What's wrong with the men around here?

Seriously. Where are the good ones I'm assured are out there?

Since we last updated...

There was a second date with NG2.0. We went out for dinner Saturday night, then watched a movie at his house. Had a pretty good time, thought "if we're ever going to figure out if there's something here we need more than one date a month." Suggested bringing dessert to his house Monday night after our mutual rehearsals. He thought that sounded nice. Then my rehearsal was canceled, so I told him to just call me when he was on his way home. Which he did. I said I'd stop for some ice cream and be right there. (We live about five minutes apart.) When I got there, I stood outside knocking and ringing the bell for a couple of minutes, called him on his cell--busy, called him on his landline, he answered, said he was in his office and didn't hear me knocking, "be right there." About five minutes later, he finally opened the door, talking on his cell phone. Gestured me inside, never stopped talking. I put the dessert makings on the counter, he grabbed a couple of bowls, mouthed "are those big enough?" and when I nodded, wandered off to his den and sprawled on the couch. Talking on his cell the whole time. Did NOT gesture for me to join him, or act particularly glad to see me, so I just stayed in the kitchen. Finally, after more than 15 minutes (yes, I was watching my watch, and yes, I was about to walk out the door), I heard him hang up. Then: "Hello? HELLO?" I thought he was making another phone call, so it took me a moment to respond with "are you talking to ME?" I went into the den, and he was all "what were you doing in there?" "Waiting for you to finish your chat, what else?" "I thought you were fixing the ice cream." GAH. I fixed the ice cream, we ate it, and then within about 10 minutes he was nodding off on the couch. I couldn't blame him for that; it was getting late, so I gently prodded him awake and told him I was going home. He apologized for falling asleep, and I just wanted to scream--"that's not what you should be apologizing for, you jerk!"

But I didn't. I nicely said good-night, then sent him an email the next morning, explaining that I had found his behavior a bit rude, and just wanted to say that so I didn't keep it in and get all resentful. So far...no response. At all.

Am I out of line here? When a guy's been telling you for a month that he can't get you out of his head, shouldn't the least expectation be that when you show up at his house bearing ice cream and cake, he puts down the goddamn cell phone?

Argh.

What else? I hadn't had any interaction at all recently with Bachelor #3, who is a Facebook friend, so just for the heck of it, I put a succinct "howdy" on his wall, and he responded right away with "howdy back-I owe you a phone call!" Damn straight you do. So frustrating--he made it a point to tell me (more than once) what a great time he had with me...then I don't hear from him. It makes me want to scream: "What, such a great time that you can't possibly risk doing it again? Afraid you'll die from too much enjoyment?"

Argh.

I went ahead and gave my phone number to a Bachelor #5, who sounds very funny and cool...but who lives about an hour away. Figures, right?

Sing it with me if you know the words...argh.

Updated to add: wouldn't you know it...while I was typing this post, NG2.0 was sending me an email. Says he genuinely thought I was in the kitchen preparing the dessert, and that's why he continued his conversation. Okay, I'll buy that. He also says that he doesn't feel we're really a good fit as a couple, though he thinks we could be good friends. Actually...I'll buy that, too. Moving on!

No news is no news.

No further word from the preferred bachelor, #3. Damn him.

I get little emails all the time from "New Guy 2.0." We haven't managed to find a time to go out again, but I figure I should give him a chance. He at least cares enough to forward jokes, and tell me he's thinking about me. And, truthfully, if our next date doesn't come immediately after a weekend reunion with an old friend with whom I truly do "click," maybe it won't pale so in comparison. (I may have left that part out. I had a great time with a guy I hadn't seen in 15 years, and then met NG2.0 the very next night. It may have colored my judgment.)

I'm told I should have shared more of the details of the date with Bachelor #2, the possibly Asperger's guy, so here are a couple.

Imagine his responses in something of a monotone, with not much blinking.

We're talking about pets. Me: "Do you have any pets?" Him: "I have stuffed animals."

He was a little late for for our date. (He lives in a adjacent suburb.) Him: "I'm not sure why I was late--I allotted 42 minutes."

See what I mean?

I got a message yesterday from a guy on one of the dating sites, insisting that he found my profile "fascinating" and simply must get to know me. I replied with a form of my now-usual go-to question: do you think Sarah Palin would be an excellent choice for leader of the free world? (Apologizing for my abruptness, but explaining I don't like to waste time with someone I feel certain won't truly "get" me. Life's too short, right?) Not only did he not answer, but both his original email and my response have completely disappeared from my inbox. It's like he never existed. Maybe I made him up. Heh.

Then there was this guy from yet another site who popped up in my daily "quiver." You are presented with three guys, asked to rate them, and if you rate them highly, they'll notify the guy. The guy seemed really interesting. He was in his late 30s, so...a little younger than me, but pretty much the same age as Hot Med, and I gave him a good rating.

Today he was still in my "quiver," and I noticed his "about me" paragraph has changed a bit. He added a bit to "clarify" that, though he is in his late 30s, he looks much younger, and really isn't looking for anyone older than mid 20s - mid 30s. Harsh! I didn't even send him a message--just clicked the "4 stars" button. Calm down, dude. The cougars aren't coming for you.

I will not call Hot Med because I'm bored...I will not call Hot Med because I'm bored...I will not call Hot Med because I'm bored...

Meh.

As in, Friday night's date was meh.

Oh, he was perfectly pleasant. No real awkwardness, but no real "click," either, I didn't think, on either of our parts. Probably for the best. His work schedule is an absolute killer, and he can't turn down any overtime because he's paying his ex-wife some absolutely insane alimony/child support. (Seriously, dude needs a better lawyer, 'cause...yowza.) He did do one thing that bothered me--as we were leaving he made a lame "joke" along the lines of "and YOU can pay next time." Okay, here's the thing, dude. The check came while I was in the bathroom, and you sent your credit card off with the waitress before I even came back to the table. If you wanted to go dutch, you should not have been so quick on the trigger. I shot back with "I have absolutely no problem with paying, for the record." Maybe he really was just joking, 'cause we'd had the prior discussion about alimony, etc., but...no fair. You didn't even give me a chance to split the bill, so you can't give me shit about it afterward.

So, I think we can cross #4 off the list, along with #2. I'm still really wishing #3 would wise up and realize I'm perfect for him and schedule a second date already, but so far...no such luck. I do hear from New Guy 2.0 (I call him that because they share a first name, a profession, an ethnicity, a tendency to talk about my pretty eyes--heh) from time to time, but so far his crazy schedule has precluded another face-to-face. I'm not sure if I see anything serious happening there, but I would be happy to give it another shot before I write him off.

I am very happy so far with my new car, so that's something, right? And the weather here is absolutely gorgeous.

Now, if I could only figure out why there's a slightly "off" odor coming out of my house's central air vents, life would be all good, eh?

And the dates keep coming.

A Friday night date with Bachelor #4 has now been scheduled.

No additional date with the preferred of last weekend's dates has been scheduled yet, though there has been some brief additional contact. He's busy for the next few days, but insists he "had a great time the other night, just so you know." (Direct quote.) Argh.

Maybe #4 will sweep me off my feet. The chances for that are probably increased, owing to the fact that he works really long hours and lives in a neighboring town several miles away. The guys RIGHT DOWN THE STREET never work out, right? Argh again.

I guess I feel the need to share this info somewhere, and I can't really allude to it on my "Bacefook" page, as Mr. Preferred is a "friend" there. Maybe semi-anonymous blogs do serve a purpose. Heh.

BTW, I told #4 last night that he was not really obligated to laugh at every single thing that comes out of my mouth. He insisted that he found me hilarious. And then mucked that up by saying I reminded him of a co-worker...who annoys the hell out of him, "in a good way." My response: "I don't even know what to make of that." 'Cause I don't. WTF?

Should be an interesting evening.

In other news, I bought a new (used) car. And part of me really wants to go show it to Hot Med, who was always needling me to get a car with better A/C and a working stereo. And then drive away without him in it. I should probably resist that impulse, don't you think? (Assuming he's still in the country. I actually don't know--maybe he freaked out again and headed back to Beirut.)

I'm not dead.

In case you were wondering. Just had the blog-blahs, I guess. That, and not much was happening that I felt compelled to blog about.

So, let's see...when we last saw our heroine she was bemoaning the possibility of a white Christmas. How'd that work out for her?

We got a blizzard on Christmas Eve. No hyperbole here, an honest-to-God blizzard. So, Christmas was effectively canceled for those of us who live alone. No Christmas Eve service, no singing of Christmas carols, no Christmas dinner with family or friends, no opening of gifts...it sucked. Moving on...

New Year's was better. Though the Eve itself wasn't great, as my out-of-town friends were a bit delayed in arriving. So we blew off our evening plans and started in with the fun on New Year's Day instead. All was well.

I actually had a boyfriend on Valentine's Day, for the first time in a long time. It was...not so exciting as one might hope. Moving on...

Let's see...started rehearsals for a play in January. The same play I started rehearsals for the previous January. (Longtime readers may remember that it was postponed, due to the new theater building not being ready.) This time there were a few more bumps in the road (cast member broke her ankle, was replaced, replacement tore her rotator cuff, did the show anyway like the trouper she is, we got another freak snowstorm on the first weekend of Spring and lost a sizable chunk of our audience to fear of driving in snow), but we did the show in March and it was great. Much, much fun. I got to yell and throw things, which was great fun, neither being things I do in real life. (I particularly don't throw books and plants--heaven forbid!)

Auditioned for another play, currently in rehearsals, goes up in May. I only have a small part, but I get a musical number--and that's always good. This is a relatively new theatre company, and it's always good to expand your theatrical horizons, right?

Somewhere in there, Hot Med and I started drifting apart. He was working all nights, I work all days...he did his weird "I'm either depressed or bored or homesick, therefore I will stop returning your calls" thing again, and this time I was not compelled to go track him down, let him make a lame excuse about a broken/lost phone, and get back on with things, so...it's done. He needs to do a little growing up. We made it 11 months, almost to the day, and that's really longer than I would have predicted, so...moving on.

I've been "communicating" with a variety of men from different dating websites, and have actually been on dates with three of them. One I liked okay, but he's super-busy and reminds me a lot of old New Guy, and I haven't really decided whether to continue things or not. I had two dates in one day this past weekend (I know!), and found the first of them a little...odd. Nice enough guy, but not much of a sense of humor, and he took everything I said a bit too literally. Maybe a hint of Asperger's? I don't know. The second one I like a LOT, but I'm not sure he's quite so crazy about me. We had a great time, laughing, talking, finishing each other's sentences, he walked me inside, hugged and kissed me good-night (on the lips, no tongue), we both said enthusiastic "let's do this again" things...then the next time I talked to him, he said similar things, but with some qualifiers. You know..."MAYBE we can do it again, SOME TIME, POSSIBLY." Emphasis mine, but...I can read between the lines. (And, in all honesty, I must admit, I used some of those same phrases when parting with the possibly Asperger's guy. Of course, I didn't mix my signals with a hug or a kiss. Ahem.) So...I would be thrilled if we actually see each other again, but I'm not holding my breath. Then last night I had a fairly lengthy phone conversation with yet another guy, and this one laughed riotously at nearly everything I said. I think he was a little nervous--I mean, I'm funny, but I'm not THAT funny--but all in all, it was a pleasant conversation, and I think I wouldn't mind meeting him for a drink. I think it's important to keep busy, on the social life front, so I'm not tempted to call up the swarthy boy, you know? Heh.

Other than that, life's just been keeping on keeping on. I may be buying a new car soon--by which I merely mean less than 15 years old--because my old car needs some front end work, and I think I might have reached my limit on how much more I want to spend on it. We'll see how that goes.

Now, you're all caught up. Wasn't that worth waiting for?