Well I just lost almost the entire post I just typed out. So let's do it again! Once again, this is called: "The Best First Date Ever" [cue echoing effects and thunderclaps].
I have been a member of a free dating site called okcupid.com pretty much since it's inception. I have gotten several dates, plenty of conversation and one girlfriend from this site, so no matter what happens I usually come back to it every once and awhile. Well back in September I exchanged a couple of messages with a cute, little, punk girl who I will be calling Hedgehog from now on. By a couple of messages I literally mean two messages. I sent her my greetings (which was a long thought out message), and she sent me one back (also thought out). I replied to that message and then she went incommunicado. I had assumed I must have said something wrong and cursed my foul luck and inability to keep such a wonderful sounding girl interested.
Fast forward to Christmas day. I have a habit of going to okcupid when I am bored and cruising around seeing who is in my area and on my lists. I stumble across Hedgehog's profile and it takes me a little while to remember that this is the girl I somehow messed things up with. I sigh and move on. Low and behold, however, she sends me an instant message starting a conversation. Turns out she wasn't spurning my advances before, she had just been unable to get to a computer due to outside influences. We end up changing over to Aim and chatting for several hours about this, that, and the other. In the end we agree to get together tomorrow and go see a Metal show together.
It turns out that she lives way out in the boonies. I also live way out in the boonies, just in the opposite direction. It's about an hour drive, but was an uneventful one were I simply listened to NPR the entire time. I called her when I thought I was 5-10 minutes away and heard her voice for the first time. She has an adorable voice, it is cute, girly, and a little squeaky, but not in an annoying way. She dislikes her voice for exactly those reasons, but honestly I don't ever want it to change. I did have to drive up and down her street a couple of times to find her house, eliciting some strange looks from a kid who was playing on the sidewalk. I finally find her house since she is waiting outside it as is kinda unmistakable. She is wearing big, black, leather, Harley biker boots, dark pants, a black wife beater (yes that's a misogynistic name but that's what they are called), a green cloth cap (that military style that I don't know the name of), has a misfits sweat band on her upper arm, and a vivid shock of blue hair.
She hops into my tiny little, gold, Toyota Echo, and we exchange hellos. We talk the entire way into town, and since it's still a little early we decide to go to one of her old stomping grounds, the Alabama Ice House. A quick note about the Alabama, it is a great place that I am planning on going to again. It's mostly comprised of patio and picnic tables. It's so laid back that there were 5 dogs that people had brought with them just running around and being friendly. They have a stage where, at least for that night, a live band was playing. And they have a Basketball hoop in the back. The clientele is very diverse, from old country folk, to bikers, to punks, generally an all around cool place.
As soon as we walk into the place she runs into a friend of hers, Miguel. Miguel seems like he might be a cool guy, but I'm not sure for two reasons. One, he is drunk, the most drunk Hedgehog says she has ever seen him. And Two, the guy does not like that I am out on a date with Hedgehog. He takes every opportunity to he can to distance me from Hedgehog, and come on to her. She is treating it more like a joke, that he is just a friend and that is where he will remain, but the dude is staring daggers at me sometimes. At this point I have known Hedgehog for perhaps one hour (minus any internet chatting time) so I don't feel like I can even attempt to lay any claim to her, and even if I could, I'm a fairly un-jealous guy, and if this is how the night is gonna go then I'll just enjoy it for what it is. We have a few beers together, and a couple of people that Miguel knows show up and we talk to them a little. Hedgehog also happens to know the singer for the band, not very well, but she has met him a couple of times, and she pulls me over and we chat with him for a couple of minutes. Eventually Miguel has to take off, and so we head on to the show.
We arrive at Walter's on Washington, where four metal bands are suppose to be playing, we just get there a little early and the bands are still dragging equipment out of their cars and vans. So we head across the street to some trendy bar that neither of us is very impressed by. We talk and joke for the entire time, have a beer and eventually we head back over to Walter's where they have opened there doors. We go in and since we are still early and show isn't starting yet we have another beer. At this point we are starting to get a little more touchy feely with one another and generally I am getting all the good vibes you want from a cute girl you are out on a first date with. It also turns out that she knows the lead singer of one of the bands (again) and we chatted with him for a bit. Finally the first band, Bald-Eagle Burger, starts to play, and both of us like them. Hedgehog puts it rather succinctly by saying they are "like the mad drunken ramblings of a pirate." Turns out the lead singer used to go by the name of blue beard, so this was correct.
After the first set we go up and introduce ourselves to the lead singer and the bassist. We chat with them for a bit and learn a little about the band and it's history. Afterwards we notice the older guy who had been taking the bands picture the entire time and go up to talk with him. His name is Benjamin and it turns out that he is trying to get together a group of people who are interested in learning photography, and Hedgehog happens to be an aspiring photographer, so those two hit it off quite well. He ends up asking us how long we have been together, and I get to say "Oh, a couple of hours, this is actually our first date." He asks if we mind having our first date photographed, and of course we don't. While he is getting his camera and flash out, we are getting into a pose with our heads together. I reached out with the intention of having her look at me instead of the camera, but when she turned to me we kissed instead. Not a deep passionate kiss, but still an unmistakable first kiss. I believe that Benjamin was more interested in taking photo's of Hedgehog, since after every shot he zoomed in on her face to make sure it wasn't blurred. But I don't really blame him since she is the cute, interesting, blue haired girl, and I am some guy he couldn't remember the name of. Before we headed back inside I ended up stealing another kiss from her.
The second band was Burn the Boats, it was the band her friend was heading. They where more of the hard core screaming death metal variety, and once again we both liked the band. We also had our arms wrapped around one another for most of the set. Afterwards we talked with him and his band, there were a lot more people outside, they were all waiting for the last two bands, with good reason.
No Talk was the third band of the night, and they rocked quite hard indeed. Horns were thrown, heads were banged, and a good time was had by all. Also during this set the bassist for Bald-Eagle Burger grabbed Hedgehog and asked her to check and see if his wife was in the bathroom, which she was. After the set we talked to the guitarist for Bald-Eagle Burger and an older guy who was in the band that introduced the Butt-hole surfers to using digital manipulation in their music. We also met ADR who was rocking a killer eighties 'stash and outfit, I think I helped him get with Chloe, the girl he was with, a little better, but I may just be deluding myself. Hedgehog berated the bassist for BEB because after she went in to get his wife he was now standing there without her, turns out he sent her home.
The last band was Golden Axe, a two man instrumental group that Rawked out hard core and started, what Hedgehog called, a mini mosh pit. She jumped in for a bit, but there was so much liquid on the floor and her boots got no traction that she realized she would be on her ass if she stayed in. I am a huge pussy and did not mosh. After the set we talked with a random guy named James and his roommates, one of which wants to make movie about giant gay spiders who take anyone who is displaying heterosexual tendencies and make them work in there sparkle factory.... I believe this could be the single most horrifying movie ever. We also chilled with all the bands and well since someone had parked as to block in all the other damn cars.
When we finally got free we headed over to the House of Pies for some breakfast. I learned of her weakness for gravy, and we ended up sitting next to each other and snuggling a bit while we waited for food. After we ate neither of us was in a hurry for the night to end so we drove back to my place and popped in True Romance. We cuddled a lot, and spent more time just snuggling with one another then watching the movie, we made out a little bit, but not much. Regardless it was still very nice, and she felt warm and comfortable in my arms. After the movie we talked and I gave her a back massage (one of my secret weapons). She said it was the best she ever had. At around 6:30 in the morning we finally got up to take her back home. At this point we were both tired, so there wasn't a whole lot of conversation in the car. I dropped her off, kissed her good night/morning. Then I drove home to crash hard.
I really like this girl a lot. At the same time I'm pretty sure she is going to shred my heart to pieces. It won't be malicious or intentional but I can see it coming. I'm also not sure if I care that it's coming, just being with her for one night has been an amazing and fun experience. I think I'm willing to take the risks for the rewards. And who knows, maybe I can hold on to her, maybe I won't get hurt so bad this time. I'm always willing to try one more time.
I have been a member of a free dating site called okcupid.com pretty much since it's inception. I have gotten several dates, plenty of conversation and one girlfriend from this site, so no matter what happens I usually come back to it every once and awhile. Well back in September I exchanged a couple of messages with a cute, little, punk girl who I will be calling Hedgehog from now on. By a couple of messages I literally mean two messages. I sent her my greetings (which was a long thought out message), and she sent me one back (also thought out). I replied to that message and then she went incommunicado. I had assumed I must have said something wrong and cursed my foul luck and inability to keep such a wonderful sounding girl interested.
Fast forward to Christmas day. I have a habit of going to okcupid when I am bored and cruising around seeing who is in my area and on my lists. I stumble across Hedgehog's profile and it takes me a little while to remember that this is the girl I somehow messed things up with. I sigh and move on. Low and behold, however, she sends me an instant message starting a conversation. Turns out she wasn't spurning my advances before, she had just been unable to get to a computer due to outside influences. We end up changing over to Aim and chatting for several hours about this, that, and the other. In the end we agree to get together tomorrow and go see a Metal show together.
It turns out that she lives way out in the boonies. I also live way out in the boonies, just in the opposite direction. It's about an hour drive, but was an uneventful one were I simply listened to NPR the entire time. I called her when I thought I was 5-10 minutes away and heard her voice for the first time. She has an adorable voice, it is cute, girly, and a little squeaky, but not in an annoying way. She dislikes her voice for exactly those reasons, but honestly I don't ever want it to change. I did have to drive up and down her street a couple of times to find her house, eliciting some strange looks from a kid who was playing on the sidewalk. I finally find her house since she is waiting outside it as is kinda unmistakable. She is wearing big, black, leather, Harley biker boots, dark pants, a black wife beater (yes that's a misogynistic name but that's what they are called), a green cloth cap (that military style that I don't know the name of), has a misfits sweat band on her upper arm, and a vivid shock of blue hair.
She hops into my tiny little, gold, Toyota Echo, and we exchange hellos. We talk the entire way into town, and since it's still a little early we decide to go to one of her old stomping grounds, the Alabama Ice House. A quick note about the Alabama, it is a great place that I am planning on going to again. It's mostly comprised of patio and picnic tables. It's so laid back that there were 5 dogs that people had brought with them just running around and being friendly. They have a stage where, at least for that night, a live band was playing. And they have a Basketball hoop in the back. The clientele is very diverse, from old country folk, to bikers, to punks, generally an all around cool place.
As soon as we walk into the place she runs into a friend of hers, Miguel. Miguel seems like he might be a cool guy, but I'm not sure for two reasons. One, he is drunk, the most drunk Hedgehog says she has ever seen him. And Two, the guy does not like that I am out on a date with Hedgehog. He takes every opportunity to he can to distance me from Hedgehog, and come on to her. She is treating it more like a joke, that he is just a friend and that is where he will remain, but the dude is staring daggers at me sometimes. At this point I have known Hedgehog for perhaps one hour (minus any internet chatting time) so I don't feel like I can even attempt to lay any claim to her, and even if I could, I'm a fairly un-jealous guy, and if this is how the night is gonna go then I'll just enjoy it for what it is. We have a few beers together, and a couple of people that Miguel knows show up and we talk to them a little. Hedgehog also happens to know the singer for the band, not very well, but she has met him a couple of times, and she pulls me over and we chat with him for a couple of minutes. Eventually Miguel has to take off, and so we head on to the show.
We arrive at Walter's on Washington, where four metal bands are suppose to be playing, we just get there a little early and the bands are still dragging equipment out of their cars and vans. So we head across the street to some trendy bar that neither of us is very impressed by. We talk and joke for the entire time, have a beer and eventually we head back over to Walter's where they have opened there doors. We go in and since we are still early and show isn't starting yet we have another beer. At this point we are starting to get a little more touchy feely with one another and generally I am getting all the good vibes you want from a cute girl you are out on a first date with. It also turns out that she knows the lead singer of one of the bands (again) and we chatted with him for a bit. Finally the first band, Bald-Eagle Burger, starts to play, and both of us like them. Hedgehog puts it rather succinctly by saying they are "like the mad drunken ramblings of a pirate." Turns out the lead singer used to go by the name of blue beard, so this was correct.
After the first set we go up and introduce ourselves to the lead singer and the bassist. We chat with them for a bit and learn a little about the band and it's history. Afterwards we notice the older guy who had been taking the bands picture the entire time and go up to talk with him. His name is Benjamin and it turns out that he is trying to get together a group of people who are interested in learning photography, and Hedgehog happens to be an aspiring photographer, so those two hit it off quite well. He ends up asking us how long we have been together, and I get to say "Oh, a couple of hours, this is actually our first date." He asks if we mind having our first date photographed, and of course we don't. While he is getting his camera and flash out, we are getting into a pose with our heads together. I reached out with the intention of having her look at me instead of the camera, but when she turned to me we kissed instead. Not a deep passionate kiss, but still an unmistakable first kiss. I believe that Benjamin was more interested in taking photo's of Hedgehog, since after every shot he zoomed in on her face to make sure it wasn't blurred. But I don't really blame him since she is the cute, interesting, blue haired girl, and I am some guy he couldn't remember the name of. Before we headed back inside I ended up stealing another kiss from her.
The second band was Burn the Boats, it was the band her friend was heading. They where more of the hard core screaming death metal variety, and once again we both liked the band. We also had our arms wrapped around one another for most of the set. Afterwards we talked with him and his band, there were a lot more people outside, they were all waiting for the last two bands, with good reason.
No Talk was the third band of the night, and they rocked quite hard indeed. Horns were thrown, heads were banged, and a good time was had by all. Also during this set the bassist for Bald-Eagle Burger grabbed Hedgehog and asked her to check and see if his wife was in the bathroom, which she was. After the set we talked to the guitarist for Bald-Eagle Burger and an older guy who was in the band that introduced the Butt-hole surfers to using digital manipulation in their music. We also met ADR who was rocking a killer eighties 'stash and outfit, I think I helped him get with Chloe, the girl he was with, a little better, but I may just be deluding myself. Hedgehog berated the bassist for BEB because after she went in to get his wife he was now standing there without her, turns out he sent her home.
The last band was Golden Axe, a two man instrumental group that Rawked out hard core and started, what Hedgehog called, a mini mosh pit. She jumped in for a bit, but there was so much liquid on the floor and her boots got no traction that she realized she would be on her ass if she stayed in. I am a huge pussy and did not mosh. After the set we talked with a random guy named James and his roommates, one of which wants to make movie about giant gay spiders who take anyone who is displaying heterosexual tendencies and make them work in there sparkle factory.... I believe this could be the single most horrifying movie ever. We also chilled with all the bands and well since someone had parked as to block in all the other damn cars.
When we finally got free we headed over to the House of Pies for some breakfast. I learned of her weakness for gravy, and we ended up sitting next to each other and snuggling a bit while we waited for food. After we ate neither of us was in a hurry for the night to end so we drove back to my place and popped in True Romance. We cuddled a lot, and spent more time just snuggling with one another then watching the movie, we made out a little bit, but not much. Regardless it was still very nice, and she felt warm and comfortable in my arms. After the movie we talked and I gave her a back massage (one of my secret weapons). She said it was the best she ever had. At around 6:30 in the morning we finally got up to take her back home. At this point we were both tired, so there wasn't a whole lot of conversation in the car. I dropped her off, kissed her good night/morning. Then I drove home to crash hard.
I really like this girl a lot. At the same time I'm pretty sure she is going to shred my heart to pieces. It won't be malicious or intentional but I can see it coming. I'm also not sure if I care that it's coming, just being with her for one night has been an amazing and fun experience. I think I'm willing to take the risks for the rewards. And who knows, maybe I can hold on to her, maybe I won't get hurt so bad this time. I'm always willing to try one more time.
You ready for the party?