Dating, and Other Horror Stories

(Okay, not really. I just liked the title.)

A friend of mine had a date today. She just got out of a very serious relationship, and so it's been a while since she's had to deal with the whole "dating" thing. The resulting anxiety she's been experiencing has gotten me thinking about my own dating history- in particular my Finest Dating Moment Ever.

Let me regale you!

Once upon a time I worked next door to a really hot guy. And I mean really hot. The general consensus amongst my female coworkers was that he looked like Ryan Gosling, but with buzzed hair and a more reddish beard. Also he was a med student, so hella points there.

Anyway, one of my male friends knew him, and also knew that he was a)recently single and b) had been eyeballing me in return, so he oh-so-kindly introduced the two of us. Later that week I went to visit him at work, and made it a point to strike up a conversation with him- the kind of information-gathering conversation that one has when one is scoping out a potential date.

Now, gentle readers, I cannot remember, word-for-word, my conversation with this gorgeous, highly coveted, soon-to-be-lucratively-employed, displaying-interest-in-me man. What I do remember was that by the end of it I had my Finest Dating Moment Ever. Because when he stopped talking I said this to him.

"Look, I'm interested in you, but the thing is, you seem to have a lot of issues. So when you get your shit in order, you should give me a call and we can maybe get a beer. In the meantime, good luck and see ya' around!"

And I walked out.

My coworkers were flabbergasted. So what if he lived (begrudgingly) with his parents? He was going to be a doctor! So what if he seemed a little overly obsessed with his ex? He was gorgeous! And interested in me! Etc, etc. But the fact of the matter was, I'd gotten to the point where I just didn't have the time or the patience for "projects" anymore.

I ran into him again a month or two later, and he asked how I was doing. By that time I was gearing up to move to Alabama, to be with Nathan, and said as much. "Wow," he said, sounding a little annoyed. "You certainly moved fast. I didn't expect you to be practically married so soon." But the thing is, when you hit the point in your life that you're done settling for less, the universe seems to take care of providing what you need. And what I needed was Nathan.

I tend to cringe when I think back on a lot of my dating history, but that moment makes me so proud of myself. And I can't help but laugh that my Finest Dating Moment was me walking away from one.