Monday, April 19, 2010

DATE #5: Le Cirque de Dates

On-line, Mr. Le Cirque and I were only a 74% match but how can you turn down a date with a guy who's in Circle du Soleil?

Happy hour drinks and appetizers on a Wednesday evening. We met at Thompson Sq Park and Mr. Le Cirque took me to some vegetarian restaurant called veggie delite or delight or something.

We ordered cocktails made with cucumbers and wheatgrass, snacked on raw almonds and ordered some tofu rolls that tasted like lettuce wrapped dirt balls.

Conversation was anything but easy flowing. We talked primarily about Cirque du Soleil - I saw it in Vegas and thought it was just SO spectacular. He said, "well, yeah, it's a good job", then he proceeded to show me how he could dislocate his shoulder as part of this Cirque dance... and well... we never made it to dinner because frankly, seeing someone dislocate shoulder is not terribly appetizing. And, there didn't seem much else to say.

That's pretty much all I have to say about that.


Wednesday, April 7, 2010

DATE #4: Mr. Shrinking Head

It's a bad sign when 5 minutes into a date I'm looking for a way out.

This guy seemed harmless enough, despite that he was the potential date I wrote about in my previous post - the one who wouldn't stop emailing, calling or texting me... and that was before we met. Should have tipped me off.

Story goes - Girl walks into a bar, she's early and sits to wait. He's late and when he walks in, she tries to get his attention but he walks right by. When he wakes from zombie-like state and says hello, his head shrinks into his head a little either in fear or discomfort.

He goes to the bar for drinks, waits 5 minutes while the bartender listens to a story being told to her by another patron, and comes back to the table empty handed. He didn't want to interrupt the bartender to get us drinks. I repeat: he didn't want to interrupt!

Once we got a waitress to serve our table, it takes the guy 10 minutes to pick a beer - he wanted to try something different - 10 minutes! I ordered a jack and ginger.

We then spent some time discussing the weather, and how much I travel and how much I work and really, I tired quickly of talking about me. He consistently told me how boring his life is (which really isn't a plus) and how he's so easy going that he doesn't really care to change anything (also not an attractive quality). Then we talked about families - mostly mine - and when I mentioned what my father does (something to do with pharmaceutical testing and running a global lab), he asked if I could help him get a job with his company (he works for a similar company only 10 billion times smaller). I thought, well that's not very classy, we just met and you want me to help you get a job at my father's company but you just admitted that you're lazy...? Huh?

When we finally seemed to be running out of things to say, he decided to explain to me how the game of Baseball is played (as the Yankees and Red Sox were playing on the bar TV tonight), as if I cared. Finally we were waiting for the check and sitting silently watching the 9th inning (which is the last inning of a baseball game if you didn't know... but it's a tie so they'll keep playing till someone scores and wins).

He paid. Then we walked outside and awkwardly hugged goodbye and good riddance! The kicker was when he said my name, to say goodbye, he said it wrong! And he didn't even offer to walk me home - two blocks away - which is fine but he should have offered. Before I've walked to two blocks home though, I have a text that says "Had a great time! Good Night ;)"

I'm thinking: Were we just on the same date? Dense much?

Am I creating false hopes? I think I'm pretty honest and it was pretty evident that we didn't click, that I was bored and by the end he seemed it too... or maybe he was so preoccupied seeing a future working at a great global company and watching baseball that he forgot I was staring daggers all evening. Even the waitress noticed.




DATE #3: Sarcastic Sam*

Those who know me personally, know that I can be quite sarcastic from time to time (or rather all the time) and often it's difficult to distinguish where I draw the line.

Sarcasm as a trait in a man is essential for me. Often described as a defense mechanism against criticism, sarcasm is my humor, not accepted by all but all mine nonetheless. So in my handy dandy profile, I've marked it as mandatory.

Thus meet Sam*: 32, Lawyer, said he was 6'2" but is only 5'7" and starts his first message to me with "I'm not a murderer so you should call me." My response was "if by chance you are a murderer, I don't want to be the one to call you because then I'm an accomplice."

So he called me and I didn't call back for 4 days. Not that I was playing hard to get on purpose, I was just busy. But I called him back and we spoke for about 30 minutes without saying one non-sarcastic truthful thing, which I'll admit, was kind of fun.

What's not fun is actually meeting and spending two hours trying to be honest and not being able to figure out what's sarcasm and what's not.

We met at a Tribeca bar, but not a super swanky kind - he was under-dressed and I was overdressed. I could tell instantaneously that there was no spark - I was taller than him in heels (I was wearing the heels not him).

We sat and talked about his job at the DA's office and about my friends in the mob (which apparently you shouldn't talk about with an assistant DA....) We talked about having people whacked and buying up New York City property with the billions of dollars he didn't have. We talked about how I'd make an awesome Juror since I have such high expectations and a severe moral code. He was very disappointed I don't live in Manhattan so I could be on one of his Grand Juries.

Then we discussed what we were looking for, and being two straight up people - I said I wasn't sure but that I definitely wouldn't be sleeping with him and he said he was into a friends with benefits. Obviously this wasn't going to work out for either of us.

I'll give the guy credit for being forward enough to admit the truth, even overshadowed by blind sarcasm, and for being funny enough to let me laugh at him. He walked me to the train, we took the same line in opposite directions, and he didn't seem to be crying too hard when hit him that there was no chance to get in my pants.

Should I feel bad for leading him on? I'm not sure I do. At least I didn't make him buy me dinner.

*Name changed for protection.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Dream Phone: Does a Phone Date count?

Remember that game from the early nineties? The one where there's a hot pink phone and you call all these boys to listen for clues and decipher which one likes you - he plays football and likes hanging out at the mall - it's Brad! You always want it to be Brad!

Well who would have thought 20 years later, here I am again playing Dream Phone again and hoping all the clues do lead to someone even better than Brad!

Talking on the phone to get to know someone feels so 1990 but it seems to be making a come back. More than one perspective date has asked me to set aside some phone time so we can "chat". The conversations consist of me working on my computer with my blackberry ear piece in, waiting for the guy on the other end to say something slightly funny so I can give a little half laugh. Usually we talk about their day, oh, they went out to lunch that's great. I made a peanut butter and jelly. Sometimes we talk about the weather or what we like to do on the weekends and yeah I'm tired today because I stayed up to late...

How much can you tell about a person through their voice? Or their inability to carry on an interesting phone conversation? I think these phone talks are uncomfortable because I'm being asked to be charming and likable to someone I don't know. It's different with work, I've been told I "give good phone", I have a sweet and professional voice when I'm talking business to an unknown. But if I know you, it's a different story. So, how can all these phone conversations really be helping these guys get a better sense of me? Or I them?

And just because we have a few laughs on the phone about my sarcastic tone and your illegal extended lunch breaks so you can call me... doesn't mean I'm going to jump into your arms when I meet you. Because, frankly, you aren't Brad on the other end of my dream phone.

But do these phone dates count as dates? Should they? If I have to schedule the time and actually pay attention when you talk about your Grandma's 80th birthday party last Sunday, shouldn't that count as a date? Then do we really even have to meet if I can tell by your voice it's not going to work out...?

Alright, of course we'll meet - at the Mall!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Communication 202

Dear Mr. Potential Date,

Isn't it great that we've met through this cheesy online dating service and now we've made it through dozens of questionnaires that say we're a perfect match? Isn't it great that now we are left to communicate on our own, without the question suggestions and sentence starters?

I know! So wonderful that there is such a thing as gchat so we can instant message all throughout the work day and you can interrupt my every hour!? Isn't that just great! Yeah, I know I work from home so my schedule is kind of freer than yours... oh yeah, maybe we shouldn't gchat between 9am and 6pm so that you (and I) can get some work done. I know, it's so great to gchat but you know, we can email!

Yes! I just love receiving your one sentence emails, back and forth throughout the day, it's just like gchatting but not! Awesome, really.

What's that you say? You feel like you know me because of the way I write, aw how sweet. Yes, I am a funny writer, no, not sarcastic at all. Oh, you fell for my photo? How nice, just wait till you meet me - I'm all personality and no looks. Oh, now you want to call me on your lunch break, sure, why not? Take up another hour of my day because the two we spent gchatting and 3 we spent emailing has not taken up enough it's been lovely...

Yeah, it is pretty easy to talk to me since I do all the talking. Yes, my job is interesting. Yes, my walk in the park was nice. Yes, I got all your emails on my Blackberry while walking in the park. Yes, it's cool you went to the Ice hotel in Sweden, I'm sure that was really cool - I saw the pictures on your profile. Yes, I l liked your profile, you were honest about wanting kids in the next 2-3 years. No, I don't know if I want them that soon.

But what the hell, Sure, I'll go for a drink.
(Damn this blog and stupid mission)

Cheers!
G*


Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Hiatus

As you may have noticed, I haven't had a 3rd date yet and it's been well over a week (ok, 2, but who's counting?).

After my 2nd date, I took a brief hiatus and went traveling about on a documentary shoot in Tunisia, a place I've always dreamed of going.

When I was maybe 18 or 19, I started having this dream about traveling to Tunisia. In my dream, I was making a film there and I was staying in this small hotel painted all white with blue accents. My room had a little balcony overlooking the Mediterranean from a hill top. There were white curtains always moving in the slightest cool breeze, the sun was warm and the sky the most perfect shade of blue. I dreamed of meeting my perfect man there - in the lobby of my hotel, we laughed and that was it, I was hopelessly, foolishly in love.

But that was just a dream.

In reality, I was traveling in a country where women can't sit at a cafe alone, where I had to fake marriage to my DP so I wouldn't be dragged off into the desert by Bedouins. And while my dream took place in the very real Sidi Bouh Saiid, my reality was Douz - a dusty town not unlike Mos Eisley on Tatouine in Star Wars.

I'm not complaining, it was an exceptional journey. But, when I looked out into the vast expanse of the never-ending Sahara desert, after years of dreaming about this place I'd never known, I couldn't help but think the reason I dreamed of this place is because I am filled with sand. Perhaps, I am a desert that goes on beyond the horizon and never meets the blue of the sky....

Before I left, I had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine who asked me what my goal really was in pursuing that crazy "27 dates" mission. I said I wanted to meet new people (she saw right through that). So I revised: I wanted to prove myself right - that there isn't a man out there that can handle all that I am, that there isn't a man for me. Well, going into this with that kind of attitude - of course I'm going to prove myself right because it means I'm not really open to being proved wrong. But really, I don't want to prove anything.

Let's be honest. Standing in the middle of the Sahara can feel like you're standing in the loneliest place on earth, but even there, you're not alone. There are plants here and there, there are scorpions and snakes and camels and Bedouins. There is the sky and the sun and at night - the most vast expanse of stars you've ever seen. And the moon. So really, I don't want to be alone. And as much as I hate to admit it to myself (and all of you), I'm just a fool looking for love in all the wrong places (the Sahara being one of them). And I just want someone to share the adventure with me.

So I still have 17 weeks (117 days) left and I'm determined to keep pushing forward on my mission - 25 dates to go! If a bush can grow in the Sahara, than there has to be one man willing to face the desert with me and I'm going to find him (someone should probably warn him).



Monday, March 8, 2010

DATE #2: The Brunch Politico

I've always thought Brunch is the perfect time to go on a date. It's not too early nor too late and I'm usually wide awake (which apparently makes me rhyme).

This particular date had never been on a brunch date before, well neither had I actually... And sometimes there's a reason why some ideas are only good in theory. First off, 3:00pm is a lousy meeting time. If I haven't been up all night and wanting to sleep in, then by 3pm I've already been up since 8 and working on something or other and now you've just broken up my day and made me drop everything and run into the city for a date!

At least the dress is casual and there's no worry about whether or not my black pants match my black shirt... jeans and a t-shirt suit just fine with a little rouge-a-levre. I'll give credit to this guy for actually putting on a clean shirt, looking like he just came from work. However, he immediately lost major points for not matching his profile pic at all - I mean he said he was 6'2 and was hardly a 5'6 in person.

'The Politico' picked a simple Spanish restaurant where we had the intention to only meet for drinks. However, they were serving brunch and in poor form, neither of us had eaten before hand. That might have been a trick on both our parts... I know for me I was thinking "if he's cute I'm totally in for a meal". He wasn't but at least he paid.

He ordered a pitcher of sangria, not a half pitcher, a whole. And before we reached the 2nd glass, and even before I food came out, we had a "friendly" disagreement about the State of Israel. A great way to start a first date, let me tell you! Thus his nick name 'The Politico', he actually keeps up with politics in a way that, well, I don't and that's kind of a turn off for me... We spent most of the meal discussing whether or not it was alright for a country to be founded on religion and who is right and wrong in the middle east and why the news is good and bad and how politics (and money) runs the world! I'll give him credit for actually arguing against me, he doesn't know me so I guess he wasn't afraid... And I was sitting in the booth too squished to get up and leave halfway through.

When we finally switched subjects, it was all about work. He's in real estate development and does for buildings what I do for movies. I'll admit, I actually found that to be interesting but he didn't seem impressed with what he does and a guy who doesn't have passion for his work, probably won't have passion too many other places in his life.... For not being an impressive person physically, he did show me a building he developed into a multi-million dollar hotel - and that was impressive.

At the end of brunch he said he liked that I was argumentative and feisty and I kind of got the feeling he just liked a woman in charge, wouldn't matter who - he even liked that the waitress was pushy. I, of course, am not interested in dominating another beast and though I think under other circumstances he was just interesting enough to be friends, there wasn't enough to even want to see him again.