the gory details

okay okay! i'm home now. i've just finished watching 'dead poets society' - always a favourite - and the film where i fell in love with ethan hawke, mmm...well, not anymore but you know, i was young then...

ahhh yes, where was i? spilling the gossip!

so i showed up at the tube station, 6:30pm on the dot. i'm waiting, and waiting, and waiting...and waiting. fifteen minutes later i texted my friend to see how much longer she thinks i should wait before calling it a day! just as i finished texting her, i saw a man come out of the turnstiles and make eye contact with me. i think he recognized me right away, though i didn't recognize him immediately. he had glasses on, and none of the pictures i saw of him on his profile had him with glasses (NOTE TO SELF: people never look like their pictures). anyhoo, so he apologized profusely and proceeded to tell me that he forgot his cell phone at home today, and was running late but had no way to contact me. he seemed sincere enough so i said it was okay, and we proceeded to find a bar for a drink.

now, i was fully prepared to have a drink or two, and if things weren't going well, then to make my excuses and leave. a few sips into my heineken however, he suddenly asks me if i have any plans for the night and if i would like to grab a bite with him!

it caught me a little off-guard, and before i knew it i was telling him the truth, that i didn't have any plans for the evening! DOH! why did i do that? i don't know what it is about me, but i have this innate ability to ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH, even when lying suits the situation better. anyhoo...

we had dinner at a sushi place - a chain-type place where they have the conveyor belt around the bar, with little plates of sushi making their rounds - the sapporo and the sushi flowed nicely (NOTE TO SELF: drinking is definitely a must on a first date). the conversation was pretty good, we just talked about our families, canada and stuff like that. he had a running joke throughout the evening that he's actually married and has a wife and kids back home in canada! hardy har har...

a few conversation topics of note: he knows and has been to my favourite place for chinese bbq pork in the whole wide world! it's in my neighbourhood back home in t.o., and i couldn't believe he's been there. secondly, i was telling him about my recent trip to amsterdam and he (who loves to travel) suddenly exclaims that WE should go to amsterdam during the long weekend two weeks from now! i'm like "huh? you've gotta be kidding me" but he's like "what if i told you to meet me at the airport next friday with a suitcase, and everything would be taken care of, would you come?" ummm, WHAT??? he was half-teasing, half-serious, but he does have the means (and the gumption) to pull something like that off, so i wouldn't put it past him. anyhoo, i told him i'll see what my mood is like next friday and we left it at that...

(yes, i am saying "anyhoo" a lot in this post but i feel it's warranted jason l.)

he suggested another bar for a drink after dinner, but i really didn't feel like doing the noisy bar scene tonight. i suggested we walk to trafalgar square, and that is what we did, sitting on a bench by the fountains and chatting for a bit. he made some comment about being cold and wanting me to give him my coat; i think it was his weak attempt at getting me to snuggle up close to him, which i wasn't about to do. this is a first date and so i don't even know you, plus i'm not liquored up enough to get cozy with someone i've just met! the date was going well but i decided to call it a night; i wanted to end it while it was still good, before it started to drag on. he was a bit disappointed but i wasn't about to be swayed. so we walked to the station, took the tube a couple of stops (where he got off the carriage and switched lines) while i continued my journey home. he made me promise to call him as soon as i got home, so that he knew i got home okay. and that was that.

conclusion? verdict? he is a nice guy. i didn't feel any immediate chemistry, but it was nice to spend the evening getting to know someone new. i'm more chuffed at the fact that i made it through my first casual date in one piece! i was a little nervous, giddy and jittery at the beginning, but by the end of it i was as cool as a cucumber. way to go CET! i actually kept what jason l. said about a date being "just getting food and drink" in my head, and i think it calmed me.

will i see him again you ask? yeah, perhaps on our way to amsterdam, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...no seriously, he left me a message on my cell phone while i was chatting to my sis; he basically put the ball in my court, telling me to call him if i am interested in meeting up again. i think i will probably call him; if there's ultimately no spark between us i don't mind, as i'm sure we can always hang out as friends. plus he is cute and personable, so i can always introduce him to my friends! see, i'm always looking out for you guys...

time for bed!

CET