You Say Goodbye, I say Hello

Alright, so it’s been a couple of weeks since my last post. What can I say? Things have been happening. First of all, I moved uptown—away from my corner bars, away from my second date restaurants, away from my late-night last-minute last-resort haunts. I couldn’t be more relieved.

A month ago, the prospect of moving to my roommate’s dad’s apartment on the Upper West Side made me shudder. Not only would I be far away from my date bars/restaurants/men, but I wouldn’t even have my own bedroom to bring a date back to (if it was the third date…and things went really, really well…and I knew he was about to be my boyfriend…) Not only would the move throw a wrench in my dating life, but I felt totally ill-equipped to cook in someone else’s kitchen. Moving uptown, I begrudgingly resigned myself to two life changes: no more dating and no more cooking.

As usual, things never turn out quite as expected. As far as cooking, I’ve happily settled into my cooking routine in the borrowed kitchen. The oven is hotter, the pots are nicer, and the groceries are from Fairway. I haven’t made anything too impressive so far—salads for lunch, soups for dinner—but tonight I plan to make myself a real meal. It’s feeling like a tofu teriyaki night. Also, BONUS—I found something in the fridge called “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Peanut Butter” and it is AWESOME. I can believe it’s not peanut butter, but for 100 calories a serving, I’ll take it. Last night I ate a few heaping spoonfuls with a cut up banana and fat-free whipped cream. Unreal.

In accordance with my geographical change, my dating life also took an unexpected turn. Aforementioned dating life has become basically non-existent, but not for the reasons I anticipated before moving.

I never heard back from Ben—surprise, surprise—but I met someone else who seems quite wonderful. Evan and I met at a bar-b-cue on the 4th of July and hit it off immediately. About five minutes into meeting him, I asked one of our mutual friends—“Hey, is Evan single?” only to receive the response, “Yes. But don’t get any ideas.” I guess my reputation precedes me. Look, I’m trying to settle down just as much as the next person (girl). I can’t help it if I can never make it past date two! Great at reeling ‘em in, terrible at keeping ‘em around.

ANYWAY, Evan and I had a great time. He’s stationed in Virginia for the Navy, but he ended up staying in the city a few extra days so we could spend more time together. It felt like the best, longest first date in history. Second date to be continued next weekend, when I go to Virginia to visit family and friends (and Evan) in my hometown. Clearly, long-distance is not the ideal set-up. However, if his text message response rate is any indication of what’s to come—count me in!