Back in the dating world

After getting dumped (I ended up in a year long relationship with the guy from the last paragraph of this post: https://singleladyescapades.blogspot.com/2019/02/and-i-got-married.html) , I have decided to get back out into the dating world ... slowly. I know you're dying to know, but it's just as crazy and weird as when I left it. Maybe someday I'll blog about how I was dumped (it was sort of out of the blue - he walked out, I was "allowed" to "talk" to him 2 times very briefly in the 10 days after he left and haven't heard a peep since), but for today I'll stick with the new dating stories.

I matched with several guys early on, but very few got further than a message or two back and forth. I finally was able to score a date with two different guys. Not much to say about Tom (the first date) - we went on 2 dates and I never heard from him again. This was fine for me as I really wasn't interested and the end-of-date kiss was pretty lackluster. The next date, Brooke, was an interesting one. We went on several dates. He's in IT and loves dogs. We had pretty good conversation except the one time he thought he would call me. That was pretty weird and uncomfortable. Reminded me of a guy I had a crush on years ago. He was a cool dude, but really felt it was okay to call and just sit on the phone without saying anything. It's one thing to have silences with someone you know but even weirder when you don't know someone. Anyways, back to Brooke ...

We had a few dinner dates and one date where we just walked my dog. It was super hot that day and not very enjoyable for that reason. After our third date, I went on a camping trip about an hour from home. I was looking forward to the solitude in my camper so I didn't make any plans with him. But as the weekend approached, I felt like it would be fun to invite Brooke to the camper and grill some steaks. So I invited him up if he felt like making the drive. He agreed!

As he was on his way up, I texted and asked him to let me know when he was 5 minutes away so that I could meet him at the campground office. After a bit, he texts and says, "I'm eleven minutes away." So, after 5 minutes, I start the short walk to the campground office. As I step away from my camper, I get a text, "I'm here and don't see you." #facepalm I responded, "wow - that was barely five minutes." As I approach the office, he drives up and I get in his car. With a big smile, I greet him. He mumbles "hi," so I immediately think something must be wrong. I ask but he responds with a negative. 

I go on to say he should heed the 5 mph speed limit signs in the campground because they're super strict. I didn't say it was because the campground was very busy with children running around everywhere as that was quite obvious if you had eyes. He immediately starts going 15 mph. I repeat how strict they are and that there are a lot of people around. He responds, "What are they going to do to me?"

Me: Kick you out.

Him: I'm not staying here. I don't care.

Me: Well, I am.

He slows down a little but still not to the speed limit. I shrug my shoulders and start directing him to my camping spot:

Me: See the dog park (it was obvious and in front of us to the right). Take a right after the dog park (you could either go straight or right). 

As he starts to drive past the dog park AND the place I told him to turn ...

Me: Turn right here.

Him: Oh, turn right after the dog park.

Me: *eyeroll*

We pull into my camp site and I hop out of his car. He sits in the car for about 5 minutes. I stood in one spot for a moment, not sure what to do ... He finally gets out and walks to the camper. At this point, I am already ready for him to go home. The air was super tense. He was quiet. To break that silence, I ask which way he drove to get here.

Him: I took 25. What other way would I go?

Me: Well ... there are several ways to go. You could ..

Him: If you want to drive 35 mph.

Me: take highway 93 ... uh, oh, okay.

At that point, I just grabbed the steaks to start grilling them. Anytime I asked him a question, he responded in the same way - like I was stupid for asking and there was really only one answer. It was the longest 90 minutes of my life. Thankfully, he wanted to get home to his dogs because one of them was very nervous about fireworks (it was July 4th).

As he was leaving, he went in for a hug. I obliged simply to alleviate tension and thanked him for coming. He responded, "Of course. Anytime to hang out with you is good." huh?!?! He seemed miserable the entire time. 

I certainly wasn't going to reach out to him again; and I never heard from him again. Good riddance. Who needs that kind of negativity in their life?

Next!!