GH

So after the dreadful date, Eli became known as Groundhog Boy among my friends. I heard from him once, the day after the walk, and he said, essentially, that he had fun on the walk but that he was just starting to see another gal (his word, if you can believe it) and figured that if we ever did anything together it would just be as friends. Now, what you need to know is that this e-mail was really, really long. What he could have said in two sentences he said in at least 20. Oh, did I mention that he said I was "easy to talk to"? How ridiculous is that? He didn't let me get a word in edgewise. The only good thing was that he said he didn't need the groundhog back, in case if it had gotten lost or damaged the night before. Phew, at least now I was off the hook and didn't have to worry about seeing him again.

My friend had the groundhog for a week, but I did get it back. What to do with it? I can't very well leave it sitting on my couch, just staring at me, now can I? I have decided to take it to work. I do work at an elementary school, after all; surely someone there could enjoy it. Besides, I told one of my work friends about it and she's dying to see this creature. Perhaps she'll know what to do with it.

Oh yeah, it was bad—really bad

No more dates with Eli ever again, no matter what definition of 'date' you want to use. He was awkward, exceedingly dorky, and he talked THE ENTIRE TIME. Sure, some might say that just means he's nervous, but really, I couldn't get him to stop talking. So, to the recap you've been waiting for:

We met at a central, public location. When I got off the bus, I could see him standing there waiting. He gets a point for this, though; I do appreciate promptness. He lost a few points though because, unlike a normal guy, he wasn't carrying a messenger bag or backpack, but a small duffel bag. Who carries a little duffel bag around, let alone on a date?

We began walking up to the staircases we wanted to explore and easily started up a conversation. Or at least I though it was a conversation. I quickly realized, however, that it was a monologue. Imagine, if you will, a play in which the protagonist is on stage, spouting off about himself at a younger age (or some other topic that is really only interesting to him), when a servant/page/friend comes on stage to try and tell him something; he listens momentarily, but continues talking before the other person can finish speaking. Now, multiply this scenario by 20, add at least 10 steep staircases and many hills, a lot of rain, and then you will understand what this date was like.

I did try to interject my own thoughts/responses/opinions/etc. at first, but I finally just gave up and asked him questions, letting him respond for as long as he wanted. At one point, we were quite close to a favorite bakery/café of mine and I said something like, "Oh, look, That Bakery is right down there. I love that place! (Hint, hint, want to go and get out of the rain?" Unfortunately, he had other staircases he wanted to climb, so we kept on going. Of course I should have stopped, told him I wasn't having a good time, etc., but I didn't for some horrendously foolish reason and kept on going. Stupid me. Live and learn, right?

The only good part about this whole debacle was that we met at 2 and he had to go his own way at 4. As we were saying goodbye (a very awkward one, by the way, as all I could think was, "oh please, get me out of here now"), he reminded me that he'd brought with him something for the Groundhog Day party I'd mentioned I was going to that night. It was a groundhog golf club head cover. As if the date hadn't already been ridiculous, this just made it even more so. I thanked him promised him that it would go to the party and then bid him a hasty farewell so as to get far away from him as quickly as possible.

When I got home I was tired, sore, sick (I wasn't feeling great in the morning, but I didn't want to cancel the date on the off chance he was actually a cool guy), and exceedingly wet. I actually stopped to buy a space heater on my home so I could begin to dry out my clothes and my boots. I went back out a few hours later to have dinner with a friend who was going to the party (I had decided that there was no way I was going to make it, especially with the storm outside) and hand off the groundhog. I figured if she had it, perhaps she'd lose it and I'd never have to see it or Eli ever again.

Now I'm home and trying to dry out and warm up. I think it's going to be a while before I ever feel warm again…

Here goes

I'm about to leave for my walking date with Eli. I see two potential problems:

1. It's raining. Not hard, but definitely raining and it doesn't look like it's going to stop any time soon.

2. I have put very little effort into preparing for this date. This doesn't bode well for you, Eli.

Perhaps this will turn out better than I expect, but I'm guessing there won't be much more to say about Eli after today.

I'm a local, you're a local

So this guy (I'll call him Eli) messaged me the other day whose match with me wasn't that great (according to the dating site); however, he asked a couple interesting questions and I decided I might as well respond (though I took my sweet time). Since then we've exchanged a couple of e-mails and I've learned that he's a native of this city, just like me, and has a penchant for taking long rambling walks around the city, just as I do. One of Eli's jobs is actually Walking-Tour Guide. Therefore, I've decided to put aside any reservations I have about him based on the low match percentage and consent to an "activity date" of sorts: go on one of the walks listed in a book about the stairway walks in our city. It's an area I've explored a little and one he actually doesn't know very well, so it seems that this has potential. I don't really feel any great attachment to the guy, so I'm just going to see if maybe I can make a new friend out of this.

Oh that's weird

So it turns out that the last guy I dated is on the dating site too. We're still good friends, but we definitely weren't meant to be in a relationship—a point that was driven home when I read about him online. Let's just say his honesty scared me a little (he really likes to cook, but he doesn't need to talk about his love for sharp knives quite that much) and made me realize that had we not met the way we did, I probably would not have shown any interest in him based on his profile.

However, since I now know he's on the same site, I've shown him that guy, Sam, who seemed so much like him. He says he doesn't know him, but he'll keep an eye out. Curiouser and curiouser…

Well, that didn't work out

It seems that David and I will only ever be friends, if that, though I do think we'd be good friends if we ever met. Basically, the more we talked this week the more we realized that as good as the witty and intelligent banter was, we would ever actually date. Too bad. He likes Jeopardy as much as I do and I've always liked the idea of snuggling with someone while trying to beat him at Jeopardy… Now what does that say about me?

I could have had a date this weekend

but I had to work. For some crazy reason, I decided it would be a brilliant idea to schedule myself such that I am working every single day for almost three weeks straight. Stupid, stupid, stupid. On account of this, I have had to turn down a date with David for this weekend and suggest that we meet up some other time (which might not be for a while). It's ok though—it'll give us a chance to get to know each other a little better (or at least that's what I keep telling myself).

First honest-to-goodness exchange

I had my first real e-mail exchange last night with a guy from the site. I'll call him David. He IMed me, but I missed it. However, the text of the IM was more than the, "hey girl, wanna talk" or simple "hi", that I usually get, so I figured I might as well respond. Turns out that we were both writing each other a message at the same time and we received each other's within minutes of sending our own.

David seems like a cool guy. He's 11 years older than me, but for the moment I'm willing to look past that. We're just exchanging messages, so it seems that I can just put this one in the "experience to draw upon later" file, and just see where this goes.

It seems we've been stalking each other…

So this site allows you to see who has been looking at your profile, which is a very convenient feature for me, a girl who has trouble making the first move. I noticed that the guy—I'll call him Sam—who sounds like my ex has been looking at my profile just as often as I've looked at his. I decided to just go ahead and send him short message pointing out this fact. He didn't reply, but he did IM me. Great—except then he didn't talk. I sent a reply and he just clammed up and closed the window a few minutes later. Go figure…

Just for kicks I e-mailed my ex and asked him if he knew this guy, seeing as they both work in the same, very small profession in the same city. He couldn't figure out who it was, but was intrigued, to say the least.

It's been amusing so far

Who knew that writing an online profile was so challenging? It's somewhat like writing a resume or college application, and yet you don't want to give away everything. You also want to sound interesting and appealing, but not arrogant or vain. If you write that Pride and Prejudice is your favorite book will you be judged differently than if you claim The Da Vinci Code? It has taken me the last week and a half to complete my profile, but I think I'm satisfied with it now.

As for the guys? There are some people in my area that I supposedly match with well, including one who sounds suspiciously similar to my last boyfriend. A number of guys have IMed me, but I've rejected most of them, often based on looks or match percentage. Plus, how can I be expected to take a guy seriously if his screenname is something like 'hot4u'? The two guys I did chat with were, well, not very interesting. Perhaps I should be proactive and actually message people rather than wait for them to come to me? We'll see…