A bit of a rant

I will preface this blog by stating I am going to rant a little. About dating. Big shocker.

This blog is not intended to be unkind to men, their dating mishaps, or voice my superiority. Please don't read it like that. And please don't pass this blog along to the suspecting men who you might recognize. This is intended to be "our little secret"...

I am simply stating that I am tired of bad luck. I've had dates with 13 different guys in the last 15 months (since "the break up"), and out of those 13 guys I had a second date with just one. And out of those 13 guys I wished I could have had a second date with maybe two.

For those who like statistics, there's a real bogus one to figure out. We'll just call it "bad odds".

My blind date the Friday after Christmas involved a man who was divorced with a kid. An upset stomach that lead him to visiting the restroom almost 8 times that night. And he tried to pay with a coupon that was rejected because the fine print was neglected.

Bummer.

My second blind date, which followed 3 nights after the one mentioned above, involved a guy I found intriguing during the first hour of our date. However, the next 3.5 hours involved me listening intently, but not asked any questions. Not to mention this guy cried. Granted, it truly was a touching story and very sweet...but he cried. On a date. With a stranger.

Bummer.

My third dating "rant" happened last night. It was technically a non-date since I had absolutely NO interest in him romantically (a guy I met briefly at a friend's wedding 5 months ago). But nonetheless, I'll tell the story to illustrate why I feel bummed about my "options" as a single girl.

The story is quite long, so I'll try to fit it just the important stuff. He is in town this week for business and emailed and said: "Kari, are you around the above dates...? I am going to be in Denver working but am free in the evenings and have a car, I am staying in DT Denver and would love to meet up and buy you dinner if you are available...."

We made arrangements and met last night downtown. He was 30 minutes late and sent me a text that said to order a glass of wine on him while I waited. He finally showed up, took forever to order his wine (very knowledgeable on the subject and therefore wanted to take his time and ask lots of questions). Conversation was miserably awkward. Painful actually.

We split a salad. Each ordered an entree. He didn't like the way the pork was prepared and sent it back. He told the waitress to stop pouring his mini-wife carafe into the glass because he wanted "the wine to breathe and have the flavor surface". I'm sure she spit on our food. More painful conversation followed. I am with the most high-maintenance guy ever.

Then talk of the real estate industry began. He is looking to buy in my city and asked about prices. He really liked this $750k house and could afford a $4000 mortgage each month. Why I needed to know that, I'm not sure. More talk of money and million dollar homes followed. Yes, yes, I get it, you make good money!

Then the check comes...

And he looks at me and says, "So, how do you want to do this?" I am shocked. He asked ME out to dinner, he was 30 minutes late, and he spent the last 30 minuets talking about all his financial freedom to indulge in a million dollar house at the age of 28. I was also having a miserable time and would have preferred a night at home with the stomach flu (OK, that's a tad dramatic, but still...)

I said to the guy, "Um, I thought you asked me out." Yes, I put my foot down. I was annoyed.

Guy says, "Well, I did text you and said I would pay for one drink." Lame.

OK, now things are awkward. This is ridiculous. I am horrified at how tacky this is.

He goes on to say that he is concerned that the bill has too much wine on it because he'll have to show a receipt for the night. Might I add, that he wanted to buy a bottle of wine at one point in the evening. So now he asks if I have cash to cover the tip at least. I say I can do the tip, but I don't have cash.

He says, "Well, I was hoping you could throw down $5 or $10 for tip" (mind you, $16 was 20%). I say I just have my card and he says that's OK because he doesn't want to do two cards.

So he pays for the whole thing on his card. I fake a nice gesture and tell him next time it's on me (there will be NO next time), and I graciously thank him for the meal. He shoves the check away from him and says, "Well it wasn't my money anyway." Instead of saying you're welcome.

So he cheaped out on me, talked about his expensive mortgage goals, and yet paid for the bill with his company's card. Not even his own money. His job involves him going to dinner 80% of the week, so I'm sure he's paid for a lot of meals in the last year and this particular restaurant wasn't very expensive.

We bid farewell outside the restaurant. He points to the Capital Grille and says we should eat there next time. Sorry, dude, but I don't have $125 to pay for myself at a fancy steakhouse like that.

It was so tacky. Ridiculous. I was so annoyed when I left. I just couldn't believe it. I am not a girl that assumes I'm being paid for, but when the guy specifically says he'd like to take out, I'm assuming he is paying and won't make the bill uncomfortable.

Bummer.

So there's my rant. Thanks for letting me share.

I just want a date that is smooth without drama. I can't even think about a future husband when I can't seem to find a second date!