Blast from the past

If you've been reading this blog for a while now, you're well aware of the six degrees of separation that is my dating life.

(Which is why I implemented this rule some time ago.)

Well, it happened again this weekend. While out for one last late-nite drink with a friend, I was sitting at the bar chatting and heard, "Hey, girl." (Yes, a man really said, "Hey, girl.")

It was the Mush Mouth. As you may remember, the Mush Mouth was my first "real" boyfriend who I dated for 2+ years during college and shortly after.

(He was so named by one of my relatives because he mumbled everything he said.)

So, back to this past weekend. The Mush Mouth approached and chatted with us for about 10 minutes. Ten very loooong minutes. Why long?

• I felt like he was flirting with me. Like, scrunching his nose up and smiling all weird when he was talking to me flirting.
  
• He rubbed my head. More than once. (I suppose I should say here that I HATE when people touch my head, unless I'm dating them. Or I'm at the hair salon. And he knows that.)
  
• He wasn't wearing his wedding ring. Based on our conversation, I was trying to figure out whether he was just being a schievy guy who doesn't wear his ring when he's not out with his wife, or whether there's something more going on in his personal life. I didn't ask.
• Did I mention the head rubbing?!?
  
• Lastly, he announced to my friend (after I told him about my new niece and nephew): "If anyone was born to be a mother, it was AAB." (There was a head rub following this comment as well.)

Eeew. It schievs me out when exes are a little TOO friendly after a break-up. (Don't get me wrong. I'm all about being civil after a break up. But there is a distinct difference between civil and acting like you've gone back in a time machine and are still together. And that time machine involves head rubbing.)

Have you ever had a run-in with an ex that was just a little TOO friendly? How did you handle it?

(My solution was to nervously down my beer.)

Six degrees: take 3 (this week)

While out to lunch with a colleague this week, I ran into HGE.

(Living up to his name as Hottest Guy Ever, BTW.)

This whole six degrees thing is just getting a little ridic now, no? Is the universe trying to send me a message?

(I sure hope it's something like, "AAB, there's a hottie in your future!")

P.S. As it turns out, I knew one of the girls who was lunching with HGE. She called me this morning to find out if I knew what his story was because she and her friend couldn't figure out if he liked boys or girls. See?!?! It's not just me.

I TOLD you I'm not making this stuff up

My last post was about how small Cleveland is. And that it feels like it's only two or three degrees of separation between me and every eligible guy in the city.

That theory was proven again this week.

I was facilitating a meeting for a client. It was a session that included 10 employees out of the thousands employed by the company.

Of those thousands that were whittled down to 10, there was one guy scheduled to be in the meeting. I saw his name on the attendee list prior to the session and remarked to my colleague that I had gone on a date with a guy with that name years ago, and how random it would be if it were the same guy. But then I pointed out that the name was common enough that it probably wasn't the same guy.

The meeting started, and there was no guy to be seen. Phew. In the clear. But about five minutes later, the door opened and a very apologetic guy walked in late.

A very apologetic guy who I had gone on a date with.

Seriously. FML.

Do you believe me now about this whole six degrees of separation thing? What are the chances that the one guy -- out of the thousands who work there -- would be someone I had gone on a date with?

I really think I may need to move.

P.S. And, yes, I still have his number in my phone.

It's a small world after all

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Cleveland really is six degrees of separation. Case in point: I was at a holiday party this weekend and saw:

• A guy I went on one date with (I actually wrote about him here)


• A guy who was in the Sexy Singles article in Cleveland Magazine with me (of course, he's now married and I'm still a questionably sexy single)


• My boss' son (nothing romantic there -- just thought it was weird to see him)

I'm really starting to think I am like two or three degrees away from every person in Cleveland. Which I suppose also means I *may* be only two or three degrees away from all of the cute, eligible, single guys in Cleveland too.

Which also means that YOU probably know one of them. Ahem. What are you waiting for? Wouldn't a little finders' fee help with your holiday shopping right about now? Just sayin'.

I mean, it is time for some Holidating. (P.S. Thanks to everyone who contributed suggestions and/or voted to name this month's dating adventures!) Dontcha wanna put a little something under my tree?

A new month, an old flame

Thanks to everyone who suggested names for this month's dating escapades. I loved them all and couldn't pick a fave, so I'm going to go with the whole "blood is thicker than blog-ter" mantra and pick blogmom's: April Adventures. (BTW, you won't see that suggestion as a comment on my last post. She texted it to me because she's afraid to comment on the blog too much. Oh, blogmom. How cute.)

And, as part of April Adventures, I'm going to try something new. There is a particular boy who I have a crush on right now (let's just say my stomach dropped when I met him). And I'm wondering if maybe the bad luck in my dating life is coming from blogging about the boys I go out with. (Wouldn't it be a pisser if the saboteur was right? That I'm inadvertently screwing up my dating life?)

So, I'm not going to blog about him. At least, not until I see where this is going.

In the meantime, I'm sure there will be plenty of other AAB escapades to share. For example... there was an ex-sighting this morning. Here's what happened.

I met a couple of my friends for brunch at Sweet Melissa's in Rocky River. When I got there, I scored an awesome spot on the street, and as I got out I noticed that the car behind me looked very similar to The Divorcee's. However, there are a zillion cars like that on the road, so I didn't really think anything of it.

(Sidenote: I just accidentally typed, "I didn't really think anything of us." Interesting.)

Anyhow, as we were looking over the menu, I glanced up to find that my ExSP was right, as I watched The Divorcee and a girl (who knows blogdad, BTW -- more six degrees of separation!) leaving the restaurant.

(I ALWAYS get this weird ESP feeling prior to running into this guy. My friends and I are sort of freaked out about it now, actually.)

But you know what? This was the first time that I have seen him since we broke up that I didn't feel a pang of sadness.

(Don't get me wrong. It was still weird to see him. Especially with a girl.)

Hmmm. Finally getting over an ex? Now that is sweet.

Boys are weird

I just wrote an entire post about a very strange boy incident I had with The Insurance Guy last nite, but then realized it was so long and rambling that no one would care. So I erased the entire thing. (I mean, I even bored myself.) For a backgrounder on him, go here.

Suffice to say that after a very fun dinner with my friend Mo (the kind of friend you can go months without seeing, then immediately pick up where you left off), we met up with The Insurance Guy at a bar down the street, after he texted and called for us to meet him.

(Mo was formerly neighbors with The Insurance Guy, before he and his wife split up. She fixed us up last summer and we went on a couple of dates, but he was in the middle of his divorce and I just wasn't ready for that sitch after my whole saga with The Divorcee.)

What ensued was a very, very strange couple of hours. Some highlights of what the evening entailed:

• A silk blouse that didn't want to stay buttoned (mine)


• A 60-year-old insurance agent (who works for The Insurance Guy) who I thought was hitting on me (as did Mo) until he mentioned his wife


• A meh-cute bartender who apparently also dated The Insurance Guy (I mean, really? Why in the world would you ask a girl that you went on a few dates with to meet you at a bar where another girl you dated bartends? Pick somewhere else, you d-bag.)


• Some shady goings-on between the bar owner and The Insurance Guy (they kept disappearing together into some hidden room)


• A bet that involved me doing the splits in the bar if the 60-year-old tried them (he didn't)

It was just really weird. I mean, The Insurance Guy was all about us meeting him out, then basically ignored us for half of the time we were there. It was just really, really odd. Especially because the bar he was at was completely out of the way for him to be at. So we knew he basically picked it because we were having dinner down the street.

As soon as we said our goodbyes to the guys and got in our cars, I got a call from Mo (who, as you remember, was the one who fixed us up in the first place and had previously thought The Insurance Guy was an awesome catch). Her take on the whole nite? "I think he is just maybe sorta weird."

Amen, sister. Amen.

Six degrees sidenote: before she was married, Mo tried to fix me up with her now-husband (she was interested in someone else at the time). And she also knew the meh-cute bartender from the gym who dated The Insurance Guy.

Seriously... do you guys have this whole six degrees thing happen to you as much as it seems to plague me?

The one you can't forget

Why is it that no matter how hard you try to forget that one ex- that made an indelible mark on you, he always finds a way to work his way into your subconscious... even when he might not be trying?

That's how I am with The Divorcee. No matter how much I try to forget about him, random things always seem to happen that bring him right back.

Three things happened since late last week:

• Blogdad called to tell me that The Divorcee is single again. How does he know, you ask? Well, because one of blogdad's colleagues happened to be recently dating The Divorcee. (Six degrees, I tell you!!!! Now you HAVE to believe me!) My parents discovered this when they ran into this girl and The Divorcee at The Feast in Little Italy over the summer. Anyhow, blogdad called to tell me this little tidbit because he thought my birthday horoscope said something about someone from my past coming back. (In fact, it said that someone important to my life's history will be entering my life in the near future. Which I suppose could be one in the same. God, I hope that doesn't mean some gross guy might come back though.) But that's all just a long way of saying... reminder number one.


• While I was at the nail salon on Saturday, I got a picture text from one of my friends at work that said, "Is this ur ex?" And, indeed, it was. She snapped his pic from afar at Starbucks. (She's actually never met him, but saw a pic once after I was forced to defend the caliber of guys I date because another girl in our office had made a snide comment about my BFs -- whom she had never seen, BTW. Anyhow, seriously... I have dated some cute guys. The Divorcee is a cross between McSteamy and Leonardo DiCaprio. Yum.) Anyhow, I digress. Reminder number two. (And a really random one at that, no?)


• On Sunday, I discovered that The Divorcee has just joined Facebook. How do I know? Two of his friends had previously FB friended me after the break-up (emphasis that THEY friended ME, which I was totally cool with because I actually really liked them and hoped we could somehow stay in touch after the break-up). Anyhow, one of the said friends commented on one of The Divorcees' pics on Sunday. That comment/pic showed up in my news feed. Reminder three.

UGH. I can't shake this guy. And I really can't explain it. I know I should hate him for breaking my heart, but I just can't. Eff. What's also really weird is the timing of all of this. We broke up (for good, after a couple of starts and stops due to his unresolved feelings about his divorce) the week before Valentine's Day a couple of years ago. This same exact week two years ago. (Guess that makes reminder number four, huh?)

Does anyone else have that one guy they can't seem to shake? Or did you, but you got over it? If so, HELP!?!?!?!?

Sissy Sunday

First, don't worry. There are no HJNTIY spoilers in this post. (I promise.)

Second, please worry. Yet another weekend has passed without me meeting Mr. Future Always a Bridesmaid. Or even Mr. Maybe AAB.

Anyhow, today was the planned sisters outing. Or, as we have now deemed it, Sissy Sunday. The three of us haven't had a sisters-only outing in quite some time, so we all hopped in the car, headed up to Crocker Park for a little shopping, then saw He's Just Not That into You and grabbed a bite at the Cheesecake Factory.

Like I said, no movie spoilers here. But I do have a few observations about the movie:

• My sissies and I agree that we love Bradley Cooper. He is dreamy. So cute. I definitely wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating crackers. Do you think he might have a Cleveland twin?


• We all also have crushes on Ginnifer Goodwin. Adorable. She has the face of a kewpie doll and the cutest hair ever in this movie.


• Speaking of hair... Justin Long needs a haircut. Eeew.


• My life definitely most closely resembles Jennifer Aniston's character in this movie. Sometimes it was spooky how similarly things played out. (Also spooky? Robert Plant just used the word "spooky" in his Grammy acceptance speech while I was typing "spooky." You know what that is? SPOOKY.)


• That said, whether we like to admit it or not, I think all of us ladies have a little bit of every girl in this movie in us when we're on the dating scene. The wondering why he didn't call. The wondering why he won't commit. The wondering if we can change him. The wondering why our hair doesn't look like Jennifer Aniston's. (Wait, maybe that one's just me. But probably not.)

Also, the six degrees phenomena that happens in my life apparently extends to my sisters too. We saw several peeps we knew in the short amount of time we were in the theater. In the lobby (while purchasing $4.50 sodas -- thanks, Regal Cinemas, for being sensitive to the economic crisis), we ran into Simply Married's hubs (she was already in the theater) and a co-worker of my sister's. Inside, we sat in front of another friend's brother and his GF. And we just missed Alexa by a hair too (she went to the 3pm show; we caught the 4pm one).

Overall, the sissy outing itself was better than the movie. The verdicts on HJNTIY?

• Sissy one -- 2.5 stars out of 4


• Sissy two -- 1.8 stars out of 4


• me -- 3 stars out of 4 (maybe because I could most readily relate to most of the characters since I'm still discovering that most boys are just not that into me?!?)

(We did, however, all agree that the potstickers at Cheesecake Factory were 3.5 out of 4.)

The only problem with going to see a movie like this is that there is basically zero chance that there are any single cuties that *might* sit next to you. If a guy is at that movie, he is either most definitely with a girl... or most definitely not into them.

P.S. If you're looking for a time waster, check out the HJNTIY official movie site. The date decoder is fun. So is the quiz. And so are the pics of my little Bradley Cooper.

The boomerang club

I've discovered a very interesting phenomenon in my life: boomerang boys.

While no one has ever been quite as bad as The Groundhog, there seems to be a trend of guys disappearing then reappearing at the weirdest/most random times.

I've had a few recent boomerang encounters:

• The Paramedic - I went on one date with this kid a year or two ago. He was SUPER young. As in, younger than my youngest sissy young. On the day of our date, he found out that he had just landed the new job he'd been going after, so he wanted to go "somewhere nice" (his words) to celebrate. We went to the Outback. Fast forward to a few days ago when he Facebook friended me (with a profile pic featuring his new GF), then sent me a message telling me that I still have "that million dollar smile and hair." I've heard of a million dollar smile, but million dollar hair? That must be SOME weave.


• The Mouse - This is the guy I "hung out with" (again, his words) last year. Totally same sense of humor as me (though he is much less animated and much more sarcastic). And un-be-liev-ab-ly cute. I mean, he has dimples. *melt* Anyhow, hadn't really talked to him much over the last several months, but he called a couple of weeks ago and has been emailing and texting (even sending jokey e-cards!) ever since. But, as I said in previous posts, I'm fairly certain this is on the "friend track."


• The Cop - I thought he had gotten the hint that the only time I'd ever see the back of his cop car was if I got arrested (and not for a makeout session), but I guess not. He's been FB messaging me to come meet him out at a bar, come to events he'll be at, etc. Weird.


• The Redhead - According to blogmom, this kid was my first-ever boyfriend. We went to grade school together until my family moved in third grade. I had not talked to him since then (what is that? 24 years?) until he Facebook friended me last week. While catching up via FB, I discovered yet another six degrees connection: he was fraternity brothers with The Murse back in college. (Seriously, people. That is just crazy. I've decided my life is more like two degrees of separation.)

And on top of these oldies (and questionable goodies), I've also heard from The Teacher, The Teachalian and The Italian Stallion in the past week.

Let's hope they don't all turn into boomerangers too.

Time for a diet

Just got off the phone with a new potential, The Teacher. How did we meet, you ask? Well, we technically haven't. His sister is friends with my friend Aimee, and the two of them conspired to introduce us. (Plus, Aimee's got two kids to feed and I think she wants in on the finders' fee.)

What. A. Nice. Guy.

I mean, I guess anyone can fool you into thinking they're nice in the span of 20 minutes, but he just seemed genuinely nice. And not in the too nice sort of way either. (Unlike a guy I once went out with who literally said, "Wowee!" instead of swearing. Shit you not.)

Sounds like he's close with his family (a plus), has a job that he likes (a plus) and has a good sense of humor (a definite plus).

HOWEVER... I'm sure you're wondering why I titled this entry "time for a diet." As if I'm not self-conscious enough as it is about my body, The Teacher told me that he did an amateur body building competition a few months ago for the first time... and won. (Also weird: he sounds almost exactly like The Banker on the phone.)

(In his defense, he only brought up the body building thing because he was worried that they sent me a picture of him from the competition and he thought that would have been queer.)

Holy crap! I just ate fifty pounds of stuffing on Thanksgiving! I mean, I need to wear Spanx under my Spanx right now! I can't date a freaking body builder!

Side note: in true six degrees of separation form, The Teacher knows a kid that I went to high school with (who stalked me after the Cleveland Magazine singles article I was in a couple of years ago). They played baseball together for a little while in college. Is it just me, or is Cleveland shrinking?

Anyhow, the conversation ended without discussion of a specific meeting day/time, but with the intention to talk again soon.

Guess that gives me some time to wrap myself in Saran Wrap and garbage bags and jump on a treadmill.

The countdown is on!

T-minus 11 days until my next bridesmaid duty for Molly & Drew's wedding. (I was reminded this morning when my official wedding day itinerary arrived.)

I am super excited. Why?

• I love our dresses. Steel gray babydoll/empire waist silk dupioni dress with a cute black sash. (Truth be told, I don't actually have mine yet. It's being taken in for the second time. The first time I tried it on, it was literally like I wrapped myself in a duvet cover. So it's taken a couple of rounds of alterations to make it fit. And I didn't blog about it before b/c I didn't want Molly worried that it was going to look like a potato sack on me. Now that she saw it in person last weekend, she's feeling good, so I can write about it.)


• My whole family is going to be at the wedding. Parents, sisters, brothers-in-law. Anyone who has ever seen my family in action on a wedding dance floor knows what a treat is in store. Suffice to say my father will likely be dirty dancing with my friends, and everyone will tell my sisters they should try out for So You Think You Can Dance after the wedding.


• My wedding partner specifically requested me to be paired with him. (Don't get too excited, readers -- he's married.) But, I think that means we will definitely rock the bridal party "coolness" contest since we are both loud and outgoing. And, I'm hoping, good dancers.

Oh, and I'm really happy for the bride- and groom-to-be too. But that goes without saying. :)

(Six degrees side note: I was actually supposed to get fixed up with the groom-to-be years ago, but ended up rekindling with The Divorcee the nite before I was supposed to meet Drew. See, Moll? You're right. Everything happens for a reason.)

Father knows best... maybe?

Oh, sweet Jesus and Mary. My dad called tonite to find out how he could get in on "the lottery" to fix me up (he meant the finders' fee, of course).

First of all, it is always weird to get a call from my dad, since my mom is usually the one who communicates info to my sisters and me. So when I see a missed call from him, it always immediately makes me cringe b/c my dad is usually the one charged with delivering bad news (e.g., if a relative passes away, if our mom has been rushed to the hospital for some crazy ailment, etc.).

So, I guess I was somewhat relieved to find out that dear ol' dad was just calling to pimp me out. I mean, find me a man.

Apparently he is scoping all over town for potential BFs for me. He called today with two guys in mind -- one, a doctor who he met thru his job; the other, the nephew of some guy he works with.

In true six degrees form, I'm pretty sure I know the nephew (who is an attorney, which my dad was very impressed by) from a guy my friends and I used to hang out with years ago. Blogdad and Blogmom have already checked him out online (all law firms list their attorneys online, which is pretty awesome for pre-date online stalking). And Blogdad was very impressed by the doc too (I'm sure blogmom is pissed she couldn't find him online too).

Side note: why do I find it so funny that my parents are Googling guys for me? I would pay to be a fly on the wall to hear the conversations that happen when they are sitting in front of the computer.

What concerns me is that I'm not 100% sure the guy that my dad would pick for me is the guy I would necessarily pick for myself. I think maybe dad is more focused on what the guy does for a living (of course! he wants someone to take to care of his little girl) than some of the prereqs I have (like whether the guy can make me laugh).

Anyhow, my favorite line of our conversation was when dad said, "And don't worry about the money for the finders' fee. Just put it toward your wedding."

Nothing like jumping ahead, oh, about 17 steps. How about we get a date on the calendar first?

Just another random Monday... whoooaaaa...

Wow, what a very random boy nite.

First, I talked to The Banker. That in and of itself wasn't weird. What WAS weird is that he was going out tonite with a guy that I randomly met a couple of years ago and went out with a few times. Turns out they're friends from growing up. More six degrees of separation!!! (Side note: I have a tentative date set with him tomorrow nite.)

Then I got some texts from The Cop (who I have not talked to nor texted since that random nite when I met him and he kept disappearing):

• What up
• U out?
• [random picture of himself drinking a beer]
• [same random picture of himself drinking a beer]

And to top off the randomness of tonite, I then got a text from The San Diego Marine (who I still contend is probably the hottest guy I have ever made out with -- sorry if that's TMI, blogmom).

Anyhow, he's on vacation with a friend (who I also met when I was in SD), and they were talking about me (interesting, considering I haven't emailed, talked or texted him in months) and he wanted to send me a text (and warn me to expect a drunk dial soon).

That marine. Mmmmm. He really is the kind of guy I want to find. In addition to being disgustingly hot, he's funny (in a goofy/silly kind of way), smart and sweet. He's lucky he doesn't live in Cleveland because I'm pretty sure I'd change up "Semper Fi" to something inappropriate like "Grab my thigh."

So many contacts, so little time

I went to send a text message to my friend Carrie earlier (re: plans for this weekend's shower/bachelorette party combo for our friend Molly, of course -- Always a Bridesmaid!) and while I was doing that, saw a contact a few down from Carrie's name that I'm not sure belongs in my phone. In fact, there are a lot of randoms' numbers in my phone that probably don't belong there.

But here's what I've learned: every time I delete the number of a guy I have in my phone, he inevitably calls after I delete the number (hello, The Groundhog!!)... and I sometimes answer (not knowing, of course, who is calling)... and I always regret it.

So, I now leave most boys' numbers in my contact list whether I think I'll talk to them again or not... just in case. Here are some of the guys I will probably never talk to again, but still keep in my phone anyhow:

• The Pocket-Sized Chef: This is the Chris Kattan look-alike I referenced in this post. I met him at a happy hour at a bar near my sister's house and could tell he sort of liked me. But I just wasn't feeling it. He called and texted a bunch of times, but I didn't want to lead him on in any way, so I didn't respond. But I left his number in my phone in case he ever calls or texts again. I don't think he will, considering when I ran into him again (at a second happy hour with my sister about a month later), he came up to me like he wasn't sure he recognized me (duh) and was like, "Always a Bridesmaid, right?" LOL.


• The DJ: I have never even talked to, seen, texted or anything else with this guy. Someone gave him my number, he called and left a vm, and I saved his number in case he ever calls again. But a DJ? I think I'm too old for that. But, he's staying in my phone because you never know when you might need someone to spin a lil' JT at a wedding shower or something.


• The Insurance Guy: I went on two or three dates with this guy, who I was set up with by my friend Maureen. He was really cute and had a very dry sense of humor, but he's in the middle of a divorce (his final court date is on my birthday! WEIRD!), and I think he's maybe a teeny bit too quiet for me. But I would definitely go out with him again, so that's why he's still in my phone.


• The Intern: This guy was an intern for my company yeeeaaarrrsss ago (and I was kinda maybe sorta his supervisor). He was one of our first male interns, and every woman in our office thought he was "a hunk" (this term was LITERALLY used to describe him). Everything was on the up and up when he was my intern, but fast forward to this past Fall when we started talking again when he was seeking career advice. We hung out when he was home visiting his family (he lived in Chicago at the time; he has since moved to NYC), and he still sometimes sends me little messages here and there. So, he's not going anywhere on the contact list.


• The High School Stalker: Picture it. Lunchtime in my building. I'm getting a bowl of turkey chili from the little corner deli. I sense a guy staring at me out of the corner of my eye. What I didn't realize was that I was holding my building ID with my name facing him, so he knew who I was. Turned out the guy was a stalker I had in high school. I went out with him once (to a movie) back in H.S., and on the way home he told me he loved me. ONE DATE. He also used to sit outside my house because he knew when my curfew was and wanted to see me come home every weekend nite. So why, you ask, would I even give him my number to begin with when I saw him again (minus the fact that I didn't want my chili to get cold)? Well, I was totally caught off guard, and I knew he was doing construction work on my building (and figured if I gave him a fake number, I would see him again and he'd go psycho on me). His stalker ass, of course, called me several times after I ran into him, but I never called him back. His number is in my phone so I can screen, screen, screen! (Truth be told, I often duck when I see a guy with a shaved head doing work in my building -- you can never be too careful with a stalker!)


• The Murse - Part 2: This is not my six-year relationship guy, but this guy was also a male nurse. I met him when he found my profile in a Cleveland Magazine article about "hot singles," and he emailed me out of the blue (seven or eight months after the article ran) because he said he "liked what he read." He was the kind of guy who would make an awesome friend, but there was zero, zilch, nunca chemistry. To be honest, I'm not sure there's a good reason he's still in my contacts, but it sort of feels weird to delete him and not guys like The High School Stalker. So I guess he made the cut out of pity.


• The Sweater Guy: This guy now lives in Chicago, but lived here when we met. He's a six degrees of separation guy, in that he met and liked my friend Molly three or four years before we met. We called him The Sweater Guy because both Molly and I met him at the same bar in Westlake (years apart, mind you), and he was wearing THE SAME EXACT sweater both times. I wrote him off when he told me to meet him out at the Blind Pig after a Tribe game, and I walked in to the bar only to see him making out with some other girl. That's when I knew The Sweater Guy's chances had come undone.


• The Gyno Guy: The guy I wrote about in this post. 'nuff said.

And that just takes me to the M's in my contact list!! Wow. My phone sure makes it seem like I have a thriving social life. Too bad it's mostly so I can avoid the boys who have been in it thus far!

Do you still have contacts in your phone who have no business being there?

Six degrees of separation (or less)

I have long said that my dating life is like six degrees of separation, meaning that the guys I date (or am supposed to get fixed up with) typically know and/or date(d) one of my friends.

I'm sure I'll cover this in future posts, since it happens all the time. I'm actually in a six degrees of separation wedding in a couple of months, which will be a first for me.

For this post, I'll stick with my friend Jenn. My group of girlfriends has been friends with Jenn's fiancee Brian for years. When we met her (after hearing LOTS about her), we instantly liked her and felt like she'd always been part of our group of friends. We even used to tell Brian that we would take friend custody of Jenn and dump him if they ever broke up.

Anywho... Jenn and I were emailing the other day and discovered the she went on a couple of dates with The Groundhog a few years ago. Her take on him is the same as mine: very cute guy who is fun to talk to on the phone, but has a stalkerish screw loose in the dating department. I'm actually being nice when I put it that way. I think Jenn's exact words were, "Stay away!"

Fast forward... I was on the phone with The Banker this weekend, and he reminded me where he grew up (which is where Jenn grew up), so I asked if he knew her and/or her family. He got VERY excited because he, indeed, knows the family. And dated Jenn in high school.

I couldn't help but be amused and sent Jenn an email that just said, "The Banker is [name]! Why do I get all of your sloppy seconds?!?" I was glad to hear that she thinks he is a very nice guy -- and voted for him in this week's poll question before she even knew who he was. Jenn and I are getting together for happy hour this week, so I'm sure I'll get more deets then.

Six degrees side note: Jenn and I are having drinks with Sarah, the girl who fixed me up with The Coach. Years ago, Sarah tried to fix me up with Brian (Jenn's now-fiancee), but I was already friends with him (which Sarah didn't know). She later fixed up Brian and Jenn, and the rest is history!