Bachelor #3

I was initially drawn to Bachelor #3 merely on looks, by far the most attractive bachelor yet. 24 years old, Engineer, from Southern Illinois he seemed to be the most standard Midwest boy one can imagine. We whipped thru the guided communication stages, a time where I was managing about 7 different possibilities and was not quite focused on any one match. With two first dates under my belt, my confidence level was nearing cocky by the time Bach#3 asked me out to meet for drinks.

This combination of forces was most likely the cause behind my reason for flaking on poor Bachelor #3 on the day we were supposed to meet up for some daytime German festival beers and sausages. I was hung over from partying with friends the night before, and figured we could easily reschedule for later in the week. In retrospect, this was a bad idea. Its never good to start off with a first impression of flakiness, and I think this had a lot to do with how things eventually unfolded with B#3. He seemed genuinely concerned about my health, which made me feel even worse for stretching the truth, and agreed to my suggested "rain date" to meet up at a later time.

Fast forward about two weeks, when we finally found a date that we were both available. I have an erking feeling that he was playing hard to get for the first week as a little payback for cancelling on him previously. The fact he works most Monday-Fridays in NYC didn't help the matter either. But so, we decided to meet a Wednesday evening for burgers and beers at a classic Chicago establishment. (Lets keep in the backs of our minds, this is the Wednesday following my great second date with Bachelor #2 who was still very much in the forefront of my mind)...

Date One:
I arrive in the small hole-in-the-wall classic Chicago burger joint looking for B#3 near the hostess stand. Tell the girl I'm meeting someone, and is quickly shooed towards the crowded bar area. I recognize him at once, by this my third first date I've found how helpful it is to have a quick cram/study session of the guy's eharmony page before. He looks just as cute as he did in his pictures, but right away I can sense an uncomfortable level of shyness. With an awkward hug he ushers me straight up to the hostess stand with no offer to grab a drink at the bar before dinner. Not that I needed it, but had figured this might quell the obvious tension both of us were now experiencing.

Things that went poorly during the duration of the date - he ordered a club sandwich on wheat (at the best burger place in the city), was so shy I had to carry the whole conversation, started to preach to me about being "so young, and how I should go to law school right away and stop wasting time," and the kicker - after picking up the tab I excused myself to the ladies room and upon my return to the table he was waiting for me at the hostess stand with my coat ready to bounce. Now, I realize that the date wasn't going ideally, he was too boring for me and he probably thought I was too crazy for him...but really? Bringing my coat to the door to end the date is low. I think now that he must have suffered from some sort of social disorder because a properly functioning social action does not pull that kind of move.

Post Date:
His end of evening text message thanked me for the evening and wished me the best of luck in law school. I thanked him for the burgers, and hoped he had a good week working in NYC. After ten days, and no further contact, I was seriously ready to completely write Bachelor #3 off due to lack of "hitting it off" and the shy factor. However, things were going a little shaky with Bachelor #2 (and as we know from previous posts B#1 was far and gone from the picture), so I sought to distract myself from the slump I was experiencing by texting B#3. No good; a quick polite text to and from him was sufficient enough to remind myself that I cannot force something that just isn't right. The end.