Now that I am thinking about last night's encounter in the cold light of day-- or I should say the desert-like light of day, since it is 200 degrees here-- I am processing things better. I'm going to post things in free form, free association. Good and bad and neutral and Devil's advocate. I think it'll help if I can write these things down.
*Dude shows up late. Kind of a wash on this one. There is construction literally everywhere, so I am not going to hold that against him.
*Bar was pompous. (Again, not his fault.) I didn't feel under-dressed by any means but I definitely felt like I didn't belong there. It wasn't upscale so much as "overrun by arrogant hipsters." When I first got in, I needed the ladies loo and it took me five minutes to even be acknowledged by any staff for an answer. Really, a lot of the night was pompous. Intellectual posturing and cool speak and that kind of antisocial, anti-pop culture faux intellectual bullshit that I so despise. Just because music is popular or a show is watched by a lot of people doesn't make it bad. Just because something is indie doesn't make it cool or good.
*If you can watch Thor and say, "Eh, it seemed like just a backstory, not a good story on its own," you may need your man card revoked. Yes, it is an origins story, but what the hell's wrong with that?
*Bad fashion. The outfit reminded me of putting Lester Long from Clay Pigeons and Big Yank clothes from the 70s into a blender. I guess it was supposed to be hip or trendy or metro but I didn't get it. I swear the shoes from this ad are the same ones he had on. When I looked down, I had to stifle my laugh in my throat. And for the record, I did stifle it. I was nothing but well-behaved and genial.
*I'm fairly sure he thinks I am a moron because I am not a beer enthusiast. Sorry, but beer in this state is like pee water. Just give me a Guinness and I am fine with that. I don't have a bucket list of drinking every ale on earth before I die. Flash to Daniel in Bridget Jones talking about Chechnya: "I couldn't give a fuck, Jones."
*Walked through a pompous art show that also reminded me of Daniel's quote. Not to say that I don't like culture or museums. I could've spent a week in the Met when we went to NYC. But anyone can set a shingle out that says "art gallery" and post finger paintings from their kids. I could have some of the horses out here walk through paint and set it on a canvas and say, "This is the most avant garde, primal art you will ever see." Doesn't make it so. Obviously, the art on display was no reflection of the date. Not like he had any control over it. I think the reason why I worried about it was a sense of, "OK, this is the kind of thing he really enjoys but it's not something I enjoy." In the beginning, so much time is spent trying to figure out if there is compatibility. I have waffled back and forth in my thinking. If he was putting on some kind of intellectual act in an attempt to impress me, that's one thing. But if that's how he actually is in real life, I don't see it working.
*Sense of humor was a little lackluster. I love to laugh and if someone can make me laugh, I can overlook a lot of other things, especially in a friendship context. But if we're out on a date and I feel like the humor is as dry as the Sahara and as droll as Buzz Killington . . . yikes. I once had a British friend who reminded me a lot of Buzz Killington and whenever he would tell me a joke, it was always like the way the critics on Fry & Laurie behaved: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKToDQmObSg. Hugh Laurie's laugh at 0:33 is EXACTLY what being friends with him was like!
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| I felt like Peter in this photo several times! |
