test results

So last night was my first outing with one of my contestants from Match. My date with DB was well, different. Well, no I take that back; it really wasn’t but the “events” leading up to it where. It’s amazing how so much can happen and change in the course of a few hours.

Friday afternoon rolled around and I got a text message from DB asking me what I wanted to do. I was a little surprised to hear from him, especially so early in the day so I figured it was a sign that he was really looking forward to hanging out on Saturday. We settled on the idea of dinner and a movie (maybe check out some live music). I was feeling pretty good and found myself looking forward to meeting this dude in person.

Later that evening I hear from DB via text message and I caught him online via IM. We were bantering as usual when things took a turn and he started acting a little odd. I was starting to get the impression that he was nervous about Saturday and seemed to be doing this weird preemptive behavior by suggesting that maybe it wasn’t a good idea because we were too different personality-wise. He was worried that he was too “wild” for me or that I wouldn’t find him interesting at all. Um, come again? Where the hell was this coming from. He went from being enthusiastic about meeting up (as enthusiastic as one can get with a dry sense of humor) to being all hesitant. Riddle me this: How are you gonna ask someone out on a date and then turn around and try and call everything off?

We talked for quite a while on IM about it and finally just decided to make it as casual as possible and see how it would go though DB was certain that we wouldn’t make it past dinner. After giving it some thought the next day, I was about ready to send dude downriver on the Failboat. What kind of monkey-doodle tomfoolery was this?

So later on, I called my girl Andrea to vent and talk about what the hell was going on. Andrea helped me put together my profile on Match and really thought DB was promising, so she was pretty surprised to hear that he suddenly was tripping. Her take on it was that he was doing some preemptive shit because he was feeling insecure about something but she thought it was whack especially given that he and i seemed to along just fine otherwise and that he had invited me out. Before I called her, I was all set to just chill at home and watch Law & Order reruns and catch up on sleep but she encouraged to give it a shot, just at least to see what dude was like in person. While I was talking to her on the phone, DB called (the first time I ever spoke to him) and asked about tonight. It took me a minute to adjust to his voice, it was gruffer than I expected but it fit his dry-humor personality. He was still all about dinner and suggested that we go to this Ethiopian spot in Manhattan. So I figured, what the hell, give it a try. Shit, with all this prefaced nonsense, I felt no pressure.

When I got to Awash (nice restaurant by the way), I was expecting DB to be this scowling, surly-ass dude with a chip on his shoulder and was ready to award him a big FAIL, but to my surprise when he comes in, he’s all smiling and look all pleasant. And wouldn’t you know the conversation was pleasant too? Dude is a passionate about music, is self-employed in carpentry and construction and has an interest in science, the environment, and psychology. Nothing what I expected. One theory is that dude could be bi-polar but I wasn’t getting the vibe that he was “touched”. Probably just really, really shy, though he didn’t come across that way and seemed way mature beyond his 27 years (hell, he acts older than me). It’s hard to believe this was the same person that wanted to pull the preemptive strike the night before. Go figure.

So after surviving dinner, we decided to go uptown and catch Iron Man. I nearly forgot to mention that while I was having dinner, Andrea had texted me to make sure I was okay. She was my back-up in case anything went down so it was nice to know that someone was looking out for me.

As we were heading towards the theatre, I could see more of DB’s shyness and introverted personality (which he had told me about). It didn’t make feel awkward about it, at this point, it didn’t feel so date-like (I hate the whole date feel where you’re sitting here in your head trying to think of something clever to say. ) During the movie we didn’t talk much and by the time it ended, I was really to fall over in my seat from exhaustion. So how whack was it that when it was time for to go home, I flashed DB a smile and said I’d be in touch? Classic blow-off good-bye (I guess a goodnight kiss was in order but I just wasn’t feeling it in the moment) it seemed and I felt really bad. I called Andrea when I got home and gave her the rehash. I had a good time but I wasn’t feeling chemistry at the time but I thought he was a cool person that I’d hang out with in the future. I decided that I’d call later on and thank him so he wouldn’t feel dissed. Turns out when I went to check my email, he was online on IM and told me he had a good time. Then we ended up chatting for damn near an hour. The shyness fell away and DB’s quirky humor, warped humor shone through.

So, what’s the verdict? Hell if I know. After giving it more thought, I can say that I enjoyed myself but I guess it’s a matter of adjusting to being around someone that is more reserved and learning to read subtleties. Whatever the outcome, I’m glad that I went ahead with it and got my feet wet.

FIN

~ by J on May 4, 2008.