Blind Date #2

Actually, this one was instigated by one of my current co-workers before I ever moved up here. He flew down to Houston for something else but also managed to squeeze in some fundraising. It was at one of these fundraising home groups on a Saturday evening where the wife of the host home (whom I’d never met before), chatted me up during dessert. She found out that I’m single and proclaimed that she had a great Christian guy to set me up with. Turned out this guy was a longtime, childhood friend of her son. Knowing that her son was a pro-baseball player, I figured, what the heck – his friend should be interesting, right? She told me all about him being a pilot for a major airline and what a great guy he is. By the end of the evening she’d gathered my contact info, but I assumed nothing was going to really come of it. However, the next Tuesday I got a text message from the pilot. He’s going to be in town Wednesday through the following Monday (Labor Day), would I like to get together for lunch. Sure, I plan to meet him for lunch on Friday (that way it was my lunch break from work with a specific length of time attached to it – I had an obvious mode of escape if needed). We texted and had a couple of phone conversations before Friday. He did the majority of the talking about being a pilot. I surprisingly tried to interject here and there, but wasn't really given much opportunity to share. I got to the restaurant on Friday, only to immediately get a call that he was running about 5 – 10 minutes late. So, I waited in the entry of the restaurant. As I was waiting my boss and his cohorts from the office showed up at the restaurant. This restaurant was not one of their typical haunts, and they're creatures of habit…ugh...just my luck. They came in and I ended up having to fess up. My boss started to go into overprotective big brother mode, but finally they were seated. Not long after, the pilot showed up. I saw him walking up (hadn't ever seen him before, so I was assuming it was him and it was), my first thought was: “So when people look at me now, do they immediately think – she’d be great for this skinny, kind of geeky guy that I know.” Is that what I evoke in people? My inner dialog is trying to give me a pep-talk, “Okay, so I’m not initially attracted to him, but the conversations so far haven’t been all that bad. Maybe he’s got a really great personality. Sometimes that really changes the look of a guy.” We got seated for lunch with the menus. He asked me what’s good, and I rattled off all the things I’ve had there. He then asked if there were any lunch specials, so I point those out as well. After we’d perused the menu for a while, he decided on the cheese enchiladas which happen to be on the lunch specials menu. When the waiter comes by to take our order, he made sure to point out that he wants the lunch special cheese enchiladas. I placed my order, also for the cheese enchiladas, and then the pilot made sure to verify again that he wanted the lunch cheese enchiladas (those are the only cheese enchiladas on the menu). By this time I was already thinking, I am definitely going to be paying for my own meal. As we snacked on the chips and salsa, the pilot talked some more of how he was looking to buy a place in town. He had already put down several thousand on a condo/townehome with a builder back in the spring, but apparently the pilot had changed his mind about that decision. Now, he and his real estate mom were working to try to get that money back. Are you kidding me?! Good luck with that! Not long after that topic, he mentioned how commercial pilots’ salaries double every year for the first five years before they level out. Most of the conversation overall revolved around money and how he was looking forward to settling down and being based out of Houston and starting a family. The best part was that towards the end of lunch he made a lovely off-color comment about the rise in crime in the Houston area since we acquired a large portion of the Katrina evacuees. He knew how he’d solve that crime problem – he’d ship them all back to New Orleans . To what?! To the ruins and garbage piles that used to be their homes? Are you kidding me? Anyways, that date ended, and he did end up buying my lunch.

Back at the office the guys I worked with revealed they had wanted to play a prank where one of them would have gone over to my table and said to me, “What the heck are you doing here? Where are the kids?” They should have; it would’ve made lunch a bit more interesting :-) No more than an hour passed back at the office when the pilot texted me to ask me out to a movie the next evening. (Seriously, texting is NOT the way to ask a girl out - for the love, it's not as if he was shy about talking). I hemmed and hawed to the end of my work day before finally deciding to give the guy another shot (at the recommendation of way too many people). I asked him what movie he had in mind, and he suggested World Trade Center . Well, I had already seen that film, and it's not something you watch over and over. I told him I'd seen it and not one you watch multiple times, any other suggestions. He suggested Pirates 2 (already seen it) or You, Me, & Dupree. Now, I like a good comedy as much as the next person, but I saw Wedding Crashers with good girl friend and was uncomfortable watching that with her. There’s NO way I was about to subject myself to watching You, Me, & Dupree in mixed company, especially with a guy I’d just met. I had to finally take the reigns and suggest the new movie out that weekend, Invincible – good, reliable, sport flick.

We met at the theater the next evening. He dominated conversation, again, all the way through the previews into the title sequence of the film. Seriously, I, the mute girl, actually tried to talk, and he asked me a few questions, but even when I did talk he practically ran over whatever I was saying with more of his own jibber-jabber. The movie was good, but then it ended. We’re leaving the theater about to part ways, when he asked me out AGAIN for Sunday evening to dinner at his sister’s house. What the heck?! Even if I had been interested in him, I think that would’ve freaked me out. Dinner with your family after two dates and I just met you this week?! Nope, not gonna happen. Thankfully, I actually had real plans for Sunday evening, so I didn’t have to lie. But, he seemed to take it in stride as he mentioned that he’d be back in town in the next week or so, and we’d still keep in touch. However, thankfully, I didn't hear from him again, either. I say thankfully because I'm a weeny, too, and don't want to have to tell the guy I'm not interested. But I still don't give out that lame line, "I'll call you," when I have no intention of communicating with them again. I typically just ignore them until they get the picture, but I'm working on being a better communicator these days and not indulging in my usual response of avoidance. So watch out! If I'm not interested, I'm more likely to be upfront about it now.