i've been wrong before

Some would say that if a guy calls you on the phone every evening or so, just to chat, definitely means that he likes you. I also would guess this to be true. (Un)fortunately, I have been wrong in this respect in the past, so I prefer to assume nothing.

There is a cute guy that does call me every day or two... and we just chat. Others have observed cute guy and I in public and have commented that his signals indicate he is interested in me. Truthfully, I feel I'm getting the "I wanna be buddies" vibe from him.

Do I like him? I don't know. I don't know. I. Do. Not. Know....Yet.

I just met him, so we'll see.... time will tell.

number two

Oh but wait...

There was this kid, yes I do mean kid. He fights fires. I will call him firefighter #2 ... or maybe just #2 (for short). It started just about six months ago. I can summarize the relationship with a series of one-liners said by #2 to me. In order, each one-liner represents the actual progression of the relationship. Warning: Confusion is likely.

1. "I'm so glad that you've come into my life... you're such a positive, fun person to be around"
2. "Everyone asks me if we're dating. Are we?"
3. "I don't know what I want."
4. "You're the most kind-hearted person I know."
5. "I don't know what I want."
6. "I can see after we've been married for twenty years..."
7. "I can't make any plans. I am busy until December." (said October-ish)
8. "I don't want to mess things up between us."
9. "So you're saying I could come over and make out with you and we can still assume we're on the friendship level?!"
...and finally the last one-liner of the relationship...
10. "You said we needed to back off, so that's what I was doing."

And the winner goes to... One-Liner #7!
Current Status: Communication lines have been cut.

So #2 and I? ... well it was fun sometimes and confusing more times. 2010 will bring better options.

...and no more firefighters.

the ring.

I never use to look for it. I could hardly remember what hand it goes on. I was quite oblivious. But things are changing. I am quickly realizing that looking for the ring is crucial - and spotting it can be a real bummer.

Case in point...
A really cute guy had caught my eye in the computer lab at my school. Everyday that I had class, I would see him, and we often would catch eachother in eye contact. I thought to myself, I need to strike up a conversation with this guy. So, I finally work up the nerve to say something ... I see him in the computer lab ... I sat within chatting distance ... I glance over and remember to check the left hand ... and sure enough a wedding band. Case closed. This guy is off the market. Bummer.

So I'm learning. Check the left hand. Not only is it an availability indicator, but awkward conversation preventer for sure. It's a must.

it has reached a new level.

My students - my 11-12 year old students - have decided that Mr. Parker and I would make a great couple. Yeah, that's right, my students are trying to match me up. The same students who call me "Mrs." believe that he and I would be cute together. When the second student in one day informed me that we would make a good couple, a different student overhead only to chime in with, "Yeah, thats what everyone is talking about!" Well shoot, doesn't that make me feel so special.

I thought it was pretty funny to be set up with a personal trainer, let alone a guy named Buck... But that was nothing compared to my students stepping in for the next set-up.

break time.

I'm taking a break. No more set-ups, match-ups, blind dates, or awkward first meetings. Sure you tell me, "you never know, the next one could be the right guy..."

but if he's the right guy, then he'll show back up when the break is over. For now, I'm on a definite recess.

a trainer?

Co-worker sets up Anne - Take 4.

#1 = Gym Teacher
#2 = Fire Fighter
#3 = Health/Gym Teacher
#4 = Personal Trainer

Now, this is getting funny...

another one down...

The streak continues ... these boys are flying out almost as fast as they roll in. A few weeks going strong and then BAM! They sketch out. It is what it is, but this time I decided to call him on it.

So it went something like this ... he's calling me on the phone, we're texting throughout the days, we're making plans to hang out. It's safe to say that 75% of all actions were initiated by him. It's something that I'm always really particular about - just so that I know who is chasing who. With that being said, it was easy to notice the "drop-off". He's not calling, barely texting, and essentially avoiding plans to hang out. I'm a smart girl, I can take a hint.

I quickly tired of wondering, thinking, over-analyzing, and making excuses for him. I refuse to be "that girl". I want him to man-up and grow some. I message him:

"Hey u gotta be real with me here.. be straight up about things.. you know what I mean? No hurt feelings if u don't want to be in touch but be straight w me."

It takes awhile for him to reply. I'm sure he was a bit caught off guard. Finally he says, "Its not that I dnt wanna be in touch w u. I just dnt want anything serious at all."

Serious?! Of all things that I am, I definitely am not serious in relationships. Let's get real here people ... I've never even been in a serious relationship, I've never be in-love, I've never even introduced a boyfriend to my family! With Buck, I definitely should have been the one saying, I don't do serious.

So there it is. Another one down, another one bites the dust.

buck is cool.

Who would have thought? Not me. He definitely exceeded all expectations. He even met my brother ... and it went well.

Get this: We talk on the phone. Kinda crazy.

his name is buck.

I'm being set-up with a guy named Buck. This ought to be interesting.

it's my brother's fault.

The conversation between brother and Guy on my brother's way out of the bar Saturday night goes something like this...

Brother: "you guys have fun tonight... I hope it goes well with my sister."
Guy: "yeah me too but I just can't get a read on her."
Brother: "She's a tough shell to crack, but keep trying ... eventually she will."

Gee thanks brother. After all these years of being beyond protective, and you back off now? Go figure.

So it's his fault that Guy wants to stop by for dinner on his way through town tomorrow. Guy's just trying to crack me.... upon recommendation by my big, bossy, bad-ass brother. Thanks for that.

"oh. o.k"

My friend calls and asks ..."How's it going so far? On a scale of 1 to 10..." A fun night? 8. Level of interest? 2. Hey, I'm just being honest.

It's not there. I gave it a minute, a weekend, a chance. It's just not going to happen. It was awkward because I knew Guy and I were not even close to being on the same page. At the end of the night he went in for a good night kiss and I gave him the cheek. He goes, "Oh. o.k." I could tell he wanted to high-tail it out of there at that point. Obviously he wasn't expecting the cheek.

It all started wrong. He showed up at my doorstep with flowers. I had been very clear about how I don't want flowers and do not like to receive them - on at least 2 previous occasions. Did I seem like I was kidding? Well, I wasn't even remotely kidding.

Later he wants a drink at the hockey game. I do not want one. We talk about wine and he says he can find me some. I do not want wine. I say this. He goes for his beer and returns with a cup of wine for me as well. Did I seem like I was kidding? Not kidding this time either.

The good thing is that I now have witnesses. My friend and her boy saw the night unfold. They saw that he is a really great guy. Most importantly though, they also fully agree that he is not the right guy for me. I'm not jumping ship too early, but it's definitely time to grab a raft and start paddling away.

Though the flowers are surviving in a makeshift vase, also known as a water bottle, I never did finish the wine.

you can't stay here.

Guy is driving down for a visit today. Yep, you got it, today. In matter of fact, he is probably in transit at this moment. He wants to hang out. Sigh.

Sure I could have said no, but I couldn't be that blunt. I claimed plans for both Friday night and Saturday night. He countered, "I can just shoot down for the afternoon on Saturday." Not much I can say to that except, "you can't stay here." He was ready for me to say that. He had forewarned his brother that he may need a place to crash. This guy isn't joking.

On my turf means I make the plans? Not that easy. A Saturday afternoon in January. Even more difficult. So I cancelled my Saturday evening plans and now we're heading to the hockey game... with a friend and her boy. She's on my side though, and she knows my feelings about the whole situation. She is totally helping me out. Thank you God for girl friends.

So there you have it. Guy is coming to town for a date.

This would be a great moment for blind-date guy to sweep in for the save. If only...

uh-oh.

Uh-oh is right. I don't think I pulled off my plans. In matter of fact, I think everything that I thought before was either wrong or has changed... and I'm pretty sure I don't know what I think anymore. Does that make sense? Too much thinking.

First things first: Blind-date guy is officially out of the picture. We passed the allotted time frame for contacting each other, and now we shall never speak again!! Haha. Truth be told, there really wasn't anything that went wrong, but apparently it wasn't right. I wish I had more for you on this one .... but that's all folks!

Going into the wedding week, Lil G (of which he is not quite as little as I originally claimed, so I will drop the "lil" part and call him G, or Guy, so as to continue keepin' it real...) was causing me some worry. I planned to clearly transmit the message that I'm just not that interested, I'm difficult, I'm very busy, I don't date, I'm not good at dating, it won't work out, and all other messages along this spectrum. Well, I did that. I was clear, blunt, straight-up, and honest. I'm a girl of my word. And this always works for me...

Guy took everything I said and did over the past five days ... and likes me more. While I'm telling him all of these things that are intended to discourage interest and scare him off, he is asking if he can still try.

Still try? uh-oh.
"Sure, you can still try. You can't say I didn't warn you about me, and you can't think I'm a jerk when you realize that everything I told you has come true."

"I think that's why I like you."

Uh-oh. What have I done? Clearly, not what I set out to do.

I thought you should know this.

Sidenote: This posting has nothing to do with "blind-date guy".

There is this "little guy" that I met at a bachelorette weekend in Cleveland. His cousin is marrying my friend. He has a great personality, is quick and witty, and seems like a good guy. He also is shorter than me, has less muscle than me, and weighs less than me ... hence the "little guy" title (a.k.a Lil G). Great guy - just little.

Lil G's family wants us to "get together". He said my name came up at Christmas in terms of whether or not he and I have been in touch since the Cleveland weekend. Well, to be honest, we have. That's why they decided we'd be great together and that we need to be seated next to each other at the wedding reception. He said, "I thought you should know this."

He was going for a reaction ... but I didn't bite. I pulled a card from my middle school tactics deck and replied, "Oh geez, I hope you don't smell bad, because then I'll have to change seats. But thank you for the warning." Was that what Lil G was looking for me to say? Suuuuuure he was.

This is the week of the wedding and the grand reunion of Lil G and I. I'm already prepared to be super-evasive and ungettable, yet the same cool girl that captured his eye in Cleveland. I intend for Lil G to leave the wedding thinking... "she's just not that into me."

I just think he should know this.
I'm just keepin it real...

Maybe he's just not that into ME?!

I hope the kitchen is sanded and the tile floor looks nice. Actually, it better be damn good. There are two possible scenarios. He could be thinking...

#1 - "I better get my ass in gear and get the house looking presentable so I can invite the new girl over to visit."

#2 - "I'd do anything - including replace the toilets, paint the walls, re-tile the floors, or sand the kitchen - so long as I don't have to go out with that girl again."

I'm starting to wonder....

Round Two & Three

"So, I heard you're not very competitive.." were the first words his friend said to me when we met at the bar. Am I really that obvious? I thought I was good at channeling it, but apparently the rules that I created during our midnight bowling marathon gave it away. "Um, well I'm not that competitive ... I just like to win." Nice comeback, genius.

We did dinner again and then bowled like champs until 2am. It was quite fun. I took 2 out of 4 games, but who's keeping track? I even drank beer all night. Anyone who knows anything knows that in order for that to happen, it must have either been an especially fun night or I was starving on a deserted island. We'll go with adventure 1.

Did I mention that he picked me up that night in his truck. Love it.

The following night is when we both met a friend of the other for the first time. Besides the fact that his friend was pretty convinced that I was 19, I'd say it went really well. The friend compared me to Julia Stiles, some CSI girl, and Elizabeth Shue. Do guys think those girls are pretty? Let's hope. We left, and he dropped my friend and I off at our car ... and that was that.

I offered him two tickets to the hockey game for last night and I was brutally rebuffed. Apparently getting Christmas ready for his six year old nephew takes precedence over the new girl... hmm, I think I can deal with that.

No future plans have been made, but I have reluctant hope.

When it rains, does it always pour?

"Pouring" could be a little dramatic but as far as my life goes, this is about as close to terrential rain as I have been apart of for some time now. I generally avoid relationships like the plague... and all of the diappointments that come along with them. If it hurts, why touch it? If it didn't work last time, why try the same thing again? Sure I take it to a whole new level, but at least I'm honest about it ...

I went on a for-real blind date this past weekend.... straight up "look for me wearing my pink scarf" style of blind dating. He knew a little more about me than him, thanks to google and my google-friendly name. (He admitted to searching.) .... geez, and I try to lead a private life!

My hopes for my blind date to be attractive were met with success (sigh of relief). First impressions: cute, tall, athletic, super chill, kinda reserved ... and nervous?!?

What does it mean that he barely touched his club sandwich dinner? ... as I was scarfing down my chicken tortilla wrap ... only to notice him not eating. Of course then I had to stop as to not look like a piggy. Was he really that nervous?

No future plans were made, only lightly discussed ... but a post-date text arrived saying he had a good time and he "hoped he did okay." I thought that was adorable. Two days later, and still no word from blind-date guy. What's a girl to think about all this?

Maybe it's a little more like a afternoon sprinkle....