“Come to the book as you would come to an unexplored land. Come without a map. Explore it and draw your own map.” ― Stephen King, Hearts in Atlantis

On Wednesday night I met T. at the Beach House Cafe in Old Greenwich, CT.  He is a 59 year-old engineer, that also teaches yoga.

He looked better in person than he did in his pictures.  He had some facial hair, and it made him look younger.  I didn’t realize how short he was until we met.  I am not sure how I feel about that.  I don’t have a type, and normally don’t care about physical attributes, hair, etc.  But I am always hoping my date is taller than me. I am 5’4, and he is the same.  I would hate to be disqualified over my height, so I don’t want to be that person.

From the second we met we didn’t stop talking.  He was laughing a lot, because, apparently, I am very funny and quick witted. Or so he thinks.

There was just one moment of pause in the conversation.  He thought I paused because I didn’t understand the meaning of the word “ambivalent”.  I explained that my pause was about the way he used it in a sentence.  It didn’t fit. I wish I could remember the details so I could relay it here.

He apologized and said because English is my second language he had assumed that I wasn’t familiar with the word.  I didn’t take offense to that, but perhaps I should have.  For the record, the word is almost the same as in Portuguese, “ambivalente”, and I do know the meaning.

That was just a minor blip. We moved on. We have had similar experiences and have a similar outlook on life.  We are both very positive, and with a thirst for life.  One funny coincidence is that we both refuse to visit Paris until we have found The One.

Before coming to meet me he went to a bookstore to buy me the book pictured above.  In our messages I mentioned I like Kahlil Gibran. He paid attention.  I appreciated that!

We both like to open a book on any page and see if we get a special message.  Before I went to bed that night, I did just that.  It opened on the page below:

I sent it to him, then quickly regretted.  I don’t want him having any preconceived notions.

And I almost forgot to mention the most important part of evening 😉  Here is what we had to eat and drink:

To drink I had the “Pear Necessity”: Absolut pear vodka, elderflower liqueur, pear nectar & champagne.  It was delicious, but it could have used some kind of garnishment.  It was not as visually appealing as it could have been.  I think I am becoming a cocktail snob!  He had a couple of draft beers.

To eat, we shared: Yellowfin tuna flatbread, spicy fish tacos, Peking duck tacos and sweet potato fries.  He also had crab cakes (I don’t eat shellfish).  Everything was delicious.

I forgot to look at the desert menu.  Even if I am not going to order anything I always take a look to see if there is anything interesting.

He called last night.  Supposedly he was testing to see if he correctly connected his phone to his new truck.  Or it is just the excuse he gave.  I was out with my sister and a friend, so I just said a quick hello.

Last night was another night of fun eating at Little Drunken Chef in White Plains, NY. No drinking for me.  I already had cocktails twice this week. I offered to be the driver.  The food was fun (the pic below is not mine, but it is exactly how the empanadas arrive) and it was also delicious.  Besides the chicken empanadas we had beef tacos, fish tacos, chicken wings, mashed potato and shrimp.

To drink, my sister and my friend had the “Brazilian Wax”: Cachaça, fresh lime, fresh oranges, sugar cane and St. Germain. Delicious!!!! I had a sip, and also had it before, that is how I know how delicious it is. They also tried the “Between The Sheets”: vodka, fresh grapefruit juice, lemon juice and cava.  This one was too sour for them.

Now, getting back to the date.  Will there be a future? We shall see.  I would probably go on a second date, if asked. The main problem is not the height, but the distance.  We are over 1 hour away from each other.

“Distance sometimes lets you know who is worth keeping, and who is worth letting go.” ― Lana Del Rey