Blind Date II

My family teases me a bit about some of my last dates and crushes. In recent months, I've "dated" a guy who was blind with some hearing loss and a guy who was deaf in one ear and profoundly hearing-impaired in the other. My brothers have joked about who I'll date next; a mute is my favorite of their guesses. I showed them, though, my last date had no physical (or mental) handicaps, though it was a blind date. (sorry)

As I mentioned in a recent post, my friend Natalie, set me up with Nolan, a good friend of her older brother. She ran into Nolan on campus a few months ago, and they chatted for awhile. She concluded that he and I would get along really well, so she asked him if he would let her fix him up with one of her friends, me. He said yes, as long as Natalie and her husband went out with us. She agreed and ever since has been trying to nail me down to a date and time. She's moving this Saturday, and I'm going to miss her, so I gave in.

Due to prior plans with Cardine in St. George on Saturday (today is her birthday!!!) and Girls Night at Natalie's house Friday night, my weekend didn't have a lot of openings. In the end, we decided to have breakfast at her house at 8:30am, giving us a couple hours before I had to be at Cardine's. Since I had somewhere to be immediately after the date, I figured the best plan would be for Nolan and me to meet at Natalie's. Then I could just drive to Cardine's right after the date. I suggested this plan to Natalie, but she emailed me back saying Nolan, being a gentleman, wanted to pick me up. She gave him my cell phone number and he called Friday after I got off of work. We chatted a few minutes and I gave him my address and directions to my house.

Saturday morning, he arrived right on time. I love punctuality! I had dreaded the moment I opened the door - who knows what he expected me to look like! I was surprised a bit by his appearance because I had forgotten that Natalie had said he was a cowboy. He was attractive, in a cowboy way, and had a goatee, brown hair, and brown eyes. He smiled easily and helped me carry the cantaloup and the books I had borrowed from Natalie to his truck. Yes, his truck, his big truck. I had to literally climb into it! Of course, he opened the door for me and then handed me the fruit and books. When we had both settled into our seats, he informed me that I had some responsibilities while we drove - I was navigator and comfort controller. Basically, I had to tell him where we were going if he didn't know, tell him he was going the wrong way if he mistakenly thought he knew where he was going, and make him stop for directions if we got lost. Also, since he had learned from his dad that women get hot/cold before men, I could adjust the temperature as I saw fit. Finally, I controlled the music, as long as I didn't mess with the preset buttons. As it was, I liked the country cd he had playing, the temp was perfect, and he knew exactly where we were going, so I ended up having nothing to do but talk.

Natalie had breakfast (french toast, eggs, and sausage) almost finished when we arrived, so I hurried and cut up the cantaloup so we could start. We talked while we ate and ended up having so much fun talking that we continued to talk after we ate instead of playing the games Natalie had planned. I found out that Nolan is named after one of the Sacketts (Louis L'Amour), loves to camp, hunt, fish, and just be outdoors. He's graduating from the engineering program and already has a job lined up for the summer. This Fall he's spending over a month in Alaska to hunt. He doesn't really enjoy playing video games and Louis L'Amour is about all he reads, besides text books. As my mom pointed out, this doesn't mean he won't get into other books. According to her, my dad only read Louis L'Amour for a really long time, then he started branching out and now loves to read a variety of books.

At the appointed time, Nolan and I thanked Natalie and Erik and said goodbye. He drove me to Cardine's house and walked me to the door (I was super impressed!). We said the standard "I had a good time" and "It was really nice to meet you", then he gave me hug and we said goodbye. Oh, and he wished me a fun time in St. George and I wished him success on his finals. Then he got back in his truck and I went into the house.

Nolan was a super nice guy, easy to talk to, funny, smart, and interesting. I had a fun time, I'm not sorry I went on the date, and I'll be super suprised if I ever hear from him again. I, at least, felt no sparks, but then, I didn't really want to, either. He'd make a good acquaintance, someone to do things with in a group of all my other friends, but I don't think we're a match. My mom asked if I'd go out with him again if he calls (I doubt he will), and I think I would because I'd like to get to know him as a friend. And, who knows, maybe he'll meet one of my friends and they'll be a good match!

I still don't like the idea of getting set up on a blind date - too much stress; however, if it were guaranteed to end up like this one... maybe it wouldn't be too horrible. If nothing else, it has now only been two days since my last date!

Yeah!