Sunday, February 6, 2011

LOVE IS BLIND?

I entered the crowded bar, my eyes anxiously darting from side to side.  I was hoping to see a certain someone; a certain very special someone.  Well actually…I was just hoping to see someone that resembled the picture I’d been flirting with all week.

Yes.  I had agreed to go on the dreaded BLIND DATE.

A first-timer, I wanted to make sure I did this correctly.  Ya know… avoid abduction, rape and/or murder...

We wrote for at least a week, exchanged pictures, and spoke over the phone.  When he seemed normal (and almost exciting) I agreed to a meeting.  I told my roommate where I was going and arranged for a fake emergency call.  I also insisted on going somewhere I’d been before---the kind of place that questions like “Have you seen this girl?” could be intelligently answered by the wait staff.  Finally, I resolved not to drink or discuss where I live.

My boundaries set; I took a deep, relaxing breath.  I could do this…all I had to do was find him.

“You looking for a table, miss?” asked a waiter.
“Oh, um… I don’t know, I’m… meeting someone” I said, still looking around.
“Are you meeting him?” He pointed to a man in a gray sweater, already seated at a window-side table.
“Um… I’m not sure…” I replied… squinting to see if this was in fact my guy.  The waiter just laughed and walked away.

With this awkward exchange behind me, I approached the gray-clad man.  He looked good.  Surprisingly, our date began with a wonderful volley of jokes and small talk.  He seemed very true to all the things in his profile.  I was relieved!  It appeared that not only would I live through this experience, but I might actually meet someone great!!  Why would this guy need online dating?

It was time to take it to the next level.  “Would you excuse me, I’m just going to run to the ladies room.”  AKA, I’m just going to let you see my graceful, confident strut to the ladies room. 

Big mistake…

This boy’s evil twin had obviously tagged in while I was gone.  Upon my return, he told me he could never date a girl who’s smarter than him.  (Thanks buddy.)  He began asking relentless questions about my past relationships and insisted on telling me about his.  He made jokes at my expense.  He argued that housewives don’t deserve alimony.  He admitted that he is actually unemployed and living with his parents.  OMG… Who was this person?!

It was time to end the date.  When we both stood to put our coats on… I towered over him.  PS:  I’m 4’11.  Talk about adding insult to injury. 

After train wrecks like this, I often think:  “Maybe I don’t need to do this anymore.  I could get some cats, take up knitting and live a perfectly content life without this nonsense.  And of course, there’s always lesbianism.” 

But then I take a deep, relaxing breath.  I can do this… all I have to do is find him. 

So here I am, fully out there and blogging about it.  Stay tuned!

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10 comments:

  1. Live and learn. On to the next one! :)

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  2. Great fun, I am waiting eagerly for the next entry.

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  3. You say love is blind, perhaps you are right. Maybe the person you are looking for you already know. Could it be that someone deserves a second chance? Or maybe a first chance they never got....

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  4. Girls really go to the restroom just to let guys watch them walk away?

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  5. So...you've fallen into the pit of online dating too huh? Whatever happened to falling in love with high school/college sweethearts or that attractive new person at the office? It used to be so simple before the internet, before technology allowed us to make our search range 50 miles from where we actually lived. How did society get us to this point?

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  6. What happens if on the third date you find Mr. Right? Is the experiment over? Or are you just dabbling in the unknown for sh@ts & giggles? Or are you serious?

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  7. I'm the kind of girl who knows when to sieze an opportunity. If I were to find a genuine connection with someone (online or off), I'd absolutely see it through.

    However---I don't think the LABOR of love ends with finding the guy. You still have to maintain the relationship... so if on the third date I meet the guy, I don't think the blog will end... it just may shift in topic.

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  8. You're putting yourself out there and that's key. Just stay open, be true to yourself and your boundaries, and LOVE yourself. The right one will surely find you...

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  9. I second the "restroom strut" question as well. It is very interesting to see what girls have to go through and think about before they even get to the location of their date as explained in the first few paragraphs. Four years of college and, while my mind was opened up a bit to girls needing to be a bit more paranoid/safe and I'm still naive to it all.

    Sleepless... while technology is drastically changing the dating scene (AIM, Myspace, Facebook, dating sites, texting, etc.), it is changing our entire social experience as well. While it does seem a bit weird how society has shifted that knowing how to reply to a text message the right way may be more important than chivalry, I'm all for the dating sites thing if it decreases the divorce rate and actually has a higher success rate of finding people who are actually right for one another.

    I don't think it's all that bad to be living with your parents and unemployed depending on the factors involved (reasons, age). This is also coming from someone who is not living in his parents' house and has a job.

    I also think it's a bit fishy that he made such a switch after you returned if it really was as quickly as you explained it. I wonder if your strut or his time alone made him switch his game up. I don't often read blogs, but this is entertaining, informative and well-written. Don't be afraid to write too much.

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  10. Thank you so much for all of your comments!

    There is one thing I feel I need to step in and address.

    Yes. Women DO get up and walk around just so you can see what we're working with. If you've got it, flaunt it. Please see 1:54 of the following video for pop culture evidence :).

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuH3lHhkEbw

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