Two Dates In Two Weeks

Back in late January, not long after my last post, I started emailing with someone on a popular online dating website (reminder: my old boss/friend gave me the remaining paid time on his account). The online guy (hereafter called Online Guy in this post) and I had similar values (like education and not rushing into sex) and some overlapping interests (like anime and boy bands), so we were able to connect on both superficial and deeper levels. We emailed back and forth every day for a couple weeks before I asked him to come visit me at my school and have a lunch date.

Online Guy and I met around noon at the center of campus on an unusually beautiful sunny Saturday in early February. Because we already had talked about many different topics by email, it felt like I was meeting a friend rather than a stranger. There wasn’t any initial awkwardness that usually accompanies an online date (or any date for that matter). I took Online Guy to my usual spot on campus for lunch. We sat outside and had paninis and coffee. We then went up to the top of the campus clock tower to get a view of the entire campus.

We walked and talked for quite a while. At some point, Online Guy mentioned that he traveled to Europe a few times and always enjoyed going to museums there, so I took him to a large museum on campus (my school has a really big campus). We looked at nearly everything in the museum until the museum closed. We made our way back to the center of campus, where we sat on a bench in the middle of a large open field and talked for another hour. Eventually, I walked Online Guy back to his car. The date ended around 6pm with a hug and an exchange of phone numbers. It was a great day.

Only about an hour or two later, Online Guy texted me, saying how much he enjoyed the day, and that we should get together again soon. We ended up making plans that evening to meet the following Saturday. We had just finished one date and made plans for second one almost immediately!

Online Guy lives somewhere between my school and The City. Since he drove to see me at my school, I figured the second date should be in The City. We both had the same idea to meet at a particular Japanese restaurant for lunch. I found out later that driving from his house to either my school or The City takes half an hour, whereas it takes me two hours to take the bike/train/subway to The City. Oh well. The City is more interesting than my school anyway.

The second date seemed even more comfortable (less awkward) than the first date (which already wasn’t awkward at all). We ordered our favorite dish from the Japanese restaurant (we both had the same favorite dish) and caught each other up on the events of the previous week. We both have an incredible sweet tooth, so we each had two desserts (ice cream crepes and cupcakes) after lunch. Online Guy then took me to a few Japanese discount stores (like dollar stores with exclusively Japanese stuff) and bookstores that he likes to frequent whenever he’s in the area. At some point, I remember thinking that the date felt more like two friends on a routine shopping trip than a date (not that that’s bad necessarily).

Online Guy drove us back to his neighborhood, where we had a third dessert (boba) for the day. At the end of the day, again around 6pm, Online Guy drove me to the train station. The next train was scheduled to arrive only a few minutes later, so we awkwardly hugged in his car before we parted ways. While I was still on the train, Online Guy texted me again, saying how much he enjoyed the day.

From our conversations, I knew that he was busy for the following two weekends, so we didn’t make plans to meet up right away. In the end, we never made plans again. While Online Guy and I got along really well, I never felt a spark between us. Perhaps if we had met under different circumstances (not on an online dating website), maybe we would have been good friends. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like there was any romantic potential. I never initiated another conversation, and neither did he. As Valentine’s Day was only a few days after our second date, I texted him “Happy Valentine’s Day” (I wanted to send an e-card or something, but I ran out of time that day), and he replied “Back at ya,” and that was it.

My New Years resolution was to go on two dates in the entire year, not necessarily with the same person. Even though nothing came out of my time with Online Guy, I can at least say that I went on two dates in two weeks, both before the middle of February, and both with the same person! That’s progress, right?

District 9 Date

The online guy and I scheduled to meet in front of the movie theatre about 45 minutes before our planned movie time so that we could eat first. I arrived first. When the online guy arrived, he said he had had a big lunch and wasn’t really hungry. Even though I had had only a light lunch of frozen yogurt with my big sister from work, I didn’t want to force him to eat or watch me eat (I like being accommodating). We instead caught an earlier showing of District 9 and completely skipped having dinner together. We bought our own tickets (but I later thought to myself that I should have bought his ticket because he bought me dinner last time).

I had mentioned to the online guy that I don’t really watch scary movies, so he kept apologizing when every trailer we saw before the movie started was for a scary movie. It was cute. District 9 is definitely not my usual kind of movie (he knew that too), but I liked it! The story was really interesting and well told.

The online guy and I didn’t talk much during the movie, but we talked for a bit in the parking lot afterwards. We hugged at the end of the night, and he said I could pick the movie next time, but I don’t really think our movie night counted as a date. We seem to be more like two friends hanging out, which is okay with me. I still had a pretty good night!

Dinner And A Movie

My movie date with the online guy has been rescheduled to tonight! Last time, I asked him (via text message) if he wanted to see a movie. This time, he said he was getting out of work earlier today (we actually had this text conversation yesterday), so we made plans for tonight. Once we decided on the movie (he suggested District 9) and the theatre, I asked if he wanted to get dinner too. We’re going to meet up a little before the movie starts so we can grab a bite to eat. Dinner and a movie!

Meanwhile, my mom’s friend’s wife works at Disneyland, so we’re able to get free tickets on non-blackout days. Even though I would rather go on a weekend so as to not miss work (I really care way too much about my thankless job), my parents convinced/pressured/guilted me (the way parents do) into taking tomorrow off so we can go on a less crowded weekday.

I think my parents are more excited about going to Disneyland than I am. Usually I’m the one who’s pushing everyone else to go, but this time, I’m just thinking about how tiring it is to go in the middle of the week. I will be less than functional at work on Thursday, I’m sure. But I already asked for the day off, so there’s no going back now; I’d be crazy not to go.

Side note: Yes, I’m going to Disneyland with my parents. It’s not as much of a drag as it sounds. I actually like spending time with my parents (except in the mornings – I’m definitely not a morning person).

Enlightening Lunches

I’ve had a good week. My boss is out of town for a couple weeks on business, so work is a lot less stressful right now (not enough to slack off, unfortunately). Not only that, but my big sister from work (who left the company at the end of February) came back to help while my boss is away! Her presence alone makes the workday much more enjoyable, and I’ve been having lunch with her almost every day this week!

My lunches with my big sister from work are always enlightening (and, as a side note, often involve frozen yogurt). She was with our company for ten years, so she has a lot of stories and wisdom to impart. She explained how a lot of the dysfunction within our company stems from the way my boss and my big boss work and interact with each other. I knew this to an extent, but I now understand more as to why my boss acts the way she does (not just to me). I won’t go into detail for security/anonymity reasons, but I feel sorry for my boss.

In other news, my movie date with the online guy didn’t happen. Yet. He text messaged me Thursday morning to say that he had to work late so we would have to reschedule. Working late is a common excuse, but I trust him; from what I’ve learned about him so far, he seems like a very nice guy (much nicer than me). We haven’t set a new date yet, but I definitely plan on following through with seeing him again. Stay tuned!

Second Online Guy

My date with the second online guy was good! We met up at the cafe inside a local bookstore around 8:15pm (this was two evenings ago). Since my date had come straight from work, I figured he hadn’t eaten dinner yet, so we went to California Pizza Kitchen instead of having coffee. Both of my dates this week were supposed to be coffee dates but turned into dinner dates!

While we were waiting to be seated for dinner, there was a woman with a stroller trying to leave the restaurant and was struggling to open the door. My date jumped up in the middle of our conversation and held the door open for her. After she left, he sat back down and continued talking as if nothing had happened. What a nice guy!

We had a nice dinner with good conversation, but it felt more like dinner with a friend than a romantic date. It’s possible that our meeting wasn’t meant to be romantic at all; the wording in our emails is vague. We shook hands at the end of the night (no hug). This situation is completely fine with me, though. He seems like a really nice person, so I can definitely see being friends with him.

There’s actually a new/recent movie that we both want to see. I’m considering inviting him to see it with me sometime next week. Turning my date into a friend would be a great outcome of this online dating thing!

One last thing: he paid for dinner! I didn’t pay on either date this week!

First Online Guy

I was barely at work for an hour yesterday and my boss had managed to stress me out. It’s gotten to the point where she only has to instant message me with a simple sentence and I will feel terrible for the whole day. That coupled with freaking out about my date made for a very painful day. I almost thought of cancelling my date for fear that I wouldn’t be in the mood to meet someone for the first time. Luckily, I didn’t feel nearly as stressed after I got off work.

I met my date (the first online guy in the previous post) at Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. I initially asked him to coffee/tea (easier to escape if the date went badly), but it was only about 6:45pm when we met, so we ended up eating dinner together. We had Fatburger. I had never been to Fatburger before; it was really good, even though it’s clearly not a date place. We ate outside and watched the passersby (Have you ever noticed how strange the pluralization of passerby is? Weird!). Oh, and if you’re wondering, he paid for dinner!

After walking along Third Street for a while (stopping to check out the various street performers), we headed down to Santa Monica Pier. It was around sunset, so the view of the ocean was just beautiful. We ended up sitting on a bench at the end of the pier overlooking both the ocean and the city. At the end of the night (around 10pm), he walked me to my car (all the parking lots down there look the same, so I easily could have gotten lost if I was by myself) and gave me a hug before we parted ways.

The date went very well. Santa Monica is a great place for a first date (or any date for that matter). Even still, I don’t know if I like the guy in the dating sense. I think we could be friends, but I don’t currently feel like we could be more.

He, however, seems to like me a lot. As I was driving home last night, he texted me asking for me to text him when I got home safely (I live farther from Santa Monica than he does). Then today, around lunchtime, he texted me asking how my day was going and what I had eaten for lunch (creepy). After a few replies back and forth, he asked me if I was doing something on Saturday. I told him I was busy (I really might be!), and he sent this: “I had a good time yesterday and would like to see you again. When is a good day/time?”

If I felt the same way he does, then maybe I wouldn’t mind setting up a second date so soon after the first date, but this was a little (way way way) too fast for me. I was freaking out. I didn’t want to set up definite plans so quickly, but I didn’t want to be mean and shoot him down either. I don’t want to be a heartbreaker!

I’m not sure which is worse: being heartbroken or being the heartbreaker. I’ve felt sort of like a heartbreaker before (a totally different story for perhaps another time), and I possibly felt worse than being rejected by someone I liked. I don’t know if I can handle this whole dating thing.

I called both my sister (I love that I can call her about this!) and my work bestie and asked them what to do. They both agreed that I was probably reading too much into it. A second date isn’t a commitment, only another chance to get to know someone better.

The guy sensed my hesitation from the fact that I didn’t text back right away, so he texted me again with: “If you don’t want to it’s cool. Just tell me.” I felt bad, and I didn’t necessarily want to burn the bridge right away. I told him it would be nice to hang out again but that next week is better and I would let him know then. He replied: “Sure. No worries. I am a very no pressure sort of guy. Just want to make sure you are comfortable. That is all.”

Obviously, he’s a really nice guy. Who knows, maybe I’m only hesitating because I’ve never been on a second date before. Everything seems to be moving very quickly, but I really don’t want to rush into anything (I fear change). I still have a date with the second online guy tomorrow night!

Online Dating

A few days before her last day at work (this was about a week and a half ago), my work bestie created a profile for me on a free online dating website. I had tried online dating before with not much luck, but I decided not to delete the profile since my work bestie really wanted me to use it. Before I knew it, I was emailing back and forth with two guys. By the end of the week, one of them asked for my number and the other gave me his!

The first online guy text messaged me on Friday afternoon (while I was still at work) asking if I had time to talk. I called him back as I left work, and we were on the phone for over an hour. We talked about a whole range of topics, including ex-boyfriends (his, since I don’t have any), driving (he, like me, was also scared of driving for a long time), marriage (he doesn’t want to get married, I haven’t decided), children (he wants a child in the very near future, I’m undecided on when), and our life goals (he has very defined goals, whereas I don’t). It was a very loaded first phone call.

Honestly, I’m not a big phone person; I’d rather just meet and talk in person. He’s out of town this weekend, so we made tentative plans to meet early next week. But he called me up again last night, as he was on his way to hang out with some friends. I was on the phone with him for another forty minutes while he was driving. Did I mention I’m not a big phone person? Anyway, after the two phone calls, I already have my hesitations about this guy (but his profile picture is pretty cute, and talking to him via email was very easy and natural), so we’ll see what happens when we actually meet.

The second online guy text messaged me yesterday (Saturday) afternoon. I asked him to a coffee date sometime this week; we’ll probably meet Wednesday night (I’m actually texting with him as I’m writing this). We haven’t talked on the phone yet (might be a good thing), but from what I can tell, he seems like a really nice guy. Also, my work bestie thinks he’s cuter than the first guy (at this point I’m undecided).

As I had mentioned a long time ago, I honestly gave up on finding love. I don’t know if online dating will give me hope or reinforce my bachelorhood, but I’m really nervous!

Best Pseudo-Date Ever

Continuing my streak of great weekends, I had a fantastic Saturday with one of my best friends from college. We set a date (I’m her perpetual pseudo-boyfriend) to have brunch, and I drove to her apartment in LA (we take turns driving to each other’s places for our dates).

After we had brunch at a cute local French bakery cafe, we didn’t really have any plans, so we walked around my friend’s neighborhood admiring all the fancy houses. I love house watching (I really don’t know the proper term for this). I imagine owning and living in some of the houses, sort of like a kid fantasizing about being an adult (not even “sort of,” that’s exactly what I’m doing).

Once we sufficiently walked off our brunch, we relaxed at my friend’s apartment (of which I’m so jealous) for a little while before deciding to go see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I’ve been waiting to see it, and I knew that my friend is a huge Harry Potter fan (and has been one since before it was cool to be), so it was a perfect time to go (I feel like using a lot of parenthetical phrases today). I thought the movie was great; it sets up the scene for the last two movies. I’m anxious to see them!

By the time the movie was over, it was already the early evening. We walked across the street from the theatre to a nice Italian bar/restaurant. At first I thought we were just stopping in for gelato, but we ended up spending the next three hours having a long, leisurely dinner in the restaurant’s outdoor patio area. We did the date thing all the way (well, except for, you know…): we split a carafe of sangria, a pizza appetizer, and a lasagna entree. We got our own orders of gelato (yum), though, since there was no way that splitting one order of gelato would have been enough dessert for us.

Instead of calling it a night after dinner, my friend and I spread out on her couch and watched Under The Tuscan Sun on DVD. I hadn’t seen the movie in a long time, and I forgot how good it is. I also never knew/realized that Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development), Kate Walsh (Grey’s Anatomy/Private Practice), and David Sutcliffe (Gilmore Girls) all made cameos! I love it when I learn new things about old movies (In putting in all those hyperlinks, I found out David Sutcliffe was also on Private Practice with Kate Walsh. Crazy!).

Considering that all we had originally planned was brunch, playing the day by ear ended up being a fantastic day! Best pseudo-date ever!