The Date

Date went well. But I use the word "well" loosely!

I mentioned previously that Dude had sent a follow up email after our phone convo last night. Late this afternoon I replied with a brief note and a link for a musical artist I had mentioned in our phone conversation that he said he had never heard of. I figure he's a music buff, so that would at least give us something to talk about if the conversation was lacking this evening. :-P

I called him around 6pm to firm up plans. We agreed to meet around 9:30pm.

I got to the restaurant a bit earlier than him. If I hadn't known he was just a block away and making his way to the restaurant, I wouldn't have recognized him when he came through the door. HE LOOKS NOTHING LIKE HIS PICTURE!!!

Ok, that all caps statement is not necessarily implying a negative. He just seriously did not look like the two photos he had posted with his ad. I still don't believe it was him. I have this Twilight Zone-ish observation of it in that I swear he was using someone else's pics for his ad. I just looked at his pics again and NO WAY could it be the same person! I feel like the online site mixed up his photos with someone else's! Maybe they really did. I don't know.

Anyway...strike one...he reeked of cologne. Oh my gosh I just wanted to gag. I smelled him the minute the door to the restaurant opened, and I was at least 6 feet away from the door! I can still smell his icky cologne now and we didn't do anything except 'air hug' at the end of the evening!

Yuck.

The first 15 minutes into the conversation I just wanted to roll my eyes and get out of there. He had such a 'sufer dude' air about him. Like Keanu Reeves somehow inhabited the body of this person and was sitting right across from me in the Cheesecake Factory, ordering Southwestern Eggrolls and Ahi Tuna Carpaccio.

Strike two...he doesn't eat fish or sushi. Ok, that's not a big strike, but it is. I haven't made up my mind on this one, but let's just say it didn't help his case. :-P

Strike three..the way he carried himself...I swear he needed Ritalin or something. He was shifty and couldn't sit still. I attributed it to nervousness, and it did subdue a bit as we got into our meal and our conversation, but it just didn't seem like two, happy, healthy, well-adjusted adults having a conversation together. I felt like nanny Muse was baby-sitting little hyper Dude.

And strike 4...the way he articulates himself...it was quite questionable! All he wanted to talk about was whether I liked clubbing or drinking or snowboarding. I managed to steer the topic to a few other things, but I could tell he wasn't comfortable chatting about even the most superficial topics, like siblings or other interests!

So after our food arrived, I just made up in my mind to take my own advice and just 'be' in the moment. I was bound and determined to have a good time anyway, and so I just didn't give a crap.

In all fairness, the conversation did flow after a certain point, but on my end I just really wasn't that interested in the conversation. I just wasn't genuinely engaged in the conversation. There wasn't anything about the conversation that intrigued me about him. Superficially I probably seemed like I was having a grand time, but I wasn't really, if that makes any sense. I could tell he has a good side to himself and was genuinely interested in the conversation, but he was one of those types who was always just trying to 'understand' and 'get on the same page' as you, when in reality he had no clue about the points I was making.

I have a feeling he thought the evening went well, but then again, guys are clueless about chemistry and interactions. *sigh* My bet is that he's going to follow up with an invite to this movie we both had said we wanted to see.

My conclusion? Nice guy and probably a good friend to have...maybe...but beyond that I don't see it. His maturity and the overall impression was less than stellar. Sorry to disappoint ya'all. Maybe I sound a bit too dismissive based on one (the first) date, but I'm really trusting my gut these days.

There are good things in store for me, and he was just a moment along my journey to better things. Will keep you posted if there's any follow up.

Good night, ya'all.

Sweet dreams!