the experiment

there's the old cliche floating around out there that says, "when it rains, it pours." i always thought this was an odd saying, because most of the time (at least in calgary) it rains in varying degrees of wetness and i'd wager that most of those times it's not particularly pouring. i digress. given the dating drought for the past few weeks (and therefore a lack of blog entries), i decided to agree to go out on a date with two guys that i normally wouldn't agree to go out with, both for completely different reasons.

and weirdly, both of the dates occurred on the same night.

and even more weirdly, the second date was probably one of the most interesting dates i've ever had. i might talk about him later. to be quite honest, i am hoping that this one develops into something. in the meantime, though: here's the story of the first guy.

the reason that this guy was an experiment was that i didn't go through the normal "screening" steps i normally do. we didn't speak on the phone, we didn't text/msn for days on end. we exchanged a few emails, he asked me out for dinner and i accepted. boom. it felt kinda old school. we arranged to meet at tandoori hut for dinner. i love tandoori hut.

now, in my world, when you arrange to meet someone at 6:00, the ideal time to show up is 5:59. you're sliiiiiightly early, but mostly just on-time. so i arrive at 5:59 and no date. ok, cool. i get a table. i wait. 10 minutes goes by. i'm thinking to myself, "how long do i give this before i bail?" i had come to the conclusion that i would wait 5 more and that would be the end of it. he texts at that point. "i took a wrong turn. be there soon." k. fine. i order a glass of wine, figuring this is already going to be a long night. in retrospect, the wine was a good choice.

"be there soon" turned into 6:24. this is a long time to be sitting in a restaurant by yourself, waiting. truth be told, i really wanted butter chicken and that was more the reason that i waited. it's so tempting when you can smell its slightly spicy goodness wafting out from the kitchen. mmm. i love the butter chicken in tandoori hut. but i digress again.

and then, as if in some sort of dark nightmare, this figure opens the door. this...really...really...large figure. oh! ok. this is you. awesome. not how your pictures made you look. i take a deep breath. well, maybe he'll have a wicked personality.

nope.

nope, he does not.

he embodies the stereotypical nerd. his glasses hang too far down on his nose. he is wearing some long dark jacket. his hair is combed flat to the side, and gelled so that you can still see the comb's teeth marks. i am honestly expecting a pocket protector. and y'know what? i can even move past all this if he were to be funny or charming.

nope.

nope, he was not.

we awkwardly make small talk and order food (because seriously, at this point, i *need* butter chicken to make the evening not a complete waste). i pride myself on being able to talk with most people openly and quite well. i found this to be quite possibly my most difficult challenge yet.

this date was not nearly the weirdest one i have been on, but it was a gentle reminder that my screening process is in place for a reason. he even awkwardly asked the question, "can i call you again sometime?" i hate that question. the answer is not something you want to hear half the time. my theory is that if you have to ask how the date is going, it's not going very well.

i give him a hug as i reach my car. sorry, kiddo. i'm sure you'll make a lovely girl very happy some day. that girl isn't going to be me.

conveniently, i passed a friend on the way to date #2, and as i was driving her home i just got to giggle about the whole experience. awkward!

...and then... well... the blue eyed guy arrived. i can't decide if i want to share this one or keep it all to myself. i'll have to think on it.