
I met this gem (surprisingly) online. For our first live encounter, he suggested we grab a coffee and take a stroll through one of Toronto's many beautiful parks. (Slash, sure.... take me to a private wooded area, you random stranger. That's a great idea!) The area in which the park was located was unfamiliar to me, so seeing as I had nothing else planned for that day, I thought I'd go early and scope out the scene. Basically, check for cell phone signals, local police stations, emergency escape routes. You know, the usual. Planning the 'perfect' outfit is always a must, so I decided to stick with my go-to number - a pair of black shorts with a sheer, flowy peach-coloured long sleeved top and a pair of flat shoes, just in case the 5'11" height description in his online dating profile was actually closer to 5'2".
After about an hour of roaming the streets of somewhere in the Great Toronto Area, and great cellphone signal later, The Joker and I's fate was finally about to be determined. We decided to meet at a romantic subway entrance location. He was about 15 minutes early (kind of annoying, but points for being prompt?) I told him I'd be right there, but... somehow I misjudged how far a distance the subway stop actually was from me. I soon realized I was no where near our intended meeting spot. Pretty much... I was lost. A wild goose chase then set out to find my exact GPS location. In fact, The Joker actually had to hop onto the subway and head one stop west just to arrive closer to where I was. How embarrassing. To make matters worse, I was speed walking in what was one of the hottest days that Toronto had felt in forever, and my makeup was maybe dripping down my face. By the time we actually met up, my legs felt like jello and my top resembled more of dark orange colour than peach. I tried to play it off like the sweaty look was in. He asked if I was still cool with going for a walk. (He definitely wore his Nike Shox as if we were going on some kind of hike) Almost collapsing at the thought, I instead suggested we take a walk directly... to the bar. Luckily, he's Irish, so he was immediately up for a beer.
First impressions: not bad at all. He's the 'skinny athletic' type, the type where you can eat whatever, whenever and still look ab-o-licious. (I hate those people). Pretty blue eyes, and light brown hair styled in that messy, hipster way. Nice smile. He had this kind of 'I'm too cool for school' attitude about him. But not in the overly cocky, juice-monkey, I pump iron, stick my chest out like a puffin, my shit don't stink - kind of way. He had just enough stink. Our conversation went really well and never skipped a beat. We (I) chugged the first beer and then ordered a second without hesitation. He was a lot less Joker/ nerdy than he was via his texts. Sending me knock, knock and why did the chicken cross the road jokes gave me complete nerd vibes, but in person he's definitely got more of a jock swag. Which, I secretly love. He knew a lot about sports, we shared our disgust with the NHL's looming lockout, we had the same sarcastic sense and we were able to keep up with each others' witty banter. He also seemed genuinely into what I had to say; asked the right questions; said the right things; reacted in the right way. Overall, the interview went really well.
Earlier in the week, I fibbed a little and said I had to work super early the next day, just in case of an emergency escape, naturally. So after the second beer, aka I well deserved break the seal moment, The Joker had asked for the bill...and paid! Check mark!
As we walked towards the subway to part ways, we poked fun at each others' taste in music, slash he likes indie music (barf) said our goodbyes, and gave each other an awkward first date hug. I passed out like a homeless man on the subway. The next day, I received a text message from The Joker telling me about the fun he had and how he hopes to do it again soon. Like I said, if all 51 next dates can be as good as this (second half) one, I may survive!
To be continued...........
La Blonde xx