February 14th

Jason yet again exceeded expectations with his date location choice.  Trident is my number one all time favorite spot in the entire city of Boston.  Delicious food served inside of a bookstore?  Total win.  Jason and I trudged through the thirty inches of snow to meet for brunch and book browsing.  He looked pretty darn cute, too, in a graphic tee over a longed sleeved shirt and snow pants.

Boston skyline after Nemo

We talked about our trips to South America and compared travel destinations.  His were to Ecuador and Bolivia for three months and mine to Rio and the Amazon for a summer.  We had lots of great stories to share and laughed over all the mishaps that undoubtedly occur when abroad.

Upon finishing our breakfast burritos and coffees, we browsed the bookstore for about an hour.  He forgot about one of the books we looked at when I brought it up later, and then explained to me that he has very poor working memory, always forgets things, and has terrible executive functioning skills.  “Yeah right!  You are a doctor at the second best children’s hospital in the country!  Don’t try to tell me you have a bad memory and don’t know how to study!”  I spent another solid ten minutes teasing him about this impossible claim.  He is by far one of the most humble people I have ever met.

When it was time for me to head out (actually to another date but don’t tell Jason…), he offered to walk me the mile and a half home through the slush and snow to my place.  I was happily surprised and also very grateful for the good company.  We talked the whole way, mostly recounting the plots of our favorite novels.  He is just really easy to talk to and fun to listen to.  I feel very comfortable around him and actually love how much he is slow playing (thanks for that new dating term, Ryan).  When we are together, there is minimal touching and flirting.  I feel like I am hanging out with a friend when I’m with him, and it definitely makes me like him more.  It would be cool for once for romance to grow out of friendship instead of friendship growing out of romance.

As we walked down my street (and I was kind of nervous that date #2 for the day would show up at any moment), Jason said he had a great time and wanted to hang out again this week.  I mentioned that I might be around Monday and Tuesday, and he said, “Hmmm, how does Thursday work for you?”  THURSDAY?  THURSDAY.  THIS THURSDAY?  I think we all know what magical date this Thursday is.  No, it’s not February 13^th.  Nor is it February 15^th.

And that was how I landed a date for Valentine’s Day this year.

He Didn’t Need To Know I’d Blog About Him.

It was Thursday night.  All of my wildest dreams had come true and school was canceled due to the epic blizzard/clownfish Nemo. So, what do I do after my 9pm date?  Obviously meet Nina out for a few drinks.  She had just gotten off work and her coworker Allen was at the bar with her when I walked up.  We chatted for a bit and Allen ran to the bathroom before we left.  I quickly grabbed Nina’s arm and whispered, “I mean, Allen is not unattractive.  I wouldn’t say that I don’t like him…”  She smiled knowing what fanfare the night would probably entail.

Tiaras = Free Drinks

We all went to Sissy K’s for some college-style karaoke, dancing, and free drinks from the seven hundred men there.  Drinks were thrown at us, really.  A no-fail way to get free drinks:  Bring a tiara out.  Tell everyone it’s your 24^th birthday.  Bam.  Free drinks.  From everyone.  For you.  And your friends.  All night.  You win.

It was one of those nights.  We sang Ke$ha and Backstreet Boys into the microphones, danced the night away and yelled lyrics with absolutely no idea how to carry a tune.  We convinced one guy that we were all from Germany, and told another that we were siblings.  We may have gotten in a few minor fights on the dance floor when our tiara was stolen.

Allen brought up brewing his own beer, blogging about it, and making money off his blog.  After my first four free drinks, I didn’t hesitate to tell Allen about my own blog, hoping he would help me supplement my teaching income with blog income.  Big mistake.  What am I supposed to do now that a guy I like knows about this blog?  He’s reading this. Like, right now.  Shit.  I actually just had a conversation with my cousin Mori and her friend Hanna about telling guys about the blog.  We decided, OBVIOUSLY, that it was the worst idea.  Ever.  Reason 394 why I should stop drinking.

Anyway, it turned out that Allen liked me too.  He was terrible at pick up lines and had little to no game, but made it back to my place for an awesome evening of making out on my bed.  Best.  Thursday.  Ever.  And for the record… Allen hangs out with parrots, monkeys, and otters for a living (aka works at a zoo), may or may not play Dungeons and Dragons, loves to cook, is 26, knits winter hats, runs a 6 minute mile, and gives a great foot massage.  Solid.  Hopefully we go out again… and he doesn’t hold this post against me.