Compatibility...What Counts the Most?

After overhearing a series of conversations today, this seemed like the topic that I would most likely write about tonight. Compatibility. So you're thinking....ugh...more relationship stories or whining or complaining..not so much. This is just purely throwing out the question: What does it take to be truly compatible with another person?

I overheard a conversation at work today where a woman was saying that you should never have to work at marriage or a relationship...that it should all come 100% naturally. Luckily I was not first-hand involved in this conversation and rather stuck re-formatting a Word document that was put together by someone who thinks that an outline format can be easily overcome by a space-barring format (otherwise considered the stupidest method of all time). My first thought was...and still is...this woman is delusional. While it is just lovely (and I can think of no better word than lovely) to think that marriage is just an effortless daily routine that is no more stressful than a sensual massage (please say that in the Austin Powers voice), that's just not the case. I cannot think of even the happiest of couples who does not have to work at their marriage or relationship in general. That's just life.

But to get back to my point, what is it that makes people truly compatible? Is it common interests? Music? Hobbies? Sports teams? I'm sure you're thinking -- well that's easy, Erin. It's a combination of all of those things. And to that I say that it is quite rare that even half of those things work out in the compatibility department and if they do, then your significant other either has some weird social awkwardness (i.e. is shy) or doesn't like to hang out in groups. Something really weird...or hell...something I don't even know about.

After dating, friendships, and any other types of relationships, I have come to the semi-conclusion that compatibility is simply a genuine desire to want to be in the other person's company. It really does seem to be that simple. Rather than going into detail on what has caused me to come to that conclusion, I would just like to leave that open for comment.

Thoughts?

Do You Know Someone Who is a Flake?

Hmmm...I'm gonna go with a solid yes on that one. If you think you do not, then you are probably an enormous flake and I hope you will learn a lot from what I am about to say. It's not to say that everyone doesn't flake out on their friends at times, their significant others at times, or their family...but these types of things usually come in patterns. Please let me preface this with -- I am in no way referring to any of my friends, former boyfriends or family members when I mention anything that will follow that comment.

Let's start with the most common form of a flake: The Frequent Late Arrival or No Show
These are the types of people who have absolutely no issue with showing up for a date, pre-determined meeting time or just any event in general more than 15 minutes late on a regular basis. Now, 15 minutes is very generous. These types of offenders are often times an hour or two late to events. This is completely unacceptable. And you know damn well that these types of offenders are so beyond mad when they make the plans and the person/people they have invited show up late or he/she...more than likely she..gets to her friend's house and she isn't even in the shower yet. Again- this is unacceptable, rude and in all honesty- it is times like these I wish I had absolutely no decency and would tell these people that they are massive a-holes...but in many more words. Oh and PS- I know a lot of people who read this will say that I have no filter and say whatever I'm thinking. To that I say- you're wrong and that's probably only accurate 60% of the time, every time.

Another type of flake: The Random Change in Attitude
This one might be hard to sum up in few words- so please bear with me. These are people who you have a great friendship/relationship...whatever-ship with and then clear out of the blue- they just stop talking to you all together or change their actions completely. Maybe the reason I said that this would be difficult to describe in a few words is because I do not understand this..period. Say you're great friends with someone. You make jokes, have fun...have uncontrollable laughing fits...and then BOOM! They just stop talking to you for no apparent reason. What is that? In my opinion- people like this need serious help. I can't even peg this to most men or most women. I have experienced this on both sides of the spectrum and in each instance...his/her excuse or reasoning behind why things suddenly changed- made absolutely no sense. If I had to give advice to these types of people -- since apparently I think that I'm educated enough on this to actually give advice -- I would say that you just need to not do this. Thanks.

And the final, for the time-being, type of flake: The 'I'm Always Going to Ditch you for my Boyfriend/Girlfriend' Type
Now- that's pretty self explanatory so I will just say this. In no way, shape or form is this ever...and I repeat EVER acceptable. Of course we are all guilty of this BUT that excuse is never ever ever going to fly the older we get. So please....and again, I will repeat this....PLEASE try really hard to not do this to your friends. If anything, it puts your significant other immediately on a shit list that he/she does not deserve to be on because really it's your problem that you can't manage both her/him and your friends at the same time- which is just dumb.

That's about all I have for you right now. And if you have made it this far and still do not know what a flake is -- I recommend eliminating any drugs or unnecessary physical activity from your daily lifestyle because you are having trouble understanding very elementary ideas.

I would LOVE it if you would share stories :)

An Open Letter to Auto Makers Worldwide

And yet again...I have a guest blogger who has such extreme feelings about this next topic that it should make for an extremely interesting post. Enjoy! And if anyone else is interested in commenting on something in their life or just writing in general...please let me know. This is an open forum.

Today, I write to you in desperation. I fear that a well-known feature of every automobile, truck, and other vehicle types from around the globe is causing trouble on the roadways. It seems that this little feature is far too complicated for the average member of the general population to figure out and it is my belief, it should be removed. Immediately.

Of course, I’m talking about the turn signal, or perhaps, “the blinker,” if you so desire to call it that. Now, I completely understand that in order to turn these signals on and off all you need is a small flick of the wrist and a finger or two. However, I’ve noticed that most drivers cannot seem to do this. My only explanation is that it requires far too much concentration and brainpower to focus on both hitting the turn signal AND checking the roadways in order to switch lanes, make a turn or “call” the parking space of your choice.

Clearly, the turn signal has become a moot point. Why even continue to make them a feature in today’s, and the future’s, vehicles? Sure, one may argue that the removal of the turn signal will cause more traffic accidents. I beg to differ. On my daily commutes, turn signals are scarce. In fact, I think this has only helped in honing my reaction time. That navy blue SUV with one taillight out that is pulling a swift one and swerving into my lane directly in front of me with barely enough room to fit between my tiny Honda Civic and the car in front of me? He does not need a turn signal! The driver of the little white car all the way in the left lane who just realized she needed to pick up a loaf of bread for dinner and the supermarket is coming up fast on the right? I should know to slam my breaks and give her the clearance needed to make her stop and prepare a proper homemade meal! It has become apparent that it is my duty as a member of the daily highway commute to use telepathy to know when other driver’s need to change lanes or make a turn.

So, I beg of you, remove the turn signal. Purge society of this utterly useless piece of automotive equipment. Allow us to cause accidents, point fingers and sue one another over meaningless things and exaggerated injuries. Let the world move forward, into the future, without archaic technology like “the blinker.”

Sincerely Yours,
A Concerned Citizen

Optimism is a Beautiful Thing

Ya know...it's funny when you think about blind dates. How often do they actually go well, you might ask? Being that I have just gone out on my third, I can tell you that sticking with it is the way to go. If you're just now tuning in to Blindfolded I might recommend reading a couple of posts before this one- just to get yourself caught up. But I have had some not-so-great dates.

The first one, let's not even sugar-coat it -- was worst case scenario. This guy was right off of the massive toolbag bus. Victim #2 was a nice guy but either he was kinda boring or he was overwhelmed by how much I was talking. And just to be clear- I was only talking so much because he had nothing to say. If you don't bring anything to the table, you might not want to suggest going out for a drink because that requires constant conversation. There is nothing to take your attention away from the table- other than maybe people-watching. Or in this case, an incredibly drunk former high school friend who yells your name in the middle of the date and now you're in a conversation for 5 minutes.

In all honesty, I think most people would have taken a break from the dating at this point, but clearly I am on a mission. At this point, it's to meet someone who is just normal, down to earth and funny. That's a must. Last nights' festivities were in all honesty- a really good time. We had great conversation...have a lot in common...but not too much that it's obnoxious (no offense to those couples who do everything together and belong in a sample portrait at Hallmark)...and just had a bunch of laughs. There really isn't much that I can say that went wrong on the date...being that there is already a second date in the works...so I will just leave it at that.

Truth be told, blind dating is certainly not for everyone; however, isn't it better to know that you tried something that could potentially lead to something more...just for the hell of it. I'm gonna go with yes.

I'll keep you posted....

Third Times' a Charm?

On the eve of my third blind date (and no...I did not just stutter), I thought that I would give you all some insight as to why date number 2 has now been pegged as 'No Spark Guy.' For that reason, there is little to say that would make for an interesting story, aside from the incident before the date began. And that is a situation that can only happen to someone like me...the overly-friendly type who tries to avoid the awkward moments but creates so many of them unintentionally.

So I'm walking up to the Dublin House in Red Bank. Very lovely Irish pub that has had to succumb to the snobby reconstruction that is Red Bank.. but that's besides the point. What I know about my blind date is that he's 5'9, 5'10 (always a lie which is why I wore one of the two flat pairs of shoes that I own), brown hair, blue eyes and I have seen a picture. I walk up to the Dublin House and I see a guy standing outside who doesn't fit any of that criteria and yet I decide to go right up to him like I am 100% positive and say, "Hi...I'm Erin. You must be John." To which he responds, "I'm Greg." And I say, "Well...this isn't awkward at all. Are you waiting out here for someone as well?" Greg says, "No, but I'm going to need to check your I.D." That's right. He was the bouncer/door man/everything that doesn't scream blind date that you could possibly imagine (This is where I would recommend you visit fmylife.com. The funniest, most honest website out there) He asks me if I'm out on a blind date and I say yes and we really hit it off. I guess as much as two complete strangers who have just been miss-introduced can hit it off.

I go inside and the date begins. Turns out I was right about his height. He was exactly eye-level. Not so much. He was attractive, but in terms of personality and conversation, I'm gonna have to say that he brought very little to the table. This lead to me talking almost the entire night and you never want that on a blind date. I mean if they can't even spark a conversation, they almost definitely fall into a category of men who are labeled 'dead fish' in the bedroom. Not interested in that.

Which leads me to the next blind date tomorrow night. Again- -this is a set up through a great friend. And in all honesty- things are looking like they could actually end up as a good night. He called, we talked for 30 minutes over the phone and then he even text me just to say hi and see how my day was. We'll see how it goes, but I'm thinking this could actually be the first good date. No idea where it will go from there, but I'm interested and that's all the matters.

Lesson learned here -- mostly for the guys I guess -- while I'm sure it's great to be really really ridiculously good looking, it is MUCH MORE APPEALING to be really interesting and funny. In my opinion, being funny can almost always make up for other areas where you might be lacking. In this case- this guy was obviously shy. Shy does not necessarily mean bad, but on a first date, shy guy meets a combination of Tazmanian Devil/Bull in a China Shop (yes..that's how I'm referring to myself these days) does not make for the most interesting of dates.

Let's hope for the best tomorrow.

Girls Dress For Girls

And now for my first guest blog...

If you are a girl, you will know what I mean when I say that there is nothing like a new pair of shoes. Chocolate might come close, but a new, fantastic pair of shoes always wins. You can’t wait to wear them out and show them off. But who exactly are you showing them off too? There is a common misconception that girls spend an exceptional amount of money on top-of-the-line shoes, purses, clothes, etc. to impress guys. As much as we would all like to believe this, in reality, girls dress for other girls. Not to be “attractive” to them, but it’s more like a competition. Because when it comes down to it, do you really think a guy is looking at your fantastic shoes? I don’t think so.

A guy wouldn’t know the difference between a top by Gucci or a top from Target. If it were up to the guy, you would be naked anyway. So why do we do this? Why do we spend thousands of dollars of our hard-earned money on these expensive items? Because we want to be that girl that other girls envy. Now, you might be thinking “wow this girl is crazy” but you know it’s true. Whether you consciously do it or not, when you wear out that new pair of Marc Jacob boots, you want another girl to notice that those are Marc Jacob boots. If you didn’t, then you might as well get a knock off pair at Payless for a fraction of the price. Am I right? I mean I’m not the kind of girl that wants to have other girls jealous of her. But when I spend $200 on boots, I want someone to think “Ooo I wish I had those boots.” Otherwise, what’s the point?

Now boys, you have to agree with me here. When was the last time you REALLY cared about what a girl had on her feet, or the purse she was carrying? Even the clothes a girl wears, you have NO CLUE where she got them or how much she spent. Nor do you care.

You girls all know that when you are at a bar with your girlfriends, you most definitely notice when a girl walks in with an awesome outfit, a fabulous purse, or those earrings you were eyeing at Bloomingdales. I’m not saying that we judge (although some girls do) but we definitely notice. When guys look at a girl who walks in the bar, her appearance does matter, of course. I mean you can’t be poorly dressed and still expect to be noticed by a guy. But he has no idea what designer your wearing, and he does not care.

So basically I’m asking the question “why?” Why do we put this pressure on ourselves to impress each other? I myself am guilty of this too. And I’d love to say I’ll stop, but I won’t. I love having nice things that any girl would want. And I enjoy having another girl gawk at my purse when I pass by. That’s a great feeling. So is that bad?

Sincerely yours,
The Girl in the Green Scarf

Absolutely Zero Loyalty!!!

After great debate, I have decided to post the first blog that ever came into my mind when I took the very hesitant step into the blogosphere (yes...that is what the kids are calling it these days). I already know that I will receive an excruciating amount of criticism for this entry, but I have to say it.

Steve Spagnuolo is on my $%^& list for leaving the Giants!!! And yet, at the same time, he is just the same as every other money-hungry defensive coordinator, coach, college coach or any other type of football coach for that matter. Sure...it makes 'perfect sense' to leave the G-men to coach the Rams. I mean that team is really going to be easily turned around before he decides to leave in 2 years tops. But I just don't get it!

Where is the loyalty to these athletes? Spags spends two years completely transforming the Giants defense and then just up and leaves at the first head coaching opportunity that he gets? That's pretty weak and as the truest fan out there- I find it to absolutely heart-breaking. I'm at the point where if I were to see Steve Spagnuolo on the street, I would hope that I would bitch slap him just out of sheer disappointment.

He is now among the ranks of other coaches who apparently feel no need to abide by their contracts or actually live up to the standards to which they were hired for (if that didn't make sense, just try re-reading it because it sounds find in my head). In case you're wondering, I'm talking about those incredibly ballsy college coaches who think...oh wow! I have a great college team, that means I can coach in the NFL. Oh wait, this is a lot harder. I better not stay for more than 2 months and then I'm out of here. You know who you are...Nick Saban (punk) and Bobby Petrino (pathetic). Why even bother making the switch if you're going to bail? How can these athletes be expected to work with that kind of inconsistently? It's just rude if you ask me and I've had enough of this.

Anyway, I feel that I have cleared the air and if Spags was to read this entry, he would feel pretty bad about his horrendous decision to leave next year's Super Bowl champion New York Giants. Good luck trying to work with.....oh wait...you don't have any good players on your team...that's right. Ouch.

Night night.

Why Blindfolded?

Now that I have a couple of posts up, I figured this would be a perfect time to explain the meaning(s) behind Blindfolded. Unfortunately, I cannot take credit for coming up with the name, but I will absolutely take credit for what I have translated this blog to be about. After telling a friend my 'Slayer' story, he says-- You should start a blog and call it Blindfolded. And there you have it. The completely literal meaning behind the blog, but as I had said in a previous post, if this entire thing was about me, that would get boring really quickly.

And so now there is extended 'Erin' definition...which will involve way too much explanation and possibly a couple of run-on sentences, but just go with it. Here goes...

Although I am at the ripe young age of 25, I can honestly say that I have had my fair share of experiences. Whether they be horrible blind date experiences, a family crisis, a terrible falling out with a friend, or a vicious falling out with a co-worker, these experiences have all given me the incredible insight I have today. For that reason, I think that I have developed somewhat of a flaw in that I find myself thinking that I know a lot more than I actually do. I wouldn't use the word stubborn because I'm not a fan of that word...but I generally think that I can take care of myself and very often do not think there is a situation that could come up that I wouldn't be able to handle, help someone else handle or anything in that same category (if that was a category).

Once I realized that this was probably not the best way to go about doing things...like living the incredibly happy life that I do....I made the executive decision to just relax. Stop being such a control freak who has way more than the normal amount of O.C.D. tendencies and who was starting to be too emotional for her own good. And that is exactly what I have done.

So to tie that back into my thinking behind this whole Blindfolded thing...I guess you can say that my life now, although I am much happier and just a better person because I have made these changes and lightened up kind of a lot, my control-freakyness still gets to me sometimes, so in a way...it's like constantly wearing a blindfold because I don't always know what's going to happen now. That's okay...but it takes me out of my comfort zone...and I like it.

And there you have it. That's definitely the long explanation I told you you would get at the beginning, so I'm not a liar. I plan to write more interesting blogs about all kinds of topics, not just relationships. We'll get to talk about sports, pet peeves, stupid people that annoy me and hmmm probably some other really really ridiculously interesting topics that I can't think of right now.

Enjoy. Relax. And try to leave your blindfold on. That probably sounds really corny, but I can say those things now that I am writing this blog. But take it for what you will...and maybe make up your own definition. I'm fine with that.

OOOOOO Valentine's Day

After a long ride home from work, I realized it was my new-found bloggers' duty to provide an 'Ode to Valentine's Day' post. I'm sure there are people out there who love Valentine's Day. In fact, I can think of a couple couples who probably think up the most creative, thoughtful, romantic things to do on this non-holiday just because they are that in love. This is where I should say that I envy these people...and I do...but that doesn't make for the most interesting blog, now does it?

So, in my attempt to write shorter entries, for those men out there who cannot gather up the strength, patience, or time away from their video game system or electronic website to read for a couple of minutes, I give you my shortest entry to date.

What do I think girls should do on Valentine's Day?
Nothing. This is the unnecessary, but I guess appreciated day that girls get to be taken care of. Sure..there are guys who do this on a regular basis and to those girls out there who have that...for today I'll name you Samantha and Charlotte, I do envy you because I believe that this is what girls should want in a significant other. But I recommend girls do nothing on Valentine's Day. Let him take care of you for an entire day.

What do I think guys should do on Valentine's Day?
First off, if you are a guy and happen to be reading this on Friday night or Saturday and still have not given this much thought...I award you no points and may God have mercy on your soul. No, but seriously, I think guys should try to be creative. Don't just do the dinner and flowers thing. Personally, I like comedy clubs. I figure this is the rare occasion when I can be in a room with at least a handful of people who I know are going to be funnier than me. So it's a nice change of pace (I am 100% kidding here for those of you who think I have developed an ego, attitude or any other word that I hope to never be associated with). But there are tons of fun, creative, out of the house activities that can be planned for V-day that take little thought but are incredibly thoughtful.

And there it is. Short, sweet and to the point. I don't know how helpful that will be, but now I can say that I gave my opinion...which was the whole point in starting this blog to begin with.

Until next time....

Maybe: My Least Favorite Word...Ever

Jack Johnson may be operating with a very limited pulse, but he was spot on (insert some level of British accent) when he said,
"It seems to me that maybe,
It pretty much always means no.
So don't tell me
You might just let it go.

This word has probably lead to the end of so many relationships and yet members of the opposite sex still feel that it is a totally legitimate response. And to those members of the opposite sex -- whether they are male or female -- I would like to offer a few words of rage....I mean words of wisdom.

To the guys: How would you feel if your girlfriend, wife, woman you were dating, said maybe any time you wanted to:
- watch a sporting event
- go to a sporting event
- bring her to hang out with your friends
- hang out with your friends without her
- and yup...I'm gonna say it...partake in any level of intimacy (this is me with a filter...i.e. borderline lame but my mom is probably going to read this)

And when I say any time.. I mean 60% of the time...every time. No, but seriously, most of the time. It's probably annoying, right? Well guess what? It's not NEARLY as annoying if you're on the other end of the spectrum.

To the girls: How incredibly awesome, exciting and just overwhelmingly fantastic would it be if your boyfriend, husband, fiance, or guy you were dating said maybe pretty much every time you:
- wanted to go out rather than stay in
- wanted to travel more than 5 miles to have some type of heightened entertainment that would stray away from video games, movies and video games
- asked him to go to a family function
- asked him to go to a family function at a member of his family's house
- and yeah.. I'm gonna go there again... any time you wanted to 'do' anything in the intimacy category. I know after that one you're probably thinking- who in their right mind would do that? Well, let's just say friends of friends of friends have told me stories about their friends...or something like that.

Anyway, the bottom line is...if you can avoid using that word...at all times, please do so. Whether it's for the sake of your significant other or just to make me happy, all parties involved will be better off. And if they tell you otherwise...I think you're better off without them- if you wanted my certified relationship expert perspective.

So until next time...maybe I'll hear from you:)

What Do Men Want?

So you're probably thinking...well she definitely isn't going to live up to the last entry...but what I'm really looking for here is some information. I recently saw the new hit movie -- and by hit movie I mean complete chick flick that I would go to see over and over and over again: "He's Just Not that Into You." In case you are unaware- this movie is staring everyone who is beautiful in Hollywood (Jennifer Aniston, Scarlett Johannson, Drew Barrymore, and my new favorite guy- Bradley Cooper). I'm not going to say that he is replacing Vince Vaughn as my dream guy, but he's coming in a close second after this movie. Anyway, the entire movie is mainly focused on this one girl, Ginnifer Goodwin, who is quite frankly the majority of girls. She's absolutely clueless when it comes to guys, tries to read into all the signs, waits around by her phone for Mr. Right to call (*please note that when I lump 'most girls' into a category, I am in NO WAY referring to myself or any of my girl friends...just to be clear) and is ultimately going to find herself very often in the 'I Hate Guys' section of every bar, yoga class or self-help seminar.

Moving on, the big idea in this movie is that guys are not difficult to read. In fact, they are so simple and mindless when it comes to their approach to relationships or just dating in general, that girls should just give up when it comes to romance, spontaneity or anything that might blow up your skirt (not literally). In all honestly, I know there are some guys out there who do not fall into this 'I refuse to put in much of any effort when it comes to girls' category, but what is the deal exactly? Why is it that they dedicated an entire movie to 'What Women Want' and decided that it would be just fine to skip the sequel that would be appropriately entitled 'What Men Want.'

If this movie is accurate and girls are waiting around for men to call or trying to read into what he might of said to her at a bar that may or may not be interpreted as interest and whether or not that means that he's actually interested in dating me or if he is just trying to sleep with me (which is most likely the case)...Then why the hold up on an explanation of what men actually want.

In my own experience, and I'm not naming names (not that there are many), but the select few people I have been with have said the same thing: "You're just great....any guy would be lucky to have you...you're so much fun and bla bla bla at this point I want to vomit even thinking about those conversations.

When you think about it- guys are always saying that girls are the difficult ones and I'm sure there are some great guys who will read this and say- all I want is a girl who is NORMAL! Who doesn't talk about shopping non-stop and who I can actually bring around my friends and she won't make a fool of herself and me..for that matter. But I GUARANTEE that you have dated, hooked up with or tried to get with a girl who is 100% just pretty. These types of girls can be categorized as 'bringing nothing to the table'...at least that's the way I see it. And yet these girls almost ALWAYS have boyfriends.

So I raise the question, what is it that guys are REALLY looking for in relationships? Now, guys...I understand that that is a very vague question and it might require some thought or even effort on your part, but just as I'm sure you would like your girlfriend, wife, significant other to do on a regular basis- just leave out all the BS and let me hear it. I promise to not judge and am strictly using this information for research...I mean a book... I mean I'm just kidding. I'm just interested.

Enlighten me...

Slayer Meets True Religion

Imagine you're 25 years old and you are about to go out on your first blind date. Sure, people can say that that's pathetic...that you don't need to be blind dating...that you really need to find out more information about this guy before you decide to spend some time with him...but what's the big deal? This recent experience is proof that you should always have some level of criteria when venturing out into the blind dating world.

My mom's friend tells me that she couldn't help but think of me when her friend said that her brother was interested in meeting someone. He's 30 years old (sounds great), very cute, has a very interesting job and is a really nice guy. What could be so bad about that? Well... like any normal 25 year old.. I immediately go onto Facebook to see if he is there. So we're friends in no time (which is just one of several things that are creepy about Facebook but I would be lying if I said I didn't love the fact that I finally joined) and he is messaging me about the date.

*First sign that something is not right: He misspelled everything in his message. There was no punctuation whatsoever. So I'm trying not to be judgemental...but seriously? Anyway- I've already committed, so I'm in. So he suggests dinner and a movie. Me...not knowing anything about blind dating, agrees and so we're on for dinner and a movie. Thankfully, my co-workers are really great people and they tell me that I'm investing way too much time in this blind date. They say- what happens if everything goes really badly? So I decide on the day of the date to text him and say that we're just gonna do dinner. I'm 'tired' after a long day at work. Whatever, after the misspellings, his suggestion to go to a movie at 7 (when would we eat?!?!) and the fact that I got an email from my mom saying that her friend says this guy is 'rough around the edges'...I'm thinking that dinner was probably too much time all by itself.

So it's time for the date. I pull up to the restaurant and I see someone standing right outside the door. That must be him...and at first glance I'm like...yeah not so much. But I've already committed to the date so I'm in. I get to the door and I'm like...hello...it's very nice to meet you. And before I know it, I'm staring David Diehl, the offensive lineman for the New York Giants in the face. This guy is his clone. Moving on...

We sit down, he takes off his jacket and he's wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and sneakers. Meanwhile, I probably have on the two most expensive things I own (I'm not referring to these jeans as the show stoppas- please say it just like that too). I cannot even confirm if he had showered. He starts talking and he sounds like Tony Soprano...hence the 'rough around the edges comment.' Things are off to an incredible start.

We get to talking and he says that he is from the area, but has been working in Louisiana for about a year and a half as a professional diver- diver as in when a bridge is being built, he is under the water-type stuff. So I say to myself- this is great! We'll have something to talk about. I LOVE New Orleans! My best friend in the whole world is from New Orleans...we'll have something to say. Well.. he did not seem to like it as much as I did. He was dropping racial bombs like you wouldn't believe. I will not even begin to repeat them, but they were words you do not use on a blind date...or ever! So no more Louisiana talk.

I decide to keep the conversation going so I ask him if he went to school in the area. (Insert Tony Soprano voice) "Oh...well....I'm not a college boy or anything...!" I say- well did you go to high school around here? And he says, "Well, who really likes high school anyway? I was just a punk...aaaahhhh." (Insert Erin's brain: I was voted most school spirit my senior year in high school. Clearly, I LOVED HIGH SCHOOL!) He proceeds to tell me that he went to alternative school. I'm like- well what is that? Yeah that's where they send annoying kids who teachers cannot tolerate in high school...i.e. Juvi. And that was where that conversation ended.

He tells me that the reason he is in the area is because he has had jury duty all week. I look down at his hand and notice that something is written on it. I'm thinking to myself- Ok...best case scenario, he was bored in jury duty and wrote on his hand (again...keep in mind.. HE IS 30!!!) I ask him, "When did you do that to your hand?" And he says, "Oh...ah ah ah.. I was just a dumb 16 year old!" Now I know it's a tatoo and it reads: P-U-N-K across his knuckles. Yes.. I didn't studder. Definitely my dream man.

And now for the kicker....I just keep asking questions so as to not appear nearly as disgusted as I was at this point. I ask him- "So..it sounds like you work in a very male-dominated field...are there any women?" He says, "Well there are a couple of women. In fact, there was this one woman on the deck who got along with me really well because she liked SLAYER!!!!! (insert the most pathetic, 80's face, meets psycho, meets 'I really don't know what I'm doing on a blind date') He proceeded to do this 3 more times...and yes I was laughing.

And there you have it. My first experience with blind dating and it was probably one of the worst blind dates of all time. I have to say, while it was a bad date, it has made for one of the best stories of all time...and the reason for starting this blog.

I have felt the need to document, not just blind dating stories...because let's face it...they can't all be that bad...at least I hope not. And who wants to hear about me all the time anyway? My life isn't nearly as interesting as some of my friend's...who will be receiving fake names any day now.

So I hope you enjoy and read on...and often. I'll make this as entertaining as I possibly can...as soon as I figure this whole blogging thing out.

Til next time...