The Most Amazing Person Ever!

Ok, so this guy's name is Justin. He lives around the corner from me. He is originally from South Dakota, YES! SOUTH DAKOTA! He was in the Army for 5 years and has been out for 1 (or 2). He came to this area because of working opportunities. He works as a Russian translator for a government contracting company. As he says, he does "Russiany things".  He's crazy smart. He knows three languages besides English (Russian, German and Arabic) and he's traveled all over the place.

The date: We went to some rinky dink, hole-in-the-wall place called Buck Murphy's.  It is such a hole-in-the-wall place that they don't even accept credit cards. They admit they are stuck in the 60's. The majority of the customers in there were over the age of 70.  I ordered a beer and they did in fact, to my surprise, have Sam Adams but they only had Octoberfest-OCTOBERfest. :) I was ok with that because that's my favorite but I thought it was funny. We chatted about everything imaginable.... family, past relationships, work, etc. He probably knows more about me at this point than some of my friends.

There was an old guy in there that was highly entertaining and he was thrilled to have met someone from South Dakota. He kept playing old songs on the radio from the 60's and was impressed that I knew them. He told Justin that he needed to marry me and not let me go. Justin's response was "that's a very interesting comment." I thought it was pretty funny.

The Redskins game came on while we were sitting there and Justin isn't a football fan but we chatted and watched a bit and listened to the other bar patrons complain and argue a bit. At one point, and I might be the only one to notice this but two players were on the screen at the same time. One was number 76 and the other was 67. I said "oh, look, 7667." Justin chuckled and said "That's an interesting observation. Are you a fan of palindromes?" My reply was "Yes, Actually I am."  He said that my eyes got so big and I got really excited when he asked me that. He got to see some of my .... uniqueness, if you will.

There were many, many funny moments.  Conversation was easy, comfortable and just enjoyable. We both decided we needed a change of locales. I told him if he wanted to head home and go our separate ways thats fine if he wanted to call it a night. He said that he actually wanted to spend more time with me if I was up for it. I was game! Neither one of us wanted to go to another bar or eat so we went to his place. His apartment is spotless! OMG! It looked like a hotel room. He has the most amazing wall art and "things" all around. He has Matryoshka (nesting) dolls which I love and he was impressed I knew the actual name of! He has the most awesome chair- http://www.lovesac.com/sacs.html. It's amazingly comfortable. I could have definitely fallen asleep very easily there. We watched a bit of TV and then there may have been some small happenings of a make out session. By the time I left his place it was 1 or 130. The date began at 530.  I call that a success!

We chatted throughout today, like we have been and there's no set time or place for our next date just yet but I think sushi is the plan. I like this one, immensely! I hope he sticks around.

Oh, the one downfall is that he is allergic to cats. So am I, so hopefully it's not too bad of an allergy. He says it's been awhile since he's been around a cat so he's not sure how allergic he is or how severe the symptoms are... I'm hoping it's copeable-which is not a word, but it should be so I'm keeping it!

Stay tuned... I hope there are many more blogs to come with Justin being the topic.

Second Date with Latino Carlos

So, I decided to show him the greatness that is The Hideaway. We decided to get there at 9 to watch Karaoke. He was there at 9:05. :) I'm so glad that he wasn't super late. Lateness drives me nuts. He liked the atmosphere of The Hideaway right away. I got the homemade apple pie ice-cream. I thought it was good but lacked the taste I was expecting, especially with all the hype around it.

Anywho, I learned a couple things about him. First, he is afraid of animals particularly dogs. He was bitten by several dogs when he was young. He now understands that the dogs were just tugging on his pants and were playing but that traumatized him so much that he is terrified of any dog, any size. That's not going to work for me. This might be the deal breaker!

Also, he is afraid of commitment, but so am I. This is not a deal breaker but good to know. We should both be wearing "approach with caution" signs at all times.

He paid for the date again, and I got to see his tipping skills. He is a FANTASTIC tipper. The bill was about $30 and he put a $10 tip on it. :) A+++ for that!

The plan for Sunday was to go to see Miracle on 34th Street in the theaters. However, I think I would enjoy it more if I went alone. I enjoy Carlos' company but still prefer the movies alone. I feel very comfortable around him and feel like I can be my silly self and he doesn't mind. I'm not sure what the future beholds but him being afraid of dogs is a big flag since my dog is my life! Perhaps I can be the Latino Whiisperer and Molly will be the cure to his fright. :) We shall see......

Latino Carlos

Ok, so.... I set up a date for today. Some background information first. He is 35. He was born in El Salvador and came to the U.S. when he was 15. Became a U.S. citizen at 20. He just moved within the past 2 weeks from Silver Spring area to Severn so that he could work for his brother and be around to help his parents (especially his mom) out. His mom went through radiation treatments recently and he is now staying with them for the time being. He doesn't have kids and never been married or as I like to call these specially men, he's a "unicorn".

Ok so.... the date. We went to The Greene Turtle. I got there WAY early and he was about 5 minutes late, noon was the agreed upon meeting time. He apologized profusely even though he admits that he's never on time for anything due to being bad at managing time!

 I thought we would only be there for an hour or so. Well,  2 beers and an order of fried pickles later (you can't go to The Greene Turtle and NOT have fried pickles).... it was 2. The time went by so fast. We talked about everything from family members, to past relationships, to hobbies. He hasn't been on the online dating scene so we couldn't share horror stories. He thinks that everyone has the best of intentions and I'm the opposite. I'm a bit more realistic than he is but then again, I've been "out there" way more than he has. He's so sweet and optimistic. Pretty much the opposite of me. :) I kind like it! While we were talking, there were times where he would touch my arm or hand and I didn't mind. :) That's a good sign!

He probably would have had another beer if I was willing, but I want to head to IKEA which I thought I was going to do around 2 with a friend but that friend isn't returning my call so.... I told him I had to get going and couldn't have another Sam Adams or else this "date" would turn bad!

When the check came, I went to grab it to see how much it was and he put his hand on top of it and pulled it away and said I don't need to worry about it. :) EXECUTED PERFECTLY!

He walked me to my car and we hugged good bye. He said for me to let him know if I want to do this again. I later texted him and said thanks and that I hoped to see him again soon. I told him he was in charge of picking the next time and place. So it's up to him. He said he would think of some place fun to go to.... Hopefully there will be another Latino update before Christmas! We shall see...

Second Chance First Date

So, in my last blog I mentioned that I reached out to Ryan to see if he'd like to meet again. Well, last night was that meet up.

He came to my house after work so he could change. He kissed me hello (nothing fancy or french)...which I'm ok with.  He changed and then we headed to The Hideaway for some Karaoke watching. It was incredibly loud in there but we enjoyed some good food and a frothy beverage. After about an hour, I asked him if he wanted to hit up a movie. He paid for the meal, and I discovered that he's not the best tipper. I thought that he was because on a previous date, at the Iron Rooster, the waiter came by our table and thanked us again, so I thought that was because he was very generous on the tip. Well, the bill was $36 something. I asked if he wanted me to pay the tip since the waitress only brought back big bills in change. He told me that the tip is $7. Um, NO! The tip is at least $8! I tipped $10! I figured maybe I could set a precedent for any future tippage.

Now, invited someone (anyone) to a movie with me is not my thing because I enjoy the movies alone for a number of reasons which I may or may not have explained in a really old blog. One reason is when the lights go down, my inner "lioness", if you will, goes up and I get distracted and can't enjoy the movie. Well, there was no lioness, tigress or any other big-cat-ness happening at the theater...just the movie. I got more turned on by seeing Matt Damon's scrawny hind parts on the screen than my company. I'm not sure what this means just yet.

When we left the theater it was 1am and I was kinda tired. If I was with other company I could have been persuaded to have another frothy beverage at The Greene Turtle before closing time, but I wasn't feeling it. Therefore, I drove him back to my house and he had to come in to get his clothes and what not.

I came in and took care of my Doghter. He sorta stood by the door, perhaps waiting to see if I was going to invite him to stay a bit... I wasn't. I gave the ol' "Ok, well.... thanks for tonight and I'll let you know how tomorrow goes" spiel.  He went in for another American kiss and then did his weird putting his forehead on mine and it's just weird. I don't know if he was trying to get a bit more French, Eskimo, or just wanted to linger there. It's awkward. I did not like that and it's not the first time he's done that. It happens just about every time it's a "goodbye" type of thing. It's just weird to me. I'm not sure what it is. Is it he is hoping for more of a make out session? Is it his way of being "cute"? I don't know why it bugs me so much either! I could easily say that I am just not feeling it.... but I'm still willing to "date" and just see if feelings change. Not sure if they will, but you never know. I want butterflies and I'm not getting anything that flutters.

We shall see....

The Boomerang Effect and Ryan Rebound

So, first...let me fill in some gaps that seem to have occurred. When I left off, I wasn't sure how I felt about Ryan and was up in the air about where it would go. I told Ryan that I wasn't sure how I felt and that I wanted to spend time with him and enjoyed his company but I just wasn't sure if that was because I would enjoy anyone's companionship because I enjoy doing things and it's better with company so I was getting friend vibes but was willing to continue to see if those feelings grew. I told him that Stevie Wonder was still a go as long as he was ok with still going. He said that he didn't feel comfortable so I found someone else to attend. Ryan also said he wanted to stay in touch though which confused me because if you don't feel comfortable going to a concert with me, why would you want to stay in touch? Anyway, I said ok and found a replacement date for Stevie Wonder....which brings me to my next dramatic matter that's going to get a whole bunch of people riled up for many different reasons but here we go......

So, Boomerang is a guy I met about 8 to 9 years ago now.  I call him Boomerang (and yes, he know this is his nickname given by me) because I keep throwing him out of my life and he keeps coming back in, like a boomerang! It took me a good solid 2-3 years to tear through all the lies that Boomerang told me at the beginning of our "relationship" and discover the truth about him which is that he is married and in an open relationship. I have verified this is true and that his wife couldn't careless about the ins and outs of what he does with others since there really is no relationship/marriage at the home front, just two people staying together for the kids' sake. So, despite all the BS from Boomerang, we have grown closer and know and understand each other as well as any two people can. I feel comfortable with him, always have even with his lies and BS.  Now, my friends that know me best feel that I feel comfortable with him because he's of no commitment threat since he's already spoken for. I agree with this to a degree.

Before Boomerang, I was with Jose. Jose and I moved pretty fast into a relationship and moving in together. We didn't spend time truly getting to know one another and that led to huge problems throughout the 11 months we were together. However, I felt comfortable with him from the very first time I met him. One could argue that I felt comfortable with him because he lived 2 hours away so I still had my "freedom" and therefore there still was no immediate commitment threat. But, I was never put off by his affection, him wanting to hold hands or cuddle.... same with Boomerang. I've always been comfortable with both of those past guys.

I digress.... Boomerang is the reason I decided to reach out to Ryan again. I was talking to Boomerang about Ryan and he mentioned that I seemed to be coming up with a lot of random faults. He said "are you sure the problem is him and not you?" Well, that made me think twice. I know I have problems opening up to people and letting my guard down, but it made me start thinking that perhaps I ended things prematurely and for frivolous things. So, last night I sent Ryan a text that in summary said that I think I got scared that we were moving too fast and I didn't want to rush things and have things end like they've done before or rush into things before we really know one another and be blind sided later on by things (aka a Jose situation).  He got back to me and said he knows that he can rush things but he can also be patient. He also said that he likes me a lot and "would most definitely like to see [me] again."  So, we will most likely meet up Friday night somewhere simple and just chill. Not Netflix and chill....just chill.... in public.... and fully clothed!

Stay tuned.....

Date 5 and 6

So, date 5 was dinner at his house. He asked me if I had anything in mind that I wanted, I told him to surprise me but I don't like beef stroganoff (LOL, long story there). He said that wouldn't be something he would make and asked if I like salmon and if there were any veggies I don't eat. I said salmon is great and gave him a list of about 5-6 veggies that I can't consume for taste reasons not allergy reasons.

I got to his house which is located in a little water community in Edgewater. The house is owned by a lady that owns a hair salon in DTA and it was VERY HOT in there. I was wearing a hoodie because I thought it would be cooler down by the water. I was very hot. The house has no AC, just units that they rarely use so all the windows/doors were open. There are also a gaggle of cats! There's stray cats all over the place and they come in and out as they please! Now, I'm not a HUGE fan of cats only because I'm allergic and yes, I do own a cat and she was a feral cat. But feral cats belong outside and pet cats belong inside. Feral outside cats have some disgusting habits that are not house appropriate. For example, they are not trained to go in a litter box, they have who knows what on them/in their fur, they are a bit more feisty due to the fact they have to fend for themselves against other wildlife, etc. They kept their distance so we got along ok.

Ryan cooked salmon topped with crab meat, red potatoes and asparagus on the grill. He ended up burning the asparagus so there were only about 2 stalks that were viable to consume.  He also made a sauce to put on the salmon. He used a hollandaise packet but added some things to it. I would have preferred it all plain and he used way too much butter. My stomach was aching when I got home. The salmon and crab was good though. The potatoes were tasty as well.

After dinner, I did the dishes since he cooked. We then made some coffee and walked around the cute little community. Some BET head honcho lives in the community and has a gated house that looks amazing from the outside! If I had a selfie stick, I would have used it to see over the fences/gates. I am dying to know what the pool looks like. *Note to self-google earth that house*

We walked back to the house and I decided it was time to go. So that's where that date ended. We had plans to meet up last night for date 6.... so....

Last night we got suite tickets to the Nats game from a coworker of mine. He had his son, so he had to drop him off to the kid's mom at 1 and then he was to meet me at my house. When he got to me, he got a quick show-and-tell of the house, a Molly introduction, and then we left to get on the loveliness that is the DC Metro.

We got to the stadium and he was introduced to all my other coworkers/friends that were there. He also bought me a Sam Adams but then complained that it was 10 bucks a cup.... well, duh. So, me being me, can't have just one SA. I told him I would buy a second round if he wanted one. He walked with me, I thought he was going to insist on paying for the second round but no such luck. So I bought the second round.

Our plan was that we would walk by the waterfront after the game, but since the game went into 12 innings, it was too dark to do so and we hitched a ride back to my car at the metro with friends. That was wonderful even though the GPS aka "Esmarelda" took us the longest route possible.

We made it to the car and got back to the house about 9ish I guess. *Backtrack a bit- Ryan is not the best kisser. I'm not sure if I mentioned that in a previous post or not, but he's not. I thought perhaps the technique would get better once "nerves" would calm down. Nope, kissing him isn't that fun.** Back on track- so since he was staying over, things got going in the physical direction but that sucks too! He thinks that the faster you move, the better it is. I don't have time or patience to be training a 42 year old man in the dynamics of how to please a female. Hell, he was married for 13 years... how? why? what? It was so bad  that after about 5-10 minutes (I wasn't timing it but it wasn't long), I had to tell him that I "wasn't feeling it". Yes, I used those exact words and added that I wish I did, but I don't. He asked me what I meant, was I not feeling "the moment" or him completely. I told him the moment. He said that's fine and he would be perfectly happy just holding me all night. I don't want to be held or even touched when I'm awake never mind when I'm trying to sleep the 5 minutes a night I do sleep!  I told him I also didn't want him to put his dating life on hold just for me because I'm not sure what I want (I know exactly what I want, I'm just not sure it's him).  He said that he's willing to wait and see where we go and he's not going anywhere. He's sure that we are headed in a good direction. I explained to him that I am a bit commitment phobic and that signing a cell phone contract makes me hyperventilate and I'm not sure about the fact that he has a kid. That puts a different spin on things plus his work schedule is different too so I would never have a full day or weekend with him just to myself. He has his kid on his days off, so until I meet his kid-it will never be full day dates with him. And, once I do meet the kid it won't be just him and I... so.... there lies the issue.  

His kid also is into video games galore. That's all he does when he visits Ryan...plays mine craft. He doesn't like roller coasters/rides so amusement parks are out, he's never been camping but Ryan says he would like to take him at some point but I'm not convinced he'd be into it. We talked a bit about if we were to get into a full blown relationship then I know I wouldn't be his mom because he has a mom but I would be some sort of parental figure since we'd be together and whatnot. Ryan's response was "sort of".  That bugged me. I mean I know I wouldn't jump into Stepmom mode lickedy split but eventually, he would have to see me as an authoritative figure in his life. I get the feeling that wouldn't fly too well with Ryan.  But then again, I wouldn't allow Ryan to discipline Molly-however, it's a little different. Ryan also mentioned that he doesn't plan on moving in with someone anytime in the near future...well I don't want him moving in with me ever. I can't sleep with someone else in my bed, I like my space and my perfect match would have a house of his own where we could live separately but spend the night over whichever one's house whenever we felt necessary. I don't sleep well and I sleep even less when I have to share a bed with someone.

With all the above said, I don't get the warm fuzzies and the over the moon feeling when I'm around him. I do enjoy his company and I enjoy spending time with him but I think it's because I see him as a friend and I like doing things with company. I believe he has entered the friend zone. We are still planning on going to Stevie Wonder next weekend but I might have to break the FZ news to him before then so it's not weird and he doesn't try to kiss me or grope me.

I'm sure my friends that are reading this will have a lot of opinions about "giving it some time" or "enjoy the moment" or "blah blah blah" but If it's not who I want and I'm not over the moon about him, I don't want to waste his or my time being in a situation that I'm not 100% comfortable with. Someone out there has to be my match, where I can't wait to see him (even after 3 dates) and it pains me to be away from him. With Ryan, I like to spend a couple hours with him and then I want my space. I guess we will see.....

Date 4

So, last night was my friend's birthday celebration at her house. I invited Ryan to come with (with the approval of friend, of course). She had already met him prior (see date 1) but I'm sure he would have accepted the invite regardless because he's pretty social like that.

I picked him up at his work and we went to the party. I was able to clean out my fridge of all the random beers I had in there, plus we had some fireball minis.  We each had one mini prior to going in to the house to get things started.

I wasn't hating the affection. I was feeling much more comfortable, VERY comfortable with him.  As soon as we got in to the party house we were recruited for flip cup. I can't say I've ever played before and I don't think he had either but it was fun! He was very social and said he was having fun and glad I invited him. :)

We left the party about 12:30ish and I had to bring him back to his vehicle which was left at his work. We had a small make out session before he left.

This morning he texted me that he had hid his online dating profile and I told him he didn't have to do that. He said "I wanted to. I like you a lot and I want to see if this can work."  Like I stated earlier, Ryan "feels" different than the other guys I've met. I continue to have him appear in my dreams (he knows this information as well).  I look forward to seeing him EVERY single time.  I'm excited to continue this ride and see where it leads. Our next date will be on Wednesday. Not sure the plan yet but it'll be Wednesday.

Date 2.5 and 3 with Ryan

So, this morning was set to be the official third date, but last night I was meeting a coworker and her husband in Annapolis for a late night bite to eat, so I decided to see if Ryan wanted to stop by after work. I knew he was due to get off work at 1030 and it was about 10ish when I got this idea.... He said he was game.  We didn't stay too long but we closed the place down. He only got one beer and I got fried pickles so I paid for our share of the tab. :)

We left there about midnight and he walked me to my car. There was an exchange of a couple awkward kisses. I could tell he was trying to get a bit more into the goodbye than I was so it was a bit awkward. But, we got through it and confirmed that we would see each other at the Iron Rooster at 9am......

.....at 9am.... I was running a bit behind due to the loveliness that is Annapolis roadways. He said he would just wait by the docks and it was no problem. When I got to the parking lot, there was an open spot right next to him in prime parking real estate territory. Parking luck, double time. Plus, the meters don't start until 10 so we had about 45 minutes of free parking.

Breakfast was fantastic. I had to get a pop tart since they are their specialty there and he ordered one too so we could try two different flavors. I got the brown sugar one (and it was delicious).  He got the coffee one (which was good, but not as good as mine).  I also was tossing back and forth from the french toast and the meal I ultimately decided on choosing. I love me some french toast, but it's on challah bread and I'm not sure I'm going to like that. I like thinner bread for my FT. So I went with 2 eggs (over medium), home fries, rye bread and bacon. I ate only about 3/4th of everything because it was so filling. He ordered the shrimp and grits.... no comment on the looks of that!

Toward the end of breakfast, it was time to feed the meter so he ran out and gave each meter 2 hours worth of meter food.  He then came back and the check came. Now, as I posted in the previous blog, I was willing to pay for this date since he has graciously paid for all the others (except the coffee consumption at Starbucks).  I reached for the bill and he did too. I told him that I would pay for this one since he paid for all the others and he said no, it's his pleasure. Which made me giggle because I immediately thought that he could get a job at Chik-Fil-A with no problem! I then told him that I wasn't going to fight him on it and thank you!

So we paid, and decided since we had tons of time to kill, we would walk around the cobblestone streets of DTA. When we looped around back to our cars, we still had an hour left so we decided to walk over the Eastport Bridge and see what there was to see over there. We got back to our cars with 7 minutes left on the meter.  I mentioned my friend's party which is happening Saturday and asked if he wanted to attend after he was done working. He agreed and so that will be the next planned "date".  Is it really a date when it's a gathering of sorts? Anyway, that will be the next time we have planned to see one another. He has off Tuesday and Wednesday but has his kid. I believe he has his kid Friday too.

Ok, so i decided since this seems to be going in the right direction, I would fill him in as to my lack of affection and hand holding phobia (no wonder I'm single, right?).  So I sent him a lengthy text which is transcribed as follows:

Me: Ok since it seems like we're still headed in the right direction, I think it's only fair that I give you fair warning. I'm not the most affectionate person at least to start with.  I don't really like holding hands and I think it's kind of odd to do so.  And I'm not very comfortable with kissing at least passionately in public places.  I don't mind a quick kiss goodbye or a kiss on the cheek or something like that but other than that, at least in the beginning until something is a bit more established, I like to keep it simple.  I am very in dependent and getting close to people is not something that I'm use to.  I am very guarded but I am enjoying getting to know you and spending time with you. I just wanted to make you aware of how I feel so that neither one of us is in an odd situation or an uncomfortable situation. I also do not like talking about my feelings so I would never say any of this in person. LOL.

Him: That's ok.  I'd rather you be up front about that anyway.  I am most definitely enjoying our time together.  If you feel I am going too fast please feel free to let me know.  The last thing I was to do is make you feel uncomfortable.  I can see you are independent.  I can be a little old fashioned, sometimes to a fault.  But I am also very adaptable.  Also, I think your dog will like me. LOL.

Me: LOL. Oh my dog would definitely like you.  Old fashioned is good. It's tough to find someone like that these days so you're a welcome surprise in the dating world.  The door opening and the paying for dates has not gone unnoticed, trust me.  Major brownie points are earned every time.

With all that said, I feel much better and hopefully more relaxed when we are together now that I know he knows my thoughts and feelings about all that stuff.  While we were walking today, I found myself making sure that my wristlet/wallet/purse thing was in my hand that was closest to him so that he couldn't just go in for a hold. Ridiculous, I know! I've got more issues than People magazine!

I do enjoy his company, that I wouldn't lie about or go along with if it wasn't true. He also is very attentive and remembers details of things that I've already told him. I, on the other hand, can't remember diddly-squat.

Until Saturday (perhaps sooner if there's an impromptu encounter)....

Date 2 with Ryan

So, I thought I was having a dinner date tonight but it turns out I was in for a lunch date. That was even better because I could have my date and go out with my girl at night! The best of both worlds.

I met Ryan at Houlihans. I had never been there before but looked up their menu prior to going so I knew what I was in for. Everything on the menu looks delicious. So when I got there, he was already sitting in his car. I was greeted with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. SWEET!

So we shared calamari and like a good guy, he ate the leggy ones so I could enjoy the rings. I told him he didn't have to exclusively eat the leggy pieces but I will not be eating any of those. He stuck to the leggy ones! So nice! I also had the salmon BLT which was so good at the brown rice with pineapple as my side. I will forever make pineapple be an ingredient in my rice. He made a joke (or at least I think it was a joke) about how perhaps he will call out of work so he can spend the whole day with me. I kinda laughed the comment off because although I thoroughly enjoy his company and was looking forward to today's date, I still enjoy my independence and wasn't prepared to share my whole day pal-ing around with someone. I'm sure if I was gung-ho about the idea of him taking off, he would have. I'm not sure how I feel about that but we can revisit this idea later if need be.

The bill came and we talked for a bit. I didn't even notice that he had whipped out money about 10 minutes later. Of course I offered to pay and he declined. Good thing he did because I would have definitely judged him if he made me pay!  We decided to walk around the town center a bit and I scored a halloween decoration that I've been looking for at Yankee Candle!!! I was very excited. We then walked over to Starbucks so I could get my PSL fix. I of course paid for coffee because I'm nice like that. We chatted some more while enjoying our Starbucks treats and then walked back to our cars. 2 kisses goodbye later and we were both in our respective cars.

We are due to meet again Monday morning at Iron Rooster in Annapolis for breakfast. I've heard 3 glowing recommendations to eat at this place within the past week. I'm pretty excited. I'm also going to offer to pay for him on this date. If he declines, major brownie points will be earned but it's ok if he takes me up on the offer. He's also going to be my date for the Stevie Wonder concert I have tickets to. I was holding off inviting people incase whatever this is that's happening continues to happen. Today I figured I would ask and if it all goes to crap before then, I'm sure I can find a back up some how. Hopefully it won't come to that but the 3rd date is usually where it all ends. Let's hope that we can get past Monday's breakfast or perhaps there will be a surprise third date tomorrow night. He doesn't get off work until 10 or 1030 tomorrow night so it would be a late night happening. I may be in bed by then.... I'll keep you all informed as usual!

I'm diggin' this one! It feels different and he keeps making appearances in my dreams nightly.

Ryan, Oh Ryan!

OMG. Best guy I've met thus far.

Normal, nice, polite, easy conversationalist... wow! Keep reading for the deets!

Ok. so this guy, I met on match.com. This is the first guy I've ever met on that site and my subscription to the site was started on a whim. I also ended it a month or so back but I have a 6 month subscription so it officially ends on the 15th of this month.

So Ryan is his name (I know his last name being the detective that I am but he doesn't know that I know....) and he lives in Edgewater. He technically is married but has been separated for about 2 years  or so and admits that there never should have been a relationship to begin with but circumstances and others influenced them when they were younger that made things happen..... sounded like he was pressured into marrying and was too young to speak up and say anything to the contrary.... any who, he has a 7 year old son that lives with mom in the Broadneck area most of the time. He can see him whenever he wants and he tends to get him 2 nights a week (on his days off).  He's 42 and a manager at a restaurant in Annapolis. He's been in the restaurant business for 20+ years and he actually has a frickin' bachelors degree! This might be the first guy I have been on a date with that has a degree! :)

Ok, so we met at Chevy's in Annapolis at 6 for some dinner. Conversation was good. We discussed past horror date stories and what not. He paid, didn't even flinch when the check came. I, being the good date that I am, went for my wallet, but he said that he had it. :) He then suggested we go DTA (downtown Annapolis) to walk around and so we did. He offered to drive us both, and normally I wouldn't get into a car with a guy I don't know but I wasn't getting creepy vibes and I'm a fantastic judge of character so I took a chance. He drives a jeep and had all the windows and roof off. What a great evening to enjoy the openness. Oh, and he opens doors!!! Nice touch!

We went downtown and had good parking luck(thanks to me because that's my magic power) and parked right by the docks. We walked around, enjoyed a Starbucks beverage (I enjoyed my first Pumpkin Latte of the season) and we sat inside chatting some more.  He asked me what time I needed to be back, and I told him that I was meeting a friend at Coconut Joe's at 9. I also told him he was more than welcome to join me if he wanted to. AND I genuinely meant that! :) Sometimes I say that because I feel like I should but this time I actually meant it. He said he would like to join me to CJ's (I just named it that, I like it!).

So I have to digress for a minute to my friend that was meeting me at CJ's. She has met another one of my online dates before when we went downtown Baltimore and it was an awful experience. I contemplated not telling her that Ryan was going to come along for fear that she would bail. I texted her to tell her he was coming but also added "he's not creepy" to the message. Thank goodness, she still agreed to go. :)

So Ryan brought me back to my car and I followed him to CJ's.  Turns out he lives across the road from there.  The three of us sat on the back patio area and enjoyed some frothy beverages. We each bought a round and chit chatted for about 3 hours. My friend said that she thought he was a nice guy and seemed to approve. I agreed with her that I felt the same.

He and I had some hand holding moments while at CJ's and we shared a kiss when he walked me back to my car. The following transcript is what took place via text messages after I had arrived home (*the smiley's are part of the actual response not my additions):

Me: I had fun. Thank you for a wonderful evening.
Ryan: I had a great time too. I definitely want to see you again. :)
Me: Same here. And the sooner the better. Although I'm not trying to rush things but I do enjoy your company.
Ryan: Me too. :) Let me look at my schedule for work tomorrow and we can figure out when we can get together again.  I want to see you soon too.
Me: cool!

So... with all that said, I am looking forward to date 2, but my rule is if the date lasts longer than 3-4 hours it counts as a second date within one...so today would have been dates 1 and 2 and therefore, I'm looking forward to date number 3!

This guy has serious potential.  Hopefully, I will be able to post a new blog full of more positiveness in the very near future.

P.S.--- sidenote*** the past two to three nights, I have had dreams of me being in a relationship or getting into one within the dream. Foreshadowing on real life? We shall see..... stay tuned loyal blog readers, stay tuned...

Mr. Flee

Ok so this is a bit outdated but I'm blogging about the fantastic 3 days had with Mr. Flee to appease the masses.

His real name is Dave but he's a runner (relationship runner, -it takes one to know one) so we will call him Mr. Flee. So, before I get into the details of the date(s), let's get into some background info. He did tell me upfront and it states in his online profile that he is looking to date but doesn't want anything serious. I figured I would go with it because you never know where it might lead. He doesn't have kids, he is separated (been that way for 2 years but just broke up a year relationship about a month prior to me meeting him) so he's not trying to rush into anything.  He is a welder for his family's company.  He lives in Glen Burnie with a roommate who turned into his brother's girlfriend (she was his roommate first, then met his brother and BAM!) OK... moving on.....

I began talking to Dave where I begin 99% of my potentials-online. As a first meet up, we met at Glory Days. We sat at the bar where I had to pole vault to get in the stool. Note: They are a bit taller than the average stool! Another note: add stool to the list of words I do not like. So we each had a beer and chatted. I got talking about the fact that I had to change an outlet and got shocked while doing so. He mentioned (and the cute older couple next to me mentioned) that something might be wrong if I turned off the main switch but still got shocked. He volunteered to come by my place the next day to check it with a meter.  I told him I would take him up on the offer considering I didn't want my house to suddenly combust and didn't want to spend unnecessary money on an electrician if I didn't have to. We chatted a bit more, he paid and then we hugged goodbye.

The next day, he came over, checked my outlet switching skills (which I did fantastically and all is good), then we went to The Hideaway for me to introduce him to the best BBQ joint in the area. I then told him that I needed to go to Walmart to get a blow up mattress so I could start sleeping at the house and he said he would join me. We took a trip to Walmart where he proceeded to carry everything. That was fun! I just pointed at the stuff I wanted and watched him juggle it! :) That never happens! We took all the crap to my house and he set up the bed for me! We then chatted a bit more and he left to go home. The next day was July 4th so I told him that if he didn't have any plans to let me know because most likely I would be just sitting alone at home.

July 4th, he asked if I wanted to join him at his cousin's house for fireworks and Fourth shenanigans.  I accepted. I went to his cousin's house where I shot a bow and arrow for the first time. I bruised my arm pretty badly in the process but it was delightfully fun. They set a crap ton of fireworks off and it was a fun day/night had by all. I dropped him off at his house and proceeded to my own. The next day, I had plans to go to Atlantic City with a friend so there was no talk about when we would meet up or go out again. He had texted me when I got home that he had a fun night and enjoyed my company and was looking forward to spending more time with me.

While I was away in AC, he didn't text me as often as he had been. I asked him why and he said he didn't want to interrupt my time in AC. I smelled BS but went with it. I texted him goodnight Sunday and he replied. I then texted him Monday morning and wished him a good day and he replied with the same. After that, I left the ball in his court and didn't hear from him until I texted him while drinking iced teas of the Long Island variety that Friday night....

My text on Friday night was "have fun and be safe [at the Dierks Bentley concert].  He replied with "I thought you quit".  This got us chatting about why he thought that and blah blah blah.... well we chatted a bit Friday, and then more on Saturday. I invited him to a bar to see a dueling pianos show but he said he didn't want to be in the car long because he was just in the car coming back from the concert and he gets car sick so he wasn't feeling 100%.  I took that as a declined invitation, so I asked my mom and she accepted. He then acted like I turned around and disinvited him. I had to explain that his communication skills are a bit lacking and it was interpreted as a declined rsvp. He understood.  I mentioned that we could get together Sunday but he already had plans to visit his parents for the day.  So, I just left it up to we will get together sometime later during the week.

On Sunday, out of the blue, I got a text that said he is sorry but he can't date me. He also said it wasn't me, it was him. My response was, I know it's not me because I'm awesome and you're missing out! That's how it was left. I deleted his contact info. and past messages and am still on the prowl! :)

Hey, Sailor

So... I know it's been a long time but no day like today, right?

My last blog prospect, I chose not to blog about because he was a contender to be long term potential and I didn't want to ruin anything before it got going by posting crap on Facebook. However, he ended up going down to Florida due to his son having to have surgery and it doesn't look like he's coming back up, so....life goes on.

The 411: I chose to start a Match.com membership about a month ago and it has been very lackluster of an experience to say the least. That is.... until last night. About an hour before I was going to get ready to go out with my bestie (yep, I said bestie) I got a message on Match from a guy whom I will refer to as "Sailor".  He is 36 (turning 37 in June-which makes him a Gemini, which I am not thrilled about but I'll go with it).  He has 3 kids. His oldest son (he's either 15 or 16 y/o is Autistic and lives in some sort of treatment facility. He visits him weekly. His two daughters (ages 14 and 10) live with their mom (his ex wife) and he visits them nightly except when mom is off work (2 days a week). Technically, he is separated and not yet divorced but he won't be in the same place as her so he only sees the girls when she's not around. He's currently renting a room from a friend of his. He is a linguist in the Navy (hence Sailor) and speaks 4 languages (English, Spanish, Arabic and Portugese, I think).

The Meet and Greet: So my bestie- ok, I can't even take myself seriously when I use this word-  So, my bestie best friend and I were planning to go to Union Jack's in Annapolis. Sailor asked if I wanted to catch a movie, but I told him my already planned plans and threw in that if he wanted to come he could meet us there. He did.

He was very gentlemanly and bought me a couple drinks which I love that he stepped up to the plate like that. He also introduced me to a new tasty beverage which I also appreciated. He kept up in conversation, was outgoing and very quick witted. I was impressed. My friend approved as well. He's the most "grown-up" person that I've met in a while. The only thing I can complain about is that he was very touchy feely last night. I didn't mind (surprisingly enough) in the beginning but sometimes a girl just wants to dance solo or with her friend and not have to rub up against a male species. I will blame this on the frothy beverages we were consuming and hope that he's not like the leg rubber guy that I met who expected me to enjoy his groping of me within an hour of meeting.  He's a good dancer and kisser so there's that!

I'm heading to a play tonight with some friends. I told him that I would message him when I'm back in town and if it's not too late we can meet up somewhere. He said he was game for that. We shall see..... perhaps there will be another blog to come shortly..... stay tuned!