First Impressions

So I'm just getting back from a first-meeting with a girl I met on the interwebs. Now, before I tell this tale I should probably delve a tiny bit into my backstory here and explain that almost EVERY relationship decision I've ever made has been wrong.

Did you ever see that episode of Seinfeld wherein George realizes that, since very decision he has ever made has been wrong, then the opposite would have to be right? Yeah, I thought I'd try that.

So instead of putting in effort to make a good first impression, I did the opposite. Nice button up shirt? No, just a t-shirt (and I'm not sure it's even clean). Carefully style my hair? I didn't even brush it when I got out of the shower, nor did I bother to shave today. And it wasn't limited to just my appearance. When I met her for lunch, did I compliment her on ... anything? No (which was difficult, because she was much cuter in person than her pictures implied). And then the guy asked if it was going to be together or separate checks.

My first instinct was to say together (in my mind, the asker pays, and I was the one to suggest we meet in person), but... the more I think about it now the less likely I think I'll think that in the future. What decade is this? It's not a Man's world anymore. What bothers me in retrospect was that she made no indication that she wanted to pay for her stuff at all (she had to go back to her bag for her check-card). Like, of COURSE I would pay; I have the penis.

Anyway. Everything was opposite. When I found out she was taking the bus, did I offer her a ride so she could meet her friend? No. Did I tell my interesting stories about ... well, you've heard my stories right? No, I held them in and let her tell me her interesting stories.

The point was to set the bar low: instead of setting a high expectation for the future, I basically went in my lowest form. From this point on, I'll by like this or better. Right? It made sense earlier today when I was getting ready.

Looking back, I wonder if I should have put in more effort, because she was really interesting. Other than the who-pays annoyance at the very beginning, I enjoyed myself. Doctor Who, Eddie Izzard, Christopher Walken, The Neverending Story, movies being filmed in Spokane, and adventures in the Gobi desert all came up in the conversation.

So maybe my decision to do the opposite of my usually wrong decisions was itself the wrong decision?

Time will tell.