first date with a girl | Tired Of Dating

So tonight’s date couldn’t have gone that well or I guess I’d still be on it.
First the good parts: She was attractive, nice, dressed very similar to me, paid for my drink, and we could probably be friends.
Now the reasons I’m home by 9 on a Friday night: She said she had to go home to feed her dog. Her dog who she thinks of as her son. I’m an animal person and all, but she told me that she’s raising him Jewish. Mind you she also mentioned she wasn’t raised religious, but her family is Protestant. She bought him a sweater with the star of David, a yarmulke (yamaka), got a menorah to light with him for Hanukkah, and I’m pretty sure she mentioned a restricted (Kosher?) diet. Do I even need to get to the part where she did this annoying “Mmmhmm” thing after everything I said and constantly made me feel like she was looking down upon me? I would probably see her again if she asked me, but I’d steer it in the direction of something more friendly or just physical. I think the odds of us meeting again are slim based on her not ordering another drink, ending the night, and keeping her distance during my hug goodbye. I didn’t get the feeling she was as down to earth and open as I prefer people to be either. I think I was an okay date to her, though. I smiled when she spoke about the time she painted her dog’s nails red and I shared a story about my cats to participate. I probably should have come up with a better answer about what I’m doing with my life, but writing these very words in this blog –Do I honestly have a better answer? Overall it wasn’t so bad, we just didn’t click, just like most of the dates I’ve ever gone on. Time to repeat it tomorrow if that other girl ever gets back to me?

(Well, at least tonight’s was free.)

So, I’ve come a long way since my post “Tired Of Men, Time To Try Women?” and changing my dating website profile from “Straight” to “Bisexual.” After 25 unanswered messages to women, I finally got a reply and wound up asking if she was free this weekend. I was excited and nervous because it was my first time going out with a girl. We actually walked along the beach, getting to know each other and I thought “Did we really just have the ultimate cliché date with a long walk on the beach?” We got some drinks, some food, played a little skeeball (she’d never played it before), and some other silly arcade-type game. We turned in the tickets we’d won for a temporary tattoo and plastic lizard. We rode my favorite two rides at the park and then grabbed dinner in another neighborhood. We headed home after 7 hours together, so I have to say –it went pretty well. She was cute, nice, interesting, fun…She even reminded me a little of the girl I originally developed a crush on, which started this whole idea…We agreed it was awkward for a first meeting to be a date, so I’m not sure if it’ll end up as just a friends thing, but I’d like to see her again. I did learn something important from the experience even if I don’t: I can definitely see myself dating a girl, in the same way I’d date a guy and feel pretty comfortable with it. It’s opened up a world of options and although I’ll probably run into the same frustrations that I have dating men, it’s nice to have a little more selection of potential dates. The variety does add some interesting change to the whole dating game anyway.

I realized how many times I’d fallen victim to typical stereotyped gender roles that no longer existed when dating a girl. I’d generally waited for a guy to ask me out, rather than suggesting it to him. I’d see if the guy was going to pay for my meal/drinks rather than offering to chip in right away. I’d wonder if the guy was going to try to kiss me goodnight, rather than it being something I’d initiate or not. I’d see if the guy put his arm around me, reached for my hand, or put his hand on my leg. With men taken out of the equation, everything feels a lot more equal and also with some added pressure on myself when it comes to decision making. Yesterday’s date was a good experience if nothing else. I caught myself thinking, “Should have held the door for her that time”, “I should have paid for her lunch, I asked her out”, “I’m going to pay for her drink this time”, and all of the other little things I used to use as indicators with men of being on a date or not that would pass through my mind. But once I realized how unimportant all of those things had been all along, I could let go of some of the stress that I’d held wondering which one of us was supposed to jump in and take action. I was finally getting a little further away from the dating games I’d always despised. I felt like the focus wasn’t about who did what and just ended up being more about caring for the other person and looking out for them over yourself, which really should always be the case in any relationship. It didn’t matter what gender we were, we were just people. I felt free from the stereotypes of what men want and like, and it was just about what either of us wanted or not at that time. As someone who enjoys trying new things, yesterday was certainly an enjoyable experience.