Shallow and High Waters

I’m shallow. Kind of. My master plan of going out with someone who is atypical for me may actually work, if I can just get this guy new pants. This weekend I met up with Brandon for a drink. I liked that he wasted no time getting in touch with me. He noticed me noticing him (yes, this can happen online) because I checked out his profile and then right after that he emailed me. We only emailed twice and he had already asked to meet. Yes! Finally, a guy who isn’t dilly dallying with the pen pal thing. He came across as straight-laced in his profile, maybe a tad boring, but that’s what I wanted—I wanted to be won over on the actual date. Brandon got to the bar first and when I walked in I noticed something. His pants were, um, way too short. I’m sorry, but if you’re standing, I shouldn’t see socks. He was kind of cute, and I cursed myself for thinking about pants when I’m trying to find the love of my life. I took a deep breath, opened my mouth to show off the thousands of dollars my dad spent giving me nice teeth, and greeted Brandon with a hug. It’s funny because he seemed almost unsure of me in the beginning, too. He was already drinking a beer so I ordered my own drink on my own dime. That’s okay, it’s a new Nicole, I can pay for my own drink. Plus, it didn’t really matter, I knew the bartender so I got my drink for free anyway.

Back to Brandon. We got to talking right away, and because of some facebook stalking, we had both discovered that we had a mutual friend. The more we talked, the more I liked Brandon. He seemed more mature than most guys I had been out with and was very genuine. He seemed like he knew what he wanted, and the way he talked about his career was a new turn-on for me. He was so ambitious and motivated to be successful. His short pants that had me worried in the beginning were now a distant thought. Besides, if we continued dating, I’m blunt enough that I could just be like, “Hey, your pants are short, let me buy you some new ones.” Pants can be changed easily, but people can’t be so I’d rather have a good person with bad clothes. We left with just a hug and while I’m not sure I’m physically attracted to him, I was excited to agree with him that we should go out again. We’ll be getting together again this week, and the good news is the weather is warming up—shorts are welcome!

Impress Me With Average

Vince was a letdown, but I couldn’t allow it to hold me back. I got right to work to meet my match. I’ve been trying to meet guys who have a certain quality to their profile—I think it’s a personality that stands out, but not to the point of annoyance. I’ve been drawn to the guys with the stand out profiles—almost like the guy in the party who commands all the attention. The “quieter” or badly written profiles have been read, but I moved on quickly. Some people say how it’s not fair to judge people based on their profile—uhhh, yeah it is, we’re meeting on the internet so your written word IS your first impression. Well that and your pictures. If you’re not good at writing? Thems the breaks and that’s too bad for you. Along with personality, similar interests are pretty important. Maybe I’ll be better matching with someone who’s normal and average. I tend to shy away from the guys who claim their interests are to scale the tallest cliff, travel Asia surviving on pennies and beans and a backpack, or ride their bike across the country. I don’t want an extremist, I just want normal. Another thing that irks me are the pictures. It’s not that the guys are unattractive, but if a guy has more pictures of his dog, a scenic landscape, or cultural landmarks than pictures of himself, then we have a problem. In order to achieve normal, I am opening up my mind. College education? It doesn’t matter to me anymore whether you’ve got one or not. Big and buff? I won’t take skinny, but I will take unbig and unbuff. Only dark haired guys? Blondies are now allowed. I’m easing up on how critical I am of the profile personality. If I’m not LOLing while reading, that’s okay, maybe they’ll make me laugh in person. Fingers crossed that this strategy works.

Older, But Not Wiser

Vince was just as great during date #2 as he was with the first one. Since he lives in Maryland, it was easier for us to meet halfway so we, again, found ourselves at the site of our first date—the mall. We had dinner and drinks, pretty typical so far. I guess you don’t get to the fun stuff ‘til the third date. Conversation was good, and he seemed like a genuine, thoughtful guy. Finally. It’s about darn time one of them decided to show up! Throughout dinner I kept asking myself if I could really end up with someone, not old, because 39 really isn’t old, but I guess that much older than me. I think I’m fairly mature for my age, but who knows when you compare it to nearly 40. I wondered if we’d be able to really connect, to have common interests and viewpoints or perceptions. I liked the idea that he was a take charge type of guy, and I didn’t mind following his lead. Starting a family was in his mind which was a major plus. And with the years tickin’ by for him, I felt pretty good thinking that he wouldn’t be dilly dallying forever. We left that date parting ways in front of The North Face store with a kiss on the cheek and a “We’ll talk this week to figure out when we can see each other. Send me a message so I know you got home,” from Vince.

A couple days later we talked about when we’d get together again. He was possibly going to be going back home to New Jersey the upcoming weekend, but he said he’d let me know in a couple days once he decides so we can make plans around it. I waited. And I waited. Andddd I waited. Did I write those words in another blog yet? I wouldn’t be surprised if I did. Why do these guys insist on making us wait? Be considerate and call, whether it’s good news or bad. Contact was finally made at the end of the weekend, and I learned that he had gone home to New Jersey. Well that’s just great; a little notice would’ve been nice. He may have a few years on me, but apparently he never learned how to treat a lady. I’ve already learned to move on. See ya, Vince!