Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Scott

Scott and I had only been chatting briefly before one of us suggested meeting up. That's the way I like to roll... why drag out a text messaging relationship if you have zero chemistry when you meet up in person?

I didn't know much about Scott before meeting up with him except that he's 2 years older than me, works for a family-run insurance company (he's a partner in the company), owns a townhouse in Barrhaven and is originally from Ottawa. He also seems to love playing hockey with his buddies.

We met up at the Clocktower. I had asked if he would be willing to come out my way, since I am without a vehicle and he said that wasn't a problem. He also scored huge brownie points by asking me if he could pick me up. I politely declined, but expressed how great it was that he had asked! Chivalry is not dead (maybe). Oddly enough, Scott said that this was his fourth date at the Clocktower ha ha. Apparently it's a big hit with the ladies. What a coincidence. He must be so sick of that place!

Scott is cute and we had a good time chatting over a few beers and shared some chips and dip. He seems like a very positive person who loves to laugh a lot, which is important. Scott must be the youngest looking 38 year old I've ever seen... I would never guess that he is 38! He's also a bit on the short side... well, his profile says he's 5'11. I am trying to overlook height in case I'm missing out on a great guy. Still, I couldn't help but wish he was just a little bit taller...

Things I discovered about Scott on our date:
- his parents split when he was around 8. His mom remarried twice after that, moved to Toronto, and is now back in Stittsville. He has tons of step-siblings, but is closest to his biological brother. He is also much closer to his Dad.
- he was trying not to watch the Habs play last night, although I did catch him peeking at the score a few times (but not enough that it was distracting or rude).
- he grew up out near the airport and went to both Brookfield and Merivale high school. He then went on to Algonquin College (I can't remember what he took there...), but then wound up in the family business.
- he drinks Coors Light, which I made fun of. Not that a guy has to be super into craft beer, but it would be nice...
- like me, most of his friends are married. He did say that he has one 'wingman' left.
- he thanked me for looking like my photos. Apparently he had been on a date with a woman who was double in size compared to her photos. He even added her on Facebook before meeting up and all of her photos on Facebook had been doctored as well! Who does that?!
- he has two gay uncles on his mom's side of the family. As silly as it may seem, I need to be with someone who is ok with my gaggle of gay men that are some of my closest friends.

After a few hours, he got the bill and we parted ways. I went in for a hug, and I think he wanted a kiss, so we did the awkward first date dance and he ended up kissing my cheek. Maybe next time, buddy! I do think there will be another date. I asked him what he was up to this weekend (out of curiosity) and he said he was going to have friends over to his place to watch UFC on Saturday but suggested we do dinner beforehand. I explained that I will be at a beer festival and then he seemed interested in learning more about the festival and said he's not tied to UFC...

When I got home, he said that he should have offered me a ride home (yes, you should have). The thought was nice. At least it's on his radar, unlike some dudes! I can't believe how many guys just don't care if a single woman makes it home safely walking home late at night.

***

SCOTT (UPDATE): Never heard from him again.

MIKE (UPDATE): Mike did make a return after I had carefully avoided many text messages from him. I caved. We had plans to meet up and then he bailed (AGAIN). What's the saying? Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me. Exactly. I told him to lose my number. This time for good!

ROBERT (UPDATE): Not much to update here. I occasionally hear from him, but he seems to be going through a rough time sorting out his next big job. While I can appreciate that, it is frustrating that he put himself out there as being ready to date. In this case, I think it's just an issue of poor timing. That being said, I do really like him... but won't be waiting around for him to get his stuff together (been there, done that).

Monday, January 12, 2015

Jean

Jean contacted me on pof. He didn't have a photo up, but sent me a few photos of himself. He was cute, I thought! We messaged back and forth quite a bit before moving over to text messaging each other. He is the same age as me, 6'2", moved to Ottawa about 12 years ago and has an interesting background. Both of his parents are from France, he was born in Australia but grew up in South Africa. So of course his accent was immediately charming :) We seemed to have quite a bit in common.. in fact, we discovered that we both work in the same building! Only three floors apart. He also knew a few of my coworkers, so I confronted one of them to ask for the 411 on this guy. She had nothing but nice things to say about him. That made me feel better. I liked that Jean was very family oriented and desperately wanted kids himself. In fact, he primarily dated single mothers in the past.

We met up on Saturday at a pub for drinks, but it was packed due to the football game. We decided to move to a different pub just down the street. The conversation flowed quite nicely. Somehow we got on the topic of karaoke and he said "oh, we should go!". I didn't think he meant THAT NIGHT, but he did. It was very spontaneous and fun. I liked that he was up for anything. Jean drove me home and gave me a kiss good-night. This guy seems amazing, I thought! Too good to be true?

Apparently! The next day he texted me to say that he had a great time with me, shared lots of laughs, and would like to see me again. One day later, he texted to say that he just didn't feel a spark with me and hoped we could remain friends. WTF?! Dating in general can be super frustrating and make you re-think ever getting excited about a decent prospect. I couldn't let it go. I responded saying that I was a bit surprised, given that just the other day he had said he wanted to see me again. I mean, really, what happened in the span of one day that made him change his mind? Better to have found out sooner rather than later, I suppose.

In any case, I have never been good at dating more than one person at a time, so I will focus on Robert for now.

Hopefully there won't be too many awkward run-ins at work!

Robert

I met Robert through Tinder, an app that typically is known for hooking up. Surprisingly, most of the dudes I've been chatting with on Tinder are looking for something real. Robert even said he's looking for a life partner, so that was refreshing to hear. We instantly had 'text chemistry', I guess you could say...which always worries me when you actually meet up with the person. What if he's good on paper but the chemistry doesn't translate face-to-face?

Robert is one year younger than me and is a media/communications guy who works for a not-for-profit organization. I like that he has many different interests... anything from book club to snowboarding to being a bit of a foodie like me. He has an adorable dog that he rescued. My first impression of him is that he is a sweet, sensitive type of guy. He was in a three year relationship and then an eight year relationship prior to that.

We met up at a brew pub for drinks and when I arrived, Robert was already there. I immediately felt very comfortable with him, almost like I knew him. He looked much cuter in person than in his photos. I think the more dates I've been going on, the easier and less nervous I feel. We chatted for several hours about our lives, including exes and complicated family history. Things that I'm not sure you would normally talk about so openly on a first date, but it felt ok. After Robert paid for the bill, we walked home together. Turns out, we live in the same neighbourhood!

We have texted back and forth quite a bit during the week. We both had a busy few days and then he was out of town in Montreal on the weekend. The plan is to meet up tonight. I am really looking forward to seeing him again! I definitely felt a connection. Hopefully the feeling is mutual.