What's that picture on your phone?!

I had gone on a couple dates with this adventurous guy and we seemed to hit it off quickly! In retrospect, we were probably moving a little too fast, but we ended up spending every free minute together. It was a lot of fun...even though I wasn't completely sure I was 100% emotionally invested.

In just two or three weeks, we had probably been on at least ten dates--everything from rock climbing, to dinners out, to movie nights. And, around that 2-3 week mark, I glanced at his phone that was lying on the coffee table.

Now, I'm not nosy by any means! I'll never snoop through a guy's old text messages, calls or emails. I'm very trusting, and choose men who are honest (as far as I know). But, the phone background caught my eye and I decided to take a closer look.

It was a picture--one that was very familiar actually. Then I realized it was a picture of me! It was rather artistic: black and white, doing a yoga pose on a sand dune in Peru. But, still, we had only been casually dating for a couple weeks! I can't say that I've ever put a picture of a guy as the background of my phone, even when I've been in an exclusive relationship them for over a year.

I asked him about it. He shrugged his shoulders and nonchalantly said, "I saw it on facebook and liked the picture." But, it still felt strange to me! When is this ok?!

Eye Balls and Climbing Walls

We had our first official double date of the blog!

A couple of weeks ago Coqueta invited me rock climbing with a guy she had been dating for a while (the rock climber) and one of his friends. It's always a little awkward to be set up with someone on a double date - not only are you on a first date with someone, but you're also being watched! (Plus, I'm not sure if he knew it was a set up)

The boys picked us up from school, which felt like high school, and we drove off to climb the walls of Vertical World. Now, I've never been climbing, but I was feeling overly confident like it would be a piece of cake...I mean I've climbed up stairs and I've climbed out of bed, how hard could it be?!

After some small equipment adjustments we walked over to the wall and the rock climber chose a route for me and yelled "climb on!" And so I climbed. Little did I know I was not climbing a beginner route. With little instruction and zero upper arm strength I slowly fumbled my way to the top, arms buckling at the weight of my clumsy flailing body. The bottom line is though, I did it! One climb down, are we done?! Ha!

I finally got some instruction on a wall that matched my skill level a little better and really started enjoying the whole rock climbing thing. The rock climber's friend, whose occupation alone is fascinating enough to draw any girl in (he spends his days harvesting eyeballs for organ donation!), coached me up an easier section of the wall, throwing in an encouraging word here and there - so sweet! There's definitely something exciting and sexy about a sweat-inducing, skill-building date, as opposed to a sit down dinner date.

After climbing we went all went to happy hour and during conversation I began to realize how nice it was to talk to someone that isn't grossed out by my nursing stories and has past travel destinations in common. Dating is really a strange little beast - just when you think you know exactly what you're looking for, the person sitting across the table from you changes your mind altogether.

Coqueta, do you have a review of our first double date? Or maybe our triple date?!

I enjoy a good challenge!

He chose an adventurous first date: rock climbing. This was one of his specialties but by no means one of mine! I dabbled in climbing as an undergrad--and by dabbled, I mean I went two or three times. Quite honestly, though, I forgot how difficult it was! As I stumbled amongst the "rock" holds, I remembered how humbling it is to be a novice at something. It was fabulous to be pushed to my limits for a change!

The experience was a welcomed challenge. He never allowed me to give up, but instead offered kind words of encouragement throughout the learning process. Still, I felt like an idiot! Despite the mismatch in climbing skills, we had a love of learning in common. Between climbs, we chatted about diverse topics--everything from the galaxy to literature, anatomy and physiology to cooking, and much more.

This is going to sound cocky--but I'm good at many things. I'll also be the first to say that there's always room for improvement. There are certainly many subjects and activities in which I'm very weak. But, I'm all about the self-enrichment! The down side of constant quest for knowledge is that there are few people out there who can hold my attention very long.

An amazing ex-boyfriend once described me as his "role model." It's flattering, of course, but what I really seek in a potential mate is an equal--someone with whom I can converse and learn about the multifaceted world. Lately, however, I haven't found many people like this. Sure, all the guys are well-versed in their particular areas of expertise (computer programming, finance, etc), but once the conversation navigates into their uncharted territories, they fall silent.

I want to be with someone who will enjoy being pushed to their limit, and hopefully who'll also be willing to push me (intellectually, athletically, etc). I've had conversations about the benefits and downsides of dating someone in the same field or with similar interests. I've come to the conclusion that, for me, as long as there is a potential for opening each others' minds, diverse interests can be an excellent aspect in any relationship.