You know that scene in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, when Charlie and his grandpa drink Fizzy Lifting Drinks and float up to the ceiling? Yesterday, Joe texted that he missed me, and I felt like I'd drank some Fizzy Lifting Drink. Just for a second. But it was definitely Fizzy. Right in my stomach. I'm not going to analyze, I'm just going to say . . . it was Fizzy goodness.
We talked forever on the phone tonight. We talked about his kids (he has 2 - a daughter who is 20 and a son who is a senior in high school.) It was sweet to hear him talk about them. We talked about my trip to the Twin Cities yesterday for a forensics tournament. He doesn't know ANYTHING about forensics - which is kind of cool. We talked about the pizza I would be making for the Super Bowl Commercial viewing party (I'm trying to trick him into watching some of the game) we have planned for Sunday. His favorite pizza toppings are pepperoni and banana peppers. We talked about birthdays. He is a Scorpio. He has a really, really good laugh.
There it is again . . . Fizzy Lifting Drink . . .
. . . Joe. He's no longer "Sauce Guy" and has an actual name. Date 3 was very good. He liked my cooking and I successfully have him hooked on HBO's True Blood. Date 4 is set for next Sunday. This brings up the question, when do I stop counting dates and just call it "dating?"
I think this is an old-person problem. Young couples make everything all Facebook official when they are dating. I don't really feel the need to make this "official," but based on the ease with which we set up our next date, I feel like we've moved from "maybe" next dates to assumed next dates. I think this means we are dating.
No, I still don't know exactly how I "feel" about him. But I do look forward to seeing him, so that's something, right? As impatient as I can sometimes be, I'm really enjoying this "get to know you" process. And I learn something new about him every time we see each other. Yesterday I learned:
- He hates black olives.
- He doesn't like football, or any sport for that matter.
- He is the youngest of eight kids. (Eight!)
- We have very similar, really weird political beliefs.
- We have similar viewpoints on religion.
- He has taken a cream-pie to the face, and has pictures. (Which are hilarious)
- He laughed VERY hard when I told him the vomit-story.
He did agree to watch some of the Superbowl next week, just for the commercials :-) I promised homemade Superbowl snacks and an episode of True Blood. So, we are not Facebook official, but we are dating. And it's kind of nice.
I forgot how exhausting the first week of class can be. Ufdah. I've got to work on getting my stamina back. I teach 2 Public Speaking classes on Tuesday & Thursday mornings, and a Listening class on Monday & Wednesday afternoons. In between that is a lot of forensics coaching. And somehow, I need to fit workouts into that mix.
Wednesday, I had good intentions on working out. I conned several forensics students into going to a spin class with me. My goal was simple: Don't fall over when I get off the bike. Mission accomplished . . . because I never got ON the bike. Apparently this is "free" week at the gym, so every single spin bike was taken 10 minutes before class even started. I was so disappointed that I went home to watch TV with the cats on my lap.
In the search for Mr. Wright, I received an email from this guy:
His PoF moniker is "hotwonderfulman" and he had this to say, "im very sexy man stay in good shape." I have never meant the phrase "I think I'm looking for something else" more than I did in my reply to him. There's a part of me that wants to be his life coach. I'd tell him to put some clothes on before he takes the picture (are those shorts or boxers?) and tell him he might want to take the picture in a part of the house that is clean. Is this what people mean when they tell me I'm too picky?
Sauce Guy is coming over Sunday for supper & a movie. I think I'm making Chicken Parmesan casserole.
And you can find the recipe via my Pinterest board, or click here. I think it looks pretty amazing!
It's been so cold that I've had to put air in my tires TWICE this week. At first, I was freaking out, thinking I had a punctured tire. Then I realized it was all 4 tires. So I googled it - and super cold temps suck the air out of your tires. Google it if you need a more scientific explanation. Seriously, I don't know how we survived before Google.
And what you've been waiting for . . . the story of my worst date EVER. Admittedly, I have had a lot of bad dates - some awkward, some wierd, some uncomfortable. This date was all of those things.
I cannot remember the nick-name I gave this guy, so for the sake of this story, I'll use the nick-name Creepy Guy. I met him on PoF a couple years ago. We emailed for a couple of weeks, talked on the phone, and he finally asked me out. I was kind of excited because he was fun to talk to and it seemed like we shared a lot of the same interests. We met at a little bar/restaurant outside of Chippewa Falls. He looked like his online pictures, which was good, and he had a nice smile. We sat down, ordered drinks, and had said maybe 5 sentences to each other. Why all this boring detail? To make it clear that we had JUST met and had not yet had anything to drink . . . Out of the blue, Creepy Guy looks me in the eye and says, "I just gotta tell you - You have great tits!"
Uhm. WHAT?? What does a person say to that? What is the response supposed to be? Thanks? I was STUNNED. I immediately started weighing my options. I could simply get up and leave (though to be honest, I was weak with disbelief and don't know if my legs would have worked) or I could stay and end up with a really good story. I stayed.
To say that conversation was awkward is an understatement. His side of the conversation was full of sexual innuendo. My side was full of passive-aggressive comments that he didn't begin to understand. As we were finishing up dinner, he started bugging me to go home with him. He said his roommate (wait, you have a roommate??) wasn't home so we could "get comfortable." I tried nicely saying no, which he ignored, so then I told him I wasn't the type of girl who slept with someone on the first date and there was no way in hell I was going home with him. His response? "But I paid for dinner!" And yes, he was serious. It took every ounce of willpower I possessed to control the violent urge I had to punch him. It was another moment when I felt like I was in a sitcom or on candid camera.
I've been told many times that I'm too picky when it comes to men. Maybe I am. But I'd rather be single than settle for something that makes me nauseous.
It is cold. Freaking cold. Stupid cold. I'm retiring in Florida cold. Cold that made my eyelashes form icicles when I walked across campus today. I really, really hope the rejection messages I sent to PoF guys yesterday didn't feel as cold as the weather.
I needed to let 2 guys know I just wasn't interested. I sent them emails that basically said they weren't my type and I appreciated their emails, but I was looking for something else. I also wished them luck. You know what was cool? BOTH emailed me back to thank them. Glad I bit the bullet and sent the emails.
Second date with Sauce Guy was fun. We toured Leines, sampled some beer, and had lunch in EC. I paid for lunch (thanks to my friend Patrick, who helped me work through the conundrum of who-pays-when-what-where) and we came back to my house for coffee before I had to go to a forensics meeting.
At this point (only 2 dates in- I KNOW it's too early for analysis, but I can't help it) I'm not sure that there's a "connection." Part of it is, we are very different personalities. He's not "funny" - but he laughs at my attempts at humor. He is very "business" oriented, while I'm very "interpersonal communication" oriented. I have no idea if that makes sense. I'm trying really hard to have patience and see if this goes anywhere . . . but I've already established I'm not good at patience. We do have a third (THIRD!) date scheduled for Sunday. I'm going to cook and we're going to watch a movie. I'm looking forward to it, I just have to figure out what to make.
In other news, today was the first day of spring semester classes. I had 2 classes this morning and I really like them both. This was the email I sent them the night before class:
"For those of you who are hoping UWEC cancels classes because of the cold . . . it won't happen. Now that I've burst your bubble, pretend for just a moment I'm your mother/grandma/uncle/significant other/anyone else who might nag you . . . IT'S GOING TO BE FLIPPIN' COLD TOMORROW MORNING!! So ditch the cute first...-day-of-school outfit and wear many, many layers of warm clothing. The best hat wins a prize. In all seriousness, you are required to be in class - even if hell has frozen over - if UWEC does not cancel class. I look forward to meeting you!"
I think it made them laugh, it certainly got every single one of them to class. Between the two classes are 3 identical twins (none of their twins are in the class with them), one student who is the cousin of Jenna Fischer (Pam from The Office) and one student who is the great-grand niece of Curly Lambeau. Oh, and the prize winners both had Green Bay Packers hats, and the prize was cereal - because it's a morning class! Tomorrow I meet my Listening class, and I'm excited AND nervous.
Tomorrow I think I'll blog the story of the worst date I've ever had. lt's a doozy.
Oh, and for the record, Sauce Guy is a good kisser. But that is the last I'm going to say about THAT area.
Carry on . . .
So, this weekend I'm at a forensics tournament. Because that's what I do most weekends of the school year. Normally, at the end of the day, I'm exhausted and just crash in my hotel room. It's odd having someone to text with. It's odd that I enjoy it. And look forward to the little message symbol on my phone popping up. It's odd to have someone who seems genuinely interested in what I'm doing and how my day went. I'm realizing how much I've missed this. I'll be giving Sauce Guy a call later so we can finalize details of our date tomorrow.
We're going to tour Leinie's in Chippewa and then go to lunch. I like "activity" based dates. I think it's easier to fill the awkward silence gaps when there's readily available distraction.
In other dating news, I learned the hard way that I shouldn't respond to an email until I check out someone's profile. I got an email from a random guy on PoF a couple days ago. It was funny and interesting and I immediately responded back with something flirty and funny. Then I checked out the guy's profile. Not really my type (actually, I have no idea what my "type" is - but it's not this) - he is obsessive about bicycling, (I like biking but would never be able to keep up with this guy), is vegetarian (which is fine for others, but I am a carnivore through and through), is a staunch Republican (and very vocal about it) and listens to a lot of techno & dubstep music (the last thing I would listen to for enjoyment) He responded to my fun & flirty email almost right away, letting me know "I am looking for somebody who would love driving to Seattle /Bremerton, Washington this summer stopping at state bike trails on the way for rides and exploring Yellowstone. " I have not responded to him yet. I can't shake the feeling he's a serial killer who just wants an easy victim.
This brings me to a conundrum I frequently have. While I appreciate it when a guy lets me know they are not interested, I have trouble doing the same. It drives me crazy when I've been emailing someone and they suddenly drop off the face of the planet. But I now find I am becoming that person - ugh. Which means I have to figure out a way to let a couple of guys (including the aforementioned Serial Killer Guy) that I'm just not interested. Which means I have to "reject" someone. Rejection is just something I'm not good at. Guess I should suck it up.
In non-dating related news, I'm not smoking and it really sucks. OK, not really, really sucks - I'm just bitter that there are others are smoking, and I'm not. I had a bit of an "ah-ha" moment a few days ago. It's always irritated me that something so bad for you (smoking) is so enjoyable - it dawned on me that it's not enjoyable, but it is comforting. Smoking is the equivalent of a toddler having a "lovie" blanket. Except lovie blankets don't give you cancer. Unless they are crocheted with asbestos, which I don't think happens much anymore. Anyway - I've had my lovie blanket yanked away and I'm mad about it. But like any 2-year old, I should eventually adjust.
Oy - I have had some kind of stomach bug that has wiped me out. I think I got a little dehydrated because now I have an incredible headache that I can't get rid of. At least there was no vomiting in the car. And thanks to Amazon Prime, I've become completely addicted to Falling Skies. So . . . there's that . . .
In dating world news - a second date with Sauce Guy is planned and on the books. Yes, you read that correcly - A SECOND DATE!! It's not until Monday, which gives me plenty of time to plan what I'm going to wear. In the mean-time - we text all the time. I never understood how someone could send/receive 500 texts in a month . . until now! We text each other pictures of our cats - I mean seriously, could we be bigger nerds?!?
There's no news on the eharmony or PoF front, but I'm ok with that for now. If the 2nd date w/ Sauce Guy is horrible, I'll go back to the drawing board. But for now, I'm just going to take my time and see how the 2nd date play out.
I was on my way to meet Sauce Guy for our first date. I liked the outfit I'd chosen, had put on lipstick (my dear friend Karen will be quite proud of this) and had "get to know you" questions planned in case there was a lull in the conversation. It was lightly snowing and the sun was trying to break through the clouds. I was sitting at a red light, trying to figure out if I was nervous, when I saw it. A rainbow. I've seen many rainbows on rainy summer days - but have never seen one in the snow. It was beautiful. And I immediately decided it was a sign.
It was a good first date. We talked about a lot of stuff - his kids, family, vacations, jobs - normal first date stuff. But here's the thing - it was comfortable. I get the feeling we are both looking for the same things, so it will be interesting to see how this develops. Whoa! Is that a bit of optimism?
I was pleasantly surprised that he looked like his online pictures - that is RARELY the case. I think he looks like Jason Alexander.
Take away the beard and put him in a turtleneck and he could almost be his twin. He has a nice smile. He does yoga and would like to take a ballroom dancing class. I'm pretty sure there will be a second date, which would improve my conversion rate :-)
So - after this good first date, I got home to find another message from a PoF guy. We have been emailing for a couple of weeks. He casually asked if I wanted to get together for coffee sometime. I still don't have his phone number (nor does he have mine) and I usually like to talk to someone on the phone before meeting them. However, might just take the risk and meet him without a phone call. Who knows, I may have another first date story soon . . .
