Yet again, another something I stole from someone else's blog but lots of fun! I read about Soap
Opera Sunday where you tell your horrible dating tales for all to share. So here is my contribution.
It was one summer during college, possibly the one between high school and college, I can't remember for sure. I had met this guy, let's call him Nate, while hanging out with a group of people. We had hung out in group settings a few times before he asked me out on a one-on-one, actual date. He appeared normal in the group settings, and I had no reason to think otherwise, so I agreed.
He invited me to go to a concert with him. It was a band he LOVED, and I thought was ok. Not a band I would have bought tickets for out of my pocket. He also had passes to listen to the band before the show at a local radio station. The radio station thing was in the afternoon with the concert at night. I was already a little concerned it was going to be a long date, but had already agreed.
Nate picked me up in his jeep. It's the summertime and the jeep top is off. We drive 45 minutes on the freeway in the gusting wind to get to the radio station. There was no conversation in the car because it was impossible to hear over the roar of the wind, other cars, and general freeway noise. I'm not a huge fan of wind-whipped, tangled hair.
When we arrived at the radio station, they put us along with the other listeners in a conference rooms with one of the DJs. Nate spent more time talking with the female DJ than me - MUCH more. He was interested in becoming a DJ and was fascinated by her. My attempts to join the conversation fell flat. Any of my questions were answered with one word. Not off to a great start.
After the radio gig, we went to my sister's house who lived in the area. We chatted with her a while. By we, I mean me. This boy barely said a word. To anyone. By this point I was more than ready to end this miserably silent date. I tried to play the "I'm not feeling well" card. He even bought it and we tried to find someone else to take my ticket for the concert with no luck. I ended up feeling bad about ditching him and agreed to go.
We went to a silent dinner. Trying to get this boy to talk was worse than pulling teeth. I don't remember all the details surrounding the dinner, but I know he made me pay for my own. Nice.
Off we head to the concert. By this point, I'm actually grateful for the open jeep. It relieves the pressure and awkwardness of me carrying the conversation. We park at the venue which is next to a lake that reeks of salty, brine shrimp. Gross is an understatement. As we go inside he pulls out earplugs and tells me that he "always wears earplugs at concerts. They are so loud that you can damage your hearing". However, he fails to think his date's hearing is worth saving and doesn't offer or have another pair.
The concert was mediocre at best. One more than one occasion I walked around on my own because he didn't want to leave his post. By the end I stopped telling him I was leaving, I just left, and went outside for a while. When the show finally ended we walked out to the car. We were completely blocked in. The parking "attendants" had literally parked cars in a solid square. No aisles, no spaces, no chance of a quick escape. Not one could move until the people on the outside of the grid left. We sat waiting for everyone else to leave. Once again, in the jeep I have never been more grateful that I didn't have to talk to someone. I think in all, my date said no more than three complete sentences to me.
