Thursday, April 23, 2009

Keepin' the Faith. Maybe.

Fred Foreman has disappointed me greatly.

After our great coffee date, he did end up calling me and I was actually looking forward to seeing him again. We had planned on meeting Easter weekend or shortly thereafter, but I ended up hurting myself so the walk we were planning kind of fell by the wayside. He said he would check up on me on the Wednesday following Easter and see whether I still felt up to meeting. He never phoned.

I didn't think too much of if. I wrote him off. And then I thought, "No, damn it. You were into me! WTF is going on?" So, a week after he said he was going to call but didn't, I phoned him. After a few rings, he answered the phone and immediately said, "Did you just check your email?"
I said, "No, why?"
He said, "Because I just hit 'send' and sent you an email explaining why I hadn't phoned you." I chalked it up to fate (remember what good that did me the last time?) and we agreed to meet up the next day, being yesterday. Because I finished work after him, I told him I'd call him when I got home. We planned for 6:30.

At 5:30, I phoned him and left a message. While I waited, I thought about where we could go. I was looking forward to seeing him again. When 6:30 rolled around, I started to have doubts. He phoned shortly after that and said he was still at work, which was unusual for him. But said if I wanted, we could do something either Thursday or Friday. Sure, said I. I was still interested in meeting up. He said he would call me on Thursday and we could plan something.

It's 9:00 on Thursday night and he still hasn't called. I am now wondering if this is payback for "forgetting" to get back to him the first time we made contact. Regardless, I'm so done.

With all of them.

lukewarm

I had a second date with Shawn Salesman on Monday. I wasn't thrilled about how he chose to ask me out (via text message - riiiiight), but I was interested in getting to know him better, so we planned to get together for dinner and maybe a walk.

He offered to come out my way (not that he doesn't live ten minutes from me) and I picked a nice Malaysian restaurant uptown. He was ten minutes late - he sent me a text to let me know (seriously, he texted me while he was driving. phone much?).

Dinner was good - the food, I mean. He was...well, I don't know. It felt like we had been together a long time, in the sense that there were relatively-long pauses in the conversation that you would only expect in two people that had been together for so long, they really didn't have anything more to say to each other. He asked me questions, which was nice, but they were all about my cousin's wedding plans. Where were they getting married? How many people were invited? Did her fiance help with the planning or was she doing it on her own? Weird, right? He didn't make a lot of eye contact either. Again, like we had been together a long time.

We split the bill, which I didn't mind to do, but it made me even more aware that it wasn't really a date. It didn't feel like a date.

After dinner, we went for a nice walk around the Queen's Park and looked at all the heritage houses. He asked me, "If you had all the money in the world, what kind of house would you get? Big or small?" I said that I would get a big, ol' Victorian house with lots of rooms and secret passageways. He'd get a small house.

He gave me a hug at the end (and we know that doesn't mean much anymore!) and said, "We'll talk soon, eh?"

He won't call again.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Save the Best for Last?

Age: 40
Height: 5'10"
Occupation: Sales

Shawn was a fish I never expected to bait. He had sent me a message after I had hidden my profile and he had never added me to his favorites nor had I added him to mine. It was a bit of a surprise when I saw he had emailed me, as I hadn't expected any more mail from the fishing site.

What's more is that he said in his very brief initial email that he wanted to meet for coffee and ice-skating (in my profile, I said that the "interview" date/first meeting would be for a coffee and then the first official date would be something fun like a flea market or ice-skating), a suggestion that is very rare in these dating pools. I immediately e-mailed him back and said that I liked a man with a plan. We met tonight after work.

It was a gorgeous afternoon so I grabbed my iced-tea and sat outside to wait for him. He was a bit late as he went to the wrong coffee shop. We shook hands (I hate that part - passers-by automatically know you're just meeting for the first time) and went inside to get a coffee.

We chatted for about an hour and a bit. I must say, it's probably the most animated I've been on any of my dates to date. Perhaps it was the warmth of the sun, or perhaps it was the fact that I had my sunglasses on which made me feel slightly invincible, but I think I was "on". And he asked me questions too, which was nice. I learned that he's traveled quite a bit, and taught English in Taiwan for five years most recently. He now works in sales for a local sports team.

The first Canuck playoff game is tonight so he had to excuse himself as he was going to his cousin's in Coquitlam to watch the game. He asked me not once, but twice if I wanted to do something next week and of course, I said yes. When we stood up to say goodbye, he immediately gave me a big hug (good hugger) and I told him to call me.

I think he'll definitely call.

Frankie Finance

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Age: 33
Height: 5'9"
Occupation: investment manager

Frankie fast-tracked me when he read on my profile that my subscription would be over at the beginning of the month. We didn't exchange many meaningful e-mails and to be truthful, I had no real desire to meet him (his profile said that he drank "several times a week" and he listed scotch, gin and wine as things he couldn't live without). But I did because it's The Year.

I don't know if he read my caveat about me being freakishly tall but I think he was a bit surprised. Nonetheless, we chatted idly for a hour (and we spent a good 10 or 15 minutes on the different kinds of milk, alone) and that was it.

No sparks. No asking to call me again. Just a very generic, "I'll talk to you again. Have a good night."

One more tomorrow and then I think that's all I've got. Better practice my smiling and 5-second eye contact now.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Charlie Copper

Age: 36?
Height: 5'6"
Occupation: police officer

Charlie is a friend of my friend's boyfriend, who is also a cop. She's always telling me how nice he is and what a great host he is (he often has get togethers at his place). When I asked her how tall he was, she said, "He's really nice!" She's been mentioning him for about a year now, maybe even two. Since this was The Year, I decided, what the hell?

Because of his schedule, we had ended up only talking on the phone once and then leaving messages the other times. We finally agreed to meet for breakfast today. I wasn't sure how great an idea that was, given that our telephone conversations were very lacking (he's very shy), but I really wanted breakfast.

I don't know what it is about my friends that they think I would get along well with short Asian men who mountain bike, but it seems to be a trend. I got to the restaurant after Charlie and when he stood up to greet me, he didn't have to get up very far. He is by far the shortest guy I've ever been out with, and I wore flats. I'm being generous by clocking him as 5'6".

The conversation was very herky-jerky and there was a lot of just staring and reaching for something to say. It was not comfortable and I wanted to get out as quickly as possible. I was tired, too, which doesn't ever put me on my "A" game. We parted ways and I used my usual, "It was nice meeting you," which is usually followed up by, "Have a good weekend," or "Good luck, eh!" but he beat me to the punch with, "We could do this again." Um, yes?

I don't think he'll call me, but you never know. Ted Teacher is STILL at it, trying to get me on the phone, after I don't know how many tries.

Fred Foreman

Age: 32
Height: 6'4"
Occupation: Foreman on a golf course (no pun intended)

I admit it - I had hoped that Fred had forgotten about me. He had gotten lost in the shuffle of e-mails on the fishing site and I didn't make much of an effort to to find him. We had exchanged several e-mails but most of them trying to figure out a time and date to get together for a coffee. Although his profile made him sound like a nice guy that didn't play games, which was promising, his e-mails left something to be desired.

But he contacted me with a fresh e-mail, no "Re:" lines involved, and asked when we might have the coffee I had agreed to. I felt so bad, I gave him my next available day, which turned out to be on this past Wednesday.

I picked a Starbucks that was closer to me than him but he didn't seem to mind. We agreed to meet at 7:30. I'll also admit that I was very, very close to jamming. I was so tired, both from work and the bother of meeting people, that I was going to fire off an e-mail to him when I got home from work. Instead, I just had some dinner and left early to check out the Adidas outlet that was next door to the Starbucks (I got a pair of $125 runners for $54.00!).

When I got there, he was already sitting and had his coffee. I went up and introduced myself and then got myself a drink. As I waited for the barista to mix up my passion tea lemonade, I thought to myself that Fred's pictures did not do him justice.

The date itself was really nice. We both had a lot to say and he is the only guy I can recall that has had as many questions for me as I did for him. It was nice talking about myself for a change (on a date, that is), than me just listening to him answer my questions without much thought of what I might have to say.

He asked me if I wanted to go out again and I said yes, hopefully enthusiastically. I told him I'd email him my number (I don't know why I didn't just give it to him right then), and I did exactly that when I got home. The result? He called me today to set up another date. Now that is follow-through.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Carlos Cargo

Age: 35
Height: 5'11"
Occupation: Airline cargo operations

I never thought I would ever in my whole entire life say this...but tonight, my date was with a fellow Filipino. No lie. He is the first Flip I've ever agreed to go out with. Ever. In my whole life. Ever. Take note of what you were doing at 5 pm today, because that was when history was made. Ahem.

I was slight apprehensive about meeting Carlos, and not just because of the whole Filipino thing. Okay, that was why. I had this fear that I would fall madly in love with him and he would end up being the guy I married and my mother would end up being right...again. After years of chasing blonds, I'd end up with someone who looked like me. Where's the fun in that?

I think I liked Carlos because he grew up like me - he's totally vanilla, doesn't understand or speak Filipino at all. His brother married a caucasian, as did a lot of his cousins. In some respects, he may be more vanilla than me. But I was concerned that that's all we had in common.

And truth be told, we did talk a lot about family and being somewhat outcast (although me more than him, as his family actually speaks English when they're all together). But we talked about other stuff too. Turns out we both like English bulldogs and we're both slobs. Maybe not the best way to start off a relationship, but that's what we discovered we had in common. So far. That might be it. I don't know.

He works weird shift work, so I don't know when or if I'll see him again. I guess we'll see. But I would go out with him again. Believe it or not.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Luuuuucyyyy!

I sometimes feel my online exploits are not unlike Lucy and Ethel's on "I Love Lucy". I get these crazy ideas into my head and they just won't leave until I do something about them. And then the unthinkable happens, and I'm left to wonder, "Uh, oh. What now?"

About three years ago, I met this guy online. He was so great. We had great MSN chats that were two or three hours in length. He introduced me to new music. He was witty and funny in that wry, English way. We had finally planned to meet up before he left for Christmas holidays and I was excited about it.

We had traded numbers and agreed to get in touch within the next couple of days so we could meet up. I can't remember the exact order of the events, but I know that in my excitement, I called him the next day and left a message, just to tell him that it had been nice chatting with him and that I looked forward to meeting him in person. That was fine on it's own. But then I sent an e-mail maybe the next day after that to ask him how he was getting along with his cold - before he returned my phone call. When I told my guy friend this, he immediately said, "What? Why did you do that? You should have consulted with me first!" The day after was when he had said he was leaving for holidays but I never heard from him again. Ever. And no, I didn't try to contact him after the unanswered phone message and subsequent email.

Fast forward to three weeks ago. I'm on the new site and who do I see? Yes, him. He still looks good and his profile is short but sweet. I place him on my Favorites list, knowing full well he'll get a message saying that I've done so. No response.

The obsession, as it were, continues to grow. Whenever his picture pops up in the photo lineup, I click it. Not that he'll be able to tell how many times I've looked at it, but just to know that he'll know that I saw. Crazy? Yes.Last night, in a bold move, I decided, "What the hell? I'll just pretend like I don't know it's him and send him a message. He'll probably recognize me and either delete my message or just block me outright. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!" So I sent him a cheery message, basically complimenting him on his profile and asking him something music related.

Fishing-analogies up-front, he took the bait. He wrote me back. And at the end of the message he says, "I'm Richard, by the way." I KNOW! And now, the dilemma. Should I just write him back, continuing in the "I've never met him before" vein, or should I pretend to realize that we've already met? Isn't this the second time this year that I've put myself in this situation?

Do I ever learn? I thought the last time this happened and the guy turned out to be less than stellar, I would have seen it as my lesson that sometimes what you think you want isn't actually what you want. Or need, for that matter. That the fantasy man you build up in your head is just that, and reality is a much different thing.

You probably don't think it's as bad as I think it is. But I left out the best part. Richard, to my eyes at least, is the spitting image of my ex-boyfriend, and I'm quite certain that's why I'm still slightly agog over him. Richard, not my ex.

'Splaining to do, indeed.

Roger Retail

Age: 31
Height: 6'5"
Occupation: Manager at a Rogers Video

Roger is one guy that I actually spoke to more than once on the phone. In fact, I think we talked about three times. The last time, for a couple of hours (although, he kept having to phone me back because he had potential roommates coming to see his apartment). He seemed like a nice enough guy, even though a good chunk of our last conversation included several minutes of discussion on "Family Guy".

We arranged to meet for dinner (I know, not something I do on a first meeting, but he doesn't drink coffee). He had mentioned on the phone that he was feeling really chatty, as sometimes he didn't really have much to say at all. I found that hard to believe, because he did talk. A lot.

I got to the restaurant first and, since there were plenty of seating options, I sat in the lobby to wait for him. I didn't have to wait more than a couple of minutes; when I looked out the window onto the street, I could see him crossing. He's hard to miss. I stood up to say hello and he gave me an awkward, one-armed hug to greet me. It was interesting.

We sat down and immediately commented on the awkwardness of the seating arrangement. It was one of those crescent-shaped booths where it would be weird to sit beside each other but it would be strange sitting on the outer-seats of the booth and leave the huge gap between us. We opted for sitting in the curve, so we were kind of sitting next to each other, but we could see as if we were across.

Conversation at first was me asking lots of questions and him answering. In fact, I think that's the way I generally deal with people who I don't think will be great conversationalists. He has the same philosophy as me about intial dates, though - interviews aren't fun. It's more interesting to find out about each other by just talking. I know he loves Pearl Jam and a band call the Ours. He doesn't have a car and he lives in Kits. He's originally from Penticton and moved here about 8 year ago. He has two sisters. We both had dessert. He loves weird fun facts and has several of them to share.

We sat and ate and talked for two hours and then I had to suggest we get up and head out. He didn't want to take the bull by the horns and end the date. Or maybe he just didn't know how. He walked me part way to the train station and then he once again gave me an awkward half-hug and then after two seconds, put the other arm around me, and then said he'd give me a call.

I see potential in the conversation getting better. I just don't know if he'll actually call.