Trouble

Day: 8
Dates Remaining: 40

Hey Calgarians, pick up a Metro today. You know, that local newspaper with the green logo. They are everywhere and 50 Dates in 50 Days is in it.

A little while ago, I was at a wine fair where I met what seemed like a lovely, attractive young man. Though we only chatted for about fifteen minutes, we seemed to have a lot in common and agreed that we'd meet for a coffee sometime soon. I wasn't sure what to make of the situation but I didn't think too much of it since I didn't know if he would even call.

But when I got a text from him a few days later, I agreed that we should meet up. Our busy schedules made it tricky to find time so we didn't end up having our coffee until a few weeks later.

Regardless, we had a great time together and there was never a dull moment in the conversation. For two hours we talked about anything and everything. It was nice to connect so well with someone. Though it was tough to end the date, we went our separate ways and agreed to have dinner the following week.

We did just that and ended up so deep in conversation that we didn't even realize that the restaurant was closing. We actually got kicked out. What a great feeling, I was on cloud nine.

But life got in the way and though we made attempts to meet up again, we couldn't seem to get organized and have another date. Though I had a huge crush on this great guy, he was nearly impossible to get in touch with and I was very busy anyway.

We text messaged periodically and finally decided that we should go on another date. He thought that 50 Dates in 50 Days was a great idea and decided to be one of my dates. Since we both go to the same city for our out of town travel for work, we decided that we would plan to go at the same time and meet up for dinner there.

So here I am, 350km away from home, wondering what on earth gets into some people. This man who had won me over a while back has now suddenly lost a million points. He went from being marvelous and cute to completely ridiculous. It's official, this man is Trouble.

I went to the restaurant tonight where we had decided to meet and sat in the lounge to have a drink and to wait for my date. I finished my drink and waited. And waited. And waited. Really, how long should one wait?

I wasn't sure if there was a rule for this but I decided to get out of there and go eat somewhere else. What a piss off, I had been stood up. I was hurt and it was hard to get rid of the frog in my throat.

Just as I was leaving, I got a text message from Trouble apologizing for falling off the face of the earth. He asked me where I was and for some reason I told him my new location so he could join me. I figured that everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt and possibly a second chance.

He met up with me and apologized sincerely and endlessly for being a jerk. He treated me to dinner and once again, we had an absolutely amazing time together. How could I be mad at such a handsome, sweet and charming man? It was impossible!

Since I had walked from my hotel to the restaurant(s), Trouble offered to drive me back. I agreed and we hopped into his car. We chatted incessantly on the ride back and continued the conversation for quite some time in the parking lot.

When I finally decided to get out of the car and go to bed, Trouble kindly walked me to the front door of the hotel. He grabbed both of my hands, looked me in the eyes and thanked me for a wonderful evening. He apologized again for the mix up earlier and said that he wouldn't let it happen again.

I held his hands tightly in mine as I looked back at him and told him that I forgave him and that it was good to finally see him again. He leaned in to give me a peck on the cheek and then held me close in a nice embrace.

Just when I thought everything couldn't be better, Trouble whispered into my ear, "You are amazing, I had a fantastic evening with you Paige."

WHAT? Had I just heard him correctly? Paige? Who the hell was Paige? (For those of you who don't know, that is not my name). That doesn't even sound like my name. In fact, my name doesn't even start with a P.

Before I could react, he realized what he had said and jumped away from me. He covered his mouth with his hands and paced around saying "sorry, so sorry" over and over again.

Was I ever uncomfortable. I really wasn't sure what to make of this situation but I would have done anything for that guy from Star Trek to beam me up and away so I could just disappear.

"Who is Paige?" I asked.

He responded, "Someone I was hooking up with for a while."

Wow, did he actually just say that? This was going from bad to worse. How can someone be so wonderful and romantic one minute and then a total loser the next? That, my friends, is Trouble. I didn't get it and I didn't want to stick around to find out.

Though it was clear that he felt so bad, I just wanted to get going. Evidently, this put an awkward end to our evening and I walked faster than ever into the hotel so I could get back up here to my room.

So there you have it, another one of the 50 dates. Clearly, I'm not to keen to have been called the name of my date's hook up partner but I guess these are just the type of men who are out there. I have to say that I'm looking forward to a lovely party evening with Laser Beam tomorrow night.

There is a Beautiful, Charming, Tumbling Farmer in This City

Day: 4
Dates Remaining: 46

First off, big news. I can't even believe it. Today, 1,000 people checked out this blog, 50 Dates in 50 Days. That's 100 with an extra zero on it. Wow. I'm floored. I'm shocked. I'm sitting here in a state of glorious disbelief. Up until now, the record day was 400. Thank you all for supporting this initiative and thank you Breakfast TV, JackFM and AM660 for reporting it.

Now, onto my date tonight who I met from Plenty of Fish (internet dating).

Look out. He's cute. He's chivalrous. He's attentive. He can maintain eye contact. This lovely man is, as I said, a beautiful, charming, tumbling farmer.

What, you may be asking yourself, is a tumbling farmer? Well it's someone who grew up on a prairie grain farm, calls himself a red neck but had an eleven year long career as a tumbler. Yes, a gymnast. I found this all so fascinating.

On top of that, he likes to hunt. Unlike Hunter Gatherer (see 'Hunter Gatherer' post), this man actually hunts. You name it; bears, elk, deer, whatever he can get his hands on. Literally.

And, he rides one of those speedy mcspeedster motorcycles. Hot.

Now, going back to the beginning of this night, I was sure he was going to think I was completely crazy. This is because I was totally late since I was out bike riding after work. I ran out of time so I showed up half in bike clothes and half in work clothes. I had left my nice shoes at my friend's place so I was in bike shoes. Shoes caked with mud that I was trying to cover up with my work pants. I didn't have time to shower and to top it off, my riding buddy was still with me as she rode me to the coffee shop. It was a gong show.

Instead of wondering what on earth was going on and why he now had two girls on his hands instead of one, he introduced himself to both of us, shook my friend's hand and asked her about where she was headed since she mentioned she was off to work. It was not awkward and he later said that the fact that I showed up in a state similar to that of a derailed train was great because it showed that I was genuine. I could have melted.

I had a lovely time drinking coffee with this interesting farm boy. The evening had all the elements of a good date. He even opened the car door for me to drive me home. He didn't do anything weird nor did he say anything stupid. And, at the end of the night, he requested a second date which I will happily go on in the coming weeks.

Keeping Track

Note to Readers: This blog is in reverse chronological order. To read the first entry, scroll all the way down and then make your way back up to this posting. Enjoy!

Days remaining until the 50 dates begin: 8
Dates lined up so far: 12

I went over to my friend’s house the other day and could not believe my eyes. She had put up a large poster-sized sheet of paper on the wall of her bedroom with the numbers 1 through 50 on it. Next to each number, there was enough room for each guy’s name. I was thrilled. Someone’s got to keep track, right?

I’m glad she’s on the ball with this because I am certainly LOST. I’m happy to say that I have about twelve dates lined up; however, I am sorry to say that I am completely confused.

With three of them being friends of friends, one from the bar the other night, about five from Plenty of Fish and three from Lavalife, I can hardly keep track. With some, we are messaging through the dating sites, while others have made it to personal e-mail. Three have moved their way up to texting and two have even called.

A couple of them have the same name. A few of them want to go biking. Others want to grab a coffee. One wants to take me flying in his airplane. Yes, you read that right. He wants to bring me to his hanger and fly away with me. I think I’ll opt for coffee before hopping on board with a total stranger. That would be the safe bet, don’t you say?

Either way, this project is starting to require a serious amount of organization and planning. Not that I hadn’t thought of this, I just hadn’t created a concrete plan.

I have now decided that in addition to the poster of names that is going up in my friend’s room, I will keep a spreadsheet recording each guy’s information and what we did on our date. I may even copy and paste a photo of the internet guys from their online profiles in order to further my organization.

I have to say that in the past I have used spreadsheets for school projects, personal budgets and nasty statistic classes that I dreaded in school. I really never thought that I would be relying on good old Excel to keep track of all the guys I’m dating. I guess there is a first for everything so look out dating spreadsheet, here I come!