Note: If you've had anything to drink recently, go to the washroom now. I don't want to be responsible for any wet spots from you laughing so hard at me (notice that I said at me, not with me).

Okay, don't say you weren't warned...

I'll divide this up into sections, as it's going to be a rather long entry. I'll deal with the technical stuff first. It's just an update to the two thread links below.

Just the Facts

A little background reading:

http://www.loveshack.org/forums/t185066/

http://www.loveshack.org/forums/t184468/

So we finally got to go out for lunch on Friday. Unfortunately it couldn't go into OT because she had a presentation she had to do after lunch. Other than that, there wasn't one thing that could've gone better. Weather was perfect, the patio was open for the first day, it was quiet so we didn't have to shout over anyone, and the waitress was attentive but not hovering. It couldn't have been a better set up if I bribed the waitress, the cook, the owner, and Mother Nature herself.

Okay, enough with the precis. On to the good stuff.

I NOW KNOW HOW YOU GIRLS FEEL

(This is the part you'll laugh at me for)

Guys, you know how your girlfriend steps out the door with that "oh this old thing? I just threw it on" look, but you know darn well it took her 3 hours to get ready and 4 days previously to put the outfit together? I now know how they feel. I really like this girl (I'll get into more on her later) and wanted to make sure I made the best impression possible. So for one casual afternoon out (originally going to be drinks after work, but plans changed - see links), I spent days and days planning things out. Here's the litany of things I got, just for this one event:

• New t-shirt
  
• New hoodie
  
• New jeans
  
• New belt
  
• New cologne* (x2)
  
• Leather dye (for getting rid of those greyed scuff marks on the tips of my shoes).
  
• Crest White Strips Premium
  
• Eye drops (yeah, I wanted to make sure there was NO redness, as I do ride the motorcycle a lot and the wind can cause redness)
  
• under-eye serum to get stuff to cut down on the dark circles/lines.
  
• and the worst of all (and I'll never admit to this ever again)...all the stuff to give myself a manicure.
  

Yes, seriously. I looked up how to give ones self a manicure (as my previous experience was "cut your nails when they get long" - that was it). You try walking into a drug store, looking like someone from a "biker gang" exposée on 20/20, walking to the cosmetics section, and buying clear nail polish, emery boards and all that other junk. I had to go home, suck back a beer and watch a hockey game just to feel some semblance of normal again. But that's how much I like this chick. I wanted everything to be absolutely perfect without looking like I worked at it.

I'm glad I did, though. She looked absolutely amazing. Power suit, short black skirt and new shoes. I'd like to think it was all for me, but as I said earlier, she had the presentation later. I didn't question it, though; I just enjoyed.

Like I said, I now know how you girls feel. And I feel for you; I really, really do.

*Thanks to the folks on LS for their opinions on the "Men's Cologne" thread. Based on your recommendations, I picked up both Acqua di Gio (Armani) and Light Blue (D&G). I wore Acqua that day.

The Chick

I like this chick. I really like this chick. Not just because she's pretty, either (and she is). She's a real classy girl who is equally at home at a corporate social on Wall St. or a biker party in a dingy clubhouse. I know this may sound sappy, but for as much as I want to sleep with her, I want to wake up with her even more. She and I both seem to have the same goals in our personal lives and we're both at the same stage in life, so there wouldn't be much disparity. We laugh at each other's jokes, neither of us stopped staring in each other's eyes, and most importantly (from my standpoint, at least), I wasn't nervous around her; I was 100% perfectly comfortable being me.

Prior to lunch, I was as nervous as an expectant father. I was flushed, I couldn't focus, I was practically useless at work. For a place that was 5 minutes away, I made sure to get there half an hour early, just in case she showed early. I was just that nervous. But the minute I saw her walk out onto the patio, I lost all fear. I trust her enough to let myself go. Around her, I didn't have to pretend to be anything I wasn't. She is one of the very few people that I'm that comfortable being myself around. I wasn't on parade, I wasn't putting up a front. I was just a doe-eyed boy talking with a brown-eyed girl. [cue Van Morrison]

I'll admit that I was engaged once. I was young and I genuinely was in love, but logically, even then, I think I knew it wouldn't work. This one, however, I really think could. I know the signs of infatuation, and this isn't it. At this point in time, love isn't the right word, but it's the first word that comes to mind*. I think she and I could work out very well on a long-term basis with a bit of leg-work on my end and a little luck. Of course, I do have to keep my emotions in check. At least, for now.

As the title noted, she's not quite perfect. She does, after all, have a boyfriend. One that isn't me.

*Bonus points if you get that reference without looking it up.