#idontdate

Gee here, I don't date.  In fact, THIS is how I feel about it all.

I tried it recently with a guy I reconnected with after many years, let's call him Missed Connection. In the middle of a minor disagreement Missed Connection blurts out "I'm LETTING you go to Thailand!" I stared at him, mouth gaping, he turned to face the road and tried his damnedest to pretend it didn't happen...he knew what he did.

Let me explain: I had been planing my Thailand trip since before we went on our first date, with a friend I hadn't seen since college, he happened to be a male but our friendship is a purely platonic one. In fact this trip was one of the main points of conversation on a few of our dates. I like to travel and I like having friends to travel with so many of my travel plans go pretty much like this: Friend: Gee, I haven't seen you in forever! Gee: I know! But you make it hard to plan a visit since you change careers/countries every few months. Friend: I'm going to Thailand, wanna come?

Gee: YES. What days? I'm submitting a time off request now.

So, back to the story... I was very open about my relationship with said friend and Missed Connection had heard all about my travel plans. I pride myself in being open and I told him if he had any doubts or questions we could discuss them. He also knew I like to travel, I plan at least one big out of the country trip a year, it keeps me sane. But most of all he knew I don't like to be told what I can and can't do. I looked at him and said " You didn't LET me do anything, I TOLD you I was going to Thailand". He tried to apologize, but that's when I knew it wasn't going to work out.

Thanks to Missed Connection, I learned I'm not ready to dive into the online dating world right now, but I do have a knack for creating what I like to call "Strange Encounters" with the opposite sex. You never know what can happen, maybe one will lead down a new path.