Keep your eye on the prize

Well, friends, I did not make it to five men last week. There has been a stall in meet more men in 2010; the end of last week was completely fruitless. I was hoping that there would be someone I could chat up at the testing center where I took my GRE, but there wasn't a man to be found. Just me and my computer.

No matter. Moving into this week, I tried once again to meet Mr. Argyle at Church, but this week there was a girl next to him, who, sources confirmed is his girlfriend. She had been traveling, which is why I was confused about his relationship status. So much for that idea. At lunch after Church, I met a man who seemed very nice and interesting, but later found out that he doesn't date women. So much for that idea. I met a second man at lunch on Sunday, but he was much older and from the hood. Definitely not my type.

Since Sunday, I wasn't able to add any numbers to this week until today. I joined a dating service called "it's just lunch" (you may have seen their adverts around) whereby you are set up on blind dates. Tonight was my fourth date with this service and thus far I have had a 25% success rate (where success = I enjoyed myself).

I showed up at the restaurant tonight not knowing what to expect from the geologist (don't worry, I haven't broken my engineer pattern; he works for an environmental engineering company). Let's just say that my first impression was not good. He hadn't changed from work and was wearing a polo shirt and khakis. Not a cool, 97% cotton 3% spandex fitted polo: a dumpy baggy polo with his work logo embroidered on it. Really? Despite my first impressions, I steeled my nerves and boldly headed into the restaurant.

When we sat down at the table, there was a glass receptacle with water in it that immediately caught my attention. I couldn't figure it out: were we supposed to use it to pour our water? Was it to chill white wine? It continued to baffle me until our waitress walked over to our table with a bouquet of roses. I didn't know what to say. It was a nice thought; the average girl would probably appreciate flowers on a first date. However, I hate things that draw attention to me and sitting in a restaurant with a big bouquet of roses with a first date is a little awkward. I thanked him, but wished I could fade into the wallpaper. Once again, I steadied myself and forged ahead.

I am struggling to come up with the words to describe the rest of the date. A few highlights were: when he decided to eat a rose petal to prove his spontaneity, our lengthy discussion about Lord of the Rings, his revealing that he used to have Aspergers syndrome, discovering that he is an aspiring actor...I could go on. Let's just say it was a strange evening.

Even so, he turned out to be a genuinely nice person. I am really proud of myself because even though it was weird and strange and he was not exactly normal, I feel like I was able to see him for who he is- a nice guy with issues. One of the goals of this project is to learn to see people for who they are. I don't know who I will marry and I might be really surprised by who he turns out to be. A big part of the process of finding a life partner is knowing what you want and knowing when you see it. And I did not see it tonight.

My roommate's fiance, after hearing that my date ate a rose petal, told me to keep my eye on the prize.

He's right. Upward and onward. Away we go.