“We were having one of those great first dates you can only have when it’s not an actual date.”-Carrie, Sex and the City

So after the Hooded Sweatshirt Guy debacle, I was kind of put off on going on a date. So Friday night I went out with a girlfriend for drinks and tried to put dating out of my head. We went to a local Irish pub and ran smack dab into Hooded Sweatshirt Guy. What are the odds?? My girlfriend ended up ditching out early, and I was still buzzed and it was only 10, so I stayed. I figured if anything I could have fairly ok conversation with HS for awhile before heading home, bummed and dejected.

After about ten minutes of the worst conversation I’ve ever had, I excused myself from HS and went to the bar. As I was standing in line I noticed a very cute guy with sideburns and a killer smile. He grinned and let me cut in front of him. I got my drink and went back to HS, only to discover cute sideburns was sitting at the table next to him. I made an excuse to walk away from HS and then went over to sideburns. He was yawning and I told him he couldn’t possibly be tired this early. He grinned and we started up a conversation. Turns out he was out celebrating a new job in the science field. I was excited because I got a degree in science as well. One witty comment after another, and I officially had to change his nickname to the Potential Guy. This guy was great! He had a good job, great sense of humor, killer smile, and I couldn’t stop laughing while we talked. We ended up hanging out with his group of friends until 2am. At the end of the night he got my number and I went home smiling.

The Potential Guy didn’t waste time; he called the next day and set up a date. It was crazy because this is exactly what I was waiting for. Someone to plan a night out with me. Not just call at 5 and ask what I am doing for dinner that night. This guy called and set up a date for the next day. He took me for a trip to the coast which is about 40 minutes from me. He dressed nice, he picked me up, and he took me to a classy restaurant for appetizers. We spent the day walking along the coast, and then driving to different coastal towns, getting food in between and laughing till our sides hurt. The date turned out to be over 11 hours long, and it was truly one of the best dates I’ve been on. The only draw back was I didn’t get the good night kiss. I’m not sure what it meant, because he did say he would call later in the week and we’d go to dinner, so there is hope. I am not sure I’m ready to be something more, but this guy definitely has potential to be more.

“Barney: Ted, you should be happy Robin has a secret. The more you learn about a person, the better chance you have of hitting the fatal “Ohhh…” moment.
Marshall: The “Ohhh…” moment?
Barney: Yeah. That moment when you find out that one detail about a person that is going to be a deal-breaker.”-How I Met Your Mother

So the one thing that came out of my experience with The One Night Stand was realizing I’m ready to date again. I am ready to try things out, and see how they work. The new plan though is to not immediately fall into the couple category. Instead of going on one date with one guy and saying, ok now we’re a couple, why not meet a few potentials, try them out, and then make a decision after getting to know them? Get to know someone first? A novel idea!

My first attempt at a real date was with he who shall from now on be referred to as The Hooded Sweatshirt Guy. He showed up to our first date in a brown hooded sweatshirt which I guess wasn’t bad considering he took me to Applebee’s. Now I have nothing against the establishment, hell I eat there with friends. But if you’re trying to take out a girl and impress her, a chain restaurant is not the answer. I would rather have burritos from a taco stand than someplace as unoriginal as Applebees. So that was date #1. In the first five minutes I had the ohhhh moment. He told me he smokes but he’s trying to quit. Much love to those out there who are trying to quit, but let me say this. If you are trying to quit, dating someone new is a horrible idea. Oh great…so now you can be cranky and go through withdrawals around me. Sounds like a great time, sign me up! And then there are the well meaning trying to quit smokers. They are always trying to quit, but it never actually happens. So right away I knew Hooded Sweatshirt wasn’t going to work out. But I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. I’m not really sure why we women do this to ourselves. We date a guy, we notice things right off the bat that we don’t like, yet we attempt to make it work. Why not date someone that works from day 1? Guys are not that furniture you get at Ikea that you have to take home and put together. Give me something from those fancy furniture stores that they deliver to your house for you, completely assembled thank you very much.

I decided to let Hooded Sweatshirt Guy take me out for a second date. Now this is where you’ll see why he has the nickname. He showed up for the second date in the exact same sweatshirt. This time he took me to a nice Italian restaurant where his brown hoodie stuck out like a sore thumb. It was kind of uncomfortable. We had a nice date, he’s a very sweet guy, easy to talk to, but at the same time the more he talked the more I realized he wasn’t my type. He just wasn’t someone who would sweep me off my feet and romance me. I have learned that it’s ok to ask for these things. I want to be swept. I want to be taken out on a date where he picks the activities and I go along for the ride. I want a guy who will plan a date ahead of time, not text me and ask what I’m doing later that night. I want a guy who will open the door for me and will give me a smile that makes my knees buckle. Hooded Sweatshirt guy is going back on the shelf. I could have dated him when I was a freshman in college. But by now he’s expired, like old eggs.