Musical Chairs, and other fun dating games.

So Saturday's date was a success! Not bad for my first real foray back into the dating world after such a long break from it. It's definitely strange having all those old feelings of nervousness and anticipation when I was so sure that I was out of this game for good until a few months ago. So, we met up at the Manayunk Brewery, which was actually fairly out of the way for both of us, but he wanted to go there, so I was game. It's right around the corner from my brother's place, and I was actually just there LAST Saturday with my brother and his girlfriend, so now I'm almost a regular. Anyway, the date. The guy was one who I've been emailing/texting/talking with for about a week, and I'm kind of done with long email exchanges that go nowhere. So, after a week of communication, we decided to meet for lunch. Which I think is a good non-commital date for a first date. It's not commiting to an evening, and I have a 3 date rule anyway. The first date is ALWAYS something that can be quick and easy... coffee, drinks, dessert, whatever. It's NEVER dinner. It can always turn into dinner if both parties are feeling it, or it can end within an hour if need be. No time lost, no harm, no foul. So we met up, and yeah, the initial introduction is always awkward, I've lost so much game! I think we shook hands, kind of weird. But not a deterrant, he was cute, looked a lot like his pictures (always a plus when you can recognize someone!), and very sweet. We sat outside, but unfortunately we're both rather fair skinned. I burn if I'm in direct sunlight less than 5 minutes, and he's only slightly darker in complexion than me. So, we wanted to sit outside, and deliberately asked for a table that was in the shade. Unfortunately, neither of us planned to be on this date for 6 hours, and shade doesn't stay in one place. So, we rotated our seats around the table, like clockwork. I'd say every 2 hours we'd switch seats, until it was after 6, the sun had dropped below the tree line, and it was time for us to go anyway. Parting was again slightly awkward, hug? kiss? Both? I don't know how it happened per se... but there was a hug first, and then it kind of lingered, so there was a quick kiss on the lips, and he was still holding onto my hands and making plans for our next date. It was a nice date, a really really nice date. There was good food, better beer, and even better conversation. We talked about EVERYTHING under the sun, he made me laugh, he watched a video of my students doing the cupid shuffle on my camera, he reads (YAY!!) so we talked about books for a while. All in all, it didn't feel like such a long date, which is always a good sign.

He sent me a text me this morning, telling me what a good time he had, and that he's looking forward to our next date. We were texting back and forth throughout the day, and tonight we even started a small reading competition (however, anyone who's read Atlas Shrugged knows it's not SMALL in any shape or form). I've had this book in my posession for years, and have yet to even think about reading it. I guess this will be good motivation, loser has to buy dinner and money is a bit tight! I should get reading, he's already 50 pages ahead of me and he actually wants to read this book! (FYI my copy is 1168 pages long... scary.)

Not planning on any other dates this week, but Quizzo nights always bring a strange selection of men and I'm sure I'll find something to keep up with.