Glutton For Punishment

I went to see the new Scorsese joint today. Great flick. It didn't strike me as a "Scorsese" movie, though. Maybe that's because it's a remake of this Hong Kong flick. And through the use of Chinatown and some Chinese gangsters in one scene, the movie had that kind of "Hong Kong" feel, even though it is set in Boston. Alec Baldwin is best in small doses (think Glengarry Glen Ross), and that's how he was used in this movie. Jack Nicholson wasn't too over the top, and even Mark Wahlberg was good. Although I'm sure the feeling is mutual, if I ever go to Boston it might take me a couple of days to quit laughing when people talk. No offense!

OK, so now I will talk about what you all probably came here to read. Yes, I had a date yesterday. I am dipping my toe back into the treacherous waters of online dating, at least until I get discouraged and bitter again (may not take too long!). My date was with a girl that I have exchanged several emails with, but oddly enough we did not talk on the phone before meeting. I know that usually that happens before you meet someone, but I figured it wouldn't make that big of a difference. I would be pretty unlikely to rule out meeting someone just from talking to them on the phone, although I have been on the other end of that and it's probably different for women. But since she didn't press for it, I figured: what the hell?

I was a bit nervous though because our emails have been pretty short, and I didn't really know too much about this person. Lunch seemed like a good idea, because she lives very close to where I work, and there's always the escape factor if things suck. You're not stuck there all night. I showed up at the appointed time, and she was already there. We recognized each other immediately, so I guess we both look like our pictures. We sat outside on the patio, the weather was beautiful yesterday. Overall, we had a pleasant enough conversation. However, I don't think I was at my best. Sometimes you get witty, funny, goofy JC, and sometimes you get boring JC. I think I was more of the latter. I think it had to do with being tired, nervous, and not knowing a whole lot about this person. Also, I really feed off the energy of other people, so I'm more likely to be goofy or funny if the other person gives me something to work with. I didn't get a lot of material to work with yesterday. And I do take a little while to warm up to people. Maybe that's why I don't get a lot of second dates?

Anyway, after about an hour we both had to go back to work. I asked her if I could call her sometime, and she said yes. I was going to write down her number, but then she said she would just email it to me. That has definite brushoff potential there. But I didn't press because I figured that even if I wrote down her number, if she doesn't want to talk to me she wouldn't answer if I called anyway.

In the post-date rundown in my mind, I did discover that I committed a potentially serious faux-pas. When the check came, she asked if I wanted to split it, and I insisted on paying it. I always feel awkward about what to do at that point, but I figure me paying is probably the safer approach. Anyway, I was figuring out the tip, and I figured it wrong! I hate doing math in my head, I was distracted, I was nervous, and I accidentally left 10% instead of the 20% I would normally leave. And she could pretty much see the amount I wrote down. And one of her prior jobs was waitressing! It shows you how out of it I was that I didn't realize this until 15 minutes later. So she probably thinks I am a tightwad. Damn this feeble brain! Anyway, I haven't received a message from her at this point, so things might not have worked out this time. You all will be the first to know! Except for me of course.