Multiple dates and a new crush

On Thursday, I had a blind date with FireCracker. I was actually set up with FireCracker by Dee. When we talked on the phone, I could tell that FireCracker and I would at the very least get along very well. Her personality reminded me of BFF. Since I had never seen a picture of FireCracker, I was definitely a bit nervous. So when I knocked on the door, my first thought was "great, she has a cute roommate that answered the door." As it turned out, that cute roommate ended up being FireCracker. Due to our phone conversations, I brought a list of awkward conversation topics. After ordering (per my suggestion, she ordered the octopus!), we got right into the awkward conversations. I loved it. The conversation was easy and never forced.

After dinner, we went back to my house to watch my skydiving video. FireCracker was mostly impressed with my house (although she did mock me for having an entire room full of African safari stuff).

My biggest concern with FireCracker was that even though I thought she was cute, I wasn't sure if she was cute enough. Like that I would enjoy spending time with her but I wasn't enamored by her looks. Personality wise, we just clicked.

On Friday, I had a third date with Basketball. We went to the baseball game. It was fun but I spent a good portion of the night wondering if Basketball and I are at all on the same page. We had some very interesting conversations and I know that she had fun (as did I) but the romance is not kicking in at all.

On Saturday, Milo and I met up with Smash and some of her friends to go to the casino. We took the bus there. One of Smash's friends immediately caught my eye; her name was Mya. Early on, Mya mentioned that she had a child. But Smash told me that Mya was sorta divorced (but not really, for insurance purposes). A little later in the evening, as Mya and I were sitting next to each other playing Blackjack and talking, I thought that she seemed really cool. Within an hour of that, I had developed a huge crush on her. It's hard to explain why. After all, Mya is not really what I traditionally want in my life. She has some tattoos. She isn't Mormon. She has a husband...

But on Sunday, she was all I thought about. And even though she hadn't given me the slightest indication that she would ever be interested in dating me (in fact, she told Smash that Smash and I should get married), I felt what I hadn't really felt in a long time: Hope. I have talked before about the X factor that I want to feel for a girl. And how I struggle finding that. And looking at Mya, I realized that part of me must be rebelling against what everyone tells me would be good for me. In college, I just sort of fell into my major. And then I just sorta fell into law school. In fact, I just sorta fell into my current job. So, there is a part of me that really feels like I haven't been making enough decisions about my own life. And so even though Mya is probably totally wrong for me (although all I have been thinking is about how right for me she seems), I want this decision to be my decision and no one else's. Hence my frustration with dating. In general, I keep going out with the same type of LDS girls that meet the minimum requirements but that aren't my first pick. So for now, I have a hope that I could spend more time with Mya. Without worrying about marriage and children and family and religion, I just want to spend more time with her.

First date with FireCracker rating: 7

Possibility of a second date with FireCracker: High

Third date with Basketball rating: 5

Possibility of a fourth date with Basketball: Medium to Low

A Second Date or The Mormon Aristocracy Strikes Again

On Friday, I had a second date with Basketball. I was excited because I had tickets to The Hunger Games on opening night. My friend Soup joined us as a double date. As usual, the conversation with Basketball was very easy. I don't have any trouble finding things to talk about with her. Being on a double date meant it was harder to have a deep conversation. But while we were waiting for the movie to start, we got a chance to talk. I found myself wondering if I could relate to Basketball: she is so into sports and while I like sports, there are so many other things I like too. It was during this time that I also seriously questioned if there could be anything romantic between us. Normally by a second date, you are at least partially thinking romance, right? There just wasn't any sexual tension with Basketball. It makes me wonder if I am walking down the same path that I walked with House. Should I continue going out with Basketball, even though I might never see her as more than a friend?

Last week, I texted Joust to try and set up a second date. She didn't respond. I texted her again and received a response saying "I would like to be friends with you, but I don't see this going anywhere." Even though I absolutely appreciate a girl telling me that, it pissed me off. So Joust is gone.

On Saturday night, TheCaptain and Cowboy and Sugarloaf and I went to a party at a park that was kinda being hosted by DrJ. There were a couple of cute girls there but try as I might, I couldn't get them to even try and have a decent conversation with me. As I was talking to one girl, I could just tell that she was so not interested in talking to me. One girl found out that I was a lawyer and had lots of questions; her dad is a judge and she is considering law school. But the conversation died quickly when her friend jumped in to say it was time to leave. I watched as they continued to talk to other people for 15 more minutes. I am not sure if I was just not cool enough for these girls or dressed well enough or good enough looking or what it was. I get so frustrated at those types of events. But it's pretty much the only avenue for me to meet new girls.

Second date with Basketball rating: 6

Possibility of a third date with Basketball: Medium

Two First Dates (plus ratings!)

I didn't go on any dates for the last month. Not necessarily by choice. I just didn't have any girls I felt like taking out. And I had plenty of other things to distract me (including NASCAR races). Last week, I decided to ask out this girl Basketball. I met Basketball a few months ago in my ward. We have been emailing back and forth for a little while. I was a little hesitant to take Basketball out because she is in my ward and because she knows Princess.

My first impression of Basketball was that she is the kind of girl that doesn't get asked out a ton. So I was worried that the date might be a bit awkward. It wasn't at all. Basketball and I had a great conversation. I was surprised to find out that she is a registered democrat. We had plenty to talk about during dinner. After dinner, we went to my house to just hang out (since I had only really planned dinner). Basketball seemed really relaxed and fun to hang out with. It was one of the most comfortable dates I have been on in a long time.

On Saturday, I had a date planned with Joust. A mutual friend gave me Joust's phone number. We texted a little but I quickly got frustrated with Joust's texting style. Joust is an elementary school teacher and it sorta bothered me that she would text stuff like "u? lol, idk." But after discussing this with some friends, I decided that I couldn't prejudge her for something as dumb as grammar in texts. Joust had a St. Patrick's Day party to attend that night so we just met for dinner. In a lot of ways, I think the idea of just taking a girl to dinner (without an activity) is a much better first date. It gives you a chance to get to know someone a little without having to spend gobs of time with them.

I called Joust on the phone to get directions and she was super awkward on the phone. It definitely put me off. Luckily, Joust was better at going on dates than she was at talking on the phone and texting. About 10 minutes into the date, I was very worried that Joust wasn't going to ask me a single question. Finally, Joust broke down and asked some questions about my job. At that point, it felt like we were able to have a real conversation. Nothing flowed as well with Joust as it did with Basketball but I did have fun with Joust. By the end of the date, I felt that Joust was starting to show some interest. Plus, she texted me a few times after the date, which is always a good sign.

First date with Basketball: 7 Chance of second date: High

First date with Joust: 6 Chance of second date: High