he said his name was chris...

ever run across someone so outstanding that even an email or text message from them gives you butterflies? like when meg ryan hears from her computer that tom hanks has sent her a message "you've got mail" and she hasn't even read it yet but you can see her true delight all over her face.  those are the golden moments and i had an experience that yes, was similar but lets just say i bet you didn't see this one coming...

he said his name was chris. very funny guy that i'd met in the personals on craigslist. *disclaimer, i promise i'm following my own safety rules so no made for tv movie for me*  we exchanged a few emails, then we bumped it up to text messages. after about a month we decided it was time to meet in person. he picked a monday night at a local establishment known for fun games, prizes and a $15 dinner deal so i figured he's got a sense of fun and adventure, score! he was employed, single, drug free, no felonies and didn't live with anyone other than a golden lab plus he was funny and easy going.

open the door and head to the bar where we'd arranged to meet at 8:00pm.  its a monday so theres practically no one else in the joint other than the waitresses and a bartendar. i spot a guy sitting at the bar. he fits the description, blonde, fit, casually dressed drinking a beer...."chris?" he turns, smiles and says "hi, you made it". we proceed to talk the normal first date nonspecifics like how was our day, yada yada yada. he seemed a little reserved in comparison to our email and text messages but i figured he was just nervous, first date and all. i order my usual vodka tonic and thats about when i noticed the bartendar had been watching us. hmm....odd but ok, we're probably the only entertainment for him so no big deal right? he joins our conversation for a bit then drifts off to wipe a glass or do something responsible. chris turns to me "so what do you do for a living?"--not a strange question right? wrong! why you ask? probably because we'd had a whole discussion via email about what we both did for a living and had covered all those main basics of age, likes, work, live...so why did this seem strange to me?  is he was a serial dater that was juggling so many ladies he can't keep them all straight?  i was raised to be polite so i pretended the subject hadn't already been covered and reminded him. no sparks of recognition appeared on his face and i notice he's paying super close attention to that bottle of beer, did he just tune out on me?

chris: so whereabouts in mesa do you live?
me: mesa? hm...i live in phoenix.
chris: you told me you lived in mesa, (laughs) thats why i picked this place because it was inbetween your place and mine.
me: hm...thought you lived in tempe. no?
chris: old town scottsdale
chris: wait, whats your name again?
me: sarah, you're chris. come on, very funny
chris: chris? no my name is david.

and thats when i realized not only had i been sitting there talking to this fantastic guy for the past 20 minutes but really i was talking to a guy that had sadly also gotten stood up by his date! seriously? what are the odds that 2 first dates would be meeting on the same night, same time in the same location? i should have bought a lottery ticket that night lol! 

me: wow, i'm really sorry, when i came in and asked if you were chris you replied back so i assumed you were him. ok, well i'm gonna scoot so incase your lady comes she doesn't get spooked. great meeting you. (putting cash down for my drink and exiting as quickly as possible with my most gracious sorority smile on my face).

so what happened with chris? i sent him a text immediately asking him where he was. no response until about 8:40pm as i'm driving home, he indicated his meeting was running late and if i was still there? maybe he could swing by for a quick drink?....(surrrrrrre, cause its totally ok to let a girl wait around for you at a bar for almost an hour!) "negative ghost rider, i am almost home so its just not in the cards tonight. wish you'd taken 30 seconds to send me a text around 8pm that you're running late". i have too much self respect to turn around to meet him now plus...the fake chris was still there and i wasn't going to walk back in there. i do have standards lol

ladies, please, do yourself a favor and lose the guy's number if this ever happens to you, no second chances with a guy who's first date impression is lack of courtesy. secondly, don't settle for a verbal description on appearance, ask for a clear face picture so history doesn't repeat itself on you :)