Crush: Confirmed

This past Friday: I (passive-aggressively) e-mailed my crush to see if he wanted to get together on Saturday to go see a movie. Fifteen minutes later, I got an e-mail from him accepting my proposal and letting me know that he will call me so that we could figure out what we were going to do. He called later that day, but I didn't answer because I was too nervous; so I let my VM handle the call. He left a funny, cute message that made me smile so I begrudgingly returned his call. We agreed on a dinner and a movie...at the same time. There is a place called Studio Movie Grill and it is a movie theatre that serves food. I have been there once before to that movie with Jennifer Connolly, I can't remember the name and it's worth looking up. We solidified our plans and ended our conversation.

Saturday: After spending the afternoon with his family he gave me a call just to confirm our plans. I was set to met him at his place at 7pm so I printed off my directions from Google Maps and I was out of the door. Of course, I got lost -- even with directions. I ended up passing is apartment by 2 blocks so I had to turn back. His apartment complex is a major labyrinth and it took me a couple of minutes to find his place. I only found his apartment because I saw his car parked in the lot. I found his door, rang his bell, did some last minute primping, and waited anxiously until it opened. I was standing at the door for about 2 minutes before I called him on his cell to let him know that I arrived. He finally came to the door and I heard the music blasting in the background, I figured out why he hear me ring the bell. We said hello to one another, I reached in for a handshake and he went for a hug. It was awkward. I wasn't really expecting a hug because I wasn't sure whether or not this was an actual date ... so maybe it was.

Awkwardness aside, he gave me a tour of his apartment and from the outside I wasn't expecting much, but the inside was really nice. We had a half hour to kill before the movie started so engaged in some small talk before it time to go. We wanted to see "The 40 year-old Virgin" but it was sold out, so we had to see "Red Eye" instead. "Red Eye" was surprising good, and not what I expected at all. The park of the movie was seeing Colby Donaldson from Survivor: Australia as a Secret Service agent.

We head back to his place so we can watch the last 30 minutes of the Pilot Pen Men's Semi-finals. He got up to turn on the TV and at that point I noticed his DVD collection. From about 10 feet away I spotted his "Strangers With Candy" DVDs and I was in shock that someone, other than myself, watched this show and liked it enough to buy the DVDs. I got up to look more closely and I notice that he also had Cartoon Network Adult Swim's "Sealab 2021." The crush I had on him immediately doubled. We ended up talking about our favorite episodes from both series and laughing as we recalled the dialogue. He showed me his other VHS/DVDs: Absolutely Fabulous and Mystery Science Theater 3K: The Movie -- which I have in my collection, as well. I am just loving the weird coincidence that we love the same shows because the almost never happens. I also mentioned that I like Bjork, and so does he -- in fact, he has: all her album including some imports and early works, VHS tapes of her videos and concerts, and saw her live. Now I am just freaked out about all of the similarities ... but in a good way. So we talked, watched this old UK comedy series from the BBC which contained a majority of cast members from AbFab, and just had a good time.

You know what I like? I like when you are on a date, and while seated next to them you have the touching of the person knees. You wonder if they will move it but you hope that they don't. I always take that as a good sign. Soon after, he grab my hand. Jokingly (and nervously) I said, "Excuse me. What are you doing?" He recoiled and I told him that I was kidding and grabbed his hand. "Is this fine?", he asked. "Yeah!", I replied. So we both sat kind of speechless before we noticed the time. I was about 1:30am, and we both had tennis matches scheduled for the next morning. We said our goodbye, and he gave me a hug along with a kiss on the cheek -- which was unexpected, but nice -- and I happily drove back to my place.

Sunday: I was finally getting my membership at 24 Hour Fitness so I can get myself somewhat in shape of my tennis tournament, when the crush called me. We spoke briefly because I was waiting for a sales rep., but I told him a called him back later. Three hours later, after I got back home from the gym, grocery shopping and falling asleep during tennis; I gave him a call. He was getting ready for his trip to NYC and I was attempting to do laundry. We spoke on the phone briefly before we went back to our tasks. I was feeling kind of eager to see him again, because it would be a week before he is back in Dallas. I wanted to call him again to see if he wanted some company, but I couldn't. I made a deal to myself; if the washers were taken in the laundry room I will give him a call. So I picked up my basket and heading for the laundry. Both washers were being used and I laughed knowing that I had to follow through on the deal. I picked up my phone and stared at his name for a couple of minutes. Ten minutes later, I finally worked up enough courage to give him a call.

Me: "Hey! How busy are you?" [in sullen tone]
Him: "Not that busy ... why? What's wrong?" [in a concerned tone]
Me: "Nothing is wrong. I was just wondering if you wanted some company?" [optimistically]
Him: "Oh!...Sure!" [seeming pleased and somewhat relieved]

... 20 minutes later I was at his door. He invited me in and we spared each other the possible awkward hug. We ended up watching "Freaky Friday," which wasn't that bad, and just chilled. After the movie, I decided it was best to leave so that he could finish packing. We ended up taking a detour into the kitchen where began to talk about "us". He mentioned a conversation that he had with one of his friends that he wasn't sure if he went on a date the previous night. I agreed that I was sure what was going on and referred to the awkward hug. And he agreed that it was indeed awkward. We admitted our mutual attraction for one another, also not know if the other person felt the same. Once all that was out of the way, we agreed to slowly transition into something beyond friends. With him being gone for a week it should help the transition process...so we will see how things will go when he return. I am jealous that he is at the US Open and seeing all of those great tennis players ... but I will have to get over it.

Can these two crazy Virgos -- his birthday 6 days before mine -- make things work? Only time will tell.

Date Night?

Yesterday I asked my crush out to see a movie, or whatever. Tonight we went out and had a lot of fun. It is 2am CST and I just got home. I can't really think straight because I am tired...and giddy. For now, I will just say that things went EXTREMELY well. I will go into the night in more detail tomorrow.

Crush'd

Okay. There has been some several meetings over the past week between myself and my crush. So I will try to give a brief yet accurate account of what has happened.

Last Saturday: We met up at his Country Club, where I might become a member, and we briefly chatted before attending our schedule drill session. An hour and a half later, we tried to recover from the torture the tennis pro put use through and headed over the the clay courts to start a singles match. About 15 minutes into the game, the sprinklers came on effectively ended the match. I was down 2-4 but the match was called a draw due to the interruption. We sat on the patio adjacent to the clay courts and we talked for over an hour. I had to end our conversation because I only had one hour until I was suppose to meet several members of the OLTA for "Gay Bingo." The crush would have attended but he made other plans the day before. He said that he will see me tomorrow for tennis ... and we said good-bye.

Last Sunday: The crush didn't show up to tennis. I was eagerly awaiting his arrival, but to no avail. At the end of tennis I pickup up my cellphone to check the time and I noticed a VM from him: " ...sorry it is 10:30 and I just woke up, so I will not be able to make it to tennis", he said groggily. So at least he didn't totally blow me off. Later the day he called and we spoke briefly while waiting at the grocery store.

Last Tuesday: We had plans to meet up at tennis but he got delayed at work, so he showed up about 30 minutes late. I was in the middle of a doubles match so I couldn't get away to challenge him in a game of singles. On Tuesdays, tennis usually lasts from 6pm to 9pm but it was an really hot day so it zapped most of our energy. At 8pm the crush and I took a seat on a bench and chatted until 9pm. This prompted the other player to jokily ask why weren't playing. We were getting up to head home when he asked me if I wanted to get together for lunch sometime since we only worked 10 minutes away from each other. I thought that was a fine idea so I told him that I would send him a message with a plan to get together this coming Thursday (yesterday).

Thursday: While at work I got a couple of e-mail from him asking where and what I like to eat. We ended going to a Tex Mex placed called "Mi Cocina," which was a very interesting decor. They were playing "Breakfast at Tiffany's" on a huge plasma screen while the customers dined. It was very dimly lit, but I guess that was part of the ambiance. I got there ahead of him and due to my inherited lateness I thought he was inside at a table waiting for me. But, surprisingly, I arrived before him. I called him on his cellphone and asked his current location. He was in the parking lot walking toward the entrance, so I got a table and waited. I saw him but it was so dark that he couldn't see me so I called his cellphone to direct him towards me. He finally spotted me and walked towards the table. It was sort of weird seeing him in clothes, I mean, other than his tennis gear. He was wearing a pair of khakis with an apricot LaCoste shirt; I was wearing my black pin-striped wool pants and a long-sleeved grey polo shirt (both from the GAP) and the FAB new shoes IN 100 DEGREE WEATHER. This is what happens when you don't do laundry. Luckily I was in the A/C at work and the restaurant so the heat never really affected me. I pointed out the LaCoste shirt to him because the mentioned that his younger brother had a pink LaCoste that he bought from him. As he looked down at the alligator logo on his shirt he said sheepishly, "Oh, well ... today I decided to dress nice." I don't know if he wanted to dress nice for me, or for the meeting he had after our lunch .. . but I believe it was for me.

I found out some very interesting information about him during the course of our conversation. I wasn't sure of his background and just assumed he was Arab, considering that he lived in Saudi Arabia for 9 years, but I was confused further by his Anglo last name. He was talking about his family and he said "...when we 'got' our brother..." -- I thought it was an odd choice of words. I had him clarify what he meant by 'got' and he told me that his younger brother is adopted -- he was/is as well. "Didn't I tell you this?", he said with a puzzled look. So, his parents are white and there are 4 children: the oldest is the birth child of the parents; my crush, who I now know is of Colombian decent; another sister who is Indian (from India); and the younger brother who is Mexican. I think started to like him more after finding out this information. He said is parents are really liberal -- which I found sort of a given when they have children of many different nationalities -- and even went to a gay wedding. "You will have to meet them.", he said. I am not sure how to process that statement, so I will not speculate about what I think he meant by it. We talked and ate until we both had to head back to work. I asked if he was coming to tennis today, he said that he can't because he has a double match early in the morning tomorrow; also his family is taking him out for a birthday lunch tomorrow because he will be in NYC attending the US Open tennis tournament on his actual birthday. He sort of said that he was free Saturday evening -- which I interpreted as "I am not doing anything so if you give me a call we can hang out." Or maybe I am reading too much into that statement. We had one of those awkward, yet good goodbyes were we shook hands preceded to go our separate way but still continued a staccato conversation. Think of Jennifer Grey's characer in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" where she was smitten by Charlie Sheen's "bad boy" character in the police station.

Friday: I think I am going to send him an e-mail asking if he wants to do something Saturday. Like, "Oh, you mentioned that your were free Saturday. If you want to hangout and do something (i.e. see a movie, solve world hunger, make the space shuttle safe from falling debris)...give me a call."

Saturday: unknown

Attachment

Yesterday started off well, but took a turn for the worse.

After work I went to the Galleria Mall here in Dallas to look for a dressy/casual shoe for work. The weather has been hot and I wanted to wear shorts but I am can't wear my leather boots; so I decided that I had to go shopping. The mall looked really unimpressive from the outside, but was one of the better malls I have been to. Versace, Louis Vuitton, BCBG, Neiman Marcus...all the stores that I can never afford where there. When you get to the center there is an ice skating rink ... how cool is that? Anyway. After browsing for a bit I finally saw a store with a pair of shoes that look good. That store was Kenneth Cole. I found a pair of these cool shoes (picture below) and I knew I had to by them.



They cost $100, but I had a $50 gift card from Bank of America for opening up a new account and a coupon for $10 off. So I made out like a bandit. This is my second pair of Kenneth Cole's, and I think I will be adding more or to the collection ... someday.

Later that evening, while searching through the boxes from the move for my (Kenneth Cole) water-proofing spray, I heard something rattle. I realized that it was one of my mugs that I packed away in newspaper. Before I opened it I felt the handle had broken off, and I just hoped that it wasn't my favourite. I removed the paper and saw that my Chuck E. Cheese's mug was now missing a handle.



After discovering this, I began getting upset ... which led to me crying. I received this mug when I was 8 years-old during my birthday part at Chuck E. Cheese which I have always kept with me. "Why I am I crying? It is just a stupid mug.", I said to myself. I am still not sure why. Maybe it has it just was a reminder of a time where everything seemed perfect. At this time my mom and dad were still together; I thought my older brother was the coolest brother, ever; and most of my extended family and close friend were there to celebrate with me. Things are just different now. After a few minutes, I was ablet collect myself. I clearly have issues if a broken mug causes tears, but I partly blame the series finale of "Six Feet Under" because it was depressing, yet heart-warming at the time [Damn you Claire for finally realizing the importance of your mother. And damn you Ruth for finally accepting Claire for who she is.]. I am not going to get deep into my psychotic episode in an online blog, because there are underlying issues that has to be examined and I rather no t discuss them here. But since my last boyfriend, I didn't know I was so attached to an inanimate object [cue rimshot].

IKEA Desk

As request by some deranged fan who calls themself 'SuperBlu', here are the pictures of the assembly of the desk I bought from IKEA. Enjoy ... you sick bastard!

Crush

I think I have a crush on someone, but I am not whether or not I should act upon it. I have had crushes in the past but they usually go away after getting to know the person. For example: I had a crush on the Argentine guy who used the computer lab that I worked in. I never spoke with him, so I quietly admired him from afar. The one time we finally spoke, he had his really high voice which didn't seem to fit with his body -- sort of like Mike Tyson -- and the crush instantly dissipated. The current crush is different because this person seems like a nice guy and I actually enjoy talking with him.

Over the past month I have been contact with this guy I met at my tennis club, and whenever possible we play doubles together. I presume we got along well because he invited me to come to his country club for a day of tennis. When we get together I am going to gauge the interaction between us to see if this is a friendship or something more. I am hesitant because I never had to be the aggressor in the pursuit of dating. Most guys I have dated initially showed interest in me, thereby making it okay for me to be the aggressor. I guess it is all a game, like poker; you shouldn't show all your cards unless you have a winning hand. I guess it is like poker? Seeing that I don't know who to play THAT game -- I will just assume that analogy will apply. With "marrying guy," he showed his cards too soon -- ugh, I already bored with the poker analogy -- and it caused me to fold. I am in limited contact with the person because the last time we hung out he made unwanted advances towards me. I told him that we can only be friends, but I guess did not compute AND he told me that he won't stop pursuing me. Yeah. So I am trying to avoid this guy and future guys like this.

I think I may start asking some innocent, yet probing questions like: "do you have a boyfriend?"; and adjust my line of questioning upon the response I receive...

... he just e-mailed me. How weird is that? Could it be a sign?

Tan

Do black people tan? I know that we can get darker in the sun ... I wonder if it still called 'tanning'. I am wondering because I have been outdoors, more than I usually do, playing tennis and I am starting to get darking. When I first starting playing down here in Dallas I didn't wear any sunscreen because I had the mentallity of, "I am black, so I don't need to wear sunscreen." But after weeks of playing in the brutal Texas sun, my arms are about 2-3 shades darker than normal. I know this because I now have a tanline on my wrist due to the wrist band I wear.

I am don't have a complex about getting darker, I am just hating the very obvious 3 inch wide patch lighter toned skin on my right arm. I was thinking about not using the wrist band for a couple of day so that the light patch can get darker. But I wonder if this is a good idea? I am not sure if this cause my wrist pain to return. Maybe one day this week I will just lay in the sun and get an overall 'tan' so that my whole body will match.

IKEA

Tomorrow I am heading to IKEA to get the desk which I desperately need. I love my iBook, but you can't do everything on a Apple. There are websites you can't visit because they don't support the Tiger operating system. I bought a new HP scanner/copier/photo printer along with my iBook, but I can't the scanning feature because HP does support the Apple OS. So I have my Windows tower on the floor of my temporary bedroom connect to my television so if the need arises, I can use it. I have been mostly connected to it by using Remote Desktop but there is only so much you can do with that. I also want to use my dual LCD monitors -- so it is imperative that I get my desk tomorrow.

This might seem crazy, but I am heading to IKEA at 8a.m., even thought it doesn't open until 10 a.m. By doing this I will hopefully avoid the onslaught of people. I know what I want, so I will not be browsing and wasting valuable time. In and Out -- that is my plan. The only issue I foresee is that the desk will not fit in my car. Most items are flat-packed so it shouldn't be a problem. I may have to let down the back seat and slide it into my trunk. I will have to do some measuring to make sure.

I am going bring my laptop with some DVDs, my iPod, food and drink, and camp out until opening. I am also going to bring my camera ... it may get interesting.

Recap

I can't believe it has been a week since I last made an entry in my blog! AND I can't believe it is now August. Where has the time gone? Anyway ...

I started a new job this past Tuesday with a company just outside of Dallas. So far I am enjoying what I do, but I know this isn't something I want to do long-term. I have had conversations with family and friends about starting and then quitting a position after a short period of time; the general consensus is that I don't owe the company anything and I should feel free to leave whenever I want. It took some convincing, but I see what they were talking about. So, for now, I will keep the new job until something better comes along for more (or less) money.

This past Saturday I went out to dinner with guys from the Oaklawn Tennis Club to a restuarant called Buca Di Beppo. It is in the style of immigrant-Italian. You can not order meals individual, you can only order as a group. A small portion can feed about 2-3 people and a large is for 4-6. There was a LOT of food. I wasn't sure if I wanted to hang out with the OLTA guys because I am still a newbie in the group and tend to be rather cliquey. But the director of social events and his boyfriend/partner was very welcoming which made be feel comfortable. So there was 17 gay men being jovial and (openly) hitting on a very handsome waiter near a table were a woman was celebrating her 70ish birthday. The waiter, who is originally from Germany by way of Serbia & Montenegro, seemed to enjoy being hit on. As the night progress, the waiter informed us that he used to be a "amateur" stripper at a club for women. Once this got out all the guys whipped out their dollar bills to playful tense the waiter. If he wasn't currently working, he would have removed some article of clothing. He was a nice guy. When we finished eathing and began to leave our table he gave us all of us a handshake. We think he might have been "family" due his playfulness and the absence of hair on his forearms, but mostly likely he was straight and enjoyed the attention.

As of today, I am in training of the Texas Open tennis tournament. My goal is to: drop 15 pounds by October 1st (205 lbs. to 190 lbs.), add some muscle, increase my mobility, increase my stamina, and just improve my overall tennis game. I feel that I have improved my game since I have been to Dallas because I am play more consistantly. I now have to join a gym in the area so that I can resume lifting weights because I haven't been to the gym on a consistant basis in 2 years. The guns I once posessed are now just a distant memory ... and I would like to get them back. I have to figure out with gym to join.

This Wednesday IKEA is opening up there new store about 30 minutes north of Dallas. I desperately have to go because I do not have a desk for my computer and monitor. Since I moved I have been only using my Apple iBook, which is fine, but there are programs on my Windows machine that I need to use. I tried ordering the desk online from the IKEA website but they wanted $350 in shipping cost for a desk that only cost $50. Of course, I didn't order it. My good friend who lives lived near an IKEA was going to buy and ship it to Dallas for me wasn't able to because the could fit the huge desk in his car. So I will have to brave the opening day rush to get my desk. I think I will bring my camera along and document the trip...