52 First Dates

Wednesday 21/12/2011

T’was 4 nights before Christmas and all ‘round Hillarys, My charming D7 made me weak in the knees!!…

Just kidding :P
But I WAS a little weak in the knees by the time I got onto Date #7 – My THIRD date so far this week! Luckily there is nothing that a little RedBull can’t fix J

D7 was a 23year old Surveyor that has just stepped off a plane back to Perth for his Christmas break, and seemed to be enjoying the human interaction! We caught up at Hillarys Boat Harbour for a coffee (Yes!! more caffeine!) and a chat!

Coming straight from work I felt just a little out of place in my pencil skirt, blouse and heels (especially when the standard dress code seemed to be bathers and thongs…) BUT we made the most of the beautiful sunny weather… and sat in the shade while sucking on our cappuccinos! (Definitely looking a little too cool for school haha).

Chatting brought us to the surprising conclusion that we were both born with the same debilitating disability - Something otherwise known as being a “Natural Born Klutz”! He likes to describe his condition as being someone that “A light breeze can tip over”, whereas I refer to myself as having trouble “staying vertical”…

Either way we’re good entertainment if you like slap stick comedy or large bruises.


This however being said, I must mention the biggest difference between the cores of our being. Something that I can’t see us ever overcoming as it is a hurdle so simple, yet so big!

He loves Paris.
I hate Paris.

After a lengthy discussion on the culture and sights vs. the rude people and unusable subway system, we silently agreed to leave anything further on the subject unsaid for the safety of all involved :P

I will admit that I had met D7 before we hung out on our little date yesterday, in fact he actually knows about 52FD and will most probably be reading this… (awkward! haha) But I am happy to say that for once it was a nice relaxing afternoon during the last crazy week before Xmas.

SO THANK YOU D7! I’m almost glad I haven’t got very much to write about today :)

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Embarrassing Moment:
Having to run off early as I needed to pee soo badly I thought something was going to break! (apologies for the over-share)

Awkward Level: 
0/10

Something to NOT do next time:
Forget to bring a change of clothes if Im planning to attend a date straight from work.

Over all:
8/10

Sunday 18/12/2011

Mere days after Date #5, I’m onto my second date of QUADRUPLE WEEK! And this one (Date #6) was short and sweet.

D6 was a gloriously bearded electrician who loved to travel in the ancient style of backpacking, something I was excited to hear about! So we set up a meeting at The Aviary in the city (Yes, I know! I voided my own advice from my last date!!)  

I had never been to this new rooftop bar before so it was nice to take a look around! I loved the feel, however I can foresee it getting ridiculously packed!! We bought some drinks and stood at a table, soaking in the summer sun.

D6 was quite cute in a shy way, I could see the cogs ticking away in his head trying to think of things to chat about, But once we started talking about travelling or hobbies there seemed to be little loss for things to say. I heard stories of backpacking and travelling over Europe (for a year!) and how he lives and breathes sport, AFL taking the cake. He even admitted to trying on high-heeled shoes one night with some mates (after I shuddered in pain at the sight of a passing girl with ankle-breakers on) His conclusion? Painful. (brownie points scored)

This date however was quite quick as we both had other plans to attend to, so after two rounds we headed back down the stairs to the real world to wind things up.

A guilty pleasure I’ve been indulging in lately is dragging out or pointing out awkward situations on my dates. I am getting quite used to the normal points at which these occur, the end of the date being the main one! So when I could see D6 struggling on what to say and hovering between whether to wave and run or give me a hug etc, I took the opportunity to announce “Well…. This is nice and awkward!” which actually helped by drawing a laugh.

Deciding on a smile, we went our opposite ways to pay our ridiculously expensive parking tickets and cruise onto the rest of our afternoons.
 


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Embarrassing Moment:
When I couldn’t find the entrance to the bar… and had to call D6 for help… And was told to walk up the set of stairs I was already standing in front of haha!

Awkward Level: 
7/10

Something to NOT do next time:
AGAIN - Go to the city if it’s not necessary! It’s just a lot busier and as nice as The Aviary is you had to yell to hear each other! (Yes, I am a granny haha).

Over all:
7/10

Friday 16/12/2011

First date back in the game since jetting to Europe for my Grandfathers funeral, and boy can I say that date number #5 was different to most of my dates!!
The main reason being that for once it wasn’t a completely blind date.

D5 is someone I actually met in a REAL LIFE circumstance (shock horror!) so the fear of not recognising him.. (or him being a serial killer with rope and an axe in his back pack) was greatly diminished and meant that I could relax and enjoy myself a little more….

Or at least that’s what I was expecting.

What actually ensured however was a trek across the southern suburbs in search of lost property, followed by an enlightening trip to the city during peak crazy season! Haha.


By the time I met up with D5 all the colour had already bled from his face as he explained to me that he had just realised the public transport system had claimed yet another victim… his wallet!!

Now I have never lost a wallet myself, But I did once leave my phone at an internet café in Sydney Airport for almost an hour and we all know that panicked “oh-my-gosh-the-bottom-just-fell-out-of-my-stomach-I-cant-breathe” feeling when you realize one of your most unhealthily adored possessions is no longer in your pocket! So I felt for the poor guy.

After calling Transperth to log a lost items claim, we decided to double check the train station at which he last remembered seeing said wallet. After a quick search (and the realization that if it HAD been left there, there was no way any of the lovely undesirables hanging around the tracks would have turned it in!) we decided that the next best course of action would be to go to his bank and cancel his cards.

This.. was.. amazing!!
I wasn’t sure if I heard right when the teller at ANZ said “Ok, we had you as having a pink access card, would you like me to change that one to black or blue?”, But my doubts were squashed when D5 replied with a confident “No no, I ordered the pink one on purpose”… Of course, hilarious ganging up on him with the bank teller ensued for a period of about 10minutes.

After our dangerous and endearing quest of the missing wallet, we decided to head into the city to do some xmas shopping to try and salvage what was left of the afternoon/evening.

I don’t frequent Perth City very often! So I’m not sure if I had simply forgotten what it’s like there or whether it has gotten worse over the many years since I stopped hanging out with the emo’s at Central Park (tease away! lol) But it was an eye opening experience! There were hippies dancing around singing along to an accordion, A drunken man lying in a pool of his own vomit on the road, A lady wearing a bikini top and a mini skirt, And buskers ranging from cute children playing Christmas carols on their violins, to male strippers.

Some of the unique city culture I actually enjoyed was the international food festival being held in Forrest Place. D5 and I decided on the German stall and each had a Bratwurst (He luckily took my warning of making sure his order was less sauerkraut) We then battled the crowds to finish off some last minute Christmas shopping, And after concluding that “no, I could not talk him into getting something pierced” (much to my displeasure! Hehe) we started our trips home.

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Embarrassing Moment:
It’s a little hard to feel embarrassed around D5 as we seem to get along quite well… plus come on! He ordered a pink bank card and modeled a pair of rolled cuff chino’s in front of me! haha

Awkward Level: 
0/10

Something to NOT do next time:
Go to the city if its not necessary! I do like going there once in awhile, however near Christmas probably isn’t suggested!

Over all:
9/10

Due to my impromptu and unexpected dash to Europe for the last couple of weeks, you may have noticed that..

*Dun Dun DUNNN!!!!!*…. I am down three dates!

After thinking long and hard, I have decided that to overcome this hurdle I will just have to have four dates… in one week…

Yup that’s right! Keep posted for the tales of Quadruple date week! :)

2 down… 2 to go!!

Last night marked the evening of Date #4! And boy was this a date to remember.

D4 was an amazing man. He spent his childhood years growing up in Indonesia, before his family was split and he was held alone in a Japanese POW camp until the second world war was over. Returning to his homeland of The Nederlands he lived a life of raising a family and ‘dabbling’ in politics to the point of acquiring a knighthood. He travelled a lot … he achieved a lot … he lived a lot :)

But his life was not always easy. He had to bury not only one but two wives, A son, and had been battling health issues for many more years then a person should have to.

Last night, in a quiet, peaceful and dimly lit room (listening to a constant stream of classical music - another love we share) the troubles of his life beat him.

Yes, I will admit that this was no my first date with D4, In fact we have been on many dates since the first time we met 21years ago. However this date, in a hospital bed on the other side of the world, was our last.

D4… Geert Otten, was my grandfather.
I managed to fly over earlier this week in time to say goodbye.
If there was only one date I could have gone on this year, It would have been this one.

R.I.P Opa, You will be missed.