The Date That Never Was

I almost had a date with someone! Before I stopped going to my personal trainer, I had developed a little crush on the guy who had the appointment before mine. He had salt and pepper hair, a decent build for a guy in his 40’s, and a great boyish smile. We had developed this rapport as he was leaving the gym and I was going in. I’d ask him if he’d survived his workout session, and he’d smile, nod and wish me luck. I told my trainer that I thought the guy was cute, but didn’t think anything else about it. I figured once I stopped seeing my trainer I’d stop seeing the cute guy.

About a month ago I got an email from my trainer. He informed me that his cute client had asked about me, and wanted to go out with me sometime on a date. My trainer also passed along the guy’s phone number! Suddenly I was in the hot seat.

After steeling my resolve, I finally called the number. The guy seemed very excited that I had phoned. I asked him out to dinner, and he sighed. It seems he was on the planning committee of the HRC (Human Rights Campaign) and their big fundraiser was this weekend. He asked if we could postpone the date until after the weekend. So I did.

The next week I called again. The guy seemed very excited that I had phoned. I asked him out to dinner, and he sighed. It seems he had a business trip he couldn’t get out of, and he would not be back until late Sunday night. He asked if we could postpone the date until after the weekend. So I did.

At this point I decided it was up to him to get something scheduled. Miraculously, he called me this past Monday night and left a message on my voice mail. He still was looking forward to our date. Okay, I thought. Maybe I was a bit too hasty to write this guy off. So last night I called him back and suggested Thursday. I didn’t hear back from him today. Not a big deal.

Tonight I had a meeting with a friend to discuss some fundraising for the performance theatre of which we are both board members. I walked into the restaurant and who should I see but the cute guy from the gym. I started to walk over, but he saw me and motioned to his ear—he was on his cell phone. Okay, I thought. I’d just sit at the bar until my friend showed up, and wait for the cute guy to get off the phone. Well, the cute guy got off the phone and DIDN’T COME OVER! My dinner companion hadn’t arrived yet, so it’s not like he saw me with someone and thought I was on a date. He just didn’t feel like coming over to talk to me.

Needless to say, I won’t be going on a date with the cute guy from the gym. I have to give him credit though. Usually I need at least one date with a guy before I decide to dump him.

L.A. Story

I went out to L.A. this past weekend to visit some friends. They were going to have a party to allow me to meet some of their single buddies, so I was super excited. Of course after meeting everyone and mingling I made my decision. Turns out the one I liked was the one friend they had to invite to the party but didn’t want me to go out with. He’s cute and a lot of fun to be around, but quite a partier and very much a player. Apparently not relationship material. Oh well.

In happier news, L.A. has an Amoeba Music store. Amoeba is a new & used CD store, and my favorite one is on Haight Street in San Francisco. The great thing about these stores on the West Coast is that music industry people will go there to sell their used discs. A lot of the stuff you find there is out of print, or promotional discs that didn’t get released to the general public.

On this excursion, I found a U.K. promotional single from Courtney Love’s old group Hole. The cd had 2 (two!!!) unreleased songs. Who needs a man when I’ve got super-rare Courtney Love recordings??? I also picked up a Bright Eyes live disc and a free promotional disc by some artist I’d never heard of. All in all, a good spree.

Courtney’s new solo disc, Nobody’s Daughter, was supposed to be released last year, but unfortunately it hasn’t materialized. I’m scared and excited to hear it. Excited because I love Courtney (pun intended) and can’t wait to hear new material from her. Scared because she had sobered up by the time she recorded it. I know that she’s a mother and a human being and that this is the best course for her to live a long and healthy life, but personally I like my rock stars to be f*cked up.

There’s a quote from the British sit-com ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ that goes, “You can’t play rock and roll on a diet of corn, veggie juice, and Linda bloody McCartney’s Tofu Treats.” I couldn’t agree more. Drugs, sex and alcohol don’t make for a long life, but it does make for some great music. Witness Billie Holiday, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Pete Doherty, Amy Winehouse, etc. etc. They all were/are emotional and pharmaceutical train wrecks as people, but made/make great music.

So while as a humanitarian I wish Courtney all the luck in the world as she lives the sober life, the music fan in me is going to be skeptical until I hear the new disc. Hopefully she will prove me wrong and the new disc will be awesome. But if it’s not, I know I’m going to wonder if going straight caused Courtney Love to lose her edge.

Whether it’s romantically or musically, I seem to be drawn to the same type of individual. Someone who is quite a partier, very much a player, and not really relationship material.