Dave

a few months ago, a close friend of mine went on a Tremblant snowboarding trip with some people and met Dave. she came back and told me how he's just my type - scruffy, sweet and funny, and that she'd need to hook us up. she befriended him on facebook, and after some creeping, i was pleasantly surprised. he's cute! minor detail: we weren't sure if he was single or not. i had heard through mutual friends that he was in a pretty serious relationship recently, but that they broke it off. finally, my friend sent him a message explaining that she had the perfect person to set him up with. he seemed interested (and confirmed he was single), so he asked if i would like to meet up for a drink.

we met up at a pub in the market on a rainy night. i got there first, and quite literally the only table left was one on a stage. i texted him to let him know where i was sitting and when he responded with "so does that mean you're going to give me a show?", i knew that the date was going to be fun and my nerves melted away. Dave is tall and cute with red hair and a killer smile. he's 29, lives in Kanata and owns his own business as an IT consultant. i guess he grew up in Kanata so all of his close friends still live out in the west end of the city. he did mention that he's thinking of moving downtown with a buddy of his sometime in the near future.

the conversation flowed very nicely. he's probably the easiest person in the world to talk to/get along with. we bonded over our love of Arrested Development/music/travel/cottages and the next minute, we were talking about prostitution in Ottawa (which is funny when you think about it). i decided to try something new: keep it to a 2 beer maximum. i want him to know that i don't need drinks to be funny or outgoing, but can just be myself. not to mention, nobody likes to go on a date with a sloptart. i paid for our drinks (huge mistake?) while he was in the washroom because our server wanted to settle up. he seemed surprised that i paid, but didn't exactly offer to contribute or suggest that he get it next time. he probably just felt awkward.

the lights were dimming and after 3 hours, we decided to head out. he offered to give me a ride home which i accepted for two reasons: 1- it meant i would get to spend more time with him (to be honest, i didn't really want the date to end) and 2- my mom told me that if a guy offers you a ride home, you take it because if you don't, you'll never get rides after that and it makes the guy feel good/responsible/gentlemanly. he drives a red VW beetle, which kind of caught me by surprise...explanation: he used to work for Nerds on Site and got a good deal on the car.

the awkward goodbye: the only downside to a drive home = less chance of a hug/kiss at the end of the night. i said that i had a good time and thanked him for the ride. because of the awkwardness, neither of us said that we should do it again sometime. UGH! i really wanted to say that. i've learned that if you're interested in a guy, it doesn't hurt to show it (stalking excluded), so i sent him a text message explaining that it was nice to meet him and asked him to let me know if he wanted to go out again sometime. if nothing else, i felt better to have expressed myself and show interest. he replied saying that he had fun too and thanked me for the drinks and said that he would get the bill next time. oooh a "next time" would be fun!

new strategy: i'm not going to overthink/overanalysize/overcraze this date. i thought it went well and got the impression that we both had a good time. my only hesitation is that i got the feeling that he's enjoying being single. in any case, we shall see. i need to remind myself to take things slowly when it comes to dating. i think i get really excited and then get too emotionally invested for my own good and wind up feeling disappointed/let down. i should enjoy being single too!

stay tuned.