Worst... Match... e-mail... ever....

Ok, so I've definitely had my ups and downs with this online dating business. I figure eventually its gonna have to pay off.... hopefully. Last week, there was definitely a down.

Anywho, I decided to let Match.com send me a weekly e-mail with my new potential matches; daily was just too much and I wouldn't check them very often anyways.

So the end of the work day rolls around Thursday. I decide to check my e-mail quickly before I leave the office. My weekly matches are in my inbox, so I decide to take a peek and see if there's anyone interesting in the bunch. These e-mails have a thumbnail sized picture and a little info about your match, like age, hometown, etc.

I scroll down a bit and notice that the guy in the middle looks a lot like my older brother. Weird. I look at the guy's profile. Crap, same age as my brother, same hometown.... HOLY CRAP!!! Match.com decided that my brother and I are a good match for each other!! Gross, gross, gross!!!!!

After proceeding to freak out for the next 25 minutes straight while simultaneously attempting to avoid vomitting, I decided to send customer service a nasty e-mail. Seriously. Yes, I realize my brother and I have similar values, having the same parents and all. And yes, I also realize that sometimes people who aren't related have the same last name. However, I am paying a decent amount of money to hopefully be introduced to a potential love interest/partner. I already know this man and am, in fact, related to him! I know that cross referencing last names might not always work, but my brother and I have the same billing address for our credit cards. (Side note- we have a very Polish, very not- common last name too). I'm still waiting to hear back from an actual person at the website regarding this; all I got at first was an automated e-mail which I responded to immediately stating that it did not answer my question.

But seriously, my brother and I are an 88% match?!? We fight like cats and dogs....

If this is any indication of my luck with online dating, I may as well throw in the towel now.

Dance, dance....

So I'm taking a swing dancing class, as I may have mentioned before. There are actually a lot of similarities between dancing and dating, many of which mirror some of the good and bad dates I've been on.

1. You gotta have a good partner. Swing is all about leads and follows and if the lead isn't strong, you end up on the floor, colliding with another couple, or with the dreaded elbow to the eyeball. Dating is the same- does anyone else notice that they end up with an elbow to the eyeball when the communication breaks down? Maybe that's just my luck...

2. Chemistry- either its there or its not. Some of my best dance partners thus far have had some sort of unspoken chemistry with me (not necessarily romantic, mind you). I can anticipate what move we were going into next and we cut a rug like you would not believe. Then there were the guys who weren't sure what to do next and their timidity pretty much left us doing basic steps and none of the fun turns, which ends up being boring. Mirroring Bachelor #1 much? Heh...

3. Variety of partners- swing dance is a social dance. I mean, you can bring a partner with but typically others will ask you to dance as well. Kinda like dating- sometimes you have to dance with the gross sweaty guy a few times before the guy you're eying from across the room asks to cut in. But then, you're shocked to find out that the sweaty guy was a much better lead than the cute guy who cut in. Sometimes your toes get stepped on, sometimes you don't know what you're doing next, sometimes a guy sweeps you off your feet (literally). You gotta keep at it until you find the right partner and then it all just comes together.


I'm gonna keep dancing (and dating) until I find that right partner again. I do have to say though, bachelor #2 is showing a bit of promise :)

Flowers

So bachelor #1 decided to be super cute and send me flowers at work on Friday. Nothing like an embarassing display of flowers to get all the women of the office swarming around like vultures, asking who they're from and lots of "ooooooo's." I love the ladies I work with, don't get me wrong; I just don't like all that attention due to a guy that I'm not entirely sure about.

The flowers earned him another date last night. He offered to cook dinner at his place, which worked just fine for me. I got to his place, called on the way there, and then waited in the lobby for a few minutes, expecting him to come down since I'd never been there before. I texted him and he just told me his floor number and apartment number. I found it a bit odd, considering how polite he was. I went upstairs and set my things down.

He has a sweet place; I guess its where his parents are going to retire to but its still awesome- great view of the lake and the city. Probably at least double the size of my place too. Anywho, he starts cooking and we make small talk. He'd made brownies, which I helped myself to while he cooked. Dinner was tasty and we did a bit of talking then. The whole time, though, I just felt really uncomfortable.


He did the dishes and then we talked even more, lots of awkward pauses which throws me into babble mode. I'm pretty sure I explained to him all the different types of bras and why they exist. Yep, straight up babbling.



I suggest throwing on a movie (which should've been a no-brainer on his part since he does movie critiques in his blog). We sit on the couch and he's close enough to put his arm around me, so I anticipate.... and nothing. Halfway through the movie, he sets his hand on top of mine and just leaves it there. Doesn't try to actually hold my hand or anything, just rests it. It was wierd and sweaty... I excused myself to the bathroom after 30 minutes of awkward hand resting. Came back, watched the rest of the movie, and indicated that I needed to get home due to it getting late. I quickly gathered my coat and bag . We hugged and then he went in for what I suppose was to be a passionate kiss. Instead, it felt like he was trying to melt our faces together.... smooshing his lips to mine. It did not work. At all.

After that, I left and called my best friend on the way home to vent all about it.

I'm sorry bachelor #1, but I'm just not that into you. I wish you all the best and hope you find someone with a bit more patience.

Party like it's 1999!

So tonight, I have the bachlorette party of a friend from college who's wedding is two weeks from today! I am super excited because:

a.) I haven't seen her since I graduated in May of '07
b.) She is full of awesome and her soon-to-be husband is a wonderful guy
and
c.) This will be my first time participating in a friend's bachlorette party

We're starting out the evening with a pole dancing class. Fun times... looks like I'll get to learn a few things for sure. Then pizza + drinks/games + going out the bars for more drinks/kareoke.

The best part- there are at least 3 red heads in this group.... we've been known to get fiesty. Blondes may say they have more fun but red heads take that cake on that business.

I'm sure I'll have more details post-fiesta :)

Swept...

I really want to be swept off my feet.

The question is now, who has the right broom for the job?

By the way, bachelors 1 and 2 are still in the running. Had dates with each of them this week, and both were fun. We'll see how this goes... maybe one of them has a good broom?

Dating is exhausting...

Seriously though. It's a lot of fun, but being out later than normal really starts to take a toll on you eventually. After a weekend with two dates and a day of shopping with my sister, I was pretty much a zombie at work yesterday. At times, I just wanna go home and curl up with a book, a cup of tea, and be in sweat pants rather than all this dressing up nice business.

But to the juicy stuff... the dates! I'm currently seeing two guys, very different yet I'm attracted to both of them.

So bachelor #1 is a law student, so I'll refer to him as such. Originally, the plan was to grab dinner and see the movie Up. After my swing dance class that Monday, I had an alternative that he went for- swing dancing! We went out to dinner and then went to the studio where I take a class. They did a 45 min. crash course and the rest of the evening was open for dancing on both floors :) Mr. law student eventually caught on to the dancing, though it was a bit awkard at first. In swing dancing, its very important to have a strong lead, as all the signals as to what you're going to do next come from the arms. I had to give him a few pointers as to why I didn't know what we were doing next, but he fixed his form and we were good to go. I had a lot of fun, even if he didn't have too much rythym or understand that how fast we danced had to change with the tempo of the music. Definitely got an A for effort. I got a quick peck at the end of the night as well, which was sweet.

I like the law student because he's very intelligent and witty, but I do feel like I make him nervous. He always seems awkward around me, which in turn makes me feel a little awkward. He's very sweet and gentlemanly, but at times, it comes off as timid to me. He asked if it would be alright if he could hold my hand; I told him to just grab it, there's no need to ask. In telling a co-worker about this, she thought it was sweet that he asked, but I prefer a man to be more sure of himself and take a little initiative. I do like spending time with him though, so I'm going to be patient and give him a chance.

Bachelor #2 is a former Navy guy who now works at a Naval hosptial in the area doing fitness training with the guys there. I almost canceled on this one but I decided to give him another chance, as he was probably nervous at our first meeting. We were supposed to go out for sushi then meet up with some of his friends for drinks. I got off the train and starting walking when he called to inform me that the place we were supposed to go to was closed. He met up with me and we walked a bit further to try and find a new place to go. We decided to just order a pizza and watch a movie at his place. He seemed a lot less nervous this time and I got to know him much better, as he'd taken down the funny facade a bit. Kung Fu Panda makes for a great date movie by the way. Before I left, he gave me a kiss. I was shocked at the sparks I felt by that one little kiss, so we'll see where this goes.

I like Navy guy because he's very funny and can keep up with my sarcasm and throw even more back at me. He's not as physically attractive as bacelor #1, but he still is an attractive guy. I just hope he does let me in a little more so I can get to know the real him better rather than just the funny him. He's also a wine lover, which is a plus for me :)

Round 3's coming up.... a date with both of them this week. Let's see how it goes.