A year in dates

In honor of the first anniversary of "Grateful Dating," I present my year in dates.

Every guy I've been on a date with in the last twelve months is listed, along with a couple of crushes. Men with whom I only communicated via email/IM/phone are not included. (Two important figures are excluded because I never met them in person: Pie Guy and the Philosopher. It amuses me to no end that these two completely overlapped.) If I missed anyone, let me know in the comments so I can add him.

From the top!

1. Musical Guy. The first entry about a date. If not for this entry, I think I would have completely forgotten this innocuous misfit.


2. Yenta Man. Pele (before she was Pele) gave this fellow his nickname. I probably would have remembered him because we had some chemistry, despite the fact that we hated each other. Can you believe I turned down the chance to have a New Year's Eve date with him?


3. Archie. He was a sweetheart, though on the young side. Not meant to be. Sigh.


4. Mr. Friendly. Horrifying in a non-threatening way. He came to my reading group once and awkwardness abounded.


5. Ethan. A good guy, a decent date, but only a tenuous connection. There was a second date and some phone calls and then it faded out. He popped up one more time much, much later but I never saw him again.


6. Then I met Jake, who became my first (and only) internet boyfriend. What was I thinking? The Jake story:
   
   • Watch me worry.
   • At least one good date.
   • Things are good.
   • He makes it hard to sleep.
   • It seemed like everything was fine.
   • Guess I was wrong.
   • Postponing the inevitable.
   • The end.
   
   
7. Mr. Bad Boy. This one is hilarious! Oh, fool that I am, thinking I could meet with someone for casual anything. Not that I don't do that, but it has to be unplanned.


8. Med Student. We met, we flirted, I gave him my number. I never saw him again. (Not really a date.)


9. How could I forget this guy? But I did. He was depressing.


10. This crazy guy. Our humorous date. Good lord, I sure can pick 'em.


11. Modern Orthodox. So boring, there's hardly anything to say.


12. Environmental Lawyer. I had some hopes for this guy, but they were close to dead after our first meeting and completely extinguished after the second date (see below).


13. The dread Dr. G. Shudder-worthy. How could one seemingly normal person be so darn creepy? He popped up again, but I was not interested.


14. Mark. Aww, this one is sad. Look how clever I was on the phone. Our first date went really well. I liked him and he ditched me.


15. Jewish Republican. So bad as to be almost unbelievable. Humiliation as a seduction technique is not recommended.


16. My future husband (aka softball guy). I had a crush on him, but we never had a date. He flirted with me like crazy, but I found out he had a girlfriend when I invited him to a baseball game. He tried to set me up with his friend (nice thought; I declined).


17. A wedding dance. Not a date or a crush, but the man spent the entire night staring at me, talking to me or dancing with me. That's something.


18. Fred. Oh yikes. Don't like remembering this one! He rated several entries, yet was so not worth my time.


19. Jay. I seem to have lost my mind again. The crush to end all crushes. This saga lasted for several months.
    • Mom's take.
    • Thinking too much?
    • I back down.
    • A little crazy.
    • Boys.
    • Boys!
    • Me sad.
    • I don't believe it.
    • Obesses much?
    • Trying to stop.
    • Silly me?
    • Almost done.
    • Not yet.
    • That did it.
    • The end.


20. Damian. My date to a baseball game. We had a good time. The beginning of a friendship.


21. Jim. No, I did not go on a date with an imaginary boyfriend. I went to see a show at Iota with this guy.


22. Nathan. A date mostly memorable for my poor behavior and his not-so-subtle attempt at a "friends-with-benefits" deal (see below).


23. Frank. Sweet guy. Nice date. He never returned the call I made after our first date.


24. Philly Prof. The horror. Drunk IMing--who knew?


25. Scott. An argumentative lawyer? Who would have guessed? At least he had the courtesy to apologize for his faux paux.


26. Tim. I think it's fair to say he was my boyfriend. Another freakin' saga. Most of the story:
    • Our second date.
    • We keep going.
    • This one is funny.
    • I'm confused.
    • High expectations.
    • We've got trouble.
    • Waiting (don't miss the fight I stirred up in the comments--unbelievable).
    • I defend myself to the readers.
    • I tell Tim about the blog.
    • The pause.
    • The breakup.
    • Breakup aftermath.
    • Just when you thought it was over.
    • I assume this is the end, but who knows?
    
    
27. Bob. A good date and a new friend.

It was quite an extraordinary year in dating. Eighteen internet dates and three blog dates. Two boyfriends. One enormous way-out-of-proportion crush and one minor crush. I notice that real life dates are rarer, but they feel more...real. The internet is great at generating dates, but of the 18, there were only three that I found remotely interesting in person. Three out of 18. I'm not sure I like those odds. It's a lot of frogs to kiss for one weirdo boyfriend. Then again, if I get bored, I know what to do.

Let's pop that champagne already!

Grateful for: the internet, the blog and readers.