Monday, April 24, 2006

Impromptu Dates

Friday night was another blogger gathering at Bar M (thanks to everybody who came out!). Polly and I were in high spirits. We were looking forward to meeting some new bloggers as well as seeing a few familiar faces.

The crowd was diverse, the drinks and conversation free-flowing. Polly and I were giddy, grinning at each other, hugging each other.

Okay, I'll be honest here. A lot of our giddiness stemmed from the great guys we had recently met. Polly and Web Walter had a spontaneous second date the previous night, and after our lovely date on Tuesday, Drama David and I had been in touch frequently, barely containing our anticipation for our own second date. Web Walter sent Polly adorable text messages; Drama David called just to hear my voice.

How did this happen? Polly and I went from being single for what seemed would be a long, long time, to both meeting wonderful guys on the same exact night! What's even better is that neither of us were wasting away in When-is-He-Going-to-Call-Land or How-Long-Should-I-Wait-to-Email-Ville. Neither Web Walter nor Drama David were giving us any doubts that they like us.

I have never seen Polly this happy. I wonder if she would say the same for me.

The blogger party thinned out fairly early on, due to other Friday night plans folks had. Polly wondered if she should check in with Walter and find out what he was up to. Seeing as things were winding down, why not?

"I want to invite him out!" She said.

"You should! And I want to invite David to Bar K tomorrow with Willow and the gang." I answered.

"You should!" She replied.

We laughed and sent texts to our respective guys.

I'll spare you the mushy details of our messages. What matters is that David not only agreed to come out to Bar K on Saturday night, he also joined us that night at Bar M. I couldn't believe that he was as enthusiastic about seeing me as I was him. Neither of us had to play it cool or pretend to be aloof. Should we have waited until Monday as originally planned to have our second date? Why bother, when instead we could have our fourth?

Something I am not very good at when I'm with Drama David is realizing there are other people in the room/on the street/on the subway platform. I wouldn't say this is entirely a bad thing. And I'm sure I'll get to a point where I can be social in a group context with him present, but right now I can't help focusing my attention solely in his direction. Blame the pheromones, blame Drama David's engaging personality, blame my shameless penchant for kissing in public.

Oh. I think this is where I should issue an apology to Bar M and Bar K and all its patrons for having to witness any pass-the-insulin public displays of affection.

There has been mention of the fact that I have only written about Drama David's positive traits. Perhaps I have painted our interactions in an idyllic light. Actually, on Friday, we discussed potential stumbling blocks. Our chat got pretty serious and some real issues came up:

I have no interest in sports whatsoever; David is quite the baseball fan. One of my favorite foods in the world is sushi; David can't stand raw fish. I was hoping to get a pet someday; David is allergic to both cats and dogs.

I know what you're thinking: "However will you overcome such seemingly insurmountable obstacles in order to be together?" I don't know, my friend, but we're going to try. The kissing makes it all a lot easier to bear.

I am well aware that for some readers it might be disappointing to find out that I met someone I like. Dating disaster stories are usually more entertaining than look-how-this-guy-and-I-hit-it-off stories. Rest assured that I have had more than my fair share of the former, even long before I started this blog. I don’t mind taking a dip into my Big Book of Unsuitable Men to prove my point. In other words, this whole thing is an unexpected rarity. So I’m going to coast on this happy wave as long as I can, marvel at my good fortune, and look forward to that fourth date tonight.

15 comments:

Jamy said...

I am just as interested in reading about your good dates and the unfolding of a new relationship. Bad dates just make me sad (and I can refer to my own life for that). I hope you can keep writing about David as the relationship progresses.

James said...

I'm sure that you'll find something to do while he's doing whatever it is that people who like sport do in respect of liking sport; no doubt, you'll find a non-allergy-inducing pet to adore (goldfish, anyone?), and, as for sushi, you can always have different meals. Hardly insurmountable obstacles, you mad, lucky, perfect for each other people, you :-p

Horse said...

Congratulations! The best part is that you are making the decision to settle down and be happy, rather than holding out for "something better," like people did in Unhooked Generation. In the context of the game, I guess it's called winning.

I think if you had met DD during your wild phase, you would have blown him off instead of giving him this kind of a chance. His ideality is as much about your interpretation of what he brings to the table as it is about his qualities themselves.

It's kind of like the philosophy of Kant, where DD's qualities are the ding-an-sich, and zzzzzZZZZZZ....

Seriously, good luck.

J said...

Who needs to settle down in order to be happy? Reads like you have a great social net, why confuse the issue with guys who are dog and cat unfriendly - I can't live without animals... jeez. :-)

Jennifer Simon, Esq. said...

Oh Dolly...see, that`s the thing about great relationships. I`m in one right now as well, and it has had an effect on my blogging-- however, it certainly has not meant an end to interesting topics to consider. Surely, in the first few weeks of dating, I was essentially a cotton candy mouthed fool. But now, I get to ponder the joys of early relationship questions..."how soon is too soon to say 'I love you'?"; "what does it mean when he says, 'I think about our future alot.'?" and, of course, "would it be rude of me to ask him to start vacuuming since he basically lives with me?"

Oh, there is much ground yet to till, my friend...

Enjoy your happiness! He sounds great.

Lisa said...

I'm so excited for you!! Isn't it a nice feeling when you find one that strikes your fancy?!?! Have fun on the date & hope it goes as well as the first three :-)

Damn It Anyway said...

it was great to see you both so happy. Though it's not like i've ever seen either of you depressed.

raven said...

Ah that's so exciting for you. And as far as the traits you aren't fond of here's my experience. Use his lvoe baseball of baseball as another excuse to drink and eat foods you'd otherwise avoid. I hate raw fish, but have come to enjoy the other things that can be found at a sushi restaurant especially when sake is involved. And fish are far less high maintenance pets anyway! On the other hand, little conflicts like this make relationships fun. You get to make each other bend a little on things and see who will bend further.

NotCarrie said...

Yeah, the good stories are just as good, if not better. It's like reading a real-life romance story.

And will he try vegetarian sushi?

jo said...

oh no... i'm not at all disappointed to read that you've found someone you actually like. while dating disaster stories are perhaps more entertaining and have be going "yeah i know how you feel!", hearing look-how-this-guy-and-i-hit-it-off stories give me hope that in time to come, i'll have such stories as well.

and i don't think those differences are insurmountable obstacles. maybe you'll learn to enjoy baseball and maybe he'll learn to eat sushi (afterall there's more to japanese food than strictly raw fish) and maybe your pet could be a hamster or a goldfish. but sometimes it's the differences that make life more interesting. i mean why would you want to date someone who was a carbon copy of yourself anyway?

that said, if you can find a guy who makes you forget bout everyone else around (including the other cuties :P) i think you're set.

LaMa said...

CoatMan's idea of a goldfish for a pet is great, as it also can double up for the sushi...

pookalu said...

hmmm, i don't think that pet ownership should be a dealbreaker. but that's just a personal opinion. then again, i already have a dog, therefore it's already out in the open.

nor is non-sushi eating a bad thing. because most japanese restaurants have non-raw-fish options, and it's not like most people make sushi at home!

dolly -- relish your giddy phase!

*oh, and p.s. my dog is hypoallergenic -- if you want, i can bring her 'round and you can see if he can cope with a non-shedding dog! i'm not kidding....and, provided you'd want to own a bichon...

Crazy Girl City said...

I think it's great...not disappointed one bit. The only thing that does bum me out a little is when people have dating blogs, get in relationships, and stop blogging. I realize that it's a personal choice to blog about someone you are in a new relationship with, but it's always interesting (for the readers) to read about how it unfolds, like Jamy mentioned.

Bama Girl said...

Sorry I couldn't make it last Friday, I had a mental health day/night. I'm so there for the next one though!

Donovan said...

Dolly, it ends up that I'll be coming out for an internship this summer! I can't wait, I'll be sure to email you when I get out there.