Before I go into it all, I know that the person I'm referring to in the story had good intentions but I really, REALLY wish I was more anonymous within the radial area that I hang out in.
On Wednesday, I had a date. It was a new guy, not the old "new guy". I was looking forward to the date and wasn't really nervous, things seemed on track and we had loads in common already. We'd proven to be very chatty in emails and on the phone, energy was good so it was time to meet. We picked a place and a time, we were both on time and jumped right into it fast. And frankly, it wasn't the typical first date conversation...at least not straight off the bat. The new guy has lived abroad for nine years and 5 of those years was in the country my entire family is from. We had plenty to talk about regarding that. Different towns, weekend destinations, the freaky encounters with bats, taratulas, cockroaches, monkeys...oh and mosquitos. And frankly, the mosquitos are the worst of the lot. It's a beautiful country but that's what you get when you go to a tropical destination that has heavy vegetation. We probably talked a good hour just about that commonality! And the new guy has more latin mannerisms than I do and I'm the latin one...go figure! About an hour or so into the date, I feel an arm on my back and hear a "Hey Valerie". I was right in the middle of talking about something and that arm really distracted me. I turn around and see that it's one of my co-workers! Geez! Last thing I want to do when I'm on a date is run into someone I know...let alone a co-worker. They are chatty guys and rival old ladies in the gossip department. This particular co-worker is also on Match and I was hoping to God that he would say something stupid like ask me "Oh hey, are you on a Match date" because for once, this was NOT a Match date and don't really feel like divulging that bit of information to the new guy. I did the introductions between the new guy and the co-worker and the co-worker moved on. Whew!
After that encounter, I was so distracted. Lots of thoughts were racing through my head. Is he here on a date? Has he been here the whole time? Where is he even sitting? How come I didn't see him? But to be honest, I have tunnel vision on dates and when I'm out with friends. I completely focus on who I'm with and the conversation at hand assuming I'm having a good time. If I'm having a crap time, I'm all about people watching to get through the experience.
I managed to get back into the flow and we're chatting, laughing and joking and we finally get the bartender to come around to refill our water glasses but the real reason he headed in our direction was because the co-worker wanted to buy us a round. Gah! Dude, I'm on a date...stop bugging me! I've already had 2 glasses of wine and so had the new guy so we passed on the offer. We kept talking and then it was time to visit the loo. I passed by the co-worker and gave him a tap as I walked by and on the way back, he stopped me. He's all chatty and introducing me to the girl he was with...couldn't tell if it was a date or a female friend. He makes some comment about how people can't believe we (he and I) are latin based on how we look. Co-worker looks WAY more latin than I do...he's nuts! I make my excuses and get back to my date. The next thing we know, co-worker is near us again and making comments about how the place is trying to shut down and how it was so unlike me to "close a place down". Frankly, co-worker only knows me at work and work Valerie is very different from free time Valerie and I made a comment as such. But I was completely surprised that we did in fact close the place down...2 glasses of wine, no food and 3.5 hours later. We were so into chatting that neither of us was really very hungry! So I had a good time.
I probably would have felt more relaxed if it hadn't been for my co-worker being there though.
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