Don't Forget the Country Code...

I stepped off the plane in Dublin and it all became real once I saw my very first stamp staring back at me from my passport.  Suddenly my life changed.  I was actually here.  I was on foreign soil.  I made it.  I did it.  I was proud, excited, relieved and just had a beaming smile on my face even though I was completely alone.  And it was weird…I was completely alone and yet I couldn’t have been happier.  I didn’t feel lonely, scared, nervous or anxious.  Well, perhaps I was a little anxious but not in that stressed out from anxiety kind of way but in that I cannot wait to start walking the streets of Dublin kind of way. 

Traveling to Europe was something I’ve wanted to do my whole life and I never took the opportunity…at first it was because I didn’t have the money…then when I finally did I was dating Shithead and it was like moving a glacier just to get him to take a day trip to Philly so leaving the country was out of the question.  And while he wouldn’t have stopped me from going without him, I never wanted to have huge experiences  like this without him.  I felt we were in a relationship and should do stuff like this together.  Idiot.  I’ll be honest that I spent a bit of time on the plane reflecting about everything that happened with Shithead.  A part of me still longing for the missed opportunities to share something like this with him.  I started to fear I was going to spend this entire trip reflecting on him and imaging what it would be like if he were there.  Then I quickly prayed to God my mind wouldn’t be such a fucking devil and torture me like that on such an expensive excursion.  Wouldn’t that be a complete goddamn shame? 

Anyway, I digress, here I was!!!  I was in Europe!!!  I hopped on the bus to head towards my friend’s apartment and about a million things were running through my head.  I wanted to video everything, photograph everything, see, taste and feel everything!  Sensory fucking overload I tell you.  It’s like a child who just got to Disney for the first time…their eyes are wide, their smiles huge and their excitement so great they can barely sit still.

After I met my friend, who I’d like to introduce you to…he name is Smitch and I’ve known her since high school.  We were part of a group of best friends who all happened to have a different variation of the same name, I kid you not, we all played sports and we were all inseparable.  Smitch moved to Dublin after college for post-grad and then got a job with an incredible company over there and has been living there ever since. 

So Smitch and I got back to her apartment and while I think she expected me to want to just pass out from the long trip over all I wanted to do was freshen up and get out in the city.  Smitch had to give a presentation at some conference so she walked me to the center of the city and left me to explore.  I’m not going to go into detail of my travels because after all this is a dating blog but I will tell you…given the opportunity go to Ireland.  My god, beautiful, friendly, fun…it’s an incredible place.  The more I walked the more I just felt like I completely belonged.  The men were adorable, hot, handsome…sigh, I miss them already.  And really…the accents just make it that much better (when you can actually understand them).

That we headed to a Halloween party…let me tell you Halloween in Ireland is so much more genuine then here in NYC.  People frown upon you if you go out and get a store bought costume.  Also, most girls do not dress like skanky sluts.  People get ridiculously creative and make, yes MAKE, their own costumes…from the obvious to the thought provoking I was extremely impressed.  So as I was making my way through the crowd a seriously sexy guy caught eyes with me.  He and a few of his friends were there dressed as Chilean miners…fucking awesome.

At this point I hadn’t given much if any thought to meeting a guy.  I was so caught up in making friends, taking in the atmosphere and still on my Holy Shit I’m in Ireland high that the idea of meeting someone just didn’t even occur to me.  “When you least expect it” as some would say.  From the second we caught eyes you could feel the attraction.  He made his way through the crowd over to me and we started talking.  I remember just swooning over his gorgeous eyes, great smile and praying to god I could understand his accent.  All was going well.  We were making our way around the party hand in hand as he introduced me to everyone he knew.  I broke away at one point to find Smitch and refill my glass…she and I were on our way to finishing our 4^th bottle of Rosé champagne at this point…like I really needed more??  Fuck it, I’m on vacation! 

She started questioning me about my Chilean miner find and when she asked what he did all I could remember was “he said he goes to the gym…” Whether or not that meant he was a personal trainer I could not tell you.  Frankly, I didn’t really give a shit either…I was all sorts of bubbly from being champagne drunk and lusting after my first Irish boy crush.

All of a sudden it was 3am and time for Smitch and I to head home which also meant saying good bye to my miner.  I was sad to go but I knew I still had 9 days left so this was only the beginning!!

The Juicy Details:   Through all the talking and flirting and drinking I hadn’t even though much about actually physically connecting with the miner.  What, how is that even possible?!?!  Well, once I realized the Cinderella hour was quickly approaching my instinct kicked in and I quickly locked eyes with the miner, grabbed his hands, slowly propped myself up on my toes as he wraps his hands around my face and we have the most delicious kiss.  Inside I felt a million butterflies…here I am, my first night in Ireland and I’m having the most amazing kiss…I couldn’t have ever planned something this awesome.  And from that point it was on…we just couldn’t stop kissing each other.  Each chance we had until the moment I had to leave we took full advantage.  I began to truly see the power of a kiss when with each one I felt a little more of the thoughts, the stress, the bullshit and whatever from home break away…it wasn’t complete but it was a damn good start. 

When I finally had to pull myself away the miner pulled out his phone…at this time I was patting myself on the back for putting a global plan on my blackberry before I left…and he asked me for my number.  Who would have guessed my very first night in Ireland a hot guy would be asking for my American number???  He hands me his phone and says “Why don’t you give me your number and maybe I can show you the city…oh and Don’t forget the country code”  At that, I practically cracked up...I can honestly say I’ve never heard that before and I absolutely loved it.  I knew from that moment this trip was going to be epic.

A Boat...A Beer...A Boy

Wow, I haven’t posted in a week…what the fuck is wrong with me?  Well, lets be honest, that’s a stupid question…I’m a lazy bastard.  I’ll admit I do a lot of thinking, a lot of mental noting, a lot of bullshitting to people about my blog but do I ever sit down, discipline myself for at least 5 fucking minutes and pump out a few entries…hell to the no.  Apparently, I’d much rather google decorating ideas or read dating message boards and respond to other peoples issues or go on facebook half a dozen times within the hour…and with every click of the shitty mouse my job gave me I keep thinking why can’t I just write that stupid post I’ve been thinking about for the past 4 days (and yes, I’m doing all of this from the comfort constraints of my desk, somehow people here think I’m super productive)

The newest adventure involves not a date but a first encounter.  Last Friday I was going out for a friends birthday to this awesome bar on a boat in the city.  Once again the getting out of work at 3:30 devil reared its ugly head because I was slated to arrive to the bar before everyone else.  This actually turned out to be a major score in the parking department being that I managed to get a spot on the west side highway right in front of the bar…my aggravation faded for about 15min as I basked in the glory of my achievement.  Then as my car began heating up from the sun beating in and I felt myself begin to cook I started to lose my patience.  I decided the best thing to do would be to get out and go stand by the water, get some fresh air and enjoy the views (both of the water and the gorgeous men walking onto the boat).

I’d like to note at this time that as of recently (aka a couple of weeks ago) I feel like I’ve given up on guys.  Given up in the sense that I just don’t give a shit.  You want to talk to me?  Sure.  You want my number?  Sure.  You want to kiss me?  Sure, only if your hot.  Through all of this however, I have zero expectations…meaning I don’t expect phone calls, texts, dates, facebook friend invites…nada, zilch, nothing.  It takes a lot of stress out of things and helps me to not to get disappointed…I mean when you expect nothing, anything you do get is like a pleasant surprise. 

So I was sitting there praying to god I wouldn’t pee myself (I had to go from the minute I left work and it was now about 5:30 so two hours of the pee-pee dance was a little insane) and trying to distract myself with a little brick breaker on my BB when I suddenly feel someone standing over me.  I look up and this seriously hot guy, Casanova, is standing over me with this great big smile.  He thrusts out his hand to introduce himself and I hear his buddies cheering in the background.

After he’s done making me blush by calling me “so beautiful” about a dozen times, kissing my hand and just all around being perfectly adorable he asked if I’d be going to the Frying Pan as well and said I should find him inside so he could by me a drink.  ::sigh::  If only I believed the words coming out of his beautiful Italian lips.  Either way, I just got a HUGE confidence booster and forgot about how badly I had to pee and how fucking long it was taking my girls to get there. 

Patches finally arrived and while I was sorry for bugging the shit out of her knowing she was stuck in a cab in traffic I was soo excited to get inside to the bathroom and also tell her about Casanova…turns out I did this simultaneously because I couldn’t wait for either one.  A bucket of beer later Patches and I decide to ditch the group and check out the views (the sunset and the cuties).  All was wonderful.  Then on our way to the bar to get ourselves a pitcher of sangria we literally bump into Casanova.  He naturally realizes who I am and to my luck so do his friends “oh my god it’s the girl from the bench!”  We all stand there laughing and chatting as Casanova makes a total spectacle of himself, which I admit I’m totally eating up.  He’s dancing (and there is no music playing anywhere), he’s telling me the sweetest things and complements just every bone in my body and is nearly drooling over my bangs.  His poor friends heard “how cute is she?” so many times I was surprised none of them were vomiting overboard. 

The two events which happened next were surprising, amazing (?), hilarious and a little umm wacky but I was in my “I don’t give a fucking fuck” mode so I was rolling with it.  Casanova grabs my face in his hands and before I know it plants a kiss right on my lips after which I hear his buddy scream “no way! Was there tongue?!”  no, sorry to disappoint no tongue but wow did that just happen?  Before I could say that out loud he was going in for another and in a desperate attempt not to look like some slut that just kisses random guys at a bar I slowly turn my head to the side and give Cas some cheek.  He wasn’t too fond of this and quickly gave me a lecture on his amazing lips.  Oh Cas… 

After a little more of the kissing game he goes back to telling me “Your so beautiful, its all your mothers fault”  and you may think after hearing this for a while it would get old…but honestly, it doesn’t.  Even thinking about it now makes me laugh.  Fact is he could have been completely full of shit but it really didn’t matter because I was getting a kick out of hearing it just as much as he was by saying it.  I had been holding my phone in my hand this whole time because a good friend of mine I haven’t seen in a long time was coming to meet us and I didn’t want to miss his call so I could tell him where we are standing.  Apparently Cas took this as an invitation to grab my phone and actually CALL my MOM!!!  Why?? Well, to tell her how wonderful I am and that its all her fault I’m so beautiful.  I shit you not.  He handed me the phone after he was done because she wanted to talk to me.  Yes, of course she does because now she thinks her daughter has been abducted by some crazy she always warned me about.

Finally its time to part from Casanova and his buddies because my friend got there and frankly, I didn’t want to just hang around like some groupie who doesn’t have anything better to do.  Bye Cas, it was so much fun.

The Juicy Details:  Aside from all the stolen kisses, which there were plenty of, Casanova’s great lips (I will attest to the fact that he was 100% telling the truth about those) he seems like a real quality guy.  Totally my type across the board which shocked me and just seriously loveable.  He has a fantastic personality.  Before he let me get away he insisted I give him my number so he could take me out for a really nice dinner…oh, so sweet.  I give him a few rolls of my eyes because I don’t believe a word of this but I give him my number anyway and as a joke (which he took literally) I told him to save my number in his phone as “The love of my life”.  Well, I can tell you that I was so surprised to get a text from him on Monday saying “Heyy, its Casanova from Frying Pan, just wanted to say hi”  To which I eventually replied “Hi back :)” “How was your weekend?”  A few days later and nothing in return yet.  So 1) I figured that would be the case so no real surprise there and 2) I’m really annoyed because who actually texts just to say Hi?!?!  I never thought people really did that.  You are a weird one Cas.  I will keep you posted as to whether or not he says anything more then hi but lets not count on it.  I would like to thank him for an extremely memorable evening either way!

Pinstripes...not just for Yankees

I’m not a big believer or fan of meeting someone who is potential relationship material in a bar.  I’m not saying its impossible or its 100% unsuccessful, however, in my experience and honest opinion I give it two enthusiastic thumbs down.  Sure you can find a hottie to bust some moves on a dance floor with, maybe you’ll kiss…and if its your thing maybe you’ll be doing the walk of shame in the morning…who knows.  But meeting your next SO…I think not.  I know it happens, I have friends who are successful…and maybe I’m being too harsh or too much of a skeptic but its just not for me.

Imagine my surprise when one night I actually meet someone out at a bar.  I’m out with Ox (which is always a blast & always trouble of the best kind) and we are bouncing from place to place…by the point we walk into one of our favorite spots we’re definitely feeling pretty good.  As the night goes on I head to the bar to grab a beer and as I turn my head towards the door I see this guy walk in.  He’s a very nice looking guy but definitely not my type by looks alone…he’s got the height but the rest is a little off.  Well, he either caught me staring or he just happened to walk over and stand near me but I’m going with the former since I know I have a heavy and obvious stare....and this is where it all began.  See, this guy waltzes into this very casual, very laid back Irish bar in a button down and pinstripe suit.  I was baffled and had the liquid courage to tell him so.  It went a little something like this:

PYT: Why the fuck are you wearing a pinstripe suit to the bar?

Pinstripe: Um, excuse me?? (clearly stunned that a random girl was being such a bitch)

PYT: What are you doing here in a pinstripe suit?  Don’t you think it’s a bit much?

Pinstripe:  I just got off of work.

PYT: what? Its like 10:30 on a Friday, what are you like a lawyer?

(now, don’t ask me why the first thing that came to my head is a lawyer but it was, so lets roll with it)

Pinstripe: Um no, I work in the music industry

(at this point I’m getting bored because I think he’s just making shit up, so I continue being a total snot)

PYT: Oh yeah right, I’m sure…so describe what you do.

So he proceeds to describe his job which actually sounded pretty cool and then asked if I wanted a shot.  Wow, after all that he still wants to buy me a drink…can’t turn that down.  I’m still not feeling interested in him in the sense of being really attracted or picturing us on our first date but its been fun to banter back and forth.  Finally he pulls out his phone as asked me for my number.  Now I proceed to break out my skepticism and blabber on about how men never call or text like they promise and its stupid to give out your number blah blah blah.  How this guy didn't walk away or pour a beer over my head by this point still shocks me.  Anyway, he persists and says he really needs to go and change because he’s dying of heat…to which I naturally respond “Yeah no shit your wearing that pinstripe suit in the bar.”  Why am I so obsessed with this damn suit?!  Anyway, Pinstripe gets my number…he asked me to enter it and fill in the names completely…so I put my first name, nickname (he requested for god knows what reason lol) and used the name of the bar as my last name because at the time it seemed logical…now he’ll remember where he met me.  Fantastic.  Pinstripe leaves along with my number, I head back over to Ox, grab another beer and don’t give him a second thought since I already put him in the ‘that was fun in the moment’ category.

The Juicy Details:  Well, not too much to say after this encounter except that he actually did text as promised.  We exchanged a couple of messages that night and once again I didn’t think I’d hear from him after that.  Until the next day when he sent another message.  I had one issue…if this was going to continue I was in trouble since I never saved his number in my phone the night before because I knew it was him at the time…I had completely forgotten his name by morning.  Shit.  So, now I’m texting this guy whose name I don’t know wondering if it will eventually come and bite me in the ass…guess we’ll find out.