Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Hey Ma! A girl's gotta eat, Ma!

24 hours later, so much to write.

Yesterday, worked all day. Ironed some clothes for my week o'dates around 5:15. Got a call from the young Angus Barn guy around that time...

"Hey, are we on for tonite at 6:30?" he asked in a very sleepy voice. (Bad idea gnome is lurking around...)

"Yeah, didn't you get my email from this morning?"

"Uh (yawn) no the internet has been down here at the house..."

Honestly, the guy sounded like one of the many Chapel Hill guys I dated back in 1994. Yeah, you heard right, 1994. Bad idea gnome was skipping around my feet at that point. I began to think, maybe this guy isn't like 34...maybe he's 28. He sounds 22 on the phone right now. UGH!

I call Fun Girl. She says cut some slack and get out there and go on this date. I do need to get back on the horse, even if the horse is lazy and unambitious. A girl has gotta eat!!!

So I get all dolled up, and feel good about myself at that point. Unbelievable what showering everyday does for one's self esteem.

I should digress here. Guess where I am meeting him for said date? The Cheesecake Factory at Southpoint. Yeah. That's right. Amazing frickin' restaurants all over this metropolitan area, and he picks that. I hear you all laughing! I can hear RS2/Hotness laughing all the way from India!

So I head in the car to Cheese Factory. Once there, I sit at the bar and promptly order a vodka soda - I'm gonna need it. The bartender, who is a dead ringer for Turtle on Entourage, is very attentive. Sweet.

He shows up, about 5 minutes late. He's not as cute as I remember from the Wild Turkey Lounge. Is the lighting better there or something? He looks a bit dorky to me. He's got nice hair albeit a bit short for my taste. No grays, no receding hairline. He's about 6'2".

I don't think I'm gonna sleep with this one.

He looks a little bit like he should be in the military. I'm not really into this look. But I say, self, you gotta make a good go of this. There's many more to come. Practice run. Training camp for dating. This is your first scrimmage, hang in there. Be the ball...oops I digressed again, but honestly I was having to talk myself into this as it was happening.

So he sits, orders some fancy vodka martini, and he's clearly nervous. We talk, and I learn that he's 32 (oh thank god thank god he's not 28 or something like that) and he's not phased by my age in the least.

I don't think I am gonna sleep with this one.

He talks about what he does (he manages bar/restaurant in a very swanky hotel in Durham) and that he graduated from Carolina (nice) but that it took him eight years (rutrohraggy) and that he's very single (good) but the reason is he mostly hangs out with early twenty-somethings that think he's old (rutroh again) and he's really into (drumroll please):

Paintball.

Hmmm.

I don't think I am gonna sleep with this one.

But now, game on. I'm gonna make this date awesome, if only as practice for me being the most fabulous person I can be. I am way out of this guy's league, but scrimmage on girl! Call me haughty but its the truth. At least now I have the sense to recognize it.

Other great quotes?

  • I'm not really into travel - I kind of like it right here in NC
  • I was so nervous about this date I forgot to put on deodorant so I had to go to Walmart on the way here. Seriously, I have a stick of right guard in my car!
  • You have great teeth
  • I don't really see my mom much, even though she lives in Raleigh
  • I live in the apartment attached to my father's house (aaahhhoooga aahhhoooga warning warning danger danger Will Robinson)

Heard enough? Me too. He wanted to go to a movie. I said no. He wanted to take me out on Tuesday, I said no. He asked about the rest of the week. Nope! We tentatively set a date for next Monday.

Why? I don't know why...but I have a few days to cancel. I'm torn between a girl's gotta eat and this is frickin torture.

I don't think I am gonna sleep with this one.

He walks me to my car, gives me a kiss goodnight. First attempt was awful, awful! He knew it, and said, let's do that one more time. Second attempt far better. Nice. Hmmm. I like it.

I don't think I am gonna sleep with this one.

In spite of this, I leave the mall (ha!) in great spirits. As I drive home, I get a text from N, the ex, asking if I wanna have a drink.

Do I evah!

I meet up with him and his friends. Turns out he's had some drama. I tell him mine, he shares his. As pained as he is for his own situation, he's incredibly empathetic about mine. I try and apologize for not taking his advice last fall, and we have a long talk about how I was right not to, you have to get stuff out of your system on your own terms, etc.

I tell him about my date:

At first, he's like: You had a date and it ended at 9?

I was like: Dude, he took me to Cheesecake Factory. I wanted it to end at 8, honestly.

He's then like: What? and you went? How did you meet this guy?

I told him the Angus Barn story. His response? That's all it took to get a date with you? He bought your drink? You are worth more than this. Aim higher. Well said, N, well said.

We talk for 2-3 hours at Jackpot and Slim's and we both feel really good going home in spite of both our personal lives being in turmoil.

Tonite, date #2. Punk rock boy. This one will be fun - no matter what!

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