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Tuesday 9 December 2014

My First Date

I very much feel like a Primary School 8 year old writing about her first trip to the zoo or something. But yes, this was technically My First Date.

I obviously spent ages getting ready. This was Tall Australian, of course. He picked me up in his car - a cute banged up old thing he'd gotten for £600 a few months before - and we drove to the beach. I'd like to take this opportunity to say that a weird turn on of mine is a man driving. I don't know whether it's the manly hands on the steering wheel or the control of the car... I don't know. But I go for it.

So we got to the beach and it's rather bloody chilly but the moon's out doing its thing and there's stars and shit (!!!) and the boats are being boats and stuff and we walked along and talked. Then we went back to his car, talked some more as we drove to a pub near the beach and went and got a drink and talked even more.

And it wasn't awkward. It was maybe slightly nervous at times but never awkward. We'd bantered (hate that word with a vengeance) over text and apparently that had surprised him. Obviously in the shop I try to remain as professional (ha) as possible but even in normal everyday life, I'd never seen myself as someone who could banter. It's usually me being sarcastic and constantly raising an eyebrow but maybe that's a thing? Either way, it felt like we had similar personalities which is always a plus.

But here come the points that got me:

1. He's 32.

As Sophie said, I just can't seem to get over that age. Oldest guy I've ever made out with was 32. Thought I'd beaten my record when I made out with a randomer on the street one drunken Saturday night but he was also 32. I get competitive, sometimes I want to beat my personal best.. Anyway, I asked him how old he was (not completely out of the blue, I do have some tact) and he asked me to guess. Which threw me a bit - that's usually my line. So I guessed 30 which seemed a safe bet. Then he asked how old I was. I repeated his question and he said he thought I was 21/22. So yes, I lied and told him I was 20. Hey, only 11 months away. A teeny white lie. And I mean, it's not like we're going to get married or something, it's highly unlikely he'll find out.


2. He smokes.


This came as a surprise. I don't honestly know many smokers and I suppose now, you don't really see them in pubs any more so you don't notice when someone smokes. But although he tried to counter the fact by saying it wasn't like he was a chain smoker or anything - only had about 5 or 6 a day - it still seemed like a lot to me. But then again, I am an innocent non smoker so what do I know. it doesn't really change much but I think I'd have a different opinion if I kissed him. Kissing smokers is most definitely not my favourite thing.

3. He's done so much shit in his life.


So yes, he's South African which is cool in its own right because... Well, it's not the UK. But he lived in Australia for a year and worked on a cattle ranch, he lived in London for 7 years and spent all his time off travelling about to go surfing on the coasts of Italy and Spain and snowboarding in the Alps. He lived on a boat in Bali for a while and has been to Indonesia 3 times.... Basically, to a homebody like me, it sounded like a crazy adventure. I mean, it's not just sitting at home, drinking tea and watching your life tick by, is it? And so I felt myself trying to compete (my bloody competitiveness...) by conjuring up vague stories about when I went to Marrakesh when I was 10 and when I canoed across Scotland when I was 14 and how I used to go on road trips with my dad in his home-made campervan... I felt like I had done fuck all - and do fuck all currently. He asked me about my hobbies and all I could come up with was a vague mumble about having done drama back in Oban. I felt ridiculous. 

4. He reminds me slightly of my dad.


Not in a weird, creepy way. Not in his mannerisms or looks or anything. But I think in his need for travel. And exercise. And sort of his outlook on life. Only a tiny bit. But enough that it was noticeable. I'm not weirded out by this - I think it's quite nice actually because I was recently thinking about how I shouldn't have taken it all for granted - all the road trips we did around Europe. I realise how lucky I was and although I was a stroppy teenager at the time, I should've embraced it a bit more. Unfortunately I may be too stubborn to ever tell my dad this. Don't blame me, I inherited it from him. It also reminded me of my dad constantly telling me whenever I would complain about having to go canoeing or walk up a hill, that one day I was going to get a boyfriend who was into all this stuff and I would willingly do it with him. Obviously this boyfriend will not be Tall Australian but you get the idea. What's weird is that now; it makes sense.


I guess what I'm trying to say is that he made me look at myself in a new way, a different way. I know there's the 13 year age gap so obviously he's had more time than me to do shit. But I feel a bit like I shouldn't be just sitting on my sofa with a glass of wine, typing this up into a corner of the internet that only a few people read. I feel that I should be out experiencing the world and sat in the desert, writing this out on a faded notepad to type it up into a corner of the internet once I got home. But how do I go about this? I'm at university with a part time job. The two pretty much take up my whole life. I also most definitely feel I should be doing more exercise. In a way, he made me feel bad about myself. Not intentionally, of course, but it was like, I couldn't believe I was sitting with this man who had done so much and just lived his life to the fullest whenever he could. 

According to him, what first attracted him was my height. He is 6'4". Again, I'm doing well with the never-being-with-a-guy-shorter-than-me thing. Aren't I a shallow fuck. The next thing was the fact I didn't have an Aberdonian accent. Or look like one the Aberdonian girls who were out looking for a rich oil man to ensnare. He still seems interested - I guess he liked the casualness of the date and that I could (shudder) banter. All I can say is that there was definite prolonged eye contact - in a non creepy way - that, if I wasn't slightly jittery, could certainly be explored further...

To finish this post like a good English lit student:

In conclusion, it was a slightly weird (see points 1-4) date and I returned home rather confused but I feel there is a limited future in this. I can definitely see a Second Date coming close. After that, I'll leave it to the stars.

2 comments:

  1. Exercise?!
    These exercise people...my aunt fanny! If they had their way and the fashion folks had their way all women would have bodies like teenage boys. Sorry...this is a semi recurring rant on my own slab...about what the state of fashion and body issues would be if straight men ran the industry. .

    I'm all for travelin' and have delightfully done my share but I'm not not climbin' no damn rock...that sounds like work to me. Unless there's some money up there...I'll wait for you down here in the shade. :)

    Sounds like you handled you're business though....reward yourself with a Twinkie or some Cadbury chocolates.

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    1. Ah yes, straight men, clearly the root of all troubles...
      Currently eating cake for breakfast whilst trying to cram in some revision for my exam this afternoon so yes, exercise can wait a little bit longer, I think.

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