Friday, December 31, 2010

date ten: oh oh oh!

i'd been trolling the internet for dates and feeling really bad about myself because i couldn't find anyone who was enthusiastic about the endeavor. in philadelphia the sense of adventure and willingness to participate was totally encouraging. on tuesday night i came across will. we spoke briefly but he was out of town due to the holiday. i was [secretly totally bummed but (hopefully) outwardly] sort of disappointed.


as i was driving to enterprise dictating messages for sam to transcribe she mentions that this guy suddenly became free and figured the ticket was gone. immediately i had her send my phone number and begin sending out notes of thanks and appreciation but also of declination.

without knowing if he'd be sure for sure, i threw out all the other options. it made me feel a little bit like one of those whirl-wind-musical-montage-scenes from a girl-y movie. add that to the fact that we were dancing and listening to le tigre like two jerks and yes, this was totally amazing. (i was just reminded that specifically i said i wanted music that was almost too much. i don't remember using those words but i'm so glad i did.)

will called and we confirmed plans. i hung up and was thrilled.

two and half hours later we were pulling into a parking spot. AWESOME!! note: it took me as long to get to this date as it did to get to some dates in philly due to traffic. that's disappointing.

i walked in with my re-gift-gifts for the gift swap and waited for will. he messaged that he'd be there shortly and the excitement just mounted. i wasn't nervous or anxious or anything. i saw him come in. he walked over. immediately i felt comfortable with him.

the show was totally worth the $5 admission. our hosts kevin and jane were so entertaining (kevin was in philly last month for the first person festival and i developed a little crush on him at that time.) ira glass graced us with his rendition of the pogues' "fairytale of new york" with a multi-accordion back up. the most titillating (can i say that? you should have seen her outfit...) part of the night was the performance of sarah nowak. this girl was adorable. she told the story of her "disengagment" and subsequent trip to europe. she talked about her ring and the good times it ultimately brought her. she danced and smiled and encapsulated the energy and emotions i've grown to know and love. this girl went through and lived through the stupid rotten loss a few years before me and came out glowing.
i can only hope i'll be able to present myself in the way that she does.
things just got serious up in here.


and then there's the fact that i'm still on this date. get back to business.

will was amazing. he was even more handsome than i'd expected. he was charming and polite. he won both the original "miami vice" soundtrack and "the fine young cannibals" on vinyl in the gift swap. some guy mentioned being jealous without realizing my guy was the new owner of the coveted objects. will was quick to trade for a bathrobe that reminded me of the inside of a conversion van or a waterbed. that's a really gross combination, actually.
he cut a hole in the lapel and inserted a flower. he looked bizarrely dapper considering he was wearing a bathrobe.

after the show (i'd not been selected to switch gifts during) it became a gift-exchange-free-for-all. not one to merely participate, i took it upon myself to climb behind the table and start working as if it were the redemption counter at chuck e. cheese or something. presents had fallen behind the table and i didn't want them to go ungiven. we organized gift packs: the glen beck/ann coulter book set, the cocktail napkins with a one-liner comparing chocolate to martinis belonged with the flip-flop tip-topped toothpicks.

i left with a picture frame and dress.


following the show we went to meet up with some friends. it was awesome. i have to write more later.
i'm late for date twelve.



i can't believe i've made it this far.

i can't believe a lot of things.




i still need to tell you about bluegrass and jon, who could easily make me a fool. he's quiet and clever. and he plays the piano.
i melt.





and then we have tonight. tonight i'm going on my final date with a very good friend. lots to be said about this. it's funny because i already know i love this guy. he's amazing.






details to follow. i really need to go and i'm already late.




oh, and that nightmarish rest stop? here you go:




Love You Forever





i'm thinking about doing a new "roommate project." i need to tell you/ask you about this later.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

this should have been edited and completed already.

i had no date. it was five in the afternoon and all I could do was make my eyes get all big and bug out repeatedly. I was ready to stand outside and solicit any person walking towards the street alone or with an odd number of people.
then the sea parted. within a matter of mere minutes i was quoting the salt-girl. I had gone from having no real contenders to too many. just as i was getting off the phone with my friend justin's friend's friend chris who stepped up to accompany me I got a follow-up from a previous message from quinton who came across a post on craigslist whilst looking for a schol bus to purchase (intrigue!!) all the while my friend Andy was working his magic on a friend of his: Ben. i hadn't heard from Ben yet and was, at this point, scouring the Internet and my phone book (contact list--you know what I mean) and asking everyone I knew. I'd exhausted both facebook and craigslist as well as okcupid which, for the record, has been the best resource when it comes to dating sites.
within sixty seconds it all came to a head: Quinton responded with a definite and Ben had emailed with his info while I was in a frantic initial phone call with chris. crazybones!!
   
sam and i pulled in to get the rental car and we were dying of uncontrollable laughter. parking next to a red # 40 vw new beetle i go, "that"ll be us." and boy was it.
the dashboard space in this spacevehicle is unreal. you could stores year's worth of boxed cereal in the windshield.

the condition of the bathroom in the dr. joyce brothers née kilmer rest stop set us off further. diapers--dirty ones-were just laying openfaced as would an unsavory sandwich on the tan tiled floor. we spent about twenty dollars on two orders of fries in holsters and got out of there. i almost feel like the health dept should see it. or like, life after humans on the discovery channel?  

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

date #10 is on!!!! yes!!!!!! totally excited!?
how is this even possible?

i've got less than six hours to find a date. i've been trying for a few days. i'm feeling pretty damn pathetic, all things considered.



SOMEONE COME OUT OF THE WOOD WORK, PLEASE!!
i just had an asthma attack.

unreasonable.

oh, and i thought i'd hit a roadbump before.



following my evening of trivia with chris (#9) i wasn't at all tired and decided to go hang out with my friend milkshake. at this point it's maybe 12:45 am and i'm driving north on route one. out of nowhere there is this car just SITTING in the middle of the road PERPENDICULAR TO THE MEDIAN. this guy, as far as i could tell, was parked across two lanes of traffic, nose to the metal divider. it was extremely disorienting and the visual can be described only as surreal. i began to slow down as soon as it registered that i was in fact seeing this parked-looking vehicle.
i slammed on my brakes as soon as i realized what was happening but there was no place to aim that wouldn't have resulted in some sort of mess. the impact ultimately was the front end of my car and the driver's side front of his car. thankfully no one was hurt.
my airbags deployed and i sat in shock.
it was twenty degrees outside. the roads appeared dry but the shoulder where i stood waiting was slush.
for the first time in quite a while i felt like i was a nuisance to the men with which i was dealing. usually i can hold my own but at one in the morning on a road not so close to my house i felt helpless and stupid and helpless some more. i gave the other driver all of my insurance information and he walked away saying he'd give me his. he came back and handed me a folded up piece of paper. it wasn't until later that i realize it was my information he'd given back to me instead of his own. it was do dumb and trusting of me not to check that paper. i'm not saying he did it intentionally, it was cold, we were all shocked. but jeez, talk about inconvenient.
i called my (amazing) friend who promptly got himself over there to help a girl.

the experience was very unpleasant.
my car is terribly totaled.
my body is very sore.
i feel lost.
no car.

i know my car is often a joke among my friends but no one can deny that it has taken us all over the place.
because it's old i worry that i won't get very much for it. it's one of those cases where it's worth SO MUCH MORE to me than will ever be determined by some insurance adjuster.
there's also concern that because i don't think anyone is at fault, the other driver's company won't cover the costs as it seems they should.


all of this and i really really was planning to go to new york for the talent show tomorrow. i'm thrilled with the responses from my most loved and admired people, "how are you going to get there?" they've been asking.
not "are you still going?" like i'd entertained for a split second.
and i'm going to get there.
bus. train. rental car. who cares.

i've got to go on a date and i've got to see the love of my life: ira glass.




Tuesday, December 28, 2010

number nine. number nine. number nine.

last night a very nice time was had with chris (#9.)  we met at kildare's in west chester and i am totally humiliated to say i did an absolutely tragic job in the way of trivia. he was much better suited to answer questions, but even still we got maybe half of the answers correct. we sat at one of those small/tall tables near the bar and were strangely fortunate that the drunks nearby were quick to shout out there surprisingly not-wrong answers. i felt so ashamed. when presented with a map, i think the only country i could positively identify was bolivia because i used to sponsor a little girl there.

at around midnight when the drink specials were up and there was room to approach, he closed out his tab and walked to me to my car. i ended up dropping him off at his house. i was a little uneasy about the conditions of the back streets in west chester. it was nice to finally have a date with someone who didn't require travel across great stretches of road and gallons upon gallons of gasoline. he was very local and also had off for the week. because we both grew up in the area we had more talking points which was helpful because i (and i may be entirely wrong here, but i'll say it anyway) didn't see him as the kind of guy who would approach me under normal circumstances. but i guess in this case, circumstances were pretty normal and maybe i just need to grow up and realize that there is the potential for people to have more varied interests than for which i might initially give them credit. maybe my quirky personality isn't as off-the-wall as i had initially thought.

i don't want to call chris normal because one might confuse that term with ordinary and in no way do i mean that. he's pretty awesome: he runs marathons, plays a whole bunch of instruments and knew more answers than i did during quizzo. he seems to have his act together and is a decent guy, to say the least.

why am i always having to second guess people?
and somehow on this night i was left second guessing myself.

Monday, December 27, 2010

double digits!! DATE TEN!!!

the story of how i met this guy is pretty great, but it'll have to wait. i need to iron my dress and my hair.
he's for tuesday though.

yes!!

date nine: in which i must know things

tonight i'm on my way (last minute, but on my way) to do some trivia with date #9. chris seems like a really nice guy and lives locally. we'll be meeting in west chester and i'm looking forward to it.

we started messaging back and forth a little bit a few months ago. we met via a "dating site." so far into this project, and yet i still feel strange admitting that. i shouldn't. so many people meet this way. i need to get over it. isn't that part of the point of this project? i'm not evening looking anyone in the face, but still...i blush. who cares? who even cares? drop it self. just drop it.

so why the delay from initial conversation til present? i'd been so busy with some stuff that we didn't end up making plans until this very last minute. because of the snow, i need to leave my house in maybe 25 minutes. that being said, i've got to start getting ready because based on my appearance at present: ohhh geeez.






also, i'm super excited for the rest of the week.
all in all: december is amazing. the last week of december is super AMAZING.

i wonder what they're thinking

obviously at some point during our date the mister and i discuss his initial response to the project.


date 1: thought it seemed fun, pure and simple
date 2: didn't care for it. he was worried i'd be exploiting people
date 3: along the lines of date one
date 4: also ok with it. but he'd already known me and knew this was the kind of thing you might expect
date 5a: seemed ok with it but at the last minute wasn't. this is no big deal except that he and his friends carried on for the night with text/email insults instead of just enjoying a really good show
date 5b: an awesome sport with ideas and enthusiasm
date 6: another gung-ho guy who also writes and knows where i'm coming from
date 7: said he'd be fine with whatever was said and was excited about the idea
date 8: also said i could say whatever, even said he'd go along with it (i love the enthusiasm!)

but that's just what i'm told while sitting across the table from a person. i'd really like to hear what they thought (i cringe. really, self, really you want to know?)

but then, what do i want to know? what does that do for me? what does that do for the project? i've already put myself out there enough to secure a few hours of their time. at that point am i hoping for something as simple as a pat on the back and a "you made a decent enough date," or what? i'm sure at least one of them has negative things to say. and i shouldn't be the one to ask that they make them known. that could make the rest of the week pretty hard.


speaking of the rest of the week:



it's now december 27. i have to go on four more dates in the next few days.
TROUBLE.


december 28: #9 to a storyslam at l'etage
december 29: #10 to the talent show in brooklyn
december 30: #11 there was mention of bluegrass in west philly?
december 31: #12 new years eve?!?!?


all this and i'm still trying to prep for my GREs so i can eventually be an art therapist for crying out loud!!

waking up to a cool thing

"the talent show is now following you on twitter."



good morning self!!




i'm so excited for wednesday. i can only hope i actually find a date in time. otherwise i'm an embarrassed shame.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

merry christmas/schmidtzmas/fritzmas!!

i have more new hair accessories than i can ever hope to wear and more spinach/artichoke dip than a person should consume.

hopefully everyone has the kind of day i am having. it's always an embarrassing and impersonal thing to broadcast a message like this. if i could call every person i ever knew to say happy day i would, but my voice is gone after a big night last evening. i got to hang out with my favorite fritzmas which was totally awesome. we had an unnecessary new years countdown to midnight and sang destroyed versions of carols. oh, and meeting lisa, by the way, was awesome!! she's one of those girls that you feel completely like you've known forever straightaway.

i love people.




also: latest project!!

i bought 2 tickets to the talent show and am hoping i'll find someone who would like to go. he'll most likely be date number 11 or 12.
this date will be a little different because the show is in brooklyn. either i'd like to find someone here to go with me, or i'll expand my horizons and go with someone from new york, should i find a person who would like to go and with whom i might potentially be compatible.








the theme is "presents."

this is fitting because at present my present to myself is the presence of others!!



---------------------------------
The Talent Show has another show coming up—on December 29th at Littlefield in Gowanus, Brooklyn—featuring This American Life producers Ira Glass and Jane Feltes, and regular contributor Dave Hill.

Show theme: "The Talent Show Presents: Presents." They're trying something that seems like it could be kind of amazing: A massive regifting gift swap involving the entire audience. BRING AN UNWANTED GIFT TO THE SHOW to swap for something you want a little more.

$5. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8. Tickets.

Friday, December 24, 2010

date eight!!


oh my gosh.
thursday night was really awesome.

i'll start out with this- it was refreshing to: a. be traveling west instead of east for once. b. meet someone at a different time than the standard seven pm deal.


jim and i met at the columbia diner in lancaster. he was sitting at a table "to the left" with coffee when i came in. i was pleasantly surprised as he was pretty adorable. we had a nice time and talked for several hours. finally after a dozen cups of coffee and a grilled cheese sandwich we decided to go exploring. he took me to stonehenge, but it was all short and knocked over. we walked around in the cold cold cold and ended up just hanging out and looking up. apparently this place had the reputation of being a native american energy vortex or something. it was totally awesome and jim pointed out some constellations. we talked about a whole lot and i enjoyed him thoroughly. oh man, oh man. it was one of those adorable dates that made you feel all giddy.
once it was too cold to handle and concern grew that my fingers had fallen off and were just loose in my gloves we headed back to the car.
we went back to the diner and sat outside talking a little longer. then it was pretty cute, he said something along the lines of, "i didn't mean to come back here like: oh hey we're done. do you need to go home, is it too late?" we'd had all that coffee and i was having a nice time so we decided to get gas in the car. no reason to make anyone do the gas-station-bit alone, right?
then we ended up just riding around and talking til almost five am. whoa.
eventually i had to leave because for crying out loud it was early morning/late night, etc.

he asked me to let him know that i got home alright which i really appreciated.

it was a really great date, for sure.


i'm looking forward to seeing jim again.

#7 continued

i didn't understand the difference between talking to him then and talking to other people now.
at this point i suppose it could be said that we were on a date and it's not polite to interact with other guys, but i don't believe that to be true. it wasn't like i was outwardly flirting or ignoring him or being rude or anything.

basically, it was upsetting.

my friends showed up and it just felt messy. we weren't totally set on where we wanted to be. we got sat. we un-sat ourselves. he told me that we're disorganized because we're theater people. i told him not only am i not a theater person, but i'm not disorganized. this is more like a collaborative type evening. we didn't need to take notes or anything. he seemed pretty critical of our strategy though.

then one of the girls was a little apprehensive. ultimately he decided he should go and i felt really bad but it was probably the best move.


yeah...so he's the first person i've yet to hear from.
it's ok. he is really bright and has great manners. some girl is going to be lucky, i just think i'm a little too scatter-brained, artsy, loopy, into music/creative endeavors/experimental for him.

that's the truth.







the rest of the night went well though! (oh--hello steph and sarah--two nice girls i met!!)

OH! MISSED CONNECTION!!!

i can't believe i forgot to post this!!!!


http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/mis/2100623288.html


you can't win them all...

oh geez...this is one of those tough calls/integrity issues.
i've finally approached what may be the most uncomfortable portion of the project.


it isn't anything about the guy. he was really nice.
and it wasn't about me either. i am, as far as i'm aware, a good person.

i guess in this case the trouble lies in the fact that not all people are necessarily compatible. and that's fine. and it isn't a big deal. and it shouldn't be. if we need to blame someone we can blame me, sure. but it isn't about blame.
it's about the fact that for once when a person and i parted i felt a little sick.
i felt like i messed up big-time.
part of the whole thing is about being gracious and sweet and appreciative, which i certainly thought i was.


i was late. i'll start with that. it took me close to two hours to get to dinner on wednesday night. we were meeting at royal tavern and what usually takes anywhere from 35-55 minutes took me an unreal two hours to travel. i made every effort to keep dave updated on my status and of course felt like a putz. i'd given myself an a little over an hour to account for traffic so believe you me...embarrassing.

dinner was really nice. we had some interesting conversations. i tried to pull some stories out of him but he seemed a little reluctant. this (may have) resulted in my leading the conversation. (i know how i can be and am very self conscious. but it felt like i was doing most of the talking which sort of resulted in entertaining, as opposed to regular dialogue.) early on i told him i had a meeting at ten down the street. as that time approached i realized i also needed to move my car in order to avoid another $36 parking ticket (oh, philadelphia!! your government runs on my poor timing!) he asked about the meeting but i sensed some skepticism in his tone. it almost felt to me like he wasn't certain that i actually had a meeting. i know, a ten pm meeting in a bar sounds far fetched to most, but it's true. i'm working on a project with some girls and this is how we operate.

i told him that we're doing a creative collaboration type thing. some improv, some sketch, a little filmed, a little live...still in the early stages. (these girls are super talented and i'm excited to see what comes of it, by the way!!) he asked if he could come along and observe.
this is where i probably went wrong.
realistically, because we are still early in the process, i should probably have said it wasn't a good idea. the intention was to sort of bounce ideas off each other, talk a little bit, interact with people we don't know (just to get a feel for timing, intonation, delivery, things along those lines.) but i said yes. i usually say yes because i want to see how things pan out. this time though, saying yes i was thinking "you need to check with the girls first. this isn't your thing to say yes to, he doesn't really know you, he doesn't know them at all. they might not be comfortable. he might not be comfortable. this is not your wisest move, self."
yes. i said yes.
bad. move.

we headed over to the pope to meet the girls. things seemed to go sour pretty quickly.
we were standing by the bathroom waiting for them to show up. i had my back to the door and kept turning around to see if they were coming in, but was also looking around for them and just sort of looking around. maybe at this point i should have been more attentive to him, focused my gaze in one direction only. but i didn't. when people were waiting to go to the can i'd talk to them. at this point, as far as i could tell, it was alright to be social. instead dave said i seemed compulsive. he gave me a hard time for talkingto people and made me switch places with him so that i was facing the door and no longer "looking around so much." hmph. interesting way to put it.
he called me compulsive. i was talking to people compulsively. i wanted to be polite, to let it go. but i couldn't. i'm pretty passive and generally a pleaser. but the contradiction here was upsetting. the very act that resulted in us going out was fine when directed at him. but when i spoke to others it was suddenly something he observed and commented on with distaste. i asked why it was a bad move to talk to people now




(the girl next to me is talking about how she doesn't know whether she is awake or asleep. she doesn't know how to think. she stays up so late. until at least two. she is so tired she can't think and isn't sure if she's awake or asleep right now. this is really distracting. she's giving me all the dirt on her dreams right now. i'm in disbelief. she is giving a detailed account of her dream about shopping at boscov's.)

it's like when you'd make an animated short in "mario paint"

you know...write your own song by putting yoshi and luigi on the staff to a tune you likened to ode to joy...
and then you basically created a junky flip book? at least that one moved.

for your viewing pleasure i present:


a collage.

!! tonight went way later than I had anticipated. totally ok with that!





oh oh oh.
pleased
as
punch.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

last night? this is me, sighing. how am I too busy to do updates straightaway? I'll do it tomorrow. I swear.

I'm on my way to meet #8, jim. I have a nice feeling about him. let's hope that's a smart move, admitting optimism. I do that but later realize if it goes poorly then I have the potential to feel embarrassed. (is that even possible?) I feel like I am putting myself put there/here a great deal and embarrassment should be inevitable. as of yet, however, I haven't had a reason to feel that way (at least in the vein of shame, anyway. if we are talking embarrassment as a result of being the recipient of positive attention...that's another story. appreciated, but makes me uneasy.)

ok. also, I wish someone would ever comment HERE instead of on facebook/email, etc. sayin'.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

on the sixth date of schmidtzmas

i'll need to upload these pictures.
there really aren't many. there are two. neither are presently in picture state. i guess i should start over.


i need to take pictures of these things and get them on here.
these things consist of a note and my notes. neither are momentous but i feel like it adds a little bit more when i've got some visuals. especially after dates 3 and 5 provided so much at which to look.

i met nate [nathan/nate? crinkling my face at the realization that when meeting someone in this way you only get their name once. you commit it to memory in one way and you don't really consider that they might prefer an alternative. in this case i'm going by the closing of an email. in another instance i was basing it on an email address. but with me...i guess when it comes to me...i just assume everyone knows my name and how i say it. of note: it's cara. "ca-" like one might say "cat" and "-ra" like "she-ra." it isn't like "car" or "star" or anything. also interesting: it's more like "cat" and "calliope" than "care" or "carbon." the "-ra" is hard to screw up. the "-ra" in "hard," i almost typed...but there is no "-ra" in hard. there's an "-ar-." moot point.

regardless/irregardless (the oed allows both despite my beliefs)] at mama's vegetarian at 20th and chestnut or something. this was the first time i'd had falafel, as far as i'm aware. it's strange because i know i've been offered it and have feigned tastings. this has not happened with rhubarb pie as some are wont to believe. i have in fact tasted rhubarb pie. the taste and texture of falafel was strangely familiar to me. i didn't not enjoy it, that's the certain decision. and i'm likely to try it again. good job, self, for trying! great job, nate, for putting me in that position!!
i excused myself to the restroom almost immediately because i noticed that you had to sort of go behind the counter. i've got this childish problem where i love getting behind counters at establishments at every opportunity. i've accidentally tended bars. i've served food when allowed. last month i assisted in the booking of rental cars at the airport enterprise location. if i can dish out slices of pizza i am ON IT. the chance to chop wood on 2nd at fairmount was like a dream. i wanted so badly to plate bbq/jerk chicken. (go there some night and try the banana bbq sauce. do yourself that favor.) i'm going to add a link to that at some point but this here isn't my computer so i'm keeping things brief. i'm attempting to keep thing brief. i'm failing miserably.

post-dinner...


forget it. i can't do this right now.
things to tell you about: the iron bitch. a purple house? ! more envy and admiration than i should admit.

all around: good night. less like a date, more like an interview. i take full responsibility for that. he was totally interesting and should be wary of any future contact from me. i'm basically this sponge at his disposal.


that sounds way more gross than i intended.



who cares. i don't. i also don't believe in deep editing. if it isn't a typo, it stays.
spongy.

haircut and date 6? tonight is going to be pretty awesome!!

#4 is now #6. this is the guy i accidentally was late to meet and missed two weeks ago (which resulted in the diner date with dave.)
he ran the giant slide at a carnival?! HE PAID A HOMELESS GUY TO BE HIS COMPANION IN KENSINGTON?!!?! OTHER STORIES THAT I WILL REVEAL LATER>!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?

YES!!



photos are forthcoming.

And that's the way it is!

oh wow! last night i totally got my Walter-Cronkite on!





as i approached the building i spotted a celebrity: chipper the chipmunk from herr's chips or snacks or whatever. he was hanging around the parking lot. so weird.

i met mike at the security desk at cbs-3. never have i felt safer meeting a blind date than when signing in with a guard in a well lit room of cameras.


he gave me a comprehensive tour of the studio which was really bright. i met a whole bunch of very attractive and well styled people which made me realize i desperately need a haircut. i just got off the phone with my place and i'll be getting one tonight. here are some things i saw at the studio:



cameras



and a view.

i also saw that chipmunk mascot about five more times all over the place. they either have a bunch of hims or a really fast guy in a cumbersome suit.

we headed out to get dinner with nothing specific in mind. i suggested indian and he, never having tried it before said he'd give it a go. whereas i'm vegetarian, his diet consists primarily of meat. he went for it anyway and the food was alright! (i may have requested spicier, but this isn't a restaurant review.) the atmosphere was conducive to conversation and the garlic naan was superb.

following dinner mike actually produced proof that he had in fact planned a scavenger hunt around the city. i was totally stoked because up til that point he hadn't really mentioned it. i figured maybe he'd forgotten or changed his mind. this was good for two reasons: a. it shows his willingness to do something kind of ridiculous with a stranger b. i couldn't be that bad to spend time with. he easily could have called it a night post king of tandoor. but he didn't. he instead showed me the two copies of a list of holiday inspired objects for us to seek out on this one degree evening. there were six neighborhoods, each assigned a number. we--the state of the art and futuristic people that we are--used a dice rolling app to determine where we'd go: old city.
some of the more ridiculous/challenging/difficult finds include:

a salvation army style bell ringer




a bell was surprisingly hard to find




a christmas lights "display." can you even stand it? we ended up using these light-lined windows on the top of a tall residential building. where's your spirit, philadelphia??



a tacky gift: this "pawda" dog purse.
a star: mr. ivanovich, i can only assume, was inside giving us the stink eye for taking pictures. he maybe thought we were casing the joint for a jewel heist.

mike accidentally put both a candle AND candles on the list. i'm a competitive pain-in-the-neck and insisted on finding both. also, we could only claim one find per address. this resulted in extra time being devoted. the above photo is through the basement window of some restaurant. it's "candles." "candle" is another photo that i can't distinguish.



wait, i found it. it's upstairs on the table to the left of the white box.

oh man. in order to get stockings i almost started a number of women on the street to check out their gams. i never would have expected it to be so hard to find stockings at this time of year. ultimately we had to pretend we wanted information on a little hotel so i could sneak this picture:


it was an all around good night. i don't think i would have had the opportunity to meet mike, had it not been for the project. he's a really nice guy who wasn't intimidated by my outlandish request for involved fun.


oh, by the way: pretty cool, right??
oh hey--still alive!! dates every night this week?!? can't stall--must keep writing!!

Monday, December 20, 2010

extraordinarily nervous at present!! I just parked and am sitting for a minute trying to be ready. this is the first guy I didn't pick out on my own. ppppppp!!!!

intrigue!!

eleven days and 8 dates to go. we have christmas eve, christmas day and new years in there so as you can imagine, the schedule is looking pretty ridiculous. i just got home from work and have to get ready so so fast. mike, #5, has some fun stuff planned. because i know so little about him i'm sure it'll be lots of questioning. all i know is I'm meeting him at work. right now i am hoping for very little traffic.

oh- because rarely does a day go by without some sort of strange thing happening i guess i'll mention that i was very tempted to ask out some guy on the street friday night. my friend claire and i somehow met him. he had an accent and said he was from israel. of course the crazy in me is screaming: this will make a good experience!! but the sanity is saying: no. don't be ridiculous. you don't know him and the only thing you have learned in the last ten minutes of standing near him is that he plans to give us tattoos.

i don't think that's a reasonable thing to accept from a stranger. however, if i were to get a date-tattoo to commemorate this whole mess i would want to get a carton of eggs. but instead of having eggs inside it, there would be ornaments. the thing of it is: you can't see what's inside the closed carton. i'd have to tell you.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

for christmas I would like:
1. a cute case for my netbook
2. another bobble
3. renewed memberships for whyy and the Sierra Club
3. the opportunity to bi-locate so I can stay here for kathy + dan and the cousins' and friends' weddings, hang out with my family and friends and go to schook but also join the peace corps
4. a time machine that would make jack blacck single but also we would cross paths and he would fall in love with me
5. candy canes 

tomorrow night: DATE 5

tomorrow night (unless things change) i am going out with mike. we'll start our evening at around six with a tour of a television station? cool stuff!!

i don't know anything about him except that he works at this station and that i saw a picture of him with a wax-version of wolverine. that's what i'm going to show you now:





i'm really pulling for the scavenger hunt, honestly.


last night i did my best to secure some dates from friends. lots of people had suggestions but i don't know that i should be the one to ask the guys because then i'm putting them on the spot. to put a stranger on the spot: i can just walk away unscathed if they say no. in this case though, to approach someone from within the improv community, there is a 100% chance i'll see them again. and with my luck i'll end up with a tremendous crush on the unfortunate fellow and things will be somewhat awkward forever and i'll turn into the high school version of myself making mix-tapes and collages and funny little gifts.
then i'll get the reputation for being a whack-job-nerd-girl.
so embarrassing.
all that to say: just ask me out, ok?

you know i'm apt to say yes. it's my style. this is the year of acceptance.



let's talk a little about this year, shall we? also, we'll go back a little into my history so you can have a better understanding of how this whole thing came about.

i got "ungaged a year ago." i'd spent several years with a really great guy who i still admire and for whom i have no hard feelings. because it's been a year since i was in a relationship i figured i may as well go hard into dating again. (i have the tendency to do things in a major way. it started when i was little. my parents wouldn't just have a birthday party for me. they'd have a party for my three sisters and me all at once with a giant circus tent, unicycle riders, magicians, twenty pizzas and laundry baskets filled with chips and pretzels and stuff. the schmidt family, looking back, rarely did things small. i worry often that i'm some sort of chronic one-upper but really try not to be. i think i just get carried away and am severely enthusiastic.) so instead of just deciding i should see people again, i'd do it big. i have gone on some dates in 2010, and some of them have been pretty great. there are some guys i've seen a number of times and i really enjoy them. but in order to officially be myself i've somehow turned my life into one of those novels with a bright pink cover that's got a high heel on it. hey, i think i'd read it. it's slightly out of the ordinary.
this year i got really into improv and have been totally dedicated to that. i entered a piece in the chester county art exhibit for breast cancer awareness. i rented a van, (and rode a shuttle bus filled with strangers from site to site--because of problems) filled it with friends and took a trip to new york for the evening. i went salsa dancing with a group of strangers. i started my search into a new grad program (fingers crossed that i'll be doing art therapy through drexel come next fall!) i did every stinking volunteer project that seemed at all appealing. i got hypnotized!! i lost my ability to read!!!! i got it back!!! i lead a conga line of maybe 500 people. i was on stage doing a drop of improv with some performers from second city.i got asked out two weeks after giving pizza to a guy on the street. i did my first story slam. i won contests. i took workshops: sock animals, story telling, writing. i learned how to lay a hardwood floor. i spent a month painting new construction. i was with my friend in a minor car-fire in the mountains. i spent quality time with a park ranger AND a forest ranger, unrelated, in the same day. I SAW MY FIRST BEAR OUT OF CAPTIVITY. i was on stage. i was in the crowd. i lost my voice. i cried to friends. i was so happy i was moved to tears on multiple occasions. i spent time-but not enough-with my sisters and mom. i met my niece--who is the most beautiful glowing light you could ever imagine. this year for myself has been unreal.

this brings us to the present. why a dozen dates? because at about 11:30PM on december 1 i thought "on the first day of schmidtzmas!" which quickly turned into "on the first date of schmidtzmas!" i couldn't shake it.


and that's it.



oh, and am i just doing this to go out, or am i looking for something more serious?
i don't know. i'm leaning toward the former but i'm open to the latter.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

with 2 weeks and 8 dates to be had my car is going to hate me. SO MUCH DRIVING. I'm pleaantly aurprised but shouldn't be updating in traffic so you will have to wait a few minutes...

Thursday, December 16, 2010

a. feel free to tell your friends that they need to go on a date with me.
b. feel compelled to throw out some incredible date ideas.
c. i sat in 4.5 hours of traffic to cover less than 20 miles today due to maybe a quarter inch of snow.
d. this couch is amazing. the only things that would make it better would be:
a. if it had human hands that would scratch my back.
b. if it were like a broken, untraceable atm that shot all this money at me.

bats in the belfry, dudes on deck, wooers in the wings

i've got 14 days to...WAIT A SECOND! THERE ARE THIRTY ONE DAYS IN DECEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


THIS IS GOOD NEWS!!!!!

redo!!

oh, hello and good evening. i didn't see you come in! (an homage to uneasy dating profiles, you know what i'm referring to perhaps?) there are 15 days to go, see. that's good because i get to spend 8 of them with some pretty fun/fancy/fascinating fellas!!

let's recap + look ahead. fun dun idea? YES!!

1. jack: coffee, conversation, comedy? YES!!
----------i'm sure i'll be seeing him again. i'm trying to find some show to ask him to, etc.
2. #2: hang outs and really interesting conversation. he challenged my ideas and made me think. by the end of the night i was like "whoa. again please!!"
----------(haven't heard from him yet though. ugh...)
3. james: jailbirds! he was super sweet. we talked so much that i didn't get my voice back for 5 days. unreal.
----------we've been in contact. hope to see him again.
4. dave: good old my dave of yore! he was the consummate gentleman. and so cute as always.
----------if i don't see him again i'll be shocked because we're friends, duh.

WHAT'S YET TO COME!!!
not necessarily in order of appearance and without an in depth write up but more for organizational purpose:
5. dave from new deck--i felt really comfortable with him. i think we're going to be like old friends. either that or i'll be a nervous wreck, i guess.
6. nathan: i keep referring to him as "the carnie." guys, seriously, i think he did it for a summer. it isn't like he was the he-half of the she-male.

and

7. jim: oh man. so cute. he's from "out west," aka west of here. we're going out at an off-peak-time and i won't be surprised if we end up drawing on placemats or something. i've just got that feeling about him. oh oh oh i hope i'm right!!
8. mike: he wrote to me because of some awesome mutual friend. (we've got two, according to facebook. i need to figure out to whom i owe such credits. aubrie and dan st...i'm looking in your general directions...)
9. mario: thanks to katie m! i'm really excited to write back to this guy about whom i know absolutely nothing! as a matter of fact, i am still in the early stages of knowing katie too, so yeah, this is totally awesome. oh!! maybe i'll ask her about the prospect of a double date, seeing as...
10. guy#10: i just met him last night. we were highly fascinated at the psychic abilities of things like a doppler radar (which is not the doppler effect.) i only talked to him for maybe five or six or so minutes so...hooray for being left wanting more, right?
let's get down to business folks!!
i just spent 4.5 hours driving almost twenty miles.


borderline delirious. but: i'm determined to get everything up to date and make sense of my calendar. we're getting to the point where i'm getting down to the wire and for the first time in my life and trying NOT to procrastinate. years i spent just stalling until the last possible second. i'd start papers at 3:00am the day a paper is due.
yet for this crazy self-imposed assignment i'm attempting to be on the ball!


and so: without further adieu--



DATE#5: this is the guy i thought stood me up. (i need to get my act together.) he seems to be really funny with a ton of good stories. thus far i've been made aware of the carnival working and investigative reporting in kensington. i heard about his bodyguard and what he would and wouldn't give twenty dollars to experience. he's mentioned both wisconsin and "my place." so i know he's been at least to both of those. also, he's been to the phillyjavaco because the girl working there told me so. aside from that i know very little. of course i like it that way but my concern is that he could potentially have stories so outlandish that i actually seem boring by comparison. i feel slightly ashamed of admitting concern about being outdone, but i'm also a little excited by the prospect. (that's not, in any way, to say that the people i associate with now don't have stories. they absolutely do. it's just this guy, unless he's pulling my leg, has STORIES.)

ladies and gentleman: nathan!!


thanks guys!!

two date requests in one morning??! things are shaping up pretty nicely!I have awesome mutual friends with both of these fellas. 

yessssssss!!

also, possibly a third?? just got a text message about it!!



also, regarding the table of 14 i mentioned last night: i didn't end up mentioning the project. maybe I should have but it was a weird night and I just didn't think it was the right move. I did, however strongly consider the invitation extended to Claire and me to join them for dinner. 

that could have been 14 easy dates. I'd be done and then some--early!!     

halfway through the month

technically it's the 16th, but for all intents and purposes, and because i haven't gone to bed yet, we'll all act like this is still the 15th. i've gone on four of the decided twelve. i'm totally comfortable with my progress on account of:
a. during week one i went on zero dates.
b. during week three i had only one scheduled but it seems he eventually decided he wasn't comfortable with the scope of the project.
c. i have off for a greater part of the two upcoming weeks. lots of time to get things done!!


let's take a look at what i set out to do and where i stand, shall we?
1. someone from a bar or whatever: Dave, the guy who already knew about the project counts, i think. i met him at a bar, it was just a funny coincidence.
2. someone from a normal daytime experience, a store or whatever. (this is going to be more challenging)
3. someone of my choosing on craigslist:
4. someone who responds to a vague posting of mine on craigslist: this was SUPPOSED to be the guy from last night. must try again.
5. someone who responds to a more detailed posting of mine, also on cl: this would include both wolf-shirting Jack, the super-sweet guy who endured an evening of musical improv and James, the awesome guy who shared a great evening of conversation following our prison tour.
6. someone from an online dating website: Number two who, by the way, was really great and i seriously hope i hear from him again.
7. someone i meet through a mutual friend (guys...help me please. you've got to know some adventurous mysterioso for me!!)
8. someone nice that i went out with before but nothing really came of it then: Milkshakes et al. Dave, my always interested friend/crush.
9. someone that i'm already friends with, but with whom i hadn't thought about going on a date-y date til now
10. someone that i've gone out with should set me up with someone they think would better suit me
11. someone i wouldn't date under normal circumstances (e.g. some enthusiastic meat-eating hunter guy who hates books and only listens to music i generally dislike. an entirely devoted body-builder athlete. an amish guy. who knows where i'll go with this one.)
12. I JUST DELETED A MUNDANE OPTION IN THE HOPES THAT SOMEONE WILL HAVE A BETTER IDEA.



in the queue: the carnival guy is back in the rotation. i'm really hoping things work out so we can meet. i spoke with him briefly the other day to re-schedule and i'll tell you what: he seems to be the kind of person who either gets things or has things happen around him. i love that. dave from new deck, of course!!a really cute/fun guy who so far seems to understand telegraphs and going along with whatever is being said and possibly an ice cream related gentleman from another state,and a friend of a friend who had some of the most impressive outing  ideas i've seen yet. and of course, a whole slew of other possibilities...i hope...

i was talking about it with some of my friends tonight and basically we decided that i'm maybe more comfortable approaching people because i've told myself that i absolutely must. i don't really have anything to lose, if you want to know the truth of it. or if i do have something to lose, i probably didn't want to hold on to it anyway.

(so...four done + five in mind or something? i thought i had it figured out a little better. but i'll take it, this is decent--hey, this is great!!)

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

more of the same

i'm disappointed to report that i'm caught in the first snag in this project.

the man i was supposed to go out with tonight has spent a portion of his night sending me an unreasonable number of partially coherent messages. his friend(s) are doing it as well. i'm not sure what he thought was supposed to happen and he was the one who decided he didn't want to see me, but somehow i've been dragged into this strange night out for a group of grown men (or women. i'm not sure who this "k s" person is that has been emailing me.)

all along, as requested, i have respected this man's extreme insistence on anonymity. however, regardless of MY request for being left-alone-for-crying-out-loud, as of a half hour ago he continues to send messages. these adults are wasting their night out repeatedly contacting a stranger-girl who is simply interested in meeting a variety of people in different ways.



really, you think it's worth ruining the show over?


as initially stated, i'm doing this for fun.
clearly we aren't a fit.
it's ok.

in which i am insulted by a stranger

it's funny how one change in plans can totally alter your entire disposition.



two weeks ago when i started this project a guy and i decided to go out for drinks then to a show tonight.
i'd been looking forward to it. but as i told him initially, after that night i didn't want to talk to him aside from solidifying plans before-hand. he asked me to go out for drinks last week. not only did i have no opportunities, but then i would have to certainly consider that date one, etc.

on sunday i got a strange email where he said he said my lack of reply was boring.
i didn't respond. it was insulting but didn't warrant a response.
on monday he wrote that he was sorry, he had been cranky and stuff.


all in all he seemed like a decent guy, but being completely honest, i didn't feel like i knew anything about him aside from his profession, really. and that was how it was supposed to be. that's all i've known with pretty much any of the people involved. keep it basic and superficial until we meet. then we can end up talking for eight hours without stopping. hey, i'll go to work four days later and get asked if i'm feeling ok because my voice is just that raspy. (happened today. totally awesome!!)

basically, the whole project is supposed to be fun and light-hearted. it appears he has a more analytical and systematic approach to things. i am one of those creative-impulsive types. i would, as i mentioned on twitter, eventually drive him crazy. his email read in a very familiar voice. and that voice and i, we didn't work out for a reason.

there is constantly this dichotomy present in pop-culture--the straight laced goal driven man always lead by his career has his life turned upside-down and finds love and adventure through some zany odd-couple antics with an unconventional free spirit who bends rules and gets by on luck and persuasion. it sounds amazing. it hasn't worked before though.

i left work to (approximately) this (type of) email:
opening paragraph has some hypothetical question about certainty and realizations. he tells me about how excited he was to meet me, which i appreciate and shared. there were some compliments in this space. following were words about the project. he wasn't bothered by it. his concern, he explained, was "What if you met someone you really liked?"
this next paragraph spells out his "growing discomfort." he talks about being uneasy with "being used." he says he struggled and said, "Ah, she seems well-intentioned and at our ages it's hard to meet someone of quality and therefore the cynicism of this project reflected by her is just her open-hearted way of expanding herself and perhaps other people's experience of reality and dating."
he then spends a good number of lines expressing his distaste for the lack of communication. he was upset that i hadn't talked more. he was cross that last night i sent him a message asking him to re-send his picture so i could update the blog. he had, all along, asked that i respect his privacy. i did. i never planned to tell anyone who he was, even when he signed letters with a fake name and wanted me to refer to him as that. (i already knew his real name.) the information i wanted sent was a picture (i couldn't find the original. i received 400+ in two weeks. things get lost.) i was supposed to be meeting him the following night. maybe i wanted more than one view so i'd have a better idea of who i was seeing or something. i'd sent more at his request, no problem. i also have tried to give a brief description of each person: interests, funny notes, things that explain why they'd stood out among the rest. thus far everything i knew was confidential and when i asked for a little more information he clammed up. he said he wasn't a great dancer or something along those lines...compare that to a guy who runs a carnival + someone who says he's got ghost stories + a guy with a phone filled with pictures of fish on ice + mentions of other adventures...

he goes on to talk about finding love and following you heart. the ideas sound nice on paper within the context of a book with flowers on the cover but it's not for me. the only time i talk about my heart is when i draw one on a window in the fog. it's like roses or doilies. keep them. i want daisies, ferns...maybe a nice moss. keep it sleek and streamlined. let's make jokes. make me laugh til i'm choking on my own breath. my idea of romance is completely different than his, i'd imagine. valentine's day makes me purse my lips, i wear a fake mustache from time to time for my own amusement.

reiterating: i wouldn't consider this project as a means to use anyone. i'm not in a committed relationship with anyone right now. i'm not necessarily looking for one. i've been passively looking, sure, but the majority of my free time has been dedicated to creating things and expressing myself in new ways. and learning, always.

his response to my previous entry about driving him crazy consisted of insults. i haven't even met him yet..."I guess you are saying that your lack of compassion; lack of empathy; lack of caring; lack of looking for love; lack of having the hope of finding, sharing, rejoicing in love; lack of perception; and lack of integrity, as well as other general lackings

no, that's not even close. those who know me realize this is so far from the truth. i am as i know, an extremely positive and good person. i don't even need to explain myself in this regard.








all this to say: i am hurt by and disappointed in a stranger.

oh hey roadbump.

looks like tonight may be cancelled. while I respect his hesitation, i must admit disappointment. more in this when i get out of my car which is parked, by the way.

it pays to be a little ridiculous

there were maybe twenty of us singing happy birthday to my friend joe at full volume during our weekly dinner at new deck on sunday night. it wasn't until halfway through that i realized the guy at the table directly behind our birthday guy (at whom all the noise was directed) was on a phone call. feeling bad i decided to run over and apologize. as i got up someone goes "you're going to end up going on a date with whoever is on the other end of that call."

i walked over and apologized. i'm not sure why or how this stuff keeps happening, but i ended up talking to catherine in california who wanted to say happy birthday to joe as well. as i'm walking back to the table of strangers i mention to her that joe's birthdate is december twelfth...and 12 x12=144 and 144...well...that's just gross!

that's when one guy goes "WAIT!" i can't remember exactly...either "are you" or "you are," in any event, "the girl from craligslist!" he puts the phone on speaker and i can hear catherine laughing. she knew who i was as he's going "the girl who's going on a dozen dates..." seriously, SO IMPRESSIVE. i was shocked. she stayed on the phone for a while longer and got passed around (hi, by the way if you catch wind of this and look!!) before eventually the call ended. i sat down and basically interviewed dave who, along with his friends, was an awesome sport about having me join them to talk.

it turns out he'd seen the post on craigslist and checked out the blog but didn't email me. (if you could see my face right now you'd notice that i'm doing one of those hey-what-i'aint-good-enough-for-ya eyebrow raise and scowl type moves.) they asked some questions and i filled his friends in on the back story. i guess i should do that for you too.

so a few minutes later we've established that i'm not yet at my quota and that i am in fact trying to pace my confirmations to keep things interesting. i ran back to the table to get the sickeningly adorable kitten calendar and have potentially secured an evening (DOUBLE DATE STYLE, WHATWHAT!!) with dave: a charming quality assurance analyst (i'm researching so i can impress him and ask appropriate questions,) and his sweet/really pretty friend kathy. i think i have a guy lined up for her and hopefully we'll be going to a story slam later this month.



i love my life.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

on the fourth date of schmidtzmas...

after the whole date-number-four-fix-up-mix-up i conceded to a night of hanging out with my friends. i say it like it's any sort of concession, all i want is to hang out with my friends. that's why they're my friends and not my enemies or people to whom i am indifferent.

we went to check out some improv and headed out for drinks/hanging out. right after arriving at the bar i got a text from my friend/crush/occasional date dave who happened to also be free last minute. when i started this project almost two weeks ago he suggested doing a highschoolkidtypenight. we made our way across town in the rain and ended up at the oregon diner. he opened all the doors for me and was the perfect gentleman. from inside, the chaotic reflections of christmas lights/police car lights/street lights/falling rain/puddles/mirrored walls/windows combination was perfectly both other-worldly and comfortable in contrast with the cold, wet mess outside. with milkshakes and mozzarella sticks before us we talked.

it was nice to go out with someone i already knew. we didn't have to give all the back stories and develop characters. he looked so cute and the whole experience was good. i'm calling myself out on something though: when you are on a date with someone, even if already know them it is in very poor taste to talk about other people you've been seeing. i know this. i know if he were to do it i'd be kind of annoyed or disappointed. he didn't complain and laughed when i brought it to my own attention but really cara! poor form! it's hard though, because he, along with the other fellas, know about this blog and the project as a whole. as far as the other guys go, we have always ended up talking about the project in general terms but never about the dates. it doesn't need to happen. if they end up curious they can just read it here. again self, poor form!

on the third date of schmidtzmas...

DATE #3: the aforementioned mr. cryptozoology



all i knew in advance was that i needed to dress for the weather and that whatever we were doing was "time sensitive." despite the snowflakes in the gray sky and traffic on the road i made incredible time.

i got to mugshots at 21st and fairmount around 2:30. if i gain nothing else from this project, i have improved greatly in the realm of timeliness. james was later than expected but i swear it was no big deal. he sent regular updates with his status and we hadn't fully set a time to meet anyway. i had work to get done and a drink to do it by.

james arrived and we did what i have all along expected to be an awkward hello. instead, and i don't know if it's my brand new outlook or what, but that part has been so easy and natural. considering one of the controls in this experience is not really getting to talk to the guys beforehand, it's surprisingly easy to meet a stranger and be at ease in a short period of time. "i guess you're why i picked this location," he started, keeping on his jacket and scarf. 

i stood up and followed suit seeing his sense of urgency. we walked out the door and across the street to eastern state penitentiary. though james had spent a good deal of time there this past fall (not an inmate, guys--this place is now a historic site. it's an amazing piece of architecture and holds so many stories,) he hadn't seen it as the actual penitentiary sans zombies and sets. we had a really great tour guide who was kept busy with some extremely curious guy. james filled me on extra details and pointed out some things he knew on his own. he was the type that made you feel both comfortable and safe in that environment. it was cute, he'd do the touch-the-back-of-my-arm-when-i-walked-down-the-stairs thing, you know, totally appropriate and appreciated. 


after the tour we headed back across the street for coffee at about five. he brought along a really cool illustrated book of beasts aptly titled Beasts! it was a really great way to start the dialogue. he was charming and sweet. we stayed until the place was ready to close. we had five hours of steady conversation. we talked about maybe hanging out again. and again, i'm not opposed. the guy had a tree house like the spaceship from "flight of the navigator," which is one of the few movies i've actually seen. so much talking. my voice was totally shot the next morning. i also almost feel like i should be sending mugshots a check for rent.





instant gratification

YOU CAN BE THE FIRST TO KNOW IF I'M GETTING STOOD UP OR KIDNAPPED! follow TWELVEDATESOF on twitter. (much appreciation for my awesome friend Scott Hinners and his ability to futurize me beyond the postcard and pony express.)  

Saturday, December 11, 2010

things are getting a little crazy. I'm running down the street in so philly in the rain and typing too. dedication!! I feel really guilty about the first #4 and have already put the postcard in the mail. brook will need updates.

I was supposed to meet first guy at 7 but due to parking and traffic I was late. I messages and called but got no response. I arrived rudely late at 730. (I am still walking now, btw) and waited til 8. that's when the super sweet pair making drinks at the Philadelphia java company confirmed my concern. he had already come and gone.

then I got a message from him-his phone had died. in the interim I had wrongly assumed he was a flake and updated to the effect of

i have to admit, i am entirely impressed by this...

NEW DATE #4 ALREADY??? damn girl, you working fasssssssst!! off for milkshakes and teenagegoodtimes!!
WAIT--I DIDNT GET STOOD UP!! I ACCIDENTALLY STOOD HIM UP!!!!!!

there's a first for everything

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY ENTIRE LIFE I THINK I HAVE BEEN STOOD UP.



i'm absolutely fine with it because there are so many parties and fun things tonight.
though i am disappointed that i won't be hearing tales about a giant slide in wisconsin.
#4 caught my eye with a fancy moustache and promises of stories from his summer working with a carnival. my knowlege of such things is limited to a decapitating gravitron and a mouthful of atomic fireballs.

date #3: In which I end up in jail...

more to come...

Friday, December 10, 2010

I feel it's worth mentioning that I had an everything bagel for lunch. just putting it out there.
en route to date #3 with guy #2. i thought it would only get easier with each new person but today i am all nerves. i left 100% of the planning up to him. he seems confident that he's got a good idea and I've got no reason to doubt him. I'm just wondering of my inner control-freak is in a state of panic.



worth mentioning: i'm no dope. for every occasion I've got a man-on-the-inside who has access to names/phone numbers/locations, etc. that man is terrifying and intimidating and has razor blades for eyes and lazor beams for teeth and the longest grossest finger nails of all time. also, he'll update the blog if anything real wild happens and i find myself in "the big house" or a cultish commune.

on the second date of schmidtzmas...

it is with certainty that i tell you my intentions are good.


i hadn't considered that someone might think otherwise. i'm one of the most optimistic/in-love-with-life-and-all-the-people-on-earth-forever/you-guys-are-amazing  people you could ever meet. because of that i took for granted that everyone would see this project from my perspective: this is a great way to meet a bunch of interesting guys with their own lives and stories to tell. maybe i'd hit it off with the kind of guy i'd predict. maybe i'd fall for someone totally out of the ordinary. maybe i'd just spend about 36 hours with strangers and a better person as a result.

for some reason, despite how empathetic i thought i was, it hadn't occurred to me that there was much potential for my dates to feel used or exploited. maybe it's because i know me. i know i wouldn't do that to a person. it's so far from my intention. so tonight when i thought the second guy seemed interested in cutting our evening short i was taken by surprise.


the better part of my day was spent worrying about meeting my horrible quota. i couldn't get past the idea that i was setting myself up for failure. though there are all sorts of potentials in the works (i'm looking at you, all-night-roller-skate-dreamer,) i was simultaneously berating and laughing at the situation. for a girl with 250+ email requests asking her out, a list of seemingly decent guys in her near future and already a great first experience, i was so mad at myself for having "the night off."
i had plans for tonight. i knew what i wanted to do, where i wanted to go, the whole thing. somehow i lacked a partner though while all of my friends seemed to secure a nice thursday night with their person of choice. going totally nuts. absolutely. i called a bunch of people and sent messages all over theworldwidewebbernet in hopes of landing some awesome guy. as it got later and later i was ready to concede and go home to do some laundry.

i was sulking in the greeting card isle of walgreen's noticing that they don't seem to make ziggy cards anymore. i'm not spending $7 on a piece of cardboard that plays "Born to be Wild" with a picture of a pig on a tricycle. that's when my phone gave me a super-high-five.

almost a month ago i had a brief correspondence-thing with an interesting and adorable guy from some website. it was short lived though. not hearing from him though, i'd moved on. i couldn't shake the idea of him though. he presented himself in a way that was cool without necessarily being intimidating and i generally liked his approach. (though that this point there wasn't much approaching. *SOUND THE FOGHORN FOR MY DUMB JOKE PLEASE.*) earlier today in my brazen state i sent him what i imagine to be on a post-it note.

here goes nothing:

i am doing a ridiculous project. i have
to go one 12 dates this month.
seeing as i knew you existed before i
addition to the lineup...if i can
convince you. and the pressure is off
for idea planning if you're free tonight
as i have stuff in mind.

is this the worst date proposition of
all time?
-cara


apparently it wasn't.



Thursday, December 9, 2010

date #2-- RIGHT NOW!!!

the original craigslist posting

Posted to women seeking men on philadelphia craigslist


I'm attempting to go on a dozen dates this month for a fun project I've created (thetwelvedatesof.blogspot.com)

So...if you're free and fun or funny or know someone who likes an adventure maybe you should send them my way.


about me:

my motivation for doing pretty much anything is having a story to tell later.

things i appreciate:
diy
npr
yoga
maps
books
improv
stories
wiretap
scissors
radiolab
scrabble
optimism
petrichor
storyslams
twin peaks
enthusiasm
good smells
short fiction
themoth.org
good causes
good magazine
people watching
this american life
i don't get bored
spying on strangers
dilapidated buildings
riding on someone's boat
going to farmers' markets
painting and creating things
being environmentally responsible
people who display very good manners
when words swoop nicely like they do here
riding my scooter which gets 100 miles per gallon
i'm really fascinated by people who have ghost stories



if you message me, try suggesting a date idea. I don't watch movies unless it's something really awesome and the circumstances are unusual. also, if you are a pervert i'm definitely not the girl for you!!




it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

oh--the postcards are sloppy one-minute drawings of the daring dudes. i look at the first picture they send and illustrate without looking at the paper. they're all being mailed to my friend brook in knoxville. he's a great pen pal and i owe him more than fast sketches of strangers, but they'll have to do for now.

number two!!

we just confirmed plans for date number two and it should definitely be interesting.

james asked that we meet during the day, something about a sensitive time-frame. apparently his idea will "require some daylight..." he also suggested shoes for walking and that i dress for warmth. he's mentioned haircuts, spooky stuff and kool-aid.



you can't imagine that anticipation.



I was on Radio Times!

When love is just a mouse click away — all about internet dating

forward til there's about ten minutes left. whoa!!
ahhh!! the project was just on Radio Times!!!

almost like a lunchable

a. i have two tickets for a storyslam, from First Person Arts!! the upcoming themes from which we might choose are "anniversaries" and "holiday spirit."
b. i just won one free ticket to be used at any ComedySportz show between now and Saturday 1/8/ that's got potential, right?

Monday, December 6, 2010

responses

i've gotten over 200 responses from my craigslist post which i have to admit is pretty insane. about 40% of them didn't have enough content to warrant a response while the other 60% were thought out or complimentary. that was a real shock but i'm glad to report it.

if you wrote and i haven't gotten back to you it isn't necessarily that i'm not interested, obviously. i just got a lot more feedback that i'd expected and intend to start digging through and replying later tonight. also, i'm attempting to meet people through various channels so i don't want to stick with this route exclusively. (while i'm being so upfront i might as well mention that you can find me on at least one dating site, by the way. just saying.)

ON THE FIRST DATE OF SCHMIDTZMAS...

I AM ALIVE. DATE ONE WAS NOT A SERIAL KILLER.
thanks to all of you (friends AND strangers!!?!!?!!) who wrote to check in on me! i was really flattered and impressed by your collective concern!

after date one i feel as though this project was definitely a good idea.

embarrassing fact: i was SO NERVOUS leading up the the date that i lost my keys. i basically ran around a pizza place at 39th and spruce like a crazy lady because i thought i'd left them there. (yes, before the first time meeting my first date i ate of the month pizza--with extra garlic. i'm not sure if i was trying to sabotage myself or not, but i have this habit of eating garlic or onions right beforehand. i'll also not shave my legs, if you want to know the truth. usually though, those nights are the best ones. maybe it's because i let my guard down or something.) at this point i'm running in a panic towards my car because i know i'm a scatterbrained girl quite often and just as i approach i see a family standing nearby. i totally did it: i left they keys to my car in the door. the family was just about to call the police when i showed up. of course my car was still there. that's the kind of good luck i have.

last night i had the pleasure of meeting jack for coffee/tea in west philly. we got along just swimmingly and i immediately realized my worries were entirely unnecessary. following our short hour-long hang out i made him join me for a musical improv workshop. on our walk over i was pretty embarrassed by the girls walking down the street next to us. he's new to the city and they reflected poorly. "...and these jews...they were actually nice."

that's what this moron said--she just said it, opened her mouth and let it out like she was commenting on the weather. totally casual. totally inappropriate. it's a shame they shared the sidewalk, but it was a huge relief to see him ignore it and later just shake his head and laugh. i expected nothing less from such a great guy, but still, there was that brief moment of tension where i was all oh-my-god-i-hope-he-is-a-passive-fellow-etc. big sigh of relief and +5 for his composure!

i've done improv before and knew a lot of people there so of course i was comfortable. but he was a really good sport and i was impressed at his willingness to go along with everything. after improv we went to dinner with a big group of people and he seemed to fit right in. it's funny that considering how important it is that a guy get along with your friends, you usually you don't introduce them until later. he picked up the check which was a totally sweet move. he also opened all the doors, everything you like to see. clearly a product of good parenting.

we talked about music and bands and upcoming shows and stuff...i'm hoping to see him again and he expressed the same! i honestly wasn't expecting things to go this well.


totally awesome!!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

easy like a sunday morning

it turns out the easiest way in the world to pique some interest is this craigslist.org bit. no surprise there. you can also get box-loads of used baby food jars, half a bed frame and a job pushing papers if you look around for more than thirty seconds.

the influx of emails has been pretty awesome and because i wasn't around my computer last night i didn't even scratch the surface for responding to inquiries. it seems like there are actually some interesting potentials out there. i'm looking at you, mr. cryptozoology!! the man snarling and giving the camera the finger from the passenger seat of a pickup truck is causing mixed emotions, which brings me to my new dilemma. is it a waste of time for him and me to go out if clearly he's a bad fit? i'm not basing it purely on the photo either. the email entirely lacked any sort of effort or content. i know it's not a good decision, but i can't deny that i'm terribly intrigued...



ALSO! DATE NUMBER ONE WILL TAKE PLACE TONIGHT!!!!

jack, i am so looking forward to meeting you! based on the wolf-portrait, meeting with t-rex and motel petting zoo, i can only imagine what's to come. i'm also super excited to get this "iron man" picture i'm apparently awating.


totally awesome.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

hey, potential dates:

don't worry--i have no intention of saying anything incriminating or telling the world your name and most confidential details (unless you want me to, that's fine.) i'm not looking to deceive or embarrass anyone except myself.

updates:

date ONE was secured through a vague craigslist post. i guess we're going out on tuesday the 14th to see the Freelance Whales at johnny brenda's.

date TWO is in the works...i might be going to some guy's office christmas party. YESSSS!!!!! that's the kind of thing i want to do. that's what i want, absolutely.

more updates as things get finalized!!