Introducing Samsonite

Last night I had my first date with Samsonite. I met her last weekend at a party. I didn't get her number at the party but I added her as a friend on Facebook that night and then asked for her number via Facebook. It's not ideal but it worked.

I picked Samsonite up and immediately thought she was cuter than I remembered from meeting her before. That's always a good sign. The conversation never seemed to lag during dinner. Samsonite and I have the same sense of humor (quirky and a little off-colored) so it went well. Initially I hadn't planned on doing anything after dinner (since first dates are best left short) but I was really digging Samsonite so I took her to my house so we could watch a movie. It was super easy and natural to start cuddling with Samsonite. Sometimes I am not sure if other girls are just more awkward or if they just don't want to cuddle with me. Not that I am a cuddle slut. But a few minutes into the movie, Samsonite and I were cuddling. We did a bit of tickling and ended up making out. It had been way too long. I definitely want to do something with Samsonite again soon. The funny thing is, today as I rehashed our date, I kept wondering whether Samsonite was actually interested in me. I guess there must have been a couple of moments during the date when I felt unsure (these moments were probably not when we were kissing), although I can't put my finger on exactly what moments they were.

Tweak called me on the phone this week and gave me two phone numbers of girls that he thinks I should go out with (and that agreed to be set up with me). A coworker offered to set me up with his sister this week (unsolicited). Also, my aunt called me to suggest I get set up with her friend's little sister. After 6 weeks of no dates, having a dating pool of 6 or 7 girls feels a bit overwhelming. Of course, it's the good kind of overwhelming.

I can't move the mountains for you

I literally got off the phone with Jewel 2 minutes ago. Our conversation was nice, a bit awkward. Jewel told me how great her weekend in California was. And that it had almost pushed her over the edge to quit her job and move back there. She said she is going to spend the next couple of weeks thinking before she makes her final decision.

I was definitely disappointed. I have tried so hard to pretend over the last two weeks that I was over Jewel and that I was ready to move on. I actually encouraged Jewel to follow her heart and do what she needed to do. Partially because I think that really is what she should do and partially because saying anything else would solve nothing. I sent her roommate and best friend here a quick message on Facebook about it. I know I probably shouldn't have but what exactly do I have to lose?

I told Jewel again on the phone that I liked her and that I still wanted to date her. Then, I asked her if she wanted to spend any time with me or if it would cloud her judgment. Jewel said she would give me a call in a week to answer that question. Of course there are going to be moments where I think that I should have said something else or done things differently. But in the end, I told Jewel how I felt. And if she leaves then I guess that is what is supposed to happen.

On Friday, I had a date with Bolivia. I met Bolivia through an ex-girlfriend of Milo's a week ago. We met up with Sugarloaf and Tweak and their dates and headed to a rodeo. Bolivia is in her mid 30s and looks very good. But, there just wasn't a huge connection. I doubt I will take her out again.

Tonight I have a first date with Cabinet. About two weeks ago, I saw her online on Facebook. So I struck up a conversation with her and asked her out. I guess I kinda felt impressed to ask her out. She seems like a pretty cool girl and there have been times where I saw her and thought she was very good looking. I can't say that having this phone conversation with Jewel prior to my date with Cabinet has put me in the best mood for going on dates but I can't cancel on Cabinet 2 hours before the date just because of that. Wish me luck.

Gorillas and swag

On Saturday, Pulse and I made out. It was a pretty good make out. We had just finished watching the crappy movie that we rented. Then, last night at a ward activity, I saw her there. It wasn't awkward or anything, I just didn't run up to her and start holding her hand in front of everyone. Today, I received a facebook message from her saying that she is not going to kiss me anymore until/unless we are in an established relationship. Basically, she likes me but thinks that neither of us know if we like each other enough yet to justify kissing. I really don't know how to respond to that. Should I tell her that I won't go out with her anymore unless she agrees to let the kissing continue? Should I consider her defensive stance a preemptive strike and respond accordingly by discontinuing to date her? I like Pulse but I am nowhere near entering a committed relationship with her.

Other notes: I have a date tonight with BFD. It should be interesting. We are just going to see Alice in Wonderland. I don't intend to do anything after that. I don't plan on kissing her or holding her hand during the movie but she is a bit more aggressive than I am used to. Last night I met a girl named Nascar that I would totally like to take out. She is older than me but seems way fun. I was with Cowboy, Sugarloaf and Tweak when I met her. I think Cowboy had some interest in her too though. Cowboy is sort of like lil'wayne. He just exudes swag. Girls love swag. The thing about swag is that you can't fake it. You either have it or you don't. It's like walking into a gorilla cage. If the gorilla can sense even the tiniest weakness or fear in you, it is gonna tear your head off. Girls are the same way. They can sense a fake swag and they will react violently to it.

Hey Jealousy

On Friday night, FarFarAway texted me a number of times wanting to hang out. It was at this precise moment that I realized I have zero interest in her. My roommates all think she is very pretty. I think she is very pretty. But she isn't for me. Nevertheless, I met up with FarFarAway, TheCaptain, Tweak, Sugarloaf, an old guy friend Barrel, and a new friend; I am going to nickname her HappyEnding. HappyEnding is one of FarFarAway's good friends. As is typical, there were five guys in that hottub and three girls. Honestly though, it was a lot of fun. It was mostly just us guys talking and having a blast.

On Saturday, GetErDone, LittleBrother, and my cousin RunsWithScissors met up with BFF and some of her friends at a piano bar. BFF brought along one cute friend Bynes. I met Bynes several years ago at a party with BFF. She has definitely gotten prettier.

On Sunday, in Sunday School, I sat in front of a couple of cute girls. They weren't in my ward; they were ward hopping. I talked to them a little but the one I thought was cutest spent most of the time texting on her phone. She had blue eyelashes. Sometimes when a girl has blue eyelashes, it just looks funny. Other times, it makes a girl look so pretty. I couldn't stop staring at her eyes.

That night at Ward Prayer, I met this girl Cooch. I don't think I have ever seen Cooch before but she is my type. I mean, I don't really have a type but a tall slender blonde girl with her complexion comes pretty darn close. I talked to Cooch for just a little bit. She graduated from high school in 09. I talked about her with my roommate Steve-O last night. I was complaining about how I must be screwed up cause I always fall for really young girls. Steve-O was of the opinion that it was just years of evolution shaping what I found attractive. Healthy looking young women are more likely to reproduce healthy offspring, at least from a genetic standpoint. It made me feel a little less frustrated. I am just doing what my DNA tells me to do. Anyway, I became very jealous of whatever guy gets to date her. There are guys out there who date girls like that all the time. Why can't I be one of those guys? Who are they jealous of? While blog surfing, I came upon a blog of a gorgeous blonde girl who dreams of being a writer. I am very jealous of whatever guy gets to go on a date with her. She doesn't seem mean in her posts. I wonder if she is mean?

A new year

So New Years Eve has come and gone. Anyone who knows me knows that NYE is basically my least favorite holiday of the whole year. I haven't had a good NYE since I was 16 and had my second kiss with high school girlfriend (HSGF). I haven't had a great NYE ever. So I approached this NYE with realistically low expectations. Sugarloaf, TheCaptain and I headed to a holiday party hosted by Tweak and FarFarAway. Tweak and FarFarAway aren't dating but they probably should be. I met Tweak years ago at University and met FarFarAway through Tweak. In a text inviting me to the party, FarFarAway told me she expected a NYE kiss from me and I jokingly agreed.

The party started out pretty lame. Lots of dudes, very few ladies, and a group of married or engaged couples. There were a couple of really pretty girls that stopped by but they didn't really stay long enough to chat with any of us. Throughout the night FarFarAway was hitting on me. I think FarFarAway is a very pretty girl but I am just not interested in her like that. She has made it obvious that she wants a relationship that will lead to marriage. While I think dating FarFarAway would be fun for a bit, I really don't see her as a potential wife. Plus, FarFarAway was dumped recently by a mutual friend. This rightfully put her into the "don't touch" category.

I talked to a couple of cute girls with zero dating potential (i.e., lived out of state, interested in another guy there, not attractive, engaged) then found Sugarloaf and TheCaptain hitting on this girl Cougarette who teaches dance at an elementary school. She was there with a date but Sugarloaf managed to get her number with a sly trick. I hope he takes her out. Cougarette has the potential to have bunches of really cute friends that she could set me up with.

When the clock struck midnight and the ball dropped, I decided to kiss FarFarAway. She was just standing there looking around and so I walked over and planted one on her. I don't think she was expecting it. I don't think it was a dishonest kiss. It was short and closed mouth. The party was pretty much over so we took off.

On Saturday, GetErDone set me up on a blind date with LittleDebbie. LittleDebbie reminds me so much of a girl that one of my friends married. I didn't like either of them very much. I wasn't really attracted to LittleDebbie and her personality kinda irked me. The night was mostly uneventful. However, while hanging out at LittleDebbie's apartment, her very cute (and very snobby roommate) came home. Harassing the roommate was the highlight of my evening.

Side notes: Saw SouthernBelle at church on Sunday but didn't say hi. She has graduated from hanging out with the super nerdy girls in the ward to hanging out with some of the pretty cool girls. My interest in her has waned. I am very open right now to being set up on blind dates. Please find me a cute girl that isn't too snobby.

A Dessert Party

Last night my buddy Sugarloaf called me and invited me to a desert party up north. I had nothing else going on so I said sure. We drove out to some really nice neighborhood. We only knew one guy who had been invited to the party. If you have ever seen the movie Swingers, it kinda reminds me of my life. We show up to some party at some house hosted by some person we don't know and probably won't even meet while we are there. We talk to a few people, down some cake and a bottle of water and hit the road. Last night was just as frustrating. We were about ready to go but I didn't want the night to be a total loss. My picking up girls lines mirror my soccer playing abilities. I am not horrible but nobody would ever describe me as good.

But then once in awhile, the stars align, the atmosphere around one of the moons of Saturn is at the right temperature, and a butterfly bats its wings off the coast of South America. Like last week at my soccer game. I had scored one goal all season and didn't feel any different going into the game. But somehow, I managed to score two goals and sort of just play like a champion. Relatively speaking.

Last night was kind of one of those times. I didn't just start walking up to girls, throwing out great lines. But, this girl was next to me and I sort of made my move. She was Australian. Now, I loves me some accents and Australian is near the top of my list. If you haven't heard me say it, the Australian accent is an automatic plus two. A girl with that accent automatically goes up two points on my 1-10 scale. On my new four tiered scale, an Australian accent would automatically bump a girl up from the second tier to the third tier or from the third tier to the fourth tier. Well, Aussie was a solid third tier girl. Perhaps even a fourth tier girl (which is the highest). Super pretty, in shape, and just fun. We talked for a little while and I just really enjoyed it. She is divorced. I didn't get her number. It was hard cause one of my buddies Tweak came along and sort of sideswiped the conversation. And then, she ended up in a different conversation with two dudes I didn't know and I ended up in a conversation with her friend Boutique. It was still fun. Even if nothing comes of it, last night recharged my batteries. As it turns out, all I need to keep pushing through each day is hope. And lately, hope has been in short supply for me. But when I meet a couple of cute girls that seem decent, it gives me hope. Which made last night just as great as scoring the two goals in the soccer game. Even though we only tied the game and even though all my teammates are bound to be let down when I don't score goals in our next game, I was hopeful that somewhere inside of me was the ability to play soccer. Last night, I was hopeful that somewhere inside of me was the ability to attract a girl.