Isn’t It Funny…
…when life gets in the way of the best laid plans? I had a great first date planned last Saturday night with a record producer my friends have nicknamed “Cash-Money” (because he works in the hip hop industry, not because he’s incredibly wealthy). Cash and I met when it was still warm enough to enjoy a birthday party thrown on a rooftop bar. We got into the kind of conversation where everyone else in the room disappears and after blinking your eyes, you glance at your watch and three hours have passed. We exchanged numbers, but I was entertaining out of town guests, and then leaving town for a week, so I emphasized that if we didn’t get together right away, it wouldn’t be due to lack of interest.
Since that night, we’ve been playing phone tag consistently for about a month. Between voice mails and text messages, due to both of us working crazy schedules, I think we’ve had two actual phone conversations. So, I was really looking forward to seeing The Departed on Saturday night (the perfect date movie- full of action and beautiful men) and having a drink to actually get to know each other better.
Unfortunately, life decided to throw the flu at me instead. I went home Thursday evening with a fever and didn’t emerge from bed fully functioning until Sunday morning. I text messaged him (so that he wouldn’t be repulsed by my sick voice) on Friday, saying that I was sure I would wake up from a 24-hour bug and be fine on Saturday. He was sweet, asking if I needed anything and giving the usual reminders to get some rest and eat soup.
So on Saturday, as I groggily opened my eyes to a still pounding head and aching body, I reached for my phone to check messages and discovered that he’d already called. I decided that hearing me would at least prove that I wasn’t making things up, so I called back and got his machine. Then, being delirious with fever (and cabin fever), I proceeded to whine about the fact that I hated that I was still sick, wished I could have seen him, and hated feeling so yucky. In retrospect, it was probably not the belated first impression I wanted to make.
Isn’t that always the way things work out? You spill something on your shirt just as you’re walking out the door? Or there’s a traffic jam (or subway construction) every time that you’re already running five minutes late? I’ve got one thing to say to life- dating today comes with more than enough obstacles, so there’s no need to make it any harder. All we can do is hope that once we’ve jumped through all of the hurdles, the prize at the end will make it all worthwhile.