The First Day of the Rest of My Life

Monday, October 29, 2007

THINGS TO BLOG ABOUT WHEN I HAVE MORE TIME:

- A job interview that never happened.
- What helps to break down my friend's wall.
- An award-winning Halloween costume.
- My (possible) plans for Halloween night.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

I promised you an update on my new friend, so here it is.

Last night was our fourth date. I made her dinner, with the help of Mario Batali. Once again, however, my cooking skills turned a recipe that was given at 30 minutes to make into one that took almost an hour. Some cabernet sauvignon helped to pass the time, as well as some conversation about life (which was a welcome departure from the silence that marked the last two dates).

After dinner, and a split cannoli, we headed to the other side of town to a karaoke bar. A friend of hers was throwing a party, and we ended up getting there fashionably late. While sitting there, listening to bad versions of Bon Jovi songs, I got a bit bored. Things got so bad that when my friend texted me (the one who set us up), I told her that this might be the last date.

Up to this point, I'd had a hard time getting a read on her with regards to how she felt about me. I thought she was pretty and all, but didn't know if all the hoops I'd been jumping through during the past few weeks were going to be worth it. My friend conviced me to just ask her.

On the way home, I asked my date how long it takes for someone to get into her inner circle. Up to this point, I'de noticed her doing anything for her family and friends. She made mention of the wall she puts up. I then admitted to her my not being able to read her. As we pulled into her neighborhood, that's when things got serious.

While sitting in my car in her driveway, she revealed to me that she'd been through a lot. She admitted being on anti-depressants and going through therapy. (Not that I'm one to judge.) We talked for about ten or twenty minutes before I walked her to her door. We did the cheek-kiss thing, and as she stepped through her front door, I said, "Thanks for bringing down your wall just a bit." She did ask for patience from me.

Up to this point, I've come thisclose to stopping things altogether several times and chalk her up as another friend. Not that this is a valid reason to do so now, but I figure I have my own fish to fry, how can I handle someone else's problems?

Tonight, I did take one step to get me "back out there," as it were. I signed up for three-month memberships with two different dating sites; the Catholic site I belonged to a year or so ago, as well as a more popular site whose name will not be mentioned here. I figure this would help get me out of the house a bit more, as well as maybe help sharpen my social and dating skills.

My new friend is nice and pretty. She's fairly intelligent and (as mentioned by her a million times before) she'd do almost anything in the name of friendship. Not that I'm actively looking for an escape route, but I'm wondering how to handle something that may come down the pipe if things develop with anyone from the sites.

Any ideas?

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What to do?

I've been invited to a couple of Halloween parties on the Saturday before Halloween. One is hosted by my new friend (I'll tell you how things are going with her later on), one is hosted by a friend of mine from the church group. The theme for her party is "Music Artists."

At work, the theme for our area's annual costume contest is stocks. The idea being that everyone will wear a t-shirt with a stock symbol, and dress up like that symbol or company. My symbol? BKC. I even got something to help me dress the part.

So, I'm trying to figure out how to juggle multiple outfits for mulitple parties (as well as for Halloween night). My idea for the music theme is to dress like Justin Timberlake in one of his best videos ever. So, what would you do if you were me?

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Wanna learn about my breakthrough? Read the following open letter...



Dear Suzanne,



Hey there, stranger. Bet you didn't expect to see me last night, eh? Obviously, I went to your church to promote the lecture series I'm helping put together. I was a bit nervous about seeing you there, but my friend C told me that she hadn't seen you the last few times she's gone, so she told me I shouldn't be worried. Of course, whose face should I see first when I walked into church but yours? Glad to see you and the hubby are still in the choir, by the way. I never even knew he played guitar...

Anyway, I tried my best to play it cool during Mass. During the sign of peace, I tried all I could to throw two fingers your way. All the other people seemed to get in the way.

I hope you weren't too weirded out by the flier I left on your car after Mass. I had thought that maybe you guys wouldn't come to the barbecue afterwards, so I figured it would be my best shot of letting you guys know about the series. Then I saw you two stroll over to the slab.

I'll admit it, I was surprised by how cool I acted in talking to you. It may have been normal conversation on the outside, but inside, the following kept going through my head:

"Ohmigod...ohmigod...ohmigod...ohmigod...ohmigod..."

Honestly, I tried to at least say hi to your spouse, but for whatever reason it didn't happen. Good to hear you're still working, though it took me a while to figure out what you were talking about doing after 2-and-a-half years. (By the way, sorry about the whole "are you pregnant?" thing. Like I told you, six friends of mine are with child; I saw a slightly protruding belly and a stretch skirt, and I drew my own conclusion. My bad.)

Anyway, hope to see you Thursday, maybe we can talk more then (if your hubby ever lets go of your hand)...

Your Friendly Neighborhood Brown Boy,
Greg

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I know this is a little late, but...

The Great Mofo Delurk 2007
This is a chance for all those of you who actually read this blog regularly to let me know about it! (I'm looking at you, Mt. Laurel, Emeryville and Oakland...)