Rock 'n Roll Lifestyle

All of a sudden, I've gone on 13 dates with my Secret Agent Man. It seems I've gotten myself into a boyfriend situation. Since the email I sent my girlfriends to brag about my fun recent three-day weekend was like eleventy billion screens long, how 'bout I just hit the high points?



Date #4: Afternoon movie date, thought he might not be in to me. Brought a can of whipped cream in my purse to the theatre, and we bought a tiny pie nearby to garnish our whip during the movie. He ate a garlicky dinner afterwards, and joked about ruining his chances of making out with me later. Turns out he wasn't joking; I got a peck at the end of the evening.


Date #5: Operation Take Out & Make Out. Is this guy in to me? Time to find out. I headed over to his place for movies & Mama Fu's. I sat in the middle of the couch. Come hither attempts ignored, perhaps he was too busy working up the courage to ask me out on a NYE date? Time to find more cocktail attire!


Date #6: NYE! Some high points I already shared with the internet:

* Since my date had already seen my best cocktail dress, I shopped around and found a new one for 70% off the day before New Year's Eve. I felt like a million bucks.

* The fancy party we attended had not one, but TWO, cover bands and they seemed to mainly focus on beloved songs of the 80's.

* I think we drank all the gin & tonic in Austin. Whoops!

* There was an area at the party for prom style pictures. For some reason, the photographer took like 30 pics of us. My funny date told the photo organizer lady that we just met that night, and if things work out we're planning to use those photos for next year's Christmas card.

* People watching at the party was a definite highlight. You know, if you ever start to think you've had a lot of drinks, it might make you feel better to note that you're not one of the women who walked into the (public) bathroom barefoot and proceeded to make shoes from paper towels.


One of my best NYE ever. And, uhhh, rendered any scheming for make out time unnecessary. Oh yeah!


Date #7: Vino Vino. Neither of us had been there before. Evidently, we decided to show up on Hipsters with Ironic Moustaches Night. They were everywhere! Either that, or S and I are magnets for good people watching.


Date #8: Watching the National Championship Game at Waterloo. Here's where I realize that I am totally okay and fully on board with S ordering a variety of appetizers for sharing. He's done it before (date #1's sushi selection, date #7's apps) but this time I finally realized he pays attention to what I'm thinking about ordering for myself and plans accordingly. Another reason he's awesome.


Date #9: I'm calling this a date even though we ended up not going anywhere. It was a Saturday night, and I had a book club meeting. He had "plans he made a while back." Except he ended up canceling his plans and I headed his direction after my meeting. We hung out at his house, which smelled deliciously of jambalaya. I don't want to say he cooked me dinner, since he knew around what time I'd show up (10pm), but he did ask if I'd eaten.


Date #10: It was a Tuesday. I'd had a crappy day at work, and was ready to go home, lay on my couch, and groan softly. But then he texted me to see if I was free and wanted to meet for dinner! His regular Tuesday night work out was off. He'd had a crappy day, too. One dinner at Mandola's, a bottle of wine, and good conversation later, we were both in much-improved moods. Did I mention there was gelato?


Date #11: Also known as the three-day weekend date bonanza kick-off date. We'd been talking about Sandra Bullock after seeing her on Jay Leno on date #10, and decided to dine at Bess. We arrived to a 30 - 45 minute wait, and settled at the bar to make good use of our time. Lo and behold, a couple of S's friends were seated at the bar. We said hello; the fella started to try and remind me of the last time I met him. Ummm, nope, that must have been the last blonde. We returned to our seats, and new details emerged. Evidently, not all of S's friends knew that a) he was no longer dating the last gal he dated and b) that he was dating someone new. Surprise! But we invited them to join us for dinner, and I joined the lady half of the couple in the ladies room for a quick pow-wow at her request. A fun time for all, despite the initial awkwardness, and I liked them.

Date #12: Sometimes, I wake up in the morning and can't even begin to imagine what the rest of the day will hold. This date included an Alamo Drafthouse movie (Youth in Revolt), a Thrill Show at the Tattoo Convention, a Roller Derby Bout, and take out chinese food at nearly 9pm. I could never have guessed I'd be leading such a rock n' roll life!

My Secret Agent Man has a sister. A sister who did not know of my existence until Date #11. . .as she is also good friends with the surprise double-date couple. Well, I don't know if the lady half of that couple called the sister the next morning, but S certainly did. He wanted to break the news before he got in trouble for not sharing news. Especially since Sister loved the ex, and wanted her to be The One for S. I almost wish he hadn't told me that piece of information. Don't know exactly how their conversation worked out for him, but I do know that she evidently gave the okay for him to ask me on Date #13: Sister's Birthday Party. And apparently once you go on 12 or so dates with a fella (many of which lasted 6 - 15 hours), it's time for a talk. A status report. Which is how I agreed to give up my amateur status and move in to Girlfriend territory.

Date #13: Sister's birthday party was at a secret sushi place, which has weekly Monday night karaoke. The place is tiny, so if you're bringing a party of 12, you want to show up early and camp out. And eat $600 worth of sushi + drinks. This place is so secret that I doubt I could ever find it again on my own. That much fun tucked away in a strip center? Didn't seem possible, but it was.

Sister wasn't exactly super friendly to me upon arrival, but at the end of the evening she did give me a hug. Of course, she was hammered at the end of the evening. Surely she'll come around, right? My relationship with my own brother's wife suggests otherwise, but we'll see how it goes. Perhaps I need a little lesson in my life about this topic. I get it, I get it!

Did I mention that I have a boyfriend?? A year ago (almost exactly) when the X and I decided to divorce, I often couldn't see past the end of the day I was struggling through. These days, I'm excited to see what my future holds. Good stuff indeed, friends.