Lucky #24ish? The first date.

I've been trying to tally the number of first dates that I've been on.. I keep thinking of more as I make the tally..oops =)  I think that I'm somewhere in the mid-twenties.  Seeing that I've been dating (after college) for nearly 6 years now, that actually doesn't seem like that many.. And I feel like I've been on many more than that so strangely the # feels smaller than expected.

Tonight I'm going on yet another one.  I'm a little excited because last night I googled "average # of first dates before marriage" & other similar things & it seems like someone somewhere (no sources that I can find), have said this # is 24.  I found this factoid on multiple sites.  This could be my 24th first date!  It could be all over after tonight!!  Or that date could have already happened if I've forgotten a first date along the way.  Some of the first dates I can't for sure remember their names (I've now recalled them all except 1 & I think I might know his name.. otherwise they were labelled by where we met or something distinctive about them until the  name came to me).

Does that number seem high to anyone else though?  Don't you think that most people you know have gone on far less first dates?  Maybe people in LA & NYC with their hundreds of first dates inflate the #.  I think that I've gone on a lot more first dates than most other people that I know.  There was a large amount of discussion around this fact about what constitutes a first date.  I'm counting a legit first date where we talked & either food was consumed, a beverage was drank or an activity (not just making out) took place.  Maybe one where I already had their phone # would be a good rule of thumb in the classification?

Honestly, I think that about 80% or higher or my first dates led to further dates or at least more communication & an attempt at making a 2nd date.  Only 2 of them have ever felt like a complete waste of my time/that I would have rather been watching bad tv, sleeping, or doing something else.  One of them was just so boring & he was really weird (bad weird not good weird like I enjoy) but also quiet & we had nothing to talk about..like nothing.  And we all know I could talk to a wall, if I wanted to be chatty with it.  We were having a nice dinner at one of my favorite restaurants which made it worse because it was slow.  And the good food could not even redeem the date because I would have rather dined their alone & enjoyed the food without the awkward company.  This is also one of the people whom I still cannot remember his name.   

     I only agreed to go on a date with him because he approached me & a gorgeous friend out 

     at a bar (I have many extremely gorgeous friends so insert any name here..).  But 

     anyway, we were totally intimidating because she's tall, blonde & pretty & I'm tall & we 

     were probably younger than the typical demographic there, so we stood out.  He 

     introduced himself & was so nervous his hand was super SWEATY.  I felt so bad for him 

     & basically gave him my number as a reward for being sweet & having the nerve to talk

     to us & ask me out (of course I got the attention when he found out I was the single one.. 

     I will never be sad for being the consolation prize when my prettier friend is taken, btw, 

     it's whatever).  As overconfident as it sounds, I believe in positive reinforcement & did not

     want to squelch this action from happening in the future.  If he had the nerve to make 

     something happen, Good for Him!!  He was probably shorter than me too or he is in my 

     mind & obviously isn't all that confident but had the nerve to approach us in this case & I 

     didn't want to ruin him.  

The funny thing is.. he never texted me after the awkward boring date either.  Guess he wasn't actually rewarded by getting my number or my presence either, hah, the irony of it all.

The other bad first date was set-up to be awkward & bad from the get-go.  We had texted a lot for at least a week or two.  He was coming back in town & got separated from his friends that he was out of town with (he opted to take a later flight because he got flight credits or something).  So he asked me to pick him up at the airport (which he lives close to) & then we were supposed to go to dinner.  I picked him up at the airport & he didn't look like I expected, first off.  Not a huge deal but weird moment #1.  And then he had to hop in my car & I took him to his house because he wanted to change.  He then disclosed that his ex gf for like 4 years had been house sitting for him while he was gone.  Awkward moment #2, 5 minutes in..  And he talked too much about her for my comfort on a first date.  Then I got to sit around his house while he changed.  #3.  Our restaurant choices (in this part of town that I know little/nothing about) were something like O'Charley's, Rubys, & a local bar where he goes all the time.  Of course I said the local bar.  
Turns out, the local bar is more like a huge frat party.  #4, 5, 6, 7, 100.  Even though I think it was a Sunday night, we sat on the patio close to where people were playing corn hole & partying.  He knew all of the people who worked there & some of them even sat down & joined us at our table, on our first date, on their smoke break from work.  His bar friends were actually entertaining though so that wasn't a huge problem though it was weird.  Also, the restrooms were porta-potties.  There were allegedly "normal" bathrooms inside too [I found this out later when I made a snarky comment about the restrooms there].  I'm not against this place in principle, if you had been dating someone & they took you there on a Saturday night or something.  But first date.  No.  At least wait to take me somewhere without proper plumbing until the 2nd date.  After we had a drink at the frat party place, he said they don't really have good food.  Nice.  But I was glad to leave.  Of course we didn't leave before I got hit on by a drunk old man while my date was paying our tab.  We got wings to-go at a place he said was too shady to eat at.. though I told him I thought it was nicer than the place we had been & at least had real restrooms (this was probably not nice but oh well.. that's when he said the other place did have restrooms inside too).  The wings were good.  We ate them at his place & I went home.  He texted me a week later.  I didn't respond or just told him I wasn't interested.  Yikes.  So that wasn't as horrifying going through it & writing it out but let me tell you.. it was uncomfortable & not a fun Sunday night.  If football was going on, that might have made it worse to miss a game, can't remember what time of year it was.. I think is was hot/was summer though.  Yeah, I had on short shorts & was also mad that I had taken the time to look cute & wash/dry my hair.  Well, I'd rather have been watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition & crying my eyes out (I don't know what other tv airs on Sunday nights). 

Okay, here's hoping tonight goes well.  24 is such a good number too.  Hopefully that actually IS in fact the # of dates of been on .. I'm feeling lucky.