone who was willing to skate with me and do something out of the ordinary and not the usual just dinner or drinks. As the weekend closed in and the date got nearer and nearer, I became more and more nervous about the date and had forgotten about all those butterflies that are set loose inside your stomach.

Before the big day, I looked over his profile once more and a few things stood out to me which hadn't before; apparently he was 5'7", I'm 5'3.5", 5'4" on a good day. It hadn't occurred to me that he was a shorter guy, but I tried to not let this bother me. Also, it said he was a "smoker, but trying to quit."

How did I miss THAT one?! I am not a fan of smoking; no sirree. Have I tried to inhale a cigarette before? Yes. Did I continue with that? No. I get that maybe in college the whole "I'll have one if I'm drunk," bit, but upon entering the real world, I realized how disgusting it is. However, I was like, "Well, it says he's trying to quit; maybe he only smokes when drinking or like... one a day?"

I was too hopeful.

We met up at the near by mall at a restaurant I had only been once before and it was delic! First of all, they had one of my favorite beers on tap, and not only that, it was on happy hour special too! SCORE! Then, I ordered a bison burger for dinner and it may have been one of the best burgers ever!! SCORE! Overall, I was very satisfied with my hunger and drinking needs.

Oh right, my date. We met outside the restaurant and he was wearing a navy, college hoodie, jeans, and white sneakers. I thought this was odd; I get that we were going to go skating, but at least put on a polo for dinner. I had left all my stuff in my car but had taken the time to dress up for the date at least (sweater, jeans, and heels, in case anyone cares). Anyways, we proceed into the restaurant and are seated immediately. Dinner conversation was pretty good; I was pleasantly surprised by how well we conversed! It was much better than half of the dates I've been on, I can say that much. I liked how ambitious he was and driven, as well as and that he was interested in a bunch of different activities. He was really easy to talk to and I felt much more myself around him than I have with other dates. We talked so much that we ended up missing the ice skating session and decided to go down the street to grab some more drinks.

Thaaaat's when things went a bit south. While walking to the next place, he asked me if I minded if he smoked a cigarette as we walked down the street. I did mind, but said it was ok; we were outside so I figured it was better there than inside somewhere or something of the like. We got to our next destination and ordered some beers and continued to chat. Our conversations were going great but he was starting to remind me of one of my exes; no bueno. Then he asked me if I would want to go outside with him real quick while he smoked another cigarette.

Good googa mooga; another cigarette? I was like "No, I'll just sit inside; I don't mind." He went outside real quick and I just sat there thinking.... this is a problem. He came back inside and mentioned that he's trying to quit. My smart mouth got the best of me and I said "And how's that going for you?" If he is rude enough to smoke two cigarettes on our date, then I think I can be rude enough to ask how his quitting is going for him, cause clearly it's not going THAT well. We continued talking for another forty-five minutes or so and then decided to call it quits (the night, not the smoking, clearly).

As we were walking back to my car, he decided to light up, AGAIN, for the third time. At this point, I was thankful that the date was ending but a bit disappointed as well. I really did enjoy spending time with this guy  and if it weren't for the smoking, I'd definitely would want to see him again. Once we got back to my car, I said thank you and that I had a fun, great time, which I did minus the smoking. We said we'd keep in touch and parted ways.

I haven't heard from him since I last saw him Friday night. Maybe he's been busy smoking all those cigarettes. Ew.

Lesson learned: Speak your mind if you do mind. Smoking is a deal breaker, for me, and I shouldn't have said that I didn't mind the first time he lit up that cigarette.

Neeeext.

"Peter"

Next Up: "Peter"

"Peter" was hot. He first messaged me and boy was I excited. He was new to the site and I was one of the first girls he decided to contact; I was flattered. He was a really ambitious guy and extremely smart. He had THREE majors and a great job at a major accounting firm here in the area. I was really impressed how driven he was but was also a bit intimidated since although I have goals, I have yet to achieve them and feel as if I could do a lot more in my life to strive towards them. Anyways, he had studied abroad and had amazing things to share with me about his travels. He even offered to exchange some photos, but I declined, since my email is my entire full name and we had only just begun messaging one another.

We still talked for a little over a week and since he hadn't asked to get together, I went ahead and suggested getting drinks, hoping it wasn't too forward of me. He agreed to meet up and didn't think it too forward of me to ask; he had been reluctant since I didn't want to exchange emails so soon. We set a date for a Friday night at my favorite restaurant for drinks. We exchanged phone numbers and kept in touch during the rest of the week. He even called me one evening and we ended up speaking for an hour on the phone; his voice was as hot as his photos. Hubba hubba.

One thing about "Peter," though, is that he was EXTREMELY busy. He constantly worked 12-14 hour days and wouldn't get home till 9 or 10 at night. Sometimes even later. This concerned me because how was he going to have time for dating/a relationship if he is at work all the time? I had a previous relationship with a guy who also would have periods of working extremely long hours and it was NOT easy on our relationship, that is for damn sure. I just threw this thought into the back of my mind and tried to focus more on meeting up that Friday.

We met up in front of the restaurant and he was just as attractive in his photos as he was in person; he was very much my type physically. Yum. We grabbed two seats at the bar and ordered some drinks. It was a bit awkward at first, mostly because this was his first ever online date, apparently. That also made me very nervous. However, we found plenty to talk about and chatted for a couple hours. We covered pretty much every topic and I was really starting to dig this guy more and more. I felt like he was someone I could introduce to my friends and my family and could really just roll with the punches that life gives him. We were both fairly tired and it was getting late. We decided to split and walked out together back to our cars.

We hugged goodbye and happened to park just a few spots away from one another. I felt pretty good about this date, but was still unsure how it would go in the coming days. When I got home, I noticed I had a text message from him saying he had a fun evening. It really put a smile on my face and definitely was a good start to the weekend. The next day I sent him a text saying I hoped he was enjoying his weekend off from not working and he was enjoying the beautiful weather. He replied back and also asked how my weekend was going and I replied once more.

I haven't heard from him since this past weekend. Either he's not interested or he's buried beneath TPS reports. Oh well, his loss.