No chemistry

Well Mr China was cute and sweet but there was absolutely no chemistry there. And I am pretty sure that he felt the same way.
A bit of Mea Culpa, I was 10 minutes late, not intentionally of course. I talked a lot but I did leave a few blanks to see what would happen.... Nothing. Nothing at all. The whole conversation was just hard work, we just didn't have much to say to each other.
Well never mind at least I still have Saturday and Monday to look forward to. I now even have a date for the following weekend with Mr England!

Theatre night

Well, another good night. I respected the Rules and came home to a message asking me for my number and a date.

I am meeting with Mr China tomorrow night and Mr TDH confirmed our date for Saturday. He confirmed this morning (a day ahead of schedule) with a flirty text, I didn't get back to him for about 4 hours and got an even “flirtier” text right back when I did.

I have the feeling that he will be my first true challenge. If I can keep to the Rules with him the rest will be a piece of cake!

I have started reading one last relationship book "Why men prefer Bitches" again the same theme of keeping him keen by playing hard to get and detached & relaxed with the relationship... Surely they can't all be wrong?

Quick update

I have been abroad for a few days and so not really in a position to update this blog. Obviously I kept on going with the Rules whilst away. I kept checking my e-mails and only answered them after 24 hours. I also waited a couple of hours before answering texts.

And did I get texts... mainly from one Mr TDH. I have now confirmed that the previous texts that I thought were from him, were indeed from him (Thanks God for that!). I even have confirmation of his name and... a date! Well, TBC by Thursday.

I have also managed to confirm a date with Mr China and one with Mr SpeedD.

I have no doubt that Mr Essex will be on the phone too soon, he seemed keen.

Mr England is also trying to arrange a date with me whilst Mr Turkey has gone cold (excuse the punt). As a good Rules girl, I have not chased him or Mr Dancer, who too has made a vanishing act on me.

Whilst I was away I managed to finish The Rules for Online dating and even managed to read another relationship book “He's just not that into you” which, funnily enough, backed quite a few of The Rules principles, “He's just not that into you if he doesn't ask you out”... sounds familiar? Or this one which fit more to Mr Turkey and Mr Dancer “He's just not that into you if he disappears on you”. So you know what? If they don't like me that much it's fine, all taste are in nature. No offence taken and... Next!

I feel that more than just the Rules, those books have brought me more self-esteem. They have also helped me realise that my relationships with certain of my dates were nothing more than cul-de-sac. This allows me to move on to, hopefully, more rewarding relationships and maybe a step closer to meeting Mr Right.

Lost one?

Ummm... I think I have truly offended Mr TDH. No news since my last text on Monday...
Worst, no news from Mr Turkey either.
But in both cases, I am following The Rules, I haven't contacted either of them... but it's hard!!!

Sunday's date

I have told you all about the Saturday's party and some of it's result but I failed to tell you about my Sunday brunch date, Mr Turkey.

We met as agreed at the tube station, I hadn't replied to his e-mail with his number, as I only found out later I could have actually send him my number and still followed the "On-Line Dating Rules". The good thing is that he did turn up and I was on time too so no need of numbers!

 He was a bit shorter than I expected, but I was wearing high heels, and looked a bit older too, than I realised that I was no longer 20 and he looked just a bit older than me, just as he was meant to. He had nice smiling eyes and a nice smile, a good start I guess.

We went to the closer Patisserie Valerie for brunch. The chat was easy, we both choose our meal (this time it wasn't chosen for me...). After discussing the value of French versus Turkish breakfast the chat moved on to politics. It was actually really interesting, and I enjoyed myself far more than I expected. After a while I made my excuses, I needed to buy a few necessities before meeting with a friend.

He sent me a message the following day saying that he enjoyed our date and that he was sorry for getting so into politics. I waited 24 hours and e-mailed him back with my phone number (he did sent his before) and saying that I really enjoyed it too... I truly believe that he deserves a second date.

Let's see what happens next.
 
Also Mr Essex texted me first thing this morning: "Morning, woke up with you on my mind! Have a great day!"
Rather cute...

More results From the Singles Valentines Party

Oh... My... God...
Just a quick last update, one of my speed date from Saturday, one I actually thought was cute, has just sent me a message asking me for a drink. Obviously I have not yet answered and will have to wait a bit longer to do so... I'll keep you informed and will also give you an update about my Sunday date next time.

The day after the night before

So you will ask, did the Rules worked for you? Well, this is the message I received the following morning at 9.30am :

"Bonjour L'Amoureuse, Happy Valentines day! It was lovely to have met you last night. Hope I wasn't too risque talking to you. Keep in touch, and would be great to meet you for a drink when you are free. Perhaps when you are back? X"
Nice, but I am not sure who it is. I assume it is Mr TDH, he was the only one being risqué and I am pretty sure the only one I told I was going away for a bit. So as a good Rules girl I waited until the evening to respond:
"Happy Valentines Day to you too and yes it would be good to catch up when I'm back next week. Chat soon. L'Amoureuse."
You will notice no kiss back, hard to do when I automatically do it for my friends.

A couple of  hours later (whilst I was asleep) the following arrived:
"Hey, glad to hear from you. Thought that I had maybe pushed the boat a bit too far last night. Hope you had a good evening? Sweet dreams. xxx"

This morning as I read this message I am still assuming it is Mr TDH, but the problem is, I can't remember how to spell his name and I really need to make sure it is him and not Mr Essex or Mr B Essex. So around midday I send the following e-mail knowing that I might just spoil the whole thing, but I need to know:
“Now, I may have to add insult to injury. After confusing your ancestor's land with your birth place I know have to make a confession... I'm not sure how to spell your name... You flashed your card too fast. L'Ax”

Yes, this time I did put a “kiss” to soften the blow I guess. So far no answer so either :
a) he is really not impressed that I can't remember how to spell his name/think I forgot his name
b) he wasn't Mr TDH and has no idea what I am on about/ realised that I got him confused with someone I am more interested in and not a happy bunny.

Let's wait and see.

In the meantime I received a phone call tonight from Mr Essex keen to follow up and arrange to meet up over a drink. I tell him that it won't be before at least a week as I am off for a few days, he offers that I call him when it is convenient for me to arrange something.

So now I know it wasn't Mr Essex who texted me, this just leave Mr TDH & Mr B Essex. I guess time will tell.

The Singles Party

As expected the weekend was busy and I did get plenty of practice of the Rules.

I was running late for the Singles Valentine Party and so suggested to my friend that we meet one hour later than planned. I got out at the tube station nearest to the venue only to find out that she was still home. I made my way to the bar on my own slightly dreading the standing alone bit and having to wait for a man to come and talk to me.

At my arrival I registered for the speed dating session (good ice-breaker) and picked up my name badge and a lock (for the key and lock thing, nothing kinky) and made my way down to the Party. The room was already quite busy, groups of girls together, men mainly by twos or on their own. I walked around then made my way to the bar as per the Rules. A diet coke didn't gave me enough confidence to go and talk to anyone and so I waited a bit to see my first victim... err... man. I will have to call him Mr Noddy, I felt slightly sorry for him, he was quite sweet but so nervous that he kept nodding as he spoke. Being a good Rules girl I moved on after a bit (slightly helped by the fact that I didn't really click with Mr Noddy).

Moving on to Mr Lebanon... Well again, following the moving on Rule wasn't too difficult. He introduced himself with "L'Amoureuse!" (replace in real life with my real first name) "What kind of name is that?" Such a charmer that I just couldn't wait to hear more. More was mainly about him and his life as a man of leisure as he developed his hip-hop dancing skills and woke up at 10am everyday to spend time on himself. Ok NEXT!

A last one before the speed dating starts, Mr China 2, finally, someone interesting, with interesting things to say. We chat for a bit and again I make my excuses.

After the stress of those first encounters I do feel like something a bit stronger and so go back to the bar for a vodka lemonade.

Speed dating was also an experience between the guy straight out of a Bollywood movie, the one who could have gone to school with my dad and finally to top it all the one who dared ask me: what type of relationship I was looking for, whether I had been married before, when was my last relationship and... MY AGE???!!! Seriously? I mean is not like he couldn't find out on the website, but asking me within 3 minutes over a speed dating date??? You either think I look like someone you would want to date or not, age shouldn't even come into it at this stage... At least I made one new friend, a Mr French.

After a not-so-successful speed dating event I moved back to the main event to find that my friend had finally arrived. With a sight of relief I joined her for some more mingling. As we were chatting this tall Asian looking man approached with his friend and started talking to me... Actually, chatting me up would be a better description as he was quite obvious about it. I didn't mind, he would have ranked in the very large panel that would describe “my type”. Tall, dark and rather handsome.(Mr TDH)

We chatted for a while, mainly him complementing me, which I didn't mind. I kept clean despite him trying to take me onto cheeky roads, keeping the mystery. And it worked, within a few minutes he asked for my number. I gave it to him and made my excuses and moved on, as per the Rules. Whenever I saw him after that he would be looking at me and I would only give him a smile back.

After moving on I had a couple more men coming to chat with me including Mr Essex, I saw him earlier in the stair case and just smiled at him as I went up. He stopped, smiled back carried on down the stairs and looked back the all way down, I know I took a quick peek. Later on he came back and asked for my number... so did his friend, Mr B Essex.

By then, it was time for me to make an exit. It was late enough and I had a train to catch.

Oh, did I forget to mention that Mr Essex was a bit drunk and spilled his drink on my brand new dress! Never mind, there is always the dry cleaner.

The Rules for Online Dating

I have finally received the Rules for Online Dating and true to my words I am already almost halfway through it... And, you guess it, I have already failed on a couple of points. Oh dear...
Apparently replying to an e-mail within 24 hours is a big no-no, so far I haven't done too badly on that one, but the worst is that you are not supposed to e-mail late at night. So how excatly am I supposed to do? I work 8 am to 6pm, commute about 1 hour and half each way and to top it all, I keep to the Rules by keeping my evening busy, so typically I don't get home until after 10pm. I can't really e-mail them from work so what is a woman to do? Well, this one rule my have to be flexed.

I have also broken the rule of not answering "winks", Mr China did "wink" me but my answer back was to ask him to go down the question road so maybe that kind of make up for it?

 In the mean time, this weekend is the big weekend. Single party tonight and brunch date tomorrow with Mr Turkey. I should have loads to report on in the next few days...

But before all that I will have to break one more rule and answer Mr Turkey's e-mail during the weekend to confirm where and what time we are meeting as he still hasn't asked for my number and I can't ask for his, but at least I did wait until the following day to answer, or is that still cheating?

Waiting for the weekend

Mr Turkey has agreed to a Sunday Brunch, this should be interesting. But before that I have a dinner tomorrow night to which a friend invited me, part of her convincing argument is that she has this really nice guy to introduce me to... And yes, it didn't take much to twist my arm, really not much. One again, I am only sacrificing my personal time to strictly follow the Rules. Practice, Practice, Practice. And sometimes practice comes with a nice meal and the opportunity to meet some one nice (to be confirmed after tomorrow's dinner, obviously).

The weekend is also bringing a single's party to which one of my colleague will be joining me. I have already bought a new dress for the occasion, again, strictly for the purpose of keeping this experiment as accurate as possible by following the Rules (Rule #1 Be a "creature unlike any other"). Life is hard when you are a Rules Girl!

Another Rules book

Oh... My... God!! I have been doing internet dating without reading "The Rules for Online Dating: Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right in Cyberspace". Obviously I could not continue the experiment without remedying to this catastrophic lapse. I have therefore ordered the book on the internet and I am awaiting it's imminent delivery.

In the meantime I have kept some of my Cyberspacemen waiting for a day or two before getting back to them. Made the most of my weekend away to leave them lounger a bit. I now have 3 men I am communicating with : One Turkish, slightly older(38), we will call him Mr Turkey, who sounds very nice and is keen to meet me but in a sweet and attentive way; One English, slightly younger (29), The Dancer, at the first e-mail stage and finally a Chinese one, again slightly younger (29), Mr China, still at the questions stages. And I just got another hit, this time with a older English guy (43), Mr England, we are now at the Must have/Can't stand stage.

On the other website I have the one guy, very keen to see me, who keeps asking me out on days where I already have plans, at least this time he asked me some questions about me rather than just talk about himself... slight improvement.

Mr Turkey has asked me out for last weekend, unfortunately I was away. He asked me again for next weekend, I offered the Saturday morning which he couldn't do and he suggested the Sunday whilst at the same time realising that Sunday being Valentines day might make it a bit awkward. I suggested that maybe we do "morning/afternoon tea", it would be more casual and less awkward. Let's see what happen there.

Let's hope I don't have the date before I get my hand on the Rules of Cyber Dating!

Update on the Date

I kept to the Rules!

Although it wasn't too hard... I didn't need to worry about talking too much as I strugled to even get one word in. It may have been nerves but the man just wouldn't shut up!

So I got to our date a couple of minutes late. He had already texted me half an hour before to say that he had arrived really early and was already there. I knew he was eager but started feeling that the eager line was about 10 miles back and he had already crossed it. When I got there I struggled to recognised him and he didn't recognised me, although a girl staring at you with a big question mark on her face should be a clue. But it took him a good 30 seconds before asking me if I was "L'Amoureuse..."

The rest of the evening was all planed, he knew which bus would take us to the restaurant and had book "the best table" for 18:45, we were meeting at 18:30... We barely sat down at "the best table" (as it turned out it was the one by the big fish tank, nothing says I fancy you like a big fish tank) that he had already told me what we were having for starters and almost ordered my main too. He did say he was starving but still...

Once we ordered, well, there was no stopping him. He would ask me the occasional questions only to cut me off after 2 words and go off on one again.

So no my friends, no need to buy your wedding hat just yet. There was no chemistry there and despite him wanting to meet again I think it will be "as friends only"

The Confirmation

I can barely believe it. Mr International seems to not only have read the Rules but have written them too! Here is the message I received today:

"It was lovely talking to you briefly last night. That would be just great if Thursday evening is convenient to you. We can meet @ Tube Station @ around 6.30pm and then I would like to invite for a nice meal @ a middle eastern restaurant nearby (5 min walk from the tube station). I shall bring a bottle of wine as they don't serve any alcohol. Red, white or rose (please advise which you would prefer)?

Have a great day, in fact have great week and see you Thursday eve"

And to that he even added a link to the restaurant so that I know exactly where I am going. I just can't believe this guy! He is not just making the Rules easy for me, he is doing the whole work for me!

Let see how Thursday goes and as one friend would say, let's hope he is as good in real as he is on paper!