The Picture Alone Makes This Post Worth Reading

ummm......YES PLEASE

I had a wonderful date Friday night with Wednesday-night-guy (now known as WNG, because it's shorter).  We went to dinner, split a bottle of wine, and spent so much time talking and laughing that our waiter had to come back more than four times to get our dessert order! After our three-hour dinner, we didn't want the night to end so we went to a movie theater to see "Thor".  I didn't think I'd enjoy the movie - I'd picked it because it sounded like a good movie for a date - but the movie was AMAZING.  A partially-undressed Chris Hemsworth doesn't hurt either ;)

He held my hand during the movie, he gave me a goodnight kiss, and I'm basically in love with this guy. (Also, totally in lust. What?? I'm honest!)

He's already called to set up a second date.  Meanwhile, the Lawyer (one of the set-ups by a friend) has called to set up a coffee/drinks date to get to know each other for Monday night.  So within the span of 8 days, I will have had three dates with three different guys - D, WNG, and the Lawyer.

I'm trying to go into Monday night's Get to Know You with an open mind -- I've only been out with WNG on one date, and I like this guy too much to have it turn into a Crash-and-Burn situation -- but I'm already trying to figure out how to nicely tell this guy Thanks But No.  Seems like a good idea to see him though, to keep myself grounded.  As I said, I don't want to have a Crash-and-Burn with WNG by getting too involved too soon.  This guy seems genuine and nice, and I don't want to lose him.  Plus, I did tell my friend I'd see and go out with the Lawyer.

It will be fun! I mean sure, I can barely handle one guy at a time and now I'm juggling two (possibly three...we'll get to that story in a bit) but it is a bit of an ego boost to have different guys clamoring for my attentions.  Plus, seeing more than one guy (if only for a little bit, as intended) can be a great way to see if the standout guy is really the standout.

Okay sure, I'm probably just trying to reassure myself that this is actually an okay thing to do.  But it makes sense!

Then, of course, I'm still dealing with D.  D and I met for dinner last Monday night.  In contrast to my three-hour dinner Friday night, the dinner on Monday night lasted a mere 30 minutes.  We had nothing to talk about.  D even looked bored!  He told me he wants to start hanging out more, and go to dinner again, and he's going to give me a call.  I'm so over him, and it's just sort of amusing at this point.  It's like he misses the relationship and what we had (makes sense) but he's confusing that with missing ME (which is not the same).  We'll see how things go with him.  I've tried to be open-minded to the whole being-friends-with-an-ex thing, but I just don't think it's for me.  To paraphrase Samantha from "Sex and the City",  he needs to channel his love for me toward his next relationship.

So it's been a crazy week! And it looks like the next week is going to be just as crazy.  But I'm super excited about life right now, which is great because I was so depressed not that long ago.  Things are going much better at work, which makes me feel much better about my future.  The only thing that saddens me right now is this crazy-busy social life leaves NO TIME to go to the gym!! Ahhh! I'm dying here without my gym time!

Guess I just need to hunker down and really make time for it.  But who wants to make time for the elliptical when I could be out and about with WNG? ;)

Death Becomes Folly

Zombie Folly was unproductive at work the next day

Holy frickity frack.  Follies.  FOLLIES.  I am tired.

Wednesday night was a huge work party.  When I say huge work party, I mean we filled up a bar with the press, various politicos and VIPs, and the GOVERNOR.  I'd intended to stay out until about 9 or so, then head home, get a full night of sleep, and go in to work the next day all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Guess what didn't happen.

In short, I stayed out at the bar until 12:30, caught a train, drove a drunk coworker home, and then crawled into bed at 2:00am.

2. am.

I then woke up at 6am to go to work on time.

WHA--?? *record scratch*

Yesterday, after I got home, I slept for 16 hours.  I feel so out of whack.  My sleep is off, my exercise is off, Trevor is off, everything is off.  All because I barely slept for 4 hours, and didn't even sleep well at that.

I wasn't drinking the whole night, which almost made it worse because I was sober and therefore painfully aware of the time all night, and since I didn't want to walk in the dark and the pouring rain alone to catch a train at about 9, I stuck around at the bar with my drunk coworkers.

This, my follies, may be the smartest thing I've ever done.

Early in the night, I'd noticed a very attractive guy near our table, staring and smiling at me.  As more people joined our party, I lost track of the cute guy.  At one point I made the mistake of telling my supervisor, who was a little tipsy, about him.  She then took it upon herself to find him, talk to him, and bring him to me.  So I watched her walk up to him, who happened to be talking to Coworker (remember her? The Bandleader coworker?) because they know each other outside of the office.  So my supervisor and Coworker conspire to bring this guy over to me.  Coworker introduced us, and next thing I know, I'm spending the next two hours talking to this guy.

He was awesome.  We even played Skee Ball at the bar together (I won, best out of three games).  We really hit it off, and of any of the guys I've met in the last week I felt the most connection with him.  At the end of the night, he got my number.

So, now I can add him to the list of guys, which includes the guy from Friday night, the set-up from Bookclubber, another set-up (with a lawyer) that I was just asked about on Tuesday, D - who suddenly wants to get together for dinner next week, and now this guy.

I'm going to need a spreadsheet to keep these guys straight!!

Men Be Actin' Crazy Up In Here

Monday morning, I saw Mr. Andy Griffith.  I see him often, as I grab my early-morning coffee, but Monday morning was different.  He asked me to have a seat with him for a while.  I sat to chat, but I felt mildly uncomfortable.  This changed up my whole morning.  Usually, I get into work about 20 minutes early, with the office to myself, and eat breakfast and drink coffee.  I get time alone to wake up, destress from the morning commute, and prep for the day.  But instead I was with Mr. Andy Griffith who, as it turns out, is rather talkative in the morning.

And Monday morning, he talked an awful lot - mostly about his son.  Who is a firefighter.  And who just happened to be coming to meet his dad for coffee on Wednesday morning.

Which, naturally, meant I should be sure to show my face at my coffee place on Wednesday morning.

So I did.  I figured it couldn't be a bad idea, right? I wasn't changing my routine for anyone, and why should I consciously pass up the opportunity to meet a single firefighter? This morning I waltzed into the coffee shop for my coffee, a smile on my face, eyes bright -- no small feat after being out all night at a concert.  (I'm an old lady, I just can't do that on a work night anymore!)

I purchased my coffee cup.

I filled my cup with coffee.

I turned to Mr. Andy Griffith. There was no Firefighter.  He asked me to sit with him, and I did, but I was clear that I could only stay for a few minutes.  He told me how much he had missed me when I didn't get my coffee yesterday.  Even before I met Mr. Andy Griffith, I did not visit the shop every day.  I can't afford to buy coffee every day.  But now, if I don't go in every morning, he tells me in an old, creepy way how much he misses me.

We chatted for a bit.  He talked about politics (not an okay topic, when he doesn't know me) and I politely excused myself after a few minutes so I could get to work on time.  He took my hand in both of his to say goodbye - a slightly old-fashioned but not necessarily inappropriate gesture - and held it tightly. Very tightly.  And he wouldn't let go. 

And Folly's stomach got that feeling, you know, the Gut, if you will, that maybe I don't like Mr. Andy Griffith so much anymore.  I wasn't sure how to feel about him the past week, when he started talking to me more and more, but sometimes Folly can be a mean little bitch, and he seemed like such a nice old man.

Well, Folly no longer cares if she's a mean little bitch because The Gut is raring in full force, and Mr. Andy Griffith is giving me the willies.  Follies, if you have some advice on how to excise the talkative Mr. Andy Griffith from my morning coffee run, please let me know.  I don't want to give up my coffee place, but I dread the thought of telling an old man that he's crossed a creepy-line, when he may or may not even know it.  I don't know, Follies, I don't know.  I just know my Gut is really fired up about this guy.


____


In other news, Coworker talked to me today about The Bandleader.  Turns out he's been pining over a girl for over a YEAR now, and they started dating at about the time Coworker introduced us, but she didn't know about the girl until recently.  So.  I was correct in trusting my gut and not contacting him.  He sounds like a repeat of D, and I don't need that!

Matchmaker Matchmaker Make Me a Match

I wanted to draw you, my follies, a wonderful comic of the scene I'm about to portray for you.  I haven't had a comic on here for a while and I think you deserve one.  You really do. 

But you won't be getting one.  Because, well, Folly's a little busy right now.  And this post needs to go up today or it will lose it's appeal.  So enjoy, and I promise future comics of Folly's follies.

There is something to be said for professional matchmakers.  I've already pointed out how open I am to being set up with friends, friends of friends, etc. I'm comfortable with blind dates, I don't mind, but I do have an expectation that people who decide to set me up with guys they know have experience in amateur matchmaking and can make appropriate comments to encourage interest in either party.

I've already covered the slightly-botched matchmaking involved with The Bandleader.  Now let's cover the initial matchmaking attempt that happened last night.

Picture it: A bookclub meeting, 2011 (I'm channeling my inner Sophia Petrillo).  I sat on the comfy couch at my bookclub meeting next to a fellow bookclubber I haven't seen in a while.  As we chatted, The Bookclubber came up and sat next to me on the other side.  The following conversation ensued:

Bookclubber: "Sooooooo Folly, there's this guy at my work who's really cute."

Me: "Uh-huh..."

Bookclubber: "And he's asked me out, but I have a boyfriend, obviously, but he's really cute and I think you guys would get along!"

Me: "...Uh-huh..."

Bookclubber: "So yeah, I work with him--"

Other person: "Ooooo so he's really smart!" (bookclubber is in a science-y field. So -- she's got smarts)

Bookclubber: "Yeah! He's in Sales."

Me: "Okay."

Bookclubber: "He's really into his job."

"He's really into his job." <--what???  Is this good?  Does he have a social life?  Is he just ambitious?  Is he just a workaholic?  In the words of Double-rainbow Guy, "What does it mean?

Then,

Bookclubber: "He's Hispanic."

Me: "...okay."

Bookclubber: "Second generation.  He was born here."

Me: "Okay."

Bookclubber: "He's 26."
Me: "That's a good age for me."

Bookclubber: "Yeah!"

Aaaaaaaaand that was it.  I don't know if she was trying to determine my stance on immigration, or see if I have issues with dating outside my race, but it all just come off as....odd.  I mean listen, I've set my stance before that I am super okay and cool with setups, but I feel like she's overselling him to me.  I'm confused.  I don't get it.  I don't even know what, if anything, is going to happen.

All I know is that I have a chance at a free dinner here (and I never thought I'd be that girl who says that!).  And even if everything goes array, I'll have a great blog post eh? EH?

Eh.