Bobby McGee Part 1

Part 1:

Ever meet a diamond in the rough? May it be at work, in a club you belong to or yes, even in the dating scene...I seem to be a magnet for them. Thats not an exageration, just truth.  Let me tell you about this little gem of a stud muffin I recently "met" the acquaintance of.

The website I am currently casting my net out for potential beau's matched me up with *Bobby.  Great guy on screen, job, interests, sports, etc. He sent me a note...well more like a novel but hey, he had alot to say and I'm a rambler myself, who am I to judge?  He's in the music industry and a handful years younger (no worries, my name won't change to Mrs. Robinson).  I replied and a short stint of emails back and forth to get to know each other better ensued.  Phone numbers were exchanged so you would think if someone gave you their phone number you might do something wacky like call them right? Nope...this guy is definitely a texter.

His first text was a "hello" but his second text was already asking me to send him a photo of myself to put into his caller id. Whoa nelly! Moving a little fast here Cap'n, lower the sails so we can glide a bit shall we?  He sent one of himself to me with the disclaimer that he looks like a gangster cause its a dark photo and really not a good one of him. Lets take a Kit-Kat break here and ask the question "Why would you send someone a photo of yourself that you're not confident about? That you know is bad? And you're already berating yourself for your photography skills?" Ok, time-in.

Remember, we "met" on a dating website but apparently he doesn't remember who I am after just one week so he then goes on to ask me for my username so he can go back an look me up cause he deletes all his messages. What does this tell me? He's definitely not the brightest star in the sky and slightly tacky. Who admits to that? Come on, wing it! Or don't give out your number to every Tom, Dick and Harry out there. He's in the industry...maybe its just a musician thing?  I'll give him the benefit of the doubt but I'm starting to see some red flags here. Since then he's been able to reread my profile but then he's asked me questions that I've already provided the answers for in my profile like "What town do you live in?" "What apartments do you live in?" First...its indicates that I live in Phoenix, second, if I indicate one of my interests is working in my yard more than likely I don't live in an apartment. Hmmm....maybe I'm being too harsh?

Note to those who accesorize with Rose Colored Glasses, if the guy can't remember who he sent his number to and apparently has to repeat the initial 'get to know you' via text message on top of asking you for a picture before your last name....run for the hills! This goes for the guys too! If theres a lady out there who can't figure out how in the world she might know you even after giving her a hint or two, its time to move on to someone less ditzy.

*Name changed to protect the less than innocent.

Prince Charming and His Metal Steed

Did you know Prince Charming doesn't always ride a horse? I met him once, he actually rides a 747, or a DC 10, depending on the day.  *Larry works as an air marshall which to me, is kind of a cool job although any job in government I support so take my opinion with a grain of salt and tequilla shot if you'd like.

After talking for a few weeks I invited him to a New Years party at a friends house, he said he was up for it and was looking forward to giving me a kiss at midnight.  Due to his job though, he had to fly out last minute. His flight was supposed to get back into town at 11:59pm so I told him when he got back we'd recreate the countdown, it'd be like he'd never missed it. 12:20am, he texted me saying he had changed his mind and was too nervous to show. Boo! Oh wait, lets not judge shall we? So what if  he's an air marshall, they're tough as nails but can be sensitive too right? Um....

As a suggestion I asked him to meet me for dinner and he clearly indicated he was not into meeting at a bar. Ok, so suggestions for the safety places like Red Robin, Olive Garden were thrown out there. He says "Lets meet at Tempe Marketplace and we'll figure it out from there". Ok, thats a bit of a big shopping center and asked for more specifics like maybe the fountain or the bookstore--no response.  Day of our first date he suggests we meet at 7pm at Cadillac Ranch (btw, thats a bar). Ok I'm there!  I go home, change clothes and get a text from him at 6:45 that he's running late, can we push it back to 7:30? Ok, sure but I'm getting an uneasy feeling that I've been down this road before. Then he changes his mind and asks could we meet at 8:30 because then he could go home and get cleaned up? I said I'd meet him there but any later and I'd suggest we not meet at all. A girl's gotta have some pride here right?

8:30pm rolls around and he's nowhere to be seen. I call a girlfriend of mine so I didn't look creepy at the bottom of the stairs to the bar, thank goodness for good friends!  I ended up going inside because it was so cold out that night and I'm glad I did because he was 15 mins late! First impression, he is not a good judge of time awareness.  We sit down at the bar and for a guy who doesn't like the bar, boy can  he drink!  Since it was close to 9pm and I don't like to eat after 7pm I joined him for a beverage while he had 4 appetizers to himself. The conversation went well, we laughed and connected on the subject of home improvements since he'd recently bought a house himself.  By the end of the evening we were already discussing the 2nd date!  This turned out not too shabby :)

A week later was my first marathon. Larry asks me to come over to his place the Thursday beforehand to shoot some pool and he can show me the home improvements he's been working on....maybe I could give him some advice? Sure! I mean, I felt comfortable with him and I was going to give my location and info to a friend just incase I got kidnapped but he's an air marshall and trustworthy so why not?  Then he drops the bomb on me, I should come over at 9pm when he gets off of work. Thats where I had to put my foot down (in a gracious manner). I have been training for this marathon for a year now and in the homestretch for the run plus my nerves, I didn't want to disrupt my last bit of training with late nights. I sadly had to decline since I had been hoping to be home by that time so could we reschedule for after the race? Here's how it went verbatum:

Larry: 9 is good. Just come over after
Me: Wait, no sorry. I figured I'd be home from  your place around 9...not come over at 9pm. oops guess out schedules aren't matching up :(
Larry: home from my house around 9?! U crazy?!
Me: you may have a sexy smile but its too close to the marathon, i can't throw off my training for the past year so i guess yes, crazy. :)
Larry: Excuses
Me: Ok

And that my friends is how you know that even though the government may hire the guy, doesn't mean you should date him. I had invited him to the marathon after party with my friends and no response and haven't heard from him since. Guess marathon running does make a girl crazy but thats ok because I got the best gift of all that weekend, instead of a New Years kiss, I got a medal and my first marathon under my belt. NEVER give a guy the time of day who won't support  your goals and ambitions. You'll be doubley dissapointed at the end of that fairy tale. Good luck out there campers!

*Name changed to protect the "innocent".

Wine and the Lacy Dress

Here's the story, of a lovely lady, who actually went out on a good date!  On a rare occasion, fate and karma play nice, the stars align and mother nature decides to give me a break in the love department.  Well, love is a strong word but still, this was a pretty great night!

I went a different route with *Josh, a preliminary invite to have him join me and a small group of friends at happy hour a few weeks ago was extended. He showed along with 2 of his "wing men", and after getting the nod from my friends I was pretty sure that I'd made a good choice with this one. Once I had a free evening, I decided to ask him out although he swears that he was the one that officially approached me. Hmm...OK, I'll go with that lol

Plans with Josh to meet at a local wine bar for dinner and drinks on a Saturday night started out with a bit of turbulence when a late afternoon text asking if I minded we pushed it back to later in the night? Lets just say my stomach dropped because I've seen this "push back the time" scenario before. Heck, I'm an expert at it. Its usually followed by another push back and another before the evening is scrapped and we try for another time of which, you guessed it, nothing comes to fruition. This time, I decided that regardless I was going to get gussied up and whether he showed or not, at least I was going to look drop dead gorgeous doing it!  Black strappy lacy dress, sleek hair, smokey eyes and of course, teal pumps covered in black lace..yeah I know, I'm a hottie.

Believe it or not, Josh did show and we walked into the dimly lit wine bar and saddled up to two spots at the bar. Order a flight each and began making wonderful new friends with 3 of the 5 bartenders. Soon we were all sharing stories of wacky mishaps, oddly enough, I think the bartender had the winning story involving a skateboard area, his dad and the neighbor's cat. We picked the one wine we liked best from our flights and ordered up a full glass. Conversation flowed easily, the music got pretty good once the DJ showed up and before we knew it, a few hours had passed us by.

Josh decided he was hungry so we headed over to a local sushi joint just down the street so off we went. I'm not a big fan of eating after 8pm (otherwise it just sits in my stomach and I feel gross...exception to this rule....2:00am bread eating after a night out dancing, etc), but since he was hungry and I liked his company, why not? I had a Philadelphia roll and he put away 2 rolls on his own, both spicy, one was topped with jalapenos! Wow Batman! He didn't even break a sweat!

By the time we left they were closing up the place, we decided to call it a night as well. Just a "Scottsdale" block away we were back to "The Mr.", my wrangler. Have I ever mentioned how he makes me smile? Josh said good night and I gave him a kiss on the cheek and a squeezed hug before saying goodnight. He was definitely a gentleman and I wasn't even a mile away before I got a text message from him "Hey you, I had a really good time tonight".  He wasn't sleezy, he didn't try to make out with me on the sidewalk infront of 40 people. He did pull out my chair, he did look me in the eye and did hold the door open for me. Chivalry is not dead!

I was still smiling when I pulled into my driveway and it wasn't because of my jeep. Date 2 is already in the works!

*Changed name to protect the innocent.

Grandma Betty and an Afternoon in Gilbert

Picture it: Arizona State University campus, night, 3 hour class just ended and I'm on my way to a sorority event if I can just get my bike free from the bike rack. Guy from my COM 101 class approaches asking me about class notes. Here is the beginning of something innocent...or....

Jake* and I were in the same Public Speaking class and one night we were paired up for our "Introductions" speeches. We talked for about 20-25 mins to get to know each other so that when it was time to introduce each other to the class you'd know enough about each other to make a great speech. I went into recruitment mode and started "rushing" the kid. Asked him about his family, job, interests, achievements, where he went on his Mission, etc. I was on fire, not taking notes because a good recruiter keeps eye contact and makes mental notes until you have private time to write down key points. Time to make our introductions and each team fumbles through. After class, Jake walks me out to my bike and asks me about borrowing my lecture notes. Sure, why not? Trust me, he needed all the help he could get, this class wasn't as easy as it sounds.  As we're talking I'm trying to free my bike from the rack in the dark because lets face it, if ASU can save a few pennies by not keeping the campus well lit at night, consider it done. Jake mentions that his sister is going to be in a play the following weekend and he had an extra ticket, would I want to go? Sure, why not?! What could go wrong?

Since I didn't have a car at the time, he came to pick me up the next weekend at 3:30pm. We arrived at the theater which appeared to be connected to a church. Locate our row and Jake is starting to hug everyone in our row and the one behind it. I'm not being dramatic, I'd say 90% of these 2 rows got a hug or hello from him. Then he turns to me and begins introducing me first..."This is my mom", "This is my dad", "These are 3 of my nieces, the 4th one is actually in the play tonight with my sister and her husband", "My aunt and uncle", "This is grandma Betty"....on and on and on. I'm not joking, even grandma Betty was there! "Oh dear, its so nice to meet you. Its so nice to see you two young people out on a date! Its going to be such a great play, did Jake tell you his sister and her husband and daughter are in it as well? Cassy is so darling in her little outfit!"

Most people would be possibly running for the door right about now. I'm on a date with Jake...AND his entire family? Grandma Betty too?! When life hands you a case of "Yes, this is really happening to you right now" all you can do is go with it.

Lights flickered and the show began. It was a rendition of the Music Man, quite nicely done and I have to agree with Grandma Betty, Cassy was pretty cute in her outfit.  By the time intermission rolled around I had almost forgotten we weren't alone, not that I was going to start a makeout session in row 16 but I did find myself in a conversation with Jake's mom for the short break period. Pleasant woman, very sweet, a little anxious and apologized that they had crashed our date. What does a gracious young lady reply "Nonsense! This is such a great play! Your daughter is quite the actress!" and I wasn't lying either :)

Afterwards, handshaking and congratulations out front of the theater for all family members and their happy actors. Turns out the theater was linked to Jake's church and as we milled around out front, Jake asked me if I'd like some ice cream? Me? Um, YES PLEASE! I perked up at this but then that's where it got a little dicey unfortunately...when you say "ice cream" in the presence of little ones they tend to hone in on it like a lion to its prey. Sadly, tears and a minor meltdown ensued after Jake's aunt had to insist on dinner first and that "Those kids need to spend some time alone." Awkward!

Cold Stone became my own savior that night and we enjoyed a holler for a dollar and 1 scoop each before Jake took me back to Tempe, we were in Gilbert, did I mention that? Looking back at the evening once I got home, I reevaluated what had happened. Somehow, and this is just a guess here, I'm thinking that my interest in my assignment for class may have been misinterpreted as interest in Jake beyond scholarly means.  I had to ask him questions about who he was, about this Mission and things that interested him, my grade depended on it. Otherwise, I can't imagine why he hadn't mentioned, to me at least, that our first and last date was going to include the entire family until we walked into the theater. It does appear, he had mentioned it to his family because they knew all about me!

Lesson learned, make sure that if its your first date, don't go on it with his family in tow!

*Alias to protect the innocent.