Mr. Awkward # 33

Some activities are just more fun when you are with people you enjoy being around. Or if you are by yourself. Friday night was one of those moments where the activities themselves weren’t wholly unenjoyable or bad, they were just made that way by the present company. So, I met this guy online a few weeks ago. He is divorced and recently moved back to Utah from another state. At first he seemed nice. Last week he gave me his number but it was kind of weird because he said he doesn’t give it out often and he specified when he would be around so I could text him. I took my time. Once I got around to it however, he became Mr. Clingy real fast. He texted often and it was kind of annoying. I don’t know how to describe it exactly, it was just slightly overbearing. Also, he started to seem a little ghetto to me. I don’t know how else to say that. His English was poor which is a real turn off for me. He told me that all through school he was picked on but now he lifts weights so he can fight back. He mentioned this on the date too….but by then I could see why he was picked on. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though.

So, he continued to text over the next couple of days and set up a date for Thursday night when he would have some time off work. He lives kind of far away but offered to come in to the city. He is actually from the part of town that I am from. At the same time, while he grew up here and graduated from high school here, he couldn’t seem to figure out just where in town I was. He refused to meet me in the middle and I refused to let him come pick me up. He finally settled on a night of fun at….wait for it….Boondocks!! Don’t get me wrong, the activities there can be fun, but it took me right back to teenage dating and actually my first date which was at a similar establishment I believe. He has apparently been out of the dating loop awhile anyway so that was fine. It ended up being a bit of a drive for both of us but we set up a time to meet and waited for its arrival.

When I arrived and saw him, he was not what I expected. For some reason I was picturing some white guy tryin to be gangsta and all hard core. Turns out, he was just a nerd! Shallow of me I know, but I could just tell he was a little on the awkward side. At the same time, he seemed to embrace his awkward so good for him. This is where the daily beatings throughout his school days comes in. Speaking of awkward though, when he bought our tickets, he went right for the “unlimited fun” passes. Yikes, they were $25 a piece which meant he spent a total of $55 after tax. That’s kind of a lot of money!! I felt very pressured to have fun and make sure he was having fun. He had driven a long way and then paid a lot of money. Right away though, I could tell I just did not want to be there. 

Since we had unlimited passes, it seemed like we should try just about everything. So, we started off with a favorite activity of mine, the Go Karts! I was excited cause it was something I could kind of do on my own. I know, horrible of me. But I knew I wouldn’t have to talk to him. He ended up going out quite a bit ahead of me so I just stayed back at a nice pace, far away from him. I enjoyed my slowish ride. I didn’t want him to catch up to me so I tried to pace it just right and I guess I did. When it was over I said, “you were just too fast for me!” Hahaha. He said he almost caught up to me. Whew! Next we played mini golf. I kicked his trash but I think he thought he was winning the whole time. He was pretty surprised at the end and refused to tell me his score, only that I had won. Yeah, I got a hole in one and several in two. It wasn’t that great of a course but the playing of it was okay. Nothing too horrible that I remember. Next we headed inside and played laser tag. This was obviously his element. He couldn’t wait to shoot guns! I had brought my purse in with me though and he kept commenting on how I should have left it in the car. I didn’t want to though. There was some girl stuff I needed and other things, ya know what I mean? Wow, his nosiness about it was getting a little annoying when we went into the laser tag room and he said that afterward we were going out to my car to put my purse in there. Umm no. I refused. He said he’d stop bugging me about it. Thank goodness!

While we waited in line for laser tag we were forced to talk some more. He asked me how I liked the online dating site where we met. I was pretty positive about it because I have had some good experiences. He asked how often I date and I told him 3 or 4 times a week. I didn't want to lie! He told me that I was the first person he met off of there. Yikes! More pressure! Anyway, laser tag. I just did my best to stay away from him honestly. Ugh! I let him go do his thing. He obviously likes shooting people which is fine. I usually like the activity but he was like a kid at Christmas! It was no surprise that when we went to use our 20 tokens in the arcade afterward he was excited about the shooting games. They do nothing for me but I did a couple to make him happy. He is kind of competitive but in an annoying way. We played this basketball thing and I made him get his own little booth cause I didn’t want him near me. He made fun of me afterward because I only made two shots. Lame! I had fun trying and I wasn’t worried about that but I thought it was kind of rude of him!

Once the tokens were finally used up he asked if I wanted to do anything again. I chose the Go Karts. On the way out he was giving me a hard time about not wanting to do the water ride thing. I think he was trying to be flirty but it was really obnoxious. I told him he could do it and I would watch. He didn’t. On the Go Karts he wouldn’t let me stay away this time. He went super slow so that I would catch up. When I passed him he ran me into the side. Ugh! I was definitely not in the mood. Then he wondered why I stayed WAY back. I told him I didn’t want him to run me off the track. Afterward I told him I was tired and that I should probably go. He walked me to my car, gave me an awkward hug and told me he had fun. Later that night he texted and said that he had fun and hoped to do it again. I did not respond. I haven’t heard from him since. Whew! Let’s hope it stays that way.

Mellow 31 and Flirty 32

I have two more dates to report my friends! That means I am two men closer to finding my EC! Quite a few weeks ago I was invited on a date by another man I met online. To be honest, that’s where they are all coming from. Men don’t ask me out in person. They are apparently intimidated by my beauty because I am told daily how beautiful I am. So that must be it right? Anyway, this guy seemed pretty nice online. We emailed a little and then he got my number. When he called me, I wasn’t super impressed. I don’t mean that he was bad in any way…just that he seemed pretty serious. Still, we planned a date for maybe a week or a week and a half later. When the time came, we ended up cancelling for one, because the weather seemed ominous for a hike, and for two, because I had other plans for afterward so it needed to be short. It’s just that it was my very good friend’s birthday and I had forgotten that it was going to be the same day as my date. I didn’t want to shaft her just because I had a date. So, I shafted him instead.

He was very nice and accommodating and the day after I cancelled, I texted to apologize again. He said we could do it the next week. And so we did. We met up at the mouth of Big Cottonwood canyon Friday night. I felt a little bad because on the way there, I was talking to another man who had called (I will tell you about him later… :)) and I didn’t want to get off the phone. I didn’t notice my date drive in and park like right behind me for a few minutes. Oops…he probably saw me on the phone. He was just standing outside his car waiting for me. I finally got off and went out to meet him. He was nice, if not a little awkward.

We drove up the canyon to the trailhead for Dog Lake and set out on our adventure. I’ve been feeling a little out of shape lately so I was kind of out of breath but kept up okay. It was also pretty humid so I was sweating like crazy! It made me realize that maybe hiking isn’t the best first date…unless he really wants to see me at my worst! By the time we made it to the top, I was a mess! I knew I didn’t look cute at all! I was kind of okay with that though. At the same time, he was actually easy to talk to and I enjoyed it, just didn’t find myself at all attracted to him….and I don’t necessarily mean that physically either. 

We enjoyed a few moments alone at the top and were soon joined by a middle aged couple who wanted us to take their picture. Mr. Mellow took care of that and we chatted it up with them for a few minutes. My date surprised me with a little subtle humor…but it made me laugh! The couple asked how long we had been up there because they had apparently seen us at the bottom. He told them we had just been there about an hour. Haha…it had been maybe 10-15 minutes but the woman kind of believed him. It was fun talking to them for a few minutes, then we headed down. 

At the bottom of the trail, we found several police, and ambulance vehicles, along with a Life Flight helicopter. We couldn’t leave the canyon until Life Flight took off. It was kinda cool to see. We didn’t have to wait long because they were ready to go. I don’t know what happened but that kind of thing always freaks me out a little. At the parking lot where he dropped me off minutes later, Mr. Mellow gave me the most awkward hug while I was still in his car. I had no hands to hug back and yeah, it was just altogether awkward….and he mentioned that it was as well. :) Overall, the date was nice…we hiked 5 miles and the scenery was absolutely amazing! The company wasn’t so bad either. I don’t expect a call from him…haven’t received one yet. That is okay.

The next day was Saturday. I had planned a hike with a friend (Okay, it was Mr. Keeper from last year. We’ve been hanging out a lot but I am completely NOT interested in that way…no worries.) for early Saturday morning. We ended up starting the hike around 7:30 am and headed up Mt. Olympus. Wow…it was brutal! I’m not sure if it was my lack of sleep or the hike the night before, but it was seriously tough. We climbed 4300 feet in 4 miles. The top part was basically rock climbing with no ropes which freaked me out considerably! He encouraged me along though and I made it….thankfully to enjoy the most spectacular view ever! It’s a must hike if you’ve never been! 

That evening I met up with Mr. Flirty numba 32. This was a random date in a way. He had started talking to me basically the day before. He was from out of town but came into town to visit a sister and to run the dirty dash. He let me know he was in town for the weekend and wondered if we could get together. So, we texted most of Friday and then met up Saturday evening at City Creek. We had some dinner at the Blue Lemon…always delish…and then decided to head to a bookstore since we both enjoy reading. Oh no…another man who reads…you know I am a sucker for those guys! It gets me every time! There was no such store at City Creek so we took the Trax down to the Gateway and headed for Barnes and Noble.

On the way there he was a lot more flirty, just poking me and such. As soon as we entered the store, I saw the book, “The 5 Love Languages,” and I showed it to him. He asked me what mine were and I told him: number one, words of affirmation; number two, physical touch. His he assumed were the same only the other way around. This was pretty obvious soon enough. :) He kept finding little ways to touch me or poke me or whatever the whole time. It was cute and fun and flirty. He bought my favorite book so that he can read it. How cute right? Anyway, it was a good time. Then we headed over to the Planetarium for a super awesome laser show! We looked around a bit first and as we walked he held my hand a little and stuff. I kinda liked it. We walked on the moon and mars and he commented later that I took him out of this world, haha. It was purposely cheesy! Throughout the night he randomly added in things like, “I like your eyes” or “you are really pretty,” etc.. What girl doesn’t like to be told that?

The show was great but there was that whole huge arm rest thing in between us. Still, he found his way around it and held my hand and such. Actually, it wasn’t long before he kissed me. I know…first date…but he was from out of town and I knew I wouldn’t be able to see him again anytime soon. So, whenever it got dark, he would just kiss me a little. And I kinda liked it. So, afterward, we took the Trax back over to the other mall and then took his car up to the Capitol building. We just hung out on the grass and made out a little and then went home. He was super fun…a little too forward/handsy…but I had a good time. The next day he left for his home far away. I’ve heard from him a little since so we will see if anything else comes of it I guess. Generally I don’t expect to hear from guys who make out on the first date… I probably shouldn’t want to either. I don’t think this one is going to go anywhere, mostly as a result, but I guess you never know. I like a lot of things about him. I’ll keep you posted…

Meanwhile, there is another guy that I am kind of liking but haven’t met yet. Did I tell you that? He also lives far away but will be here soon for work training. He will be here for a few weeks to a month. We talk on the phone all the time and he is super sweet and seems like a good guy! I hope he is! I hope he doesn’t want to make out on the first date! I might see him this weekend…I will let you know.

#'s 28, 29 and 30

Tomorrow I have another date so I thought it might be wise to catch up on the last three. Last Saturday night I met #28 Mr. Brains. I had absolutely no expectations going into this one. To be honest, many of his pictures weren’t that attractive. I saw potential though and thought I’d check it out in person. We had planned the date way in advance but at least to me that meant he was serious about a date, not just a make out or something. We met at an Ice Cream place, Coldstone this time around. As soon as I saw him, I was immediately pleasantly surprised! You never know, it can really go either way. We ordered some ice cream, found a spot to sit, and sat and chatted awhile while we ate. The conversation flowed nicely and we got along quite well. 

When our ice cream was gone, we walked over to the Barnes and Noble in the same parking lot. We had talked a little bit about our mutual love of reading but it wasn’t until this next excursion that I really valued that commonality. We explored many sections of the store and I often pointed out books I had read and enjoyed, including my very favorite book, “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” We discussed many non-fiction books that we had both enjoyed, as well as authors. He showed me around to some of his favorites and we just ended up having a conversation with depth that was exciting for me! 

This man is divorced and it hasn’t been super long since that was final. As a result, he is not looking for a serious relationship. Oddly enough, this brought me comfort. He seemed to completely respect who I was and I knew for sure that he was not just lookin for a piece of this fine bod! In the book store he was amazed and said, “wow, you really HAVE read a lot!” On the way out to my car, after they finally kicked us out so they could close, he said, “I really like your attitude! A lot of girls complain a lot but I like your attitude toward life!” I let  him know that it is important to me to make the most of whatever comes my way. He liked that. When we got back to our cars he didn’t hug me or anything but he did sincerely say, “let’s keep in touch.” And that we have done. I can really see him as a becoming a good friend. I don’t think that a relationship is ever in the works for us but I would totally value his friendship.

Next up, we have Mr. Traveler #29

Monday was a holiday! I always love getting a day off of work. Also however, there was a man I have been texting a little who lives in North Dakota. He drove down to Richfield for the weekend to visit a brother. On his way back through he texted and asked if I’d like to meet him for breakfast at IHOP. He said he’d be there in like 45 minutes. I was sitting in my pj's, un-showered or ready for the day in any way. Still, I worked my magic and arrived in plenty of time. He was late. I was nervous to meet him because from our texts, I seriously thought he just wanted to make out with me. I know, I bring it up frequently because it comes up frequently. Hence the reason I hate the internet. But anyway…

Once Mr. Traveler arrived it was kind of awkward at first. I wasn’t super attracted to him and I didn’t much enjoy talking to him. Still, it turns out that we have several mutual acquaintances. Strange for a foreigner I know. At first when we talked I was super bored! I was listening to him go on about things that honestly I had no interest in! When the conversation finally drifted to books I perked up a little. On a good note, my omlet was delicious, as were his pancakes, and the date didn’t last long as we was just passing through. He did give me a good hug at the end and we parted. We have continued to text but I doubt I will see him again. He lives far away and….I’m just not that interested. 

Finally, we arrive at the number 30! 

Let’ s just call him Weed #30. So, last week this guy started messaging me. He was 27 years old. I am 32. No big deal though right? But he was a little weird at first. He was persistent though and so I texted back. It came up that I was watching, “The Office” one night with some friends. He asked if I had ever seen “Arrested Development.” I had not. He was appalled and said we needed to have an “Arrested Development” Marathon. I said okay to the kid. One other day he asked when we were going to do this and I told him that we would as soon as he invited me. So he did, for today. He told me he has a roommate so I figured that was probably a good thing. He doesn’t live too far away from me so I left the address with my parents and set out on my way. At least we had talked a little beforehand right? 

Well, when I arrived I was kind of disappointed. I was hoping that this would turn out more like Mr. Brains and that I would actually be attracted to him in person. Turns out I really kinda wasn’t. He was okay though. He gave me a tour of the place and then we watched the show. It was kinda weird at first. Not the show, just him. Oh…and he took his socks off and I was sad he did. Sometimes I am grossed out by feet. This has gotten better over the years but his were seriously some of the most unattractive feet I have ever seen! Ewww! Also, he kinda had girl hands and his fingernails were longer than mine. That isn’t generally hard because I keep them short but mine are in desperate need of a trim! Ugh! Eventually though, we cuddled and I just tried not to think about what he looked like. I didn’t stay too incredibly  long; I was glad to use work tomorrow as an excuse to go. He gave me an awkward hug when I left and then sent me out into the dark night to walk to the “visitor parking” where I had to park my car….on the other end of the parking lot. I thought that was slightly ungentlemanly of him, as well as a few other things, but what can you do. I won’t see him again. In fact, I have a date tomorrow but at the moment I really feel like swearing off of dating for awhile. I am almost up to 40. Do you think I will actually find my man within that number?? I don’t. But you never know. There are a lot of weeds to pull out there! 

Ps…I still talk to Mr. Active though I haven’t seen him in a week. We went mountain biking last Thursday for date number three. Then I didn’t hear much from him through the weekend. Yesterday and today he randomly texted me but, it just hasn’t been quite the same. I don’t think he is interested. I think he might be slightly, but I think I got B-listed. Oh well. I have a couple other decent guys I am interested in meeting….I think..

Mr. Elusive #27

I went on another date tonight. Well, I went on one last night too but that was a repeat so we will talk about that in a few minutes. Tonight’s date was another online find. His profile is kind of weird but he sent me a flirt so I decided to respond. This time around I am really trying to be open minded about anyone that may have any kind of possibility. This does not include the creepers or men over 40 though. Some I think might have potential in person however…and I try to give them a shot. 

Mr. Elusive was from Orem. We decided to meet for dinner at a place he likes in Provo. So, I made the drive down just to find out that the place had just closed for the next week. It also turned out that for some reason he thought that I was from Provo. He felt bad I had driven so far (since I live in the Salt Lake City area). I followed him to Noodles and Company instead and there we ate. We sat outside where it was nice and live music was playing. The whole time it was just kind of awkward. I really didn’t know what to say and just felt like there was something off about him. Maybe it was the fact that a few times he made comments and I’m pretty sure he was Andy Bernard (The Office) and not my online find. It was uncanny really. Anyway, don’t get me wrong, he was really nice and probably a very good guy. That’s not what I mean. I just wasn’t feeling any sort of connection there. He did however look better than I thought he would. He wasn’t too bad actually. Still, I just wasn’t on the same page. 

After dinner we went two doors down to the Red Mango. Remember my frozen yogurt establishment adjudication a few years ago? Well, that was on the list and I haven’t been back since. In fact, Spoon Me is no longer in Utah so I haven’t had any frozen yogurt in quite some time. I remembered liking it before though so I was excited to go back. Unfortunately however, I was pretty full. I got the smallest size and did my best to finish it off. The problem was that all that food began to make me feel a little sick inside. I quickly became way too full and quite sick really. There wasn’t anyone sitting close to us and at one point I may have let a little gas slip out and oh man….it was BAD. Pretty stinky! Haha. Why write this on the internet? Well, we are all here for a little entertainment right? Yeah, it was gross. I really needed to go to the bathroom but I didn’t want to right after that cause then, if there was any chance he may have thought the smell came from elsewhere, he would know for sure it was me! Soon, I had to just go though. Things were a little more pleasant after that. 

We didn’t stay too long which I was grateful for. He walked me to my car, talked some more, gave me a hug and sent me on my way. I think he enjoyed himself. He seemed to be kind of into me anyway. I just wasn’t feeling it back. That’s fine though. I need to narrow my list down because right now, I am talking to WAY too many guys! It’s not really my thing. 

On that note, I went out with Mr. Active again last night. We just went for a walk down by the Jordan River. It was quite nice! We walked about 6 miles total, just talking the whole way. At one point we had to climb on a wall to avoid a flooded section but he nicely helped me up there like a gentleman. Afterwards we went back to his house to drink some water. Then we stood there awhile and talked and then I left. When I first arrived he seemed excited to see me. He gave me a hug and said it had been forever. Cute…it’d been a week. Then when I left he walked me to my car and gave me a hug and said it was fun seeing me again. Later I texted him to thank him again and stuff and he said that he had fun and that I was easy to talk to. I think those are good signs but I’m not really about to read into anything anymore so, despite the fact that we have been talking almost every day since we met and that the day after our last hike he added me on the old facebook, I am just trying to date every possible guy in the freakin universe until one asks me to marry them.

# 26 Mr. Active

Another day, another date. Are you keeping up? I hardly am. So, yesterday I met yet another online potential. This new site seems to be producing in abundance. Anyway, let me tell you a little bit about this one. We exchanged a few emails online and then he asked for my number. We texted several times and then he asked if he could call me. He did call me, when I was getting ready for date #25 the other night. We had been texting quite a bit so I was a little nervous. Why? Well, because we were all fun and flirty and sarcastic and I didn’t want him to be super weird in real life. The conversation went really well though. We talked for a long time and then I had to go on my other date.

After our conversation he texted me and said, “It was fun to talk to you.” I agreed. It was fun. His sarcasm almost matches my own…which is delightful. The next day I had a concert in the tabernacle. He decided he wanted to come and see it. I didn’t invite him or anything but I was kind of excited that he wanted to. He told me in a text that morning that he was breaking a rule with me. I was kind of surprised and asked what it was. He told me not to laugh and then revealed that he usually doesn’t talk to girls this much before he meets them. I completely understood why because I am the same way! I like to meet people because they are so often weird in person. Just like my friend and I decided…some people you just like better cyber. I told him about that and he laughed. :) He told me I better not disappoint and I gave him the same warning back.

After my concert I called him to find out where he was. I saw him first and was pleasantly surprised and relieved at the same time!  He was good looking! We had a fun conversation and it wasn’t too awkward. He also seemed really pleased with the concert. He liked it! Yay!! I sing in a women’s choir and afterward the men’s choir performed. I have a friend in it so I was staying for that. He knew this so when they were starting I said goodbye to him. He gave me a hug and took off. He soon texted and said it was nice to meet me. I replied the same back to him and we texted back and forth the rest of the night. 

So, finally we get to the big date yesterday. We had decided to go on a hike. How refreshing to do something different!!! I was way excited. We went up Mill B North in Big Cottonwood. We talked easily and I kept up with him really well. By the way, he is pretty darn in shape. My sister saw him the other night and thought I should name him Mr. Buff but I didn’t. Anyway, we hiked up a ways to this Salt Lake overlook. We sat and talked there awhile and then he asked if I wanted to hike some more…and I did. So, we climbed quite a bit further until we ran into some tricky snow where he pulled a muscle, causing us to have to turn around and head back down. All in all, we hiked about 5.5 miles and climbed over 2,000 feet! It was great! So nice to do that for a date, really. Well, except that I was all sweaty. We talked easily and just enjoyed nature and each other’s company. 

We were together for about 4.5 hours and we both had stuff going on after so we said goodbye back at me car. He gave me a hug and I left. Soon after, he texted and said, “That was fun.” I agreed and thanked him for taking me. He said, “Let’s do it again.” I told him I’d love to. So my friends, we have a new potential! He is nice, funny, a couple years older than me, has a job, and is doing things with his life. He is also divorced and has two children. I really don’t know what will happen but it’s nice to be thinking about other guys for now…