Lions and tigers and bears.....and still I feel nothing - Date Diary #4

There's something about starting your Saturday off with a date that really makes you feel good about yourself.  I don't know why I didn't do this years ago.  Oh wait, I remember why.  Nobody asked me.  But that all changed today.  I had my 3rd date with Old Ginger Spice.  We went to the zoo, and had a great time.  Later, I'll tell you all about how I'm probably never going to go out with him again, but first, the date details. 

Pre-Game

 

I'm sure by now, you all are getting tired of looking at pictures of me in the same selfie pose, so this time, I'll just let you imagine how I looked.  Oh fine, I can hear you yelling at me from your computers at home.  Here's the picture.  I would apologize for the poor lighting, but this is not a professional photography blog, and I rarely apologize for anything. 

 

Here's how I looked for my date:

 

 

Whoops, my bad.  That's actually a picture of some really friendly rhinos at the zoo.  Here's how I actually looked for my date:

 

Now picture that, covered in sweat, no make-up left, with my hair plastered to my head as if I'd just gotten out of the shower, and you'll have a vague idea of how awesome I looked at the end of the date, but we'll get to that later.

 

The Date

 

Old Ginger Spice was about 10 minutes late picking me up, but he let me know by text.  I'm sensing a theme with him.  Our conversation was a little forced at the beginning.  He commented for the second time that I still had phonebooks languishing on my front porch.  Listen buddy, my phonebooks are my business.  Don't go trying to change me into some Stepford version of a woman who doesn't let junk mail pile up outside her front door.  It's my one white-trash, dysfunctional quirk.  Deal with it.  Also, there may be more than one.

 

Once we got on the road, things got a little better, but I knew pretty much from the beginning that this date was going to be an exercise in futility.  That's a horrible feeling.  I'm going to try to bottle it for future situations where I don't think there's long-term potential.  I originally accepted this date because I wanted to be really sure before discarding this guy.  He's so great on paper, and we should work perfectly, but we just don't.  I didn't want to still be single six months from now and lament the really nice tall guy who I let get away.  So on that front, I'm glad I gave it one more shot. 

 

The zoo was a really fun date location.  It was beautiful weather, at least to start - by the end it felt like we were walking around on the surface of the sun.  Surprisingly, the zoo wasn't too crowded.  There was plenty to see, so that took the pressure off having to have constant conversation.  The animals seemed to understand what I needed and were on their best behavior.  Old Ginger Spice commented several times that the animals were particularly, well, animated. 

 

 

The Good

• He opened my car door again every time.  It still means as much to me today as it did on our second date.
• The date didn't cost him any money!  I was feeling guilty about accepting a third date when I was almost sure it would be our last, but he has a pass to the zoo that got us both in, and we didn't end up eating or anything, so it was a free date.
• It was really fun to go to the zoo - I hadn't been to the OKC zoo yet even though I really like zoos, and I've lived here for like 5 years.

The Bad

• In person, Old Ginger Spice is a lot less charming and a lot more awkward.  I don't know if he's just nervous, but his jokes fall really flat.  There's a chance I'm just reading his messages through rose colored glasses, but I think he really is more charming by text.
• The physical chemistry just isn't there.  I had a friend suggest that kissing him might help me decide, but I literally have no desire to kiss him.  That's a pretty clear indication that I'm not feeling it.

The Ugly

• By the end of our stroll around the zoo, I looked like I'd wrestled with a gorilla in the dirty hippo water.  Not attractive.  Note to self, don't choose date activities where you will be outside for an extended length of time in sweltering OKC weather.   
• When he dropped me off, he unbuckled his seat belt.  The last time a guy did that, I got the hell out of there, (because it had literally been the worst date ever) and the guy ended up patting me on the back. Not wanting a repeat of the awkward hug incident, or ugh, maybe more, I exited the scene as non weirdly as I could. 
• This is the end for Old Ginger Spice and me.  I'm glad we tried, and if nothing else, I learned a lot more about what I'm looking for in a serious relationship.  The idea of finding a guy that likes all the same things that you like is a nice idea, but in practice, it may not be the kind of guy you really want.  That's valuable information. 
• I didn't end things with him today.  I probably should have, but I chickened out about the time he unbuckled his seat belt.  Now I need to exit in a way that's kind but honest.  Suggestions?  I know 3 dates does not equal a relationship, but I feel like I need to at least tell him that we're not going to go out again. I feel bad, but I'd feel worse if I just started ignoring him.

 

Today's Updates

• Now that I'm mentally done with Old Ginger Spice, I feel more free to talk to other boys.  Now I just need other boys to start messaging me. 
• I'm texting with Engi-Nerd.  It's a little slow going.  I'm not sure what this guy's issue is.  I don't think he's the one necessarily, but I wouldn't mind meeting him if only for the awesome blog content it would provide.
• Referee is still messaging me.  We're up to 36 emails and counting.  Neither of us has died yet, so we'll keep going.
• A few other guys have winked at me or liked my profile.  I've liked a few of them back, so we'll see what happens.  They all seem to be 40+.  Nicknames to follow.
• Oscar hasn't messaged me back, so maybe I'm the one getting dumped.