Rain Date

I went on a first date tonight! The first in over 7 weeks. That was quite a hiatus I took from dating, but it felt good to get back into the swing of things. I've decided that the 3'' guy isn't worth all the trouble I've been putting into caring. I will see him on Saturday this week, and I guess I'll see how that goes at his NY Cares event. I'll be going solo, all of his friends will be there... but I'm not stressing it.

Tonight's date was far from what I had expected. I was nervous. Very nervous. Possibly it's because I was away from 1st dating for almost 2 months. The weather today is a far from nice dating weather as you can possibly imagine. It's been raining steadily almost all day with not even a hint of dryness in there. It was cold and grey, and a day I would so much rather spend watching a movie, or reading a book... Not dressing up for a date. But, a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do... right?

I was, however, looking forward to the food. Of course. Thai food. But not the usual neighborhood restaurant, I went for the trendy - loud restaurant, which was a decision that I stressed about for most of the day. I had spoken to the guy on the phone for about an hour last night. From the conversation I could tell that he was VERY shy, and very quiet. So when I said, Let's go to Joya (loud, trendy Thai restaurant), I immediately knew I should have opted for the other. But it turned out to be a good idea after all...

We met up around 6 at Joya. I was early, and managed to keep mostly dry. As I waited, I had a small nervous/anxiety attack where I just had no idea how I got back to square one of dating after all that time being away from it. I wanted to leave. He came in, and we had an awkward exchange where I think he went to shake my hand, but I don't shake hands on dates, so I went in for the hug... it was weird. Definitely an uncomfortable way to start the date. He was cute though. Definitely my type. He's tall (yay!), skinny, red haired, bespectacled... geeky cute. We were sat right by the open kitchen, which if Joya wasn't loud enough... sitting right next to the open flames and shouts of the chefs doesn't make it any easier to hear. But we managed. We ordered (and he didn't order Pad Thai!) and talked, the conversation was slow, but it progressed. He definitely warmed up as the date went on. I was not able to read him at all at the beginning of the date. I couldn't tell if he was interested or not, so I just played it as if he were. Either this worked in my favor, or he really was, but it was a good move on my part. When the conversation eased a little bit into a more natural give and take, we talked about a lot of things. He's very smart. It was a very intellectual conversation, and I felt like I was having a mental workout... in a good way. And then I start talking about my mosquito bites. Nothing like bringing an intellectual conversation to a halt than to talk about the mosquitoes that have taken over my apartment. I didn't scare him off though, and it maybe even made him more comfortable. We talked long after our meal had ended, and he mentioned that he wished it were nicer out so we could take a walk. I said the rain didn't bother me (what? who am I trying to kid??) and we could take a walk in the rain. This was probably not a great idea on my part. I do like a nice walk after dinner, and there is no better neighborhood to stroll around than mine (in my humble opinion!), but in the rain it is nothing but miserable and cold. So we walked for about 10 minutes, when we both decided that finding the subway would be a good idea. It's very awkward to walk with someone when you both are carrying umbrellas and are trying to stay as dry as possible. We got to the subway station when I remember that my metrocard is in my school bag during the week. I didn't have it with me, so I was going to have to walk home. I explained my situation, and told him that he should take the train from there, and I'd walk home, since it wasn't that far for me. He was a complete gentleman, and walked back with me. It was quite possibly one of the nicest gestures a guy has made for me on a first date. Walking you to the train is one thing... but walking you an entire subway stop down in the wind and rain is another thing completely. We had another awkward exchange when we said good-bye, it's hard to hug someone when you both have umbrellas and you're trying not to poke each other in the eye. But he gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He's going away for a week or so, but said he'd like to get together when he's back, and he even suggested the activity. A planned second date on the first? That's a new development. I'm looking forward to seeing him again.