RunningNheels

Monday, March 17, 2008

The King of Hoboken

So I had my second dinner date last night with …well let’s call him “Doug” because he looks like Kevin James from The King of Queens. No, he’s not fat…actually he was a big College football “All American” running back. I have to say, he is probably the first…no second…real athlete I ever went out with. My past dating life has included actors, republicans, drunks, Greeks and lawyers. What a combination!!!

Anyway, I’m very perplexed and I don’t know what to think. This is the first guy who has actually not made any formal moves on me by the second date. We had a nice dinner at Margherita’s – one of my favorite “Ma and Pa” Italian restaurants in Hoboken. He brought the wine and we sat there for a few hours getting reacquainted since I hadn’t seen him in a month. We talked about typical conversation, i.e. how all his friends are getting married, a little about relationships, strip clubs, gambling, and his 14 year old nephew with the porn problem. Dinner was fun…he not only ate his complete dinner but part of mine, cleaning both our plates. Since we both had work in the morning, we decided to leave. Now Margherita’s is on 8th Street, he lives on 6th Street and I’m on 2nd. So when we walked past his apartment, he immediately stopped, looked at me and said, “well, here’s where I live”. He gave me a quick peck on the lips twice and said, “Have a great week”. I was flabbergasted! That’s it? I was sent off to walk home alone 4 blocks in the dark. The first date, he kissed my cheek, now the second date, he pecked my lips. Oookay! Now, Doug is 32. Maybe I’m just not used to an “older man” who unlike younger men want to get as much action as they can for as little expense as they can. Anyway, my paranoia is setting in and I’m analyzing the situation like this:


1. He wants a “female buddy”? Now this is new for me. I am not normally the “female buddy” type. I’m more of a girly girl who would not normally go to a bar just to sling back a couple of beers and watch a sports game with the guys. I know very little about football. I know that Eli Manning and Tom Brady are hotties and that is the extent of my football knowledge. Men do not want to hear about that. I watch college basketball while on the treadmill at the gym so I can talk a little about that. Baseball….now that I love! I do love baseball games. But if I went to a Mets game with Doug, I’d have to refrain from wearing my “Looking for Mr. Wright” t-shirt!

2. His guy friends are all getting married and he needs to slowly and cautiously dip his big toe into the dating waters.

3. He thinks my head is shaped like a football and that is all the attraction he has for me.

4. He just came off a broken relationship and he is mistrusting of females.

5. He didn’t feel like walking me home because there was a game on ESPN that was about to begin and he just couldn’t bear to miss it (besides he’s allergic to Oreo and this could present a problem) or...

I don’t know! I am perplexed. Doug is a guy’s guy. To be honest, I thought I would be fighting this guy off of me. Like, he’d be going for the touchdown at kickoff or at least…going for the extra points. NOTHING!! Hmmmm. It’s somewhat unusual that “good little girl Tara” is saying to the jock…What are you waiting for???….pass it!!!!

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Mr. Boston

Well, well, well, Mr. Boston is in New York City on business this week and wants to take me to dinner. Too bad he’ll be eating alone. After three or four drunk dials and a text message invitation to dinner, I’ve lost interest in having a candlelight meal and expensive bottle of wine with him. He’s not a bad guy…just another immature male who refuses to grow up and realize he’s not in college anymore. He’s lonely…so am I. But fellas, drunk dialing is not….well, not a very romantic way to get a lady’s attention, ok? Mr. Boston is actually a nice guy…and things might have been different if he lived down the street from me. He just needs some work – female influences. Oh, yeah…he’s a fix me up for sure, but he has the potential to be quite the “flip” (excuse the HGTV expression!). People that meet him cannot understand why he’s single. But then, they say the same about me. In his heart, he wants a girlfriend, but he’s absolutely terrified at the thought of it. Mr. Boston and I do, however, have some things in common. But he’s too far away and truthfully, what’s the point. He wants female companionship when it’s convenient for him. I’m not interested in that kind of scenario. You know, like the sailor who comes to port. Men think it’s safe. Guess what, no deal! He’s admitted to me that he’s extremely insecure, and maybe when he drinks he gets the nerve to call me. I don’t know.

So, rather than accepting the dinner invitation with Mr. Boston, tonight I’ll grab a quick dinner at home and then go to the gym for my workout. Ah, yes! I’m finally starting to like what I see in the mirror! It’s about time I learn to really love and understand who I am before I go to the next step in learning to understand and love someone else.

Monday, March 03, 2008

Nice Leagues!

A female co-worker recently recommended to me that the way to meet a nice single man in New York City is to join a Social Sports League. So, I've decided to have my head bashed in every Wednesday night while playing Co-ed Dodgeball in Soho. This should be interesting. Although I have never considered myself an athletic superstar, girl-jock, I am strong and can probably hold my own on a co-ed team. Imagine this, I approach the center line and heave a ball as hard as I can at some single guy on the other side in hopes that he finds me attractive and wants to buy me a drink later. How romantic! Anyway, this is the new way to get a "date" in New York…so I'll try it. Why not - How bad can it be?….What's a few jammed fingers and a broken nose when it comes to a shot at love.