Jersey, Shore I'll Go Out With You!

I love going to the Jersey shore. I’ve gone every summer since I was a little kid. I’ve also only seen the show about 2 complete times. Now, just because I GO to the Jersey shore, doesn’t mean I want to date it. With Nick’s departure into the “shoulda been” world, I set out to be open minded and really just go for it!  Andrew was that guilty pleasure for me, similar to reality television. He was tall, buff, bald headed, a cop, and hailed from Long Island with a heavy accent. He was THAT guy from the Jersey shore. Well, I guess THOSE guys from the Jersey shore. The part that tripped me up, was that through his profile and pictures, I didn’t realize how “reality TV star-ish” he was. Unfortunately, it all came together when I met him in person.

Through his emails I wasn’t completely blown away. He kind of seemed like he didn’t care and was extremely direct. Good thing for him, though, I like direct. I arrived first to our dinner spot, and since he was new to the area, he called needing some quick directions. He was laughing at himself for needing the help, which actually softened him up a little and he seemed more human to me. As we talked on the phone, he drove passed me in his Mercedes convertible (?!?! who drives this car except old rich guys) with the top down as a background music of rap ushered him through the parking lot. Oh. My. God. I thought about running. I wanted to laugh almost at how ridiculous this seemed, but he also intimidated me a little. It felt like if I ran he would totally chase me down. So, I stayed. I waited for him to park and then I watched him as he emerged from the parking deck. Holy cow, someone graffitied his shirt!!! His clothes were so bedazzled, he looked like AC Moore’s bead and glitter aisle had been thrown against a city wall.  I paused to think and realized that I could probably take on a guy who wears glitter, even if he is twice my size.

We went into the restaurant for dinner and drinks. Andrew’s profile said that he was 29 years old. After placing drinks orders, our server asked for our IDs. Andrew stated, “Look at this…33 years old and I’m still getting carded.” ?!?!?!?. Umm, huh? When I reminded him that he’s supposed to be only 29 years old, he said, “Yeah, I am.” I responded with, “Who are you kidding? You just said you’re 33. Give me your ID and let’s do some math.” He quickly ‘fessed up, and explained that he thinks girls want a younger guy. I mentally rolled my eyes, and thanked our server for bringing us our drinks ever so speedily. Conversation was slow to start (of course it was, he started off with a lie!), but it actually got better as the night went along. He may be an idiot with some things, but the night really took a turn for the better. People need second chances quite often so I extended one to Andrew. We ended the evening with tentative plans to hang out over the weekend. I was a little worried about my decision to go out with Andrew at first, but now I’m glad that I gave it a chance. Maybe I’ll be surprised with this one.