2/2/09 - Date Fourteen: Ethiopian (again)

Same restaurant, different date. This was the fellow that I met for drinks (see 1/26/09 post). We exchanged text messages for a bit and because I spent all weekend with BEST DATE EVER, this was the first opportunity I had to see him. So, we met for dinner at the same Ethiopian restaurant where I met Mr. Really (see 1/6/09 post) which was a pleasant surprise because it's sort of a hidden secret and I was mildly impressed that he knew about it.

There is an upstairs and a downstairs and with that type of set up, there is of course the inevitability that one person will be upstairs while the other is downstairs. This little situation was soon sorted out after I texted him to let him know that I'd gotten a table and that the couple next to me was also obviously on a date, something I thought was funny and random. While I was waiting for him to appear, I couldn't help but overhear their conversation and wondered, with slight horror, whether or not I sounded anything like they did on a date. Then, he appeared and I was forced to leave my head.

We quickly perused the menu and I was happy to discover that we each wanted to order the same vegetarian combo, so thankfully no awkward moments where I'm forced to explain why I've stopped eating meat and then deal with their guilt over still wanting to order it or their disappointment over not being able to. The waitress came, took our order, took our menus, and we were left to our own conversational devices. As with the first date, the conversation started off slow at first, work talk, then quickly picked up. This guy is really funny and not afraid to be a little sarcastic which is nice. I sense sometimes that people hold back their natural sarcasm because they're afraid of sounding mean or negative. It's sort of refreshing when the person sitting across from you is actually being themselves. Shocker.

So, we shared stories, talked about the things we'd done since we last saw each other, your typical conversation topics. The food arrived and was amazing as usual. We devoured it and I noticed that he had completely appropriate table manners. He even commented on the fact that he once brought a friend for Ethiopian and the friend couldn't handle having to eat with his hands. He asked the waiter for a fork, got a very odd look, and ended up having to eat the meal with a piece of plastic ware that was certainly retrieved from some other restaurant nearby. I was a funny story, told well, with flare. Check plus.

We finished and he told me that he didn't want to keep me ... I thought that this was odd until I realized that I had been yawning regularly for the last ten minutes. I immediately apologized profusely, feeling really bad. He was gracious and understanding. I was sooooo tired after my day at work and then some pretty intense gym time and that exhaustion didn't even register until that moment.

I planned to take public transpo home so he walked me to my stop and we hugged goodbye. He gave me a little peck on the cheek and asked whether I'd had a good time and wanted to hang again. I said yes to both. Why not? This guy doesn't set my pants on fire but he's really nice, really funny and interesting, and not unattractive. So, we'll see ... maybe it's like that old parable: slow and steady wins the race. Maybe he's my hare.