Jedi Mind Trick

Have you ever been in the middle of something, and then found yourself wondering how you got there? This was me yesterday in the middle of my date.

Remember when I said I gave my number to the guy at the sunglasses store? Well, we went out on our first date last night. The entire time, I was wondering how in the dickens dude got my number. Let's review, shall we?

Ok, so I'm in the sunglasses store, minding my own business, trying to find some polarized lenses that won't cost me an arm, leg, and pinky toe. The sales associate is chatting to me, and helping me choose. I suspect he's bored because I'm the only person in the store. But that's fine, because I have some sort of brain malfunction that prevents me from knowing which ones look good on me and which ones make me look like I'm kin to a praying mantis. For the most part, we're just having banal chatter, totally easy-going. So, he rings me up, blah blah blah, I turn to leave. On the way out, he says "hey! You forgot to give me your number!" So I backtrack, and write it down. He says "P.S. This is for my personal use..." (A rather obvious statement, but whatever).

On my way to the train, I'm wondering how it is he got my number. Like, I'm completely confused. During our banal chatter, I just barely caught his name*, noticed he was short, Asian, and 26. And he thought I looked really young. I don't have any recall of being attracted to him. I mean, he was nice and charming, but not necessarily a guy I wanted to go out with.

And yet, here it was Saturday night, and I was going out to dinner with him. For inquiring minds, I wore a knee length turquoise dress (with the extra long straps to wrap in many alluring ways), and kitten heels. When I saw him, he had a great smile, was casually dressed in a plaid button down with the sleeves rolled, and jeans. And...he was shorter than me in kitten heels. Say what?!**

The thing is, it was a nice date. I got a strong impression that he thought I was out of his league (I have no idea why he'd think that) and that made me a bit uncomfortable. Other than that, conversation was good (admittedly, I got a little chatty after the first margarita); we laughed, we cried, we covered a range of topics. It was nice. I didn't even feel old -- and managed to keep all references to him being young to a minimum. Oh! And I got to ride in a Scion for the very first time!! Neat!

But...I'm not sure there was any chemistry there. I didn't think there was any there when we first met. So how the heck did he get my number? How did I end up on a date with him? And how am I going to end up on a second date?!?! (Because we all know that I am going to say yes when he asks again. LOL). You know what though? Maybe it's time for me to step out of my comfort zone or my pattern. Really, there are only 2 outcomes here. Either I'll be reaffirmed in what I like, or I'll learn something new about myself. :)

*Funny story. I'm not entirely certain I remember his name. I didn't hear him properly when he first said it, and then when I asked him to spell it, he said "like it sounds..." I couldn't tell if he said a "c" or a "t". And I didn't catch the end. I completely forgot that I wasn't certain about his name so I didn't look at it on his ID or credit card when I had the chance. Nuts!!

**If I had a type, he'd be the opposite of it. I'm generally an equal opportunity dater, I've dated black, white, latino, mixed...pretty much every one but Asian. Not that I'm anti-Asian men, it's just that there isn't usually any attraction there. I also heart tall (I think the Ninja is the only guy I've ever dated under 5'11"), and lean -- I <3 muscles. This guy was...well...lean :) -- as a result of being ex-military (more opposite of).