Last Thursday

In an anonymous coffee shop in Tempe, Arizona...

Over iced soy chai lattes, we talked about

our favorite songs

why Arcade Fire is an amazing band

Ohio

Minnesota

and the qualities of both states

vermicomposting

sustainability

Arizona politics

why Arizona politics are so fucked up

best jobs we've held to date

and why we left them

our bicycles

and how we love them

local haunts where we should go to drink a great beer

--not a good beer, a great one--

what you want to be when you grow up

what I want to be when I grow up

(and why do we have to grow up, anyway?)

places we've been

Tanzania

Europe

places we want to go

India

Thailand

everywhere.

Best first date I've had in awhile.

More bad first dates

This one's from another fellow GEORGIA PEACH I met in Korea. She calls her writing self "Nadibelle." Go recruitment to the blog! She asked me to post since google is being a bit of an asshole in letting her make an account. Thanks for the contribution, and I hope you get an account soon. Look forward to hearing more from you on the blog. "It's a small world after all."

I had hardly left the other

When My eyes wandered away

I knew he wasn't the one for me

But I guess I was ready to stray

I remember how I ended

The old relation.shit

I was in the car with the new one

And on the phone, the first one's ears lended

I said, "I'm sorry, things just aren't working out"

"You see, I found happiness, once you weren't about".

And Happiness was looking

Across the seat at me.

As soon as our cellulars turned to tone

The interest's lips and I did meet.

Buttferlies conjured around my insides

And my shirt so did lift at his touch.

I pulled away to make sure

That he was what I wanted...

I was his before the kiss,

When we sat alone in his old car

We often talked to each other,

letting secrets fill the air...

It wasn't long before I was caught up in hopeless, hapless, innocent love

It wasn't long before he blurted, "I love you", in a sandwhich shop.

Smiling, and shaking, and nervous, and joyous I just looked down and basked

"Could he really have just said, what I think I heard?"

He nodded in approval and said, "You don't have to say anything".

But love like this can't last for long,

and distance set us apart

Distance to me was just a test of my ability

To be, one gracious-girlfriend- stick-in-the mud, whose heart belonged to he

But, to distance, his heart so did growingly palpitate...

Into the dormroom of a girl

I once did think to be a friend

Hence, I did say, "did"...

I forgave them both, for we are human

And now thinking back,

I can't remember much else, except this grotesque fact.

Well, no, I lie, I remember many a good time,

But the way it ended spoke to me
Louder than a herd

Of galloping elephants trumpeting their elongated snouts

What a douche

A Prayer from the Socially Disabled

Dear First Date,

You are meeting me now
But you are not really meeting me
You are meeting a version of myself
That I don't show the world on a regular basis

I ask that you be kind
Forgiving
And compassionate
As this is not my natural state

Since I don't do this often
I ask that overlook my fidgets and hair tosses
Nose twitches and stuttering
And don't push me to talk to much about myself

I ask that all conversation be planned in advance
And if something should arise that is controversial
I ask that it is you who avert the conversation quickly
But also gracefully

I ask that you make no comment on the
No doubt hideous skirt that I have chosen to wear
(I looked at it countless time in the mirror before)
It was fine in the privacy of my bathroom

In return for these kindnesses
I will vow to
Return the favor
I won't say anything embarrassing at will or talk about what I ate

I won't ramble on and on about how I hate myself
Even though it's on auto play in my head
I won't comment on how I think your shirt doesn't match your jeans
Or how I think your jeans are not appropriate for this restaurant

I won't say what I'm really thinking
(Get me out of here)
And I won't pull out my crocheting
(Which is what I really want to do to ease my nerves.)

I will be a listening ear
And a shoulder to cry on
And I won't say that I think you are pussy
If you cry on a first date.

I won't be any harder on you than I am on myself.
And I won't ask about your family
Your income
Or your political or religious affiliations.

I will sit calmly (with knees jittery from too much caffeine)
And wait for this
Entire
Horrific experience
To be over

So you can NOT call
Tomorrow.

Thank you for playing this game.

Sincerely,

ME

What isn't said

In a room stuffed to the seams 

with voices and dark corners,

I grip the pint glass

slipping in my sweating palms,

and concentrate my every fiber

on protecting the integrity

of that damn glass

from the magnet of harsh, sticky tile

three feet below.

He sits next to me

and I know him in his strangeness--

the way you know your college roommate's 

sister's boyfriend.

You know his name 

and maybe his age,

but not the song that starts off every

road trip mix he's ever made,

and not the name of his best childhood

four-legged friend,

and not the story he remembers

(the one that evokes shoulder-shaking

head-flung-back scrunchy-eyed delight)

when he finds

an old forgotten jersey of his favorite 

professional sports team

crumpled on the floor of his closet.

The little important things

that you don't know.

The space between his ear and mine

is full of what isn't said.  

And I wonder--

how many quiet encounters do we have left

before I find the courage

to ask?

     

First Year Date

She called me and asked me to meet her at the park.
I came, though I didn't have any skates.
She skated, while I slipped around in old sneakers.
I only fell twice.

We had hot chocolate at Prince Albert's.
(It's a cafe that is very popular.)
We took a cab to her place and she asked,
"Do you want to get off here?"

I said, "No. I'll just ride on the rest of the way home."
Later, I told my roommate what had happened.
He laughed at me and said, "Yo man.
You were just on your first date!"

There wasn't a second.

New Month, New Theme: And You Thought Yours Were Bad

That's right folks, get your awkward on, as Maki likes to say. This month is all about the FIRST DATE. Whether you thought yours have been funny, clingy, desperate, heart-breaking, or just downright outrageous, everyone has a first date story (true or exaggerated, but exaggerated are probably better) hidden deep inside themselves waiting to get out. I've included a little trailer from my favorite awkward date movie courtesy of YouTube. Enjoy, and happy writing!