Ketchup - Weeks 6 and 7!

So I worked somewhere around 14 hours on Valentine's day, and when I left the office at 10 pm, I drove to my good-old dive bar to have a beer before I went home. Well, Stretch wanted to hang out, so he came over and sang Karaoke with me. I was supposed to be packing for a trip that I was leaving for the next day, but we'll get to that in a minute. I had a great time with Stretch - one of my favorite karaoke nights ever! After that we went downtown for a bit, then he took me home. I'm gonna go ahead and count that as a date (Week 6), since we both wanted to hang out and we were in a public place, and there was kissing and such. He's a cool guy, and I like hanging out with him.

The next morning, I drove to where I'm working (about an hour away) to get some work finished up before my trip. One of the ladies who works there decided to tell me all about her son and daughter-in-law running marathons, and how her grandson has been running 5Ks. She's never spoken to me that much before, and of course she would pick the day that I was planning on running in for a couple of hours and getting my work done real quick. So that delayed my trip, plus I still needed to pack.

When I finally got home around 3, I threw my clothes in the washer, and Actor asked if I was home and if he could come hang out. I said sure, but I'm just packing and hitting the road soon. So he came over and wanted to talk and hang out, which was fine, but it really cut into my packing time. It was unusual for him to want to talk to me that much, but whatever, he's hot.

He finally left around 4:30, I had my car all packed up, and I went outside to leave. My neighbor pulled up just as I was leaving and decided to talk to me all about our crazy neighbor and the cops and such. I love talking to my neighbor, she's awesome, but dang I was so late getting on the road! So I finally left my house at about 5:00, drove to the gas station at the end of the street, bought a Polar Pop, and went back home. There was no way I could leave that late for a trip when I had barely slept the two nights before.

BUT... that opened my weekend up for Week 7's date! A boy I met on OKCupid a long time ago randomly decided to text me (honestly I had forgotten about him) and asked me to lunch Saturday. Had a nice lunch (Lebanese) and we talked all about our trips to Europe, his career goals, our college experiences... It was a very nice and easy conversation. And he is really cute and has huge muscles and has lots of pretty, brightly-colored tattoos. So we'll call him "Tattoo" for now. We said goodbye and parted ways after lunch, and I went home for a nap.

Stretch had invited me to a show Saturday night, and some friends of mine also wanted to go out, so after dinner I steered them in the direction of said show. Everybody and their brother was there. Stretch finally showed up, and guess who showed up about 3 minutes later? Actor. Yup. It's like the three of us should just date openly together at this point. So I spent the next couple of hours dividing my time between my friends, Actor, and Stretch. But it was cool because everyone was awesome, the band was awesome, the bar was awesome. Actor finally left and invited me to his house, but I declined. My friends left, and I made some new friends at the bar (possibly a future date? If I were a little more open and curious, maybe...), then I found Stretch. His friends showed up, then we all walked to another bar, and on the way, I fell. I fell hard. And ripped my tights. And there was blood. And it still hurts.

I don't remember much after that, but I know Stretch drove me home, because he's cool like that. Now, I'm not really feeling Actor so much anymore, and I'm kinda starting to lose it for Stretch, too. I think that's mostly because he never seems to invite me to things -- I'm sort of an afterthought. I kinda want to be chased a little bit. Not like I'm trying to play games, but I want to date someone who actually wants to date me, not just meet me out late and drink with me. So we'll see.

Tattoo wants to hang out next week, I'm done with Actor, I'm still open to Stretch, and now Queen (a guy I dated, but I haven't introduced you to) and Shorty (another one you don't know about) and Gateway (yet another one) have all texted me and would like to hang out some time. I think they're all great guys, and I like hanging out with them, but I don't know if I really see potential with any of them. We'll save those for another day, as this Week 6 and 7 post has turned into a novella. I need to get better about posting here!

Oops

I kinda forgot about this week's date. Is this week 6? Shoot. Gonna be a long year. And today is Schmalentine's Day, so that's out, I guess. And I was supposed to go to Nashville for the weekend, so, crap. If I get asked to hang out tonight, with a guy, then it counts, especially on Valentine's Day.

Actor is still being weird about Stretch, asking weirdly possessive questions and such. I told Stretch, straight up, hey, I'm dating Actor, just wanted everything in the open, and Stretch seemed ok with it. Actor asked me if I was still seeing Stretch, told him yes, haven't heard from him since. So that's that.

Ok well... 5/6

I don't know if I had an official date for Week 5, but it's been a little murky. Friday night (the last night of Week 5), Stretch came over and watched a movie with me. We went to Taco Bell and Whataburger, because fuck it, we're adults and we can get food from 2 fast food places if we want. Watched a Western, sent him home. That was Week 5. Nothing special, but I am kinda starting to like him a little, so that's exciting.

Saturday night would have been the start of Week 6, and that's when I got stood up by Actor. Sunday was my birthday, and Stretch came over for my Super Bowl party, and it was nice. I guess I'll call that my Week 6 date? Actor texted me super late Sunday night, and I didn't respond because I had already gone to bed. He said some weird jealous-type things on Monday that really made me dislike him. Thursday night I saw Stretch again, and we sang karaoke with his friends. Good times all around, and he is really funny. Buuut then tonight (Saturday), Actor wanted to hang out, so I did for a little bit. We watched a western, drank some wine, and I went home.

Here's the thing that's bugging me. Sometimes crushes should just stay crushes. I don't know if I want to date my crush, because I'm pretty sure my idea of him is better than what he's really like. That's just the feeling I have in general, and it has prevented me from pursuing relationships in the past. But this time, thanks in part to this resolution, I decided to try and date my crush, and guess what? I was disappointed. I don't really care to elaborate, but the hint of jealousy is just the tip of the iceberg, I think, and ain't nobody got time for that.

Week #5 Date...

...didn't happen.

Week #4 Date

This one's a little short, but the date itself was pretty simple. I have a little bit more to say about the situation I've gotten into, and since I'm putting this part of my life out there, I realize I'm inviting criticism and feedback, so please don't hold back! Here we go...

On my bonus Week #3 date, I ran into someone with whom I went to high school (I'll call him "Actor"). That night, he said he was starring in a play, and he invited me to it. Turns out my week #3 bonus date (We'll call him "Stretch") was actually working at the same play. He got me a ticket, but I sat in the booth in the back with him rather than in my seat. We felt like Statler and Waldorf. The play was good, and afterward they served drinks and food since it was opening night. Talked to Actor, we ended up all going to a bar downtown. It was awkward, to say the least. I'm not sure how it even happened, but it was like I was on a date with both of them. Actor  asked if I'd like to hang out some time, I said sure. So.... Week #5 date is supposed to be with Actor tonight, and I'm seeing Stretch again tomorrow night. I really like Stretch, but dang, I've had a bit of a crush on Actor for a few years now.  Advice? Suggestions? Just wait and see?