A whole latte fun - Date Diary #5

Coffee date - 1
My ability to sleep after drinking caffeine past 7pm - 0



There are so few times in life where you are genuinely pleasantly surprised.  Mostly, I build up my expectations so high that when I experience whatever I've been anticipating, it has no chance but to fail.  A good example of this is having a job as an adult.  When I was a kid, I used to "play" office with my friends.  We would write fake memos, answer fake phone calls, and fire our stuffed animals for under performing on the job.  Now that I get to play office for real, I have a hard time remembering what was so fun about it.  I think the reality of it failed to meet the high expectations I had set.  There's also the possibility that having a job just bites the big one. 

I am happy to report that my date with Milton exceeded my expectations in pretty much every way. 

Pre-Game

We weren't meeting until 8pm, so there was no need to sneak out of leave work early.  I had planned to just change clothes and spruce up a bit, but after attending a fundraising event at work where I was forced to stand near a large body of stinky pond water for about an hour in the afternoon, I had that not-so-fresh feeling.  Even though this date was going to be more casual, I decided Milton deserved my best effort, which tonight included a full shower. 

Here's how I looked for my date:

If you're a dedicated reader of the blog, you may have figured out that I basically have 3 versions of the same shirt that I rotate for first dates.  If I ever get a boyfriend, I may have to do a little shopping.  Although if he's a typical guy, he probably won't notice.  I wasn't too anxious or over excited about this date, so I was feeling pretty much how I look like I'm feeling. 

The Date

I only live about 7 minutes away from the Starbucks we were meeting at, so imagine my surprise when I got a text from Milton as I was leaving the house to let me know he was already there.  I love how on all the dates I've been on so far, the guys have been pretty punctual.  That's a trait that's definitely missing in my generation, but it's always appreciated.  When I got there, he was easy to spot because he's 6'5".  Somehow I had missed that in his profile.  Had I known, I probably would have worn heels and spent the better part of today worrying that he was going to be too tall.  Sometimes ignorance is bliss. 

The Starbucks was somewhat busy when I got there, so I introduced myself, and then we got in line.  He had already gotten a drink, which was fine.  I never get drinks at Starbucks that have calories anymore, but I had decided that tonight would be special, so I got my first pumpkin-spice latte of the season.  Yum!  He paid, which I think made it taste even better. 

I had worried that our message chemistry wouldn't translate to real life.  We exchanged a few pleasantries while waiting in line but pretty quickly hit on some good topics, and the conversation began to flow really naturally.  I think I can safely say, this was the most natural conversation I've ever had with a relative stranger.  We floated from topic to topic as if we were old friends.  Even when there was a lull, it wasn't awkward or difficult to pick back up.  He was definitely interested in talking about me more than the other dates I've been on recently.  He asked me really good questions, and I felt like we were both able to share stories about our lives.

He mentioned that he's only been on the site a few months, but that he's already been catfished.  Yikes.  Why would anyone do that?  It's like you're sitting at home posting fake pictures and information about yourself thinking, "He'll never notice that I'm not a 5'10" hot, blond pediatrician.  It's not like he has eyes or good short-term memory."

The Good

• The conversation was great!  It was so natural and easy.  He was a great listener, and had really good things to add to every topic we covered. 
• He has a good job and definitely has a responsible, steady lifestyle.
• There's something about the overall chemistry that has good potential.  I wouldn't say I have romantic feelings for him yet, but I definitely want to get to know him better and see where this goes.  
• The end of the date wasn't awkward.  There was no kiss or anything - I mean, I may be dating multiple guys at once, but I'm not that easy. We stood for a few minutes in the parking lot, and we both went through the whole "I had a great time" routine.  Then he asked me if I'd like to go out again on Saturday night, and I said yes.  He's supposed to call or text with a plan.  

The Bad

• He plays video games more than I'd like, but I get the feeling he does it more for a social outlet than a genuine addiction.  I'll keep an eye on this.
• He alphabetized his movie collection by actor.  I use the past tense, because I promise you that after my compelling and passionate speech about all the ways in which this is ridiculous, he won't be doing that anymore. (shudder)
• He applied chapstick twice during the evening, but he acknowledged that it was weird. The first step to addressing any addiction is admitting you have a problem.

The Ugly

• I'm not sure there really was anything legitimately ugly about the date. I don't want to make it sound like it was perfect, but the whole night was pretty comfortable. 
• Okay, I guess I can come up with one thing in this category, but it's really more funny/awkward than ugly. Towards the end of the date, we were still sitting at the table, and all of a sudden, he jumped out of his chair.   At first I wasn't sure what happened, but I thought, okay...I guess he's ready to go. Turns out he'd gotten a leg cramp. I did a pretty good job of not laughing too much to his face, but I've definitely laughed about it plenty ever since the date ended.

Today's Updates

• I got a message late last night from a new prospect.  During our message exchange today, he mentioned that he really likes to visit Miami, Florida.  At least I hope it was Florida.  I'm going to be really disappointed if he meant Miami, Oklahoma.  He didn't really specify, but who wants to vacation in Miami, Oklahoma?  Anyway, his name shall henceforth be known as Miami Vice.  We switched to text late in the afternoon, and kept up a good banter through the early evening.  He's a little flirtier than I'm used to, so I'm going to proceed with caution.  He used to work at my company, so I'm using my sources to try and find someone who knows him who can tell me if he's a good guy or not.  He asked me out already, but my schedule is pretty tight right now, so I think I can keep him on standby while I wait for more information from my network of spies.
• I texted a tiny bit today with Engi-Nerd.  This is par for the course in our prior communications.  We can text a lot one day and not much the next, so there's no cause for concern.  Sometimes he calls me "chica," which, as a borderline feminist, should offend me, but there's something about it I like.
• I think OU Enthusiast #1 has moved on to greener pastures, which is fine.  Happy trails to you; I wish you all kinds of luck finding a girl who wants to watch football and mountain bike.  He was moving way to slow to be a legitimate contender, plus I think 3 men is the most any socially awkward 31-year-old girl should be expected to handle at once, while maintaining a full-time job.