3/14/09 - Date Thirty: Spontaneity, Art, and Pizza

All good things. And all components of the date that happened without warning. Here's how ...

PART ONE: I was walking around an art museum in my city, looking at a new exhibition I'd been wanting to see and got a text from someone that I'd spoken to a couple times and exchanged emails with for awhile but because of scheduling issues we hadn't made a date to meet yet. I was trying not to be annoyed by this because at this point, I'd much rather just meet these people early and see what happens than spend my time emailing forever and then find that there's no chemistry when a meeting finally does take place. Anyway, I responded to the text, telling him I was a the museum and he called!! I quickly walked to a corner where there weren't other people and he told me that he was headed down there to see a film and that if I was still there we should meet up. Ok!

I went to another museum just down the street where there is an excellent collection of Japanese art and we met near the silk screens. I was sketching some mountains and had mentally settled into a very nice, contemplative place when he sat down next to me. First impression: very tall, lovely smile, platinum cap on one of his teeth, and different colored eyes, one smoky blue and one brown. He told me that he knew it was me because of my umbrella ... and we'd obviously also seen pictures of one another but whatever, I thought it was a cute, random comment. We walked around the museum for a couple minutes and he pointed things out to me that he's actually studying in some classes right now. He suggested we go get coffee somewhere so we rolled to a nearby coffee shop and chatted for about an hour over two cups of joe.

He told me that he's a collector, specifically of old T-shirts. There were some moments of awkward silence in the conversation and he kept checking his phone for the time, but I forgave this because he was down there to catch a film and wanted to make sure that he wasn't going to be late. He seemed like a very curious and active fellow, which is attractive to me. Strangely the conversation was not easy. He at times was sort of judgmental and I felt like I needed to defend myself. I hadn't at that moment decided whether he was just opinionated (which is fine and good) or sort of a dick (not fine). But again, the first meeting is not with the 'real' person so most things can be forgiven and a second chance is almost always appropriate. Little did I know that second chance would happen mere hours later ... read on.

Time came for him to catch his movie and I had plans to go home via the grocery store and hunker down for a quiet dinner at home that night so we parted. Nice little hug on the street corner and I went my way, he his.

PART TWO: I'm home, sitting on my couch, had changed into jammies for a nice, luxurious night in and I get a text from this fellow telling me it was nice to see me. I respond the same. He then writes that he's starving and wants pizza desperately. I tell him about a spot down near where we were and then jokingly say there's a good place near me, too. I add the ;) to emphasize that I'm just trying to be cute. He calls. Hello? Hi. So where's this pizza place near you and do you want to get a slice with me? Um, sure! All of a sudden night in became night out with pizza. I walked to the place and met him there. We ordered a pie and talked a bit while waiting. Again, the conversation was a little crappy, sort of halting and at times awkward. He seemed really distracted, looking all around the restaurant, not really engaging me. It was uncomfortable and I prepared myself for a long dinner. The pie came and all focus was concentrated on it ... at one point, I asked him some benign question and he answered then said, why, are you just making small talk? I said yes, laughed nervously and then realized that he probably had no problem with silence. Ah, He was one of those. You see, I have a problem with silence and cannot help but attempt to fill silence with sound in the form of conversation. Once I had this realization, I sort of settled in a bit and just enjoyed the food and the happenings around us. He talked when he wanted, I responded and things became a lot less weird (at least from my perspective) and flowed better.

At some point, we started talking about foods we hate and when I asked him what his were, he said he would tell me contingent on us getting a drink somewhere else (at this point, I hadn't had anything to drink and he seemed to be fixated on this, constantly asking why not, etc.) Ok, I thought, maybe he was interested. Maybe now that he's been fed, he's better able to relate conversationally. We went to a bar right next door to the restaurant where they have a large selection of English beers and he was super excited immediately because he spent time studying in England in college and loved English brews. From the moment we ordered until the time he dropped me off at my door, the conversation took on a life of its own, taking a total U turn from it's deathbed at dinner. We talked about college stories, family things, his platinum tooth cap. This was very weird to me ... I can't say that I've gone out with someone who has accessorized themselves in this way. Tattoos had all the, well, tattoos, but a platinum tooth cap? A strange and interesting choice. Apparently your local dentist is more than able to oblige this request, a fact I did not know. After my second gin, I got up the gumption to ask about the eyes. I had the feeling that the brown one was a contact and I was burning to ask him about it. I did and he never gave me a straight answer, though he hinted that it wasn't real. Again, interesting. At least it wasn't one of those freaky as shit cat's eyes. Or, even wore, a goat eye. Ugh.

We settled up after he asked me to do the following things with him in the future: go to a Japanese movie, sort through a 5 lb. bag of Jelly Belly jelly beans so as to divvy up the gross/good flavors to split between us, have a 40 night (the malt liquor, not the decade) during which we could draw tattoos on each other with marker, and play cards: Spades, Hearts or Gin Rummy. Sweet. Oh, and play ping pong.

He walked me home after I grilled him about whether he was able to safely drive himself home. He insisted that he was, so I didn't force him to stay on the futon. We had a little hug at my door and said goodnight. I texted him to make sure that he got home ok, he wrote back that he did and that it was really great to hang with me. Again, I responded in kind. No future plans were made but given the fact that this whole date wasn't planned, guess I'll have to accept that this one just isn't a planner. The non-planner is not my preference but I feel like its a good challenge for me personally.

Oh, I also told him that I've always wanted glasses but my damned 20/20 eyesight had always prevented me ... he told me that he has multiple pairs of 'fake' glasses that he'd be happy to share with me. This one is fun, for sure, and I shall dub him Platinum Tooth Cap.