My 'picker' is off

I am a certified loser magnet. 

I could probably end this post right there and not continue to dwell on what happened last night, but for the sake of this blog and any other loser magnet that may stumble across these ramblings, I will write it all out. 

I went on my date last night with this guy, you know...the guy I claimed to have high hopes for?  And, I did.  Yes, there was the age difference, but at this point in the game, it really didn't matter to me that much.  We spend a good chunk of time on the phone over the last couple of days talking about the usual stuff.  He "passed" all of my pre-date requirements.  He has obviously played this game before because I was fooled.

The date was his to plan.  Being new to the area himself, I was very interested to see what he would come up with - and gave him a couple of ideas to help him along.  (ex: coffee at this really cool little place.)  Later in the day, he said to meet him in the parking lot outside of the movie theaters and we'd go from there.  Oooooo....mysterious!

Sitting through my committee meeting was torture!  I kept looking at the clock.  Luckily, I was the one running it, so I was able to keep everyone else on track and got out of there with minutes to spare.  On my way to the rendezvous, I got a text from him saying "So, I was thinking we could go to your house if we hit it off."  Ummm....no.  I explained that I wanted to have a first meeting in public and was looking forward to getting to know him. I pulled into the parking lot, found him and walked over to his car.  I sat down, and it went positively downhill from there.

The conversation went as follows:
Me: Hi, xxx.  Nice to finally meet you.
Him: Can I kiss you?
Me: Ummm...I guess.  (Thinking it would be a swift peck on the cheek.)
*insert tongue down my throat here*
Me: (pulling myself out of his grasp) I wasn't expecting that exactly.
Him: I really like you.
Me: So, what have you got planned for us?
Him: Let's go back to your place.
Me: I already told you that I'm not going to do that.  Why don't we go have a beer?
Him: I have to insert a heart cath into a patient in the morning, so I'm not drinking tonight.
Me: Oh, ok.  That's fine.  How about a cup of coffee?
Him: I don't drink caffeine at night.
Me: Did you eat dinner yet?  (Fair question...I had not, being stuck in a meeting.)
Him: Yes.  And, I'm not going to sit in a restaurant and watch you eat.  I also think it's boring to just sit and talk.  I want to do something.
Me: How about bowling?
Him: How about we just go back to your house?
Me: No.  I'm firm on that, so please respect my wishes to not bring a stranger back to my place.  I would like to sit and talk to you and get to know you better.  I've been on some pretty bad dates and I'm trying to learn from those dates.
Him: I think you're judging me for the bad dates you've been on. 
Me: I may be, and I'm sorry.  I just prefer not to be hurt.
Him: I think that we just chalk this meeting up to being two different people who want different things.
Me: OK.  So, I guess I'll just leave then.  You've already made up your mind that since I won't invite you over tonight, that you'd rather not get to know me.
Him: We can just go back to your place.
*I start digging for my keys in my bag*
Me: I'm terribly sorry if you felt you wasted your time.  If you get home and think these past ten minutes over and you'd like to actually go and do something fun to get to know each other - I'm free on Friday night. 
Him: I already told you my life story.  You know all about me.
Me: No I don't.  You can't learn about people in a couple of phone conversations.  And, it would've been nice for you to try to learn more about me.  Take care.

So - I get out of his grasp and start to walk back to my car.  What I hadn't noticed in the time I was in his car, is that it started to rain.  Without looking back, I can hear that he put his car into drive and was pulling out.  He left the parking lot before I even unlocked my car. 

His self proclaimed "maturity" went out the window.  This kid was a fool.  I was a fool.  And, what makes it more scary for me is that he was getting so aggressive - pulling my arm and locking the door - I was a little concerned for my well being.  That's a fucking HORRIBLE feeling, let me tell you.  And one reason I insist upon meeting in a public place.  If I had known that the conversation was going to go down in that way, I would've never gotten out of my car. 

Driving home, I got really angry...at myself mostly.  It seems as though every guy I get excited about, let's me down.  Is the cure to that becoming totally jaded?  How fair is it to go on a first date with someone and not at least try.  Lord knows I've been on some lousy dates, but to my credit I do really try to engage and be funny, even if I'm not feeling the person.  (Unless, you're him...then all bets are off.)  Was this just some kind of big elaborate plan just to get me into bed - be super nice for several days so my guard is down, because you are so great that I will automatically drop my panties within 5 minutes of actually meeting you?! 

I called my friend for a little feminine therapy, because sometimes it's nice to hear other people swear and make fun of people they don't know.  I then asked the age old question from most singles - "Why don't you and your husband have any cute single guy friends? Can you get on that please?"  Needless to say, that then sparked a whole facebook friend overhaul and now the quest is on to find a non-creeper for their friend Miz Adventures. 

God help us.