Back in the saddle, more frogs for the blog!

Good Evening All,

Seems it's been quite some time since I deviated from one main frog to jumping from Lily pad to Lily pad. Well after an 8 month relationship with yet again another roommate (only taking females from now on, and NO not even a chance). I'm back in the game again. Roomie/dentist is back fixing super outdoorsy folks cavities on the Oregon trail, and I am hot on the trail perhaps to finally find someone I don't look at and wonder if there's anyone else better. Is that possible? Only time will tell of course. So fresh after the most mutually agreeable we're 3000 miles away and weren't meant to be anyway should have shaken hands at the end break-up why waste anytime?

Within a week I was out with the first one a lawyer who seemed jaded by NY woman but well-educated, ambitious and ready to make plans. It was a Monday night when we met for some ice cream. The conversation flew pretty well as we took a walk, ate some calories, and then walked some off. The requisite what was your worst date convo took place and I must say though not better than my stories he did have some gems. There was the girl who brought her gay best friend on the date without asking, and he made it just ten minutes before ducking out the bathroom door. And then there was the girl who told him he was her second date of the night. "Why would you tell me that?" he exclaimed!

"Well I plan on sleeping with either you, the guy before you, or the one I am meeting afterwards so keep your cell on and I'll call you if I decide you're the guy I'm going to screw".

And folks wonder why NY is the city that never sleeps? Maybe it's the city that never sleeps with the same person (more than once at least). In any event I felt like while there was a jaded an cynical undertone to a lot of what he said, we had a pretty good banter going and when he asked if I'd like to continue hanging out I said sure and we headed to this bar I had never gone into before because I thought it was seedy. Well turns out I was right. Welcome to middle aged guys drinking beer and playing poker with nothing else to do on a Monday night central. We grabbed some drinks and headed for the patio where the conversation continue to flow as did the flurry of middle aged have to take a break from the straights and flushes to torture their lungs crowd. For a first date it was pretty decent, no major sparks but no major non sparks and a hug goodbye was respectful and going along with my new whole taking it slow and feeling it out (not up or down) mentality. Lawyer followed up with a text and seemed interested in going out again.

In the interim I had been talking to personal trainer and he invited me not just for drinks and ice cream, but actual dinner! Score! With the boyfriend out of the picture free meals had become a thing of last month and I so needed some badly, especially the kind that came with enough food to wrap some and provide free lunch the next day. Personal trainer/ expert in some unique techniques, which sounded incredibly similar to chiropractic techniques but I was assured were completely opposite and were changing the world one day at a time and I made plans for the upcoming Sunday evening. At first glance outside of the landing strip on his forehead he was pretty cute. Reminded me of a guy in college I used to hook up with. Not that guy the other one....Let's leave that topic for a little while and move on. Personal Trainer sure had a lot of energy and excitement about this new revolutionary methodology and a lot of energy in general. Certainly not a cynic but albeit an actual pickier eater than me.

"I have texture issues" he said

"Oh I have a few friends with those, so no flan, no pudding? I know I know flan looks like snot I hear it from my sister all the time."

"Well pistachio pudding absolutely no flan, no rice pudding, bread pudding vile, mashed potatoes unheard of, rarely can I eat cooked vegetables, and absolutely no stews, soups etc!"

Wow and people thought I was bad! This was nearly impossible. Coming from a guy who said he cooked I can't imagine what he actually cooked. Now I thought I was an impossible orderer but I have never quite heard more substitutions. No onions on the steak, no mashed potatoes, no arugula on top of the steak. I suggested these potatoes I had had before that were crispy fried potatoes with olive oil and herbs. When the food came I asked how he liked his potatoes and he said they were absolutely disgusting? I thought he was kidding until I realized he was clearly not.

Good News: I took the potatoes home and got two side dishes worth of additional meals

Bad News: They just weren't crispy enough for him.

In the course of conversation as he ate simply his steak, which actually was an acceptable texture I found out not only did he have texture issues but also issues with unfinished wood. Chopsticks, Popsicle sticks all horrified him. This was not something I was familiar with. As a fellow picker eater and I can certainly understand and appreciate the idiosyncratic ways of someone who just isn't into trying everything and everything (at least food wise). Unfinished wood though? Really? I am not going to even describe the look on his face when dessert, homemade doughnuts with a dipping sauce came served with a wooden stick speared in one of them. I actually had to remove the stick and put it in my purse. I found it again today and was wondering what it was doing in there. It reminded me why I wasn't concerned I hadn't heard from Personal trainer since the date, or had made an effort to contact him. Before I wrap up that date let me just mention during our worst date comparisons stories he mentioned a woman who he was planning on meeting who asked for a picture of his feet prior to their date. She had a foot fetish he reassured me. Alas, I was not reassured, I was scared. You didn't give him the pic did you, I asked skeptically fearing someone I already perhaps knew the answer. Of course I did what's the harm? Wouldn't you?

How about no, and I am thinking no second date either, but best of luck with your wooden stick phobia, maybe if you mix the eyes of two newts with the skin from a dragon and burn it that can be cured???

The next day I had plans to go out with lawyer again but he texted saying he was burnt and wanted to see how he felt when he got in. I texted back he should grab some aloe vera and relax. Come to find out he meant burnt as in burnt out and thinking he was getting some kind of stomach bug. No need to be around that so we agreed to see how he felt the next day. He texted me at work saying he was feeling much better and could we meet for drinks around 9. I figured for the second date dinner would be more appropriate but he had to change and go to the gym etc etc so I agreed to meet at 9. We showed up to a bar, which is usually hopping on the weekends but was deader than the personal trainer would have been if he had fully encountered the unfinished wooden stick in the doughnut. The bartender sugared the rim of the drinks like I asked but it all went downhill from there. We both struggled through straight vodka, which I added sugar, grenadine, and lemon too and it still tasted awful. Speaking of the bartender she sure did a lot of speaking as she was bored with us being the only customers. It's no problem for me to be friendly and chat with whomever but it's definitely not the best way to get to know someone new.

During our vile drinking lawyer told me that honestly although he was burnt out the previous night, he actually was really stressed about one of his cases and having a bad day, so he didn't want to come out. Ok- that's understandable. After somehow consuming the vodka we meandered on to the next destination a seedy bar up the road where there were folks playing trivial pursuit, and I decided that I couldn't risk another undrinkable drink so I ordered some rice pudding. At least have the guy pay for one thing that's not alcohol right? Thank god I have no food texture issues because the rice pudding was good. While the conversation was pretty decent, I couldn't help but feel like lawyer wasn't as interested in me as how I would be for him. I felt like I was being interviewed as a potential girlfriend, which is fine because everyone sizes each other up however, at the same time you need to balance that with presenting yourself as someone who would also be a potentially desirable partner. Another hug at the end of the date, although I could tell he wanted to kiss me, but thank God realized the atmosphere was not that appropriate with the underage guy smoking and texting sitting on the bench outside the bar where we were saying goodnight. Good call lawyer. And he kept calling. I told him if we were going to go out again it needed to be a real weekend date, before 9 PM, with dinner. It's just not conducive to get to know someone when you can't even sit across from them at the table. Plus, I figured since I am dating more than one person he is too, and if by the third date he can't give me a weekend spot, than he must not be that interested. He was however very good about the texts, and intermittent calls and asked for Friday night. It was what I was looking for except for the fact I had already made tentative plans with Consultant for Friday night....

I must head to bed, but stay tuned for who got Friday night, and meeting the other players in the game of love/luck/I can't believe this is true/ and other tales from the adventurous...

Until tomorrow....