Frozen Memories

I must be a glutton for punishment, because I said yes to a THIRD date with John for last weekend. All he would tell me is that we were going on an adventure with his roommates. Sounds like potential fun could be had… but what kind of adventure? That would be a secret.

I got a call on Friday night asking if we were still on for Saturday. I was fine with that and asked what time he would be coming by… he wasn’t sure. He had to work in the morning and didn’t know when he would get back. He said he would call me in advance though to give me time to get ready. When I asked about apparel for the activity, he responded that jeans and a t-shirt would be fine.

Saturday came and I decided that I would sleep in a little bit. After getting out of the shower and blow-drying my hair I heard my phone go off – a text message. It was 11:45… and he would be there at 12 to pick me up. Uh…. !! I quickly grabbed a t-shirt, put on my jeans and then had to think about footwear. I wanted to be cute, and it was pretty warm that week so I decided on sandals.

I had just finished getting ready when he got to the door. We left and headed to his house to catch-up with his roommates before the adventure would begin. We got there to an uneven number of guys and girls – group hangout, I can do that. Then his roommates start loading a couch into a truck. And then a love-sac into another truck. Still no explanation on what we were doing.

We started driving south on the freeway, and I began to tell a story about a previous date that I went on that we headed this same way and had this awful hiking experience in the canyon [My bad – don’t bring up previous date experiences on dates. Where were my manners?]. Then we started driving into the same canyon… great.

The trucks pulled off to the side of the road where we were told that we would be going off-roading. The guys lifted the couch onto the back of the truck where it would be facing forward like regular seats and then proceeded to tie the couch to the bed-frame. Me and a few of the other girls just looked at each other with a “Are they really expecting us to sit on a couch that is tied to the back of a truck?” face and started to think about all the things that could go wrong in this situation.

But heck, we were there, so we might as well try it. While they were finishing tying the couch to the truck, the other driver took a few of us on the trail while laying on the love-sac. We didn’t get very far before we started getting stuck in the snow and decided to turn back.

When we got back the other truck was ready and a group went off to try the road again, gunning it to make it through the snow. About 15 minutes later we saw one of the guys running back on the road, coming to get us because the truck had slid off the road, hit a few trees and was now stuck. We all climbed into the other truck and headed onto the road to save the stranded group.

Farther up the mountain means more snow – obviously – and I was very glad of my footwear choice from the morning; Not. As everyone else helped to get the truck back on the road, I sat in the other truck being lame with my feet freezing.

On our way back down the hill, the truck I was in decided to get stuck – Great. I began shivering when my feet were starting to be covered by the snow as I climbed out of the truck to help lighten the load. Finally we got the truck unstuck and we headed back downhill, but then the engine stopped working.

So either we were out of gas or something broke. Luckily, we were headed downhill so we just kept rolling. Once we got to the bottom of the hill the guys began examining the car to find out why the truck wouldn’t start again: the air-intake valve had come off. After a few minutes we were on our way back home, covered in mud, shivering from the cold, but laughing about the experiences of the day.

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Date Tip: Knowing what to wear on the date is important, especially when it comes to events that are held outside. I would have had SO much more fun if I had been prepared. Keeping the activity a secret sometimes makes it more fun, just know what is needed… And even if you don’t think about it before picking up your date, I’m sure they will appreciate being able to change before leaving rather than having to be uncomfortable.

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I did have fun on the date, and it sure was an adventure. Something I’m not likely to forget for a while.

Until next time, Robin

Girls' Night Out = Awkwardness

In an effort to avoid a bloggable date, Robin and I went out on a date. Together.

So, we went to go see a play on campus. The theater this play was in was small. The kind where chairs are set up in a U-shape around the center floor. This floor space is where the actors perform. Robin and I were seated in the corner, comfortably placed.

Next to us was a couple who were clearly on a first date. Poor saps. However, this entry is not about them and the visible awkwardness.

It was a few minutes after intermission, and I was innocently scanning the audience across from us. There was a girl, seated next to a boy. She seemed to be fishing around in her mouth with her hand. Then I realized, her hand was twisted in what must have been the most uncomfortable fashion. Actually... no. Impossible. Also, the size was far too large. Wait... no. It couldn't be.

I nudged Robin, nodding towards the couple. She looked at them in confusion. Then realization dawned.

Rachel's Tip for Dating:

Some PDA is not even remotely okay. Like biting/sucking on the hand of your significant other.

How is is that she and I can't even go on a date with each other without getting creeped out?

I'm going to go gnaw on the hand of a boy. Yum.

Class Creepers

Hey, Carl here. This is my first post, so here goes.

So this semester, I enrolled in a New Testament class. For the first couple of classes, I sat in different places around the room trying to meet new people. One day I sat by a girl and introduced myself. "Hey, my name is Carl, what's yours?" "Amanda." "Nice to meet you Amanda." We proceeded to have a most congenial conversation preceding the start of class.

The next class period, I got there before Amanda, so when she came in, she sat down by me and struck up a conversation. Again, it was nice and friendly, but nothing too spectacular or creepy. I bet you all are wondering why this is getting posted on our blog. Don't worry, I'm getting to it.

So, it turns out that Amanda's cousin Brandy is in my apartment complex. I'm pretty good friends with Brandy, so we got talking, and she was like, "So, my cousin Amanda is in your New Testament class...." And I said, "Really? How did you find that out?" "She told me." "How did she know that we know each other?" "She was Facebook stalking you."

At this point, I was pretty confused, because I know I didn't tell Amanda my last name. I was trying to think of how she got it. I asked Brandy if she knew, but she didn't. I came to the conclusion that she must have looked at the class roll and specially remembered my last name so as to look me up on Facebook later.

Uh........

Shall we dance?

I decided to take a dance class. Of the social variety. This class had tests, as classes tend to do, and there was a competition near the end of the semester.

My partner for that competition decided that we needed to practice. I agreed, seeing as we had a competition in a little over a week. Practice makes perfect, right? Or at least, practice makes "we know the steps and won't look like complete fools."

One of the practice rooms was open Friday late in the afternoon. Seeing as this was a time that didn't conflict with any other classes or work, I agreed to this time and location.

Suspicion should have been aroused when I learned my partner hadn't realized the dance competition was exactly seven days after our agreed practice time. He had only intended on practicing for the test that Monday. Practicing for tests was not exactly a habit I embraced. We practiced for the test, then practiced for our competition.

After an hour or so, we agreed that we had practiced a sufficient amount for that time and proceeded to change our shoes, put on our coats, and generally prepare for departure.

"So, have you had dinner yet?"

I paused, all of the sudden aware of the situation. Thankfully, I'd made plans to go out to eat with a coworker, so I supplied that as my answer.

"Oh," he was disappointed. Why was he disappointed? Don't be disappointed, dear awkward fellow! "I guess I'll have to just find something at my apartment."

Yes, sir, you would. But I just smiled and nodded in agreement. I opened my mouth to bid farewell and disappear, but he cut me off.

"So, you headed home?"

Confirmation.

"Where's that?"

I supplied the general location. Generally, so as not to allow him much knowledge than direction.

"That's about where I'm headed, too. I'll walk you home."

Okay, that's fair. We walked and small talk continued.

When we reached my apartment building, he told me where he lived. Now, remember, he'd told me he lived in the same general vicinity. However, the name he supplied was nearly a mile in the opposite direction.

I felt like I had been lured to dance practice with the intention of it becoming a date, not for preparatory purposes.

Rachel's tip:

If you have intentions on asking a girl out, make your intentions obvious. Don't try to sneak it under the table. You'll get caught. That would be worse than being honest from the beginning.

Best wishes, Rachel

Date Number Two

This week John asked me out for Saturday, again via text, to which I said yes [I realized afterward that I should have made him call. He’s not going to learn if I don’t teach him.]. We set a time for him to pick me up, with him calling later in the week to see if a different time would work better for me [Yes, he actually called.].

Saturday finally came and he picked me up from my apartment. Once again, I opened my own car door [Once again, totally fine.], and we headed to the sporting event we were going to watch which was a bit of a distance away. This left time for good conversation – always a good activity on a date. We parked a few blocks away from the arena and began our trek there.

On our walk we ran into a friend of John’s who had an extra ticket and offered to give it to him. He took it, but we still needed another one so we headed to the ticket office. We got to the window where he said, “You can get your ticket” [Why thanks. Guess it’s a good thing I brought my wallet??]. We headed inside for the game, where we sat on the opposing team’s side. Towards the end of the game it got kinda chilly, and I forgot my jacket in the car, so I had to just suffer through it and pretend to be fine.

On our way back to my apartment he asked if I was hungry, which I kinda was, so we stopped at a burger place where I got to pay for my own dinner. Don’t get me wrong, it was fabulous food, but I wasn’t expecting to pay then either.

He took me back to my apartment, where he walked me to the door and left with a hug. Ever since the date ended I’ve been in this weird haze just trying to contemplate what happened – was it a date or not?? Great. I have no idea.

Until next time, Robin

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Date Tip: I completely understand the want to split the cost of a date – they can be expensive! And I totally approve of paying Dutch on a date, it would just be nice to let the girl know beforehand. I mean, the ticket and dinner were both kinda pricy – and not money that I had planned on spending. It just would have been nice to know that I would have been paying for myself before I said yes.