The Story...

Okay, so it's not a secret that I don't like internet dating because I LOVE having a story to tell of "how [we] met." And it's not very exciting if you say, "Online." Boring!

However, I've recently found out that the story after you decide to meet (from emailing FOREVER online), which I like to call the after-story, can be just as great as "how you first met."

So, I met this guy online. He seems funny and charming - 2 great qualities to get my attention. We email back and forth, back and forth, and then he finally asks the question, 'do you want to meet'? FINALLY being the key word.

We set up to meet at a common chain restaurant. I tell him which one would be better for me. Now, maybe it was my mistake, but I said a area/location instead of an actual address. So, naturally, we ended up at 2 different locations of the same restaurant. But at the time, I thought I had been stood up. I didn't waste my evening though. I dined alone, read a book, and had a wonderful fruity drink.

So, he texts later saying he doesn't know what happened. blah, blah, blah. Now, I wasn't really sure if I was going to give him another chance until he told me it was his birthday! Well, then, all of a sudden, I feel like I stood him up. I decided he definitely deserved another chance.

So, we plan for dinner the next night. Another chain restaurant; this time I gave him a landmark and Street location. There's no way he could mess this one up...

I arrive at the restaurant, look around (for someone I've never met before - should've brought his picture with me to show the hostess), and decide to get a table. I sit there for a couple of minutes, and a couple more minutes, and yet a couple more minutes. He's now 15 minutes late. AM I GETTING STOOD UP AGAIN?

So, I text him and ask if he got lost. He says he's at the bar. I stand up from my table, look over at the bar, and see no one that resembles him. At this point, I'm asking myself if I'm either crazy and he doesn't really exist (yes, Keith, I know what you're thinking) OR this is a joke that someone is playing on me and the camera will come out soon.

He then texts back and says he just realized he's at the wrong restaurant and he'll be right over. WHAT?! Can he really be that big of an idiot? One time I can understand (and at least he was at the same restaurant chain the first time). But now he's at a completely different restaurant chain and not on the Street location that I gave him. I was speechless! Completely speechless!

He walked in and he was utterly embarrassed (as he should've been). But I have to tell you that I'm glad he showed up. He's a big guy, but genuine and sweet. Tall. (THANK YOU! I CAN WEAR HEELS!) Funny and sarcastic. Seems like a good guy. So, I'll just have to find out if the after-story can hold a candle to the "meet-cute."

It's a pretty funny after-story; one that I'll tease him about for awhile anyway. Maybe I should've gotten him a GPS for his birthday...

I must be getting soft in my old age or something: giving a guy who stood me up a second chance. Geesh! What is my world coming to?

Maybe I shouldn't get so wrapped up in "the story" of how I meet someone and instead, work on the story that is yet to be written with them. That initial meeting is only a small part of THE story. Everyone likes to hear how you met, but I bet they care more about if you're still together and the story you're creating. And no one but that person will ever know your entire story - and if you have nothing else, at least you share that.

What part of the story are you in?

SONG OF THE DAY: "The Story" by Brandi Carlisle
I like this song because of its depth into the soul. How you can get to know someone so well, even when no one else can. "All of these lines across my face / Tell you the story of who I am." People can guess or think they know what your life is like or was like. But like a story in a book, you can't know the entire story until you've opened the book and read it cover-to-cover. You can look at the book's cover and read the reviews, but you still don't know the whole story. If you want to know or be a part of someone's story, you have to go further than just the leather and the binding; you have to touch the page.