Just before he scored his first goal
“You have to go out with this guy. I’ve known him since I was a kid and he’s a hottie! Athletic and just your type.” That’s what my girlfriend said to me when I was coming up North to visit her for a week. She later revealed her true motive which was for us to fall in love so that I would move there and be her neighbor again.
George came to pick me up and instantly fell in love….. oh, not with me… with my Saint Bernard. They played for a while and then it was time to leave for his indoor soccer game… SCORE! Soccer was my sport growing up and I love it. I’d never seen an indoor game before and it was as if outdoor soccer and ice hockey had a baby.
I don’t think George was out there 2 minutes before he scored his team’s first goal. Nice! He scored the second one too. And then by the time they’d reached 11 he’d scored a couple more. The other team was scoring as well. The final score was 9 to 11 and if you 
think the picture of the scoreboard is hard to read, you should have been there. Half the lights were out so it would look like 1 to 3 when it was 7 to 8. It was pretty close throughout and it dawned on me (having dated athletes before), “I wonder how this guy is going to be if he loses?”
Luckily, that didn’t happen and George was in a good mood. I asked him how he would have been if he had lost and he said, “Like this, only saying ‘we lost.’” It was fun seeing his persona change to the aggressive athlete on the field and the laid back outgoing guy off the field. Then a guy from the other team whom I’d met on the way in asked me not to come again because he felt George wouldn’t have scored as much if he wasn’t trying to impress me. I wouldn’t make him any promises.
We hung out with his friends for a bit and then went to dinner. Sticking with the sports theme, we went to a sports bar, which had really upscale bathrooms for a sports bar. I almost took a picture but then thought that might be weird. But I did take a picture of the door because it was so cute.
The conversation was interesting. I got into some deeper conversations than I’m used to on a first date. We talked about having kids and exes. I don’t usually talk about exes on a first date and asked him if he thought it was appropriate first date conversation. He answered, “What’s appropriate?” Well, heck if I know, as one with only 10 first dates under my belt. He was asking questions and I was answering. My ex stories were either going to entertain him or send him running for the hills… he called two days later, so I guess he was entertained.
Then I caught him looking at his watch and I thought to myself, “Hmmm, I thought it was going better than that.” But then he said, “Do you mind going to Publix? I have to pick up some stuff and it closes at ten.”
Publix? Uh oh. I get silly in supermarkets. Note to self: I will have to contain myself and not dance in the isles OR sing commercial jingles for every item we pass by. When we got there, he grabbed a circular and said he was big on B1G1. I had no idea what that meant (bachelor shopping term, I figured). It meant Buy 1 Get 1. This peaked my curiosity. Was he going to B1G1 of everything in the circular
whether he needed it or not? Food shopping on a first date is almost as revealing as a Book Store Date. It turns out all he got was 2 Gatorades, Epson Salts (which I convinced him to buy because he was sore and I told him if he soaked in a tub with the salts he’d be all better in the morning), and he got one more item, I think it was milk. Bachelor shopping!
On the way back he asked if he could come inside and play with my dog… no, that wasn’t a euphemism as you can tell by the picture. She was spooning with him like a little hussy! 
Apparently, my dog has no inhibitions about “being easy” on a first date. But you do have to find it just a wee bit sexy when a guy gets down on the floor and snuggles with your dog.
He gave me a good hug goodnight, and he was off. I wasn’t sure if I would hear from him again. We had a good time, but the distance between us is 2 ½ hours. But sure enough, he texted me two days later… “How’s my pooch?!!” Anyone who ever said the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach didn’t have a big, adorable, snuggly dog!
Have you ever had a long distance relationship? I don’t know if this is going in that direction, but incase he does want to see “my dog” again, any advice?
Yes, it’s been one year since I decided to launch this blog and I’ve learned a lot. While on the surface it’s a “cute” idea and I assume “entertaining” for you, my loyal reader, I started it for a very different reason. After spending my life focused on my career, trusting that my personal life would “work itself out” when the timing was right, I decided that I wanted to stop waiting for it to “work itself out” and really focus on finding love. However, at this stage in life I know myself well, and I knew that all it would take was one bad date and I’d throw in the towel and another year would go by before I dipped my toe in the dating pool again. So, I had to turn the mirror on myself and ask what I would say to someone in my position, “What would motivate you to commit to finding love, and not give up when it got uncomfortable?”
No need to panic! We did not catch a hammerhead shark that roared like a lion (see the movie if you don’t know what I’m referring to)… but there was fishing and there was comedy, so we couldn’t go with Jaws 🙂
This is our frozen bait. Last week when I told a friend I was going on a fishing date, he said, “A gentleman never lets a woman bait her own hook.” Well, I wanted to learn to bait my hook, but apparently Joe is a gentleman because he wouldn’t teach me. He said my hands shouldn’t touch squid. Seeing the black ink spray on his really nice white shirt at the end of the day made me grateful that he was a gentleman.
I mean come on, beautiful ocean, beautiful breeze, under a roof so there was no sun beating down on me, up on a step stool so I could lean over watching the feeding frenzy happening on my bait even though the little suckers wouldn’t get on my hook! It was just chill, and Joe would lean up against me, and I liked that 🙂
Okay, as promised, Happy and I went to yoga together. The thing is, my yoga buddy, is my mother.. and mom comes first. Happy had a choice: meet me at yoga, and meet my mother OR no yoga date. He chose wisely.
I admit it… this one had me nervous. I was imagining a day of swinging and missing, over and over, and my date “Happy” getting progressively frustrated with me the way “Peter Colt” did on my 
not knowing what to expect, I came prepared with large bottles of smart water, cashews, and gluten free protein bars. I have to admit, driving the golf cart around was my favorite part, although, when I hit those balls and they went where I wanted, that was pretty cool.
inside joke. I was also collecting interesting golfballs that people had left behind, including a spongebob squarepants ball, and I got a pretty blue shell as a souvenir.
he gave me a quick kiss goodbye, and called me 10 minutes later, leaving me a message to thank me for a wonderful day. He pretty much did everything right. And he has nice legs!
“You’ve never been married? What’s wrong with you?” I get that question a lot. Ironically, from guys who have been divorced like 4 times. But I’m starting to recognize what might be wrong with me. I’m a frickin’ work-o-holic. Now when I was dating Bohdi, I was very balanced. It’s when I’m not dating someone that I throw myself into work.
First off, for you movie buffs, the only similarity between the movie title and my date is that Matt Damon and Bryce Dallas Howard meet in a cooking class. Just wanted to clarify that as the rest of the movie is about people who are touched by death in different ways. There was absolutely NO talk of death on this date…
Well, considering I don’t cook, a dull knife was all I could find, however aprons were in abundance. I narrowed it down to two; the cute pink & white or the (make me look like I know what I’m doing) Bon Appetite apron (which was a little stained and even Oxy Clean couldn’t get out what I think was barbecue sauce).
interesting stories about their histories to share. Having lived in LA since ’94, we had a lot of common ground; Trader Joe’s, Earthquakes, and Malibu. George Lonegan is an actor so we talked a bit about the business in Florida.
easy. He talked about the five mother sauces (suddenly all the lingo Tom Colicchio has been using on Top Chef all these years was making sense.. now I can’t wait for next season so I’ll actually know what a roux is).
rocked my assignment and was given the name Mirepoix Girl (see picture of me with my creation and Chef Andy… well, being the funny dude that he is). The cooking lesson continued and we learned how to make two basic sauces (both which were served on his one-of-a-kind bread with a yeast starter that has been passed down through his family for over 30 years which is pretty cool). Of course between the smell and the appearance of the food, I was now salivating and being gluten free, I couldn’t taste. TORTURE! We continued with Bruschetta (Chef Andy gave me the tomato concoction in a bowl since I couldn’t have it on the bread.. yummy!) and a white bean soup (which I could partake in.. double yummy!).
I arrived at the tennis court to be greeted by Peter Colt with “Hello Barkley.” I laughed that he was referring to me by my “online name.”
missed most balls back then so there is something in his technique. And the balls kept coming, one after another after another, with adjustments being called out, “turn your racket over,” “open your wrist,” “relax!” After hearing “relax” enough times, I said to him, “If you wanted me relaxed we should have gone for massages before.” But eventually I got a few, “that was perfect” and even a couple of tennis claps which are saved for particularly good shots and involve a “hand to racket” clap. It’s a prestigious honor and I was a little excited every time I got one.
He taught me how to pick up the 10,000 balls I hit (well, at least that’s how many it felt like) with a basket contraption. That part was fun! And when we were packing up our rackets and I pulled out the waters I’d brought for us, he said, “Thanks Barkley.” It’s kind of weird to be called by your dog’s name, as is the name I’ve chosen for my online profile, and then it dawned on me… “Do you know my name?”I asked him. He didn’t. Once he had asked me the name of a movie I wrote and I told him I’d rather wait until I met him to protect my privacy. So he was respecting my privacy by not asking my name. I couldn’t help but burst out into laughter. “So, for the entire 90 minutes that we’ve been together, you’ve had no idea what my name was… that’s hilarious.” And then I told him.
If you read my last post, you know I’m online dating. Here’s the thing with online dating:
