Well, that was...disappointing.

What was? Pretty much my whole weekend, actually.

I did actually talk to the Professor Thursday night. We talked for about 20 minutes, I guess, and...it was okay. Not thrilling, not awkward, just...the definition of small talk. His voice surprised me, for some reason--he just didn't sound like I thought he would, and it was a bit reedy, but I decided I could overlook that. (Petty thing, I know, but a certain someone who shall go nameless has a beautiful speaking voice, and...I really like that, singer/actress that I am. Anyway.) He suggested maybe getting together for coffee over the weekend, and said he'd call Friday night to set something up. All well and good.

He called as promised on Friday, and the conversation was a little livelier (plus I already knew how he sounded, so no surprise there), and after some back-and-forth trying to mesh our schedules, I decided to forgo my usual Cat Lady Lunch on Saturday to meet him for coffee instead. I figured if he was going to drive all the way from Hometown, I could meet him halfway with the scheduling. He didn't seem interested in substituting an actual meal for coffee, so...coffee it is. (I don't drink coffee, but what the hell. They have iced tea.)

So...he was right on time. He had coffee. I had tea. We chatted. It was all perfectly pleasant. He's a nice guy. He's very smart. His politics are "correct." (Meaning similar to mine, of course. Hee.) But here's the thing--I can not EVER see myself wanting to get naked with this man. Zero chemistry. Zip, zilch, nada. And, for those of you getting ready even now to chime in with a "give it chance to grow" comment, there were also a couple of non-chemistry-related red flags concerning his ex and his kids, so...no.

I haven't heard from him, either by phone or email, since our meeting, so hopefully he sensed the lack of chemistry, too, (we parted with a handshake, not even a one-armed half hug) and I won't have to do the awkward "let's just be friends" thing, but if it comes to it, I will. Moving on.

Damn it. I missed vanilla bean flan and girl talk for that? Heh.

So, anyway...I went home and geared up for my first "Nensa" monthly dinner meeting. I drove to the restaurant in an ever-worsening thunderstorm, dashed inside, and discovered that something was wrong with my bank's debit card system. (Maybe the lightning fried something, is all I could think.) My card wouldn't work. Thankfully it was a restaurant where you pay when you order at the counter, so I was spared the embarrassment of being declined AFTER I ate, but they didn't take checks, and I didn't have cash, so I went off in search of an ATM. Two stops later (in the still-pouring rain) I had to accept the fact that the entire system was down, and I would not be dining out that night. I didn't want to show up for my first meeting a half hour late, then sit and watch other people eat and drink. "Why am I not eating? Well, my debit card won't work and I don't have any cash. But I do have money in the bank--I promise." Um....no. I'll try again next week.

What a disappointing day.

Sunday was not so much a disappointment as it was just plain sad. My friend Jan's funeral was Sunday afternoon. The cat ladies were there in force, of course, and I had to respond over and over to "we missed you at lunch yesterday" with "yeah, well...there was this guy." We all got a good laugh, and I promised never again to drop plans with them "for some stupid boy." Heh.

Actually, you know...the service, though lovely, WAS a little disappointing. For some reason, though the preacher mentioned her cats (and us scoopers) a number of times, there was not one picture of Jan with a cat in the (now inevitable) powerpoint photo essay. Not one. I can't think she'd be pleased with that--what was her family thinking? She had pictures of her kitties all over her house. Oh, well. I called my mother afterwards and told her if she was ever putting together a powerpoint presentation of MY life in photos, I wanted plenty of pictures of critters. They're more photogenic than I am, anyway. (Ooh, I think I also want a picture of myself in my nun's habit from "Sister Mary" to greet everyone as they come in. That would be hilarious.)

The weekend wasn't all bad, really...I made some excellent enchiladas Friday night, and got a lot of reading done. And the funeral was near one of my favorite Indian restaurants, so I cheered myself up with some takeout curry afterwards.

I did not, however, get my lawn mowed, so I now have that to look forward to tonight. Sigh.

I hope you all had better weekends!