Hello Hitchhikers! Sorry I’ve left you hanging by the side of the road for so long. There’s a story behind it, but it would mostly sound like excuses if I tried to tell it, so let’s just forget about the fact that it’s been over a year since I last wrote anything, and carry on as though hardly any time has passed at all. How does that sound? I think it sounds brilliant.
If you have been following my blog for a while, you may be wondering how my dating experiment is going. If you know me in my personal life, you probably already know. I’m a little behind in my blogging. Although, not as far as you might think given the immense passage of time.
The theme of this date was ESCAPE! But not like the first first date. I still have nightmares.
My 19th first date was a lot of fun. It was a group date. By group date, I mean that there was a group of people… not everyone was on a date. One couple was married, another couple was not a couple at all (I think they were married – just not to each other, but it’s not as scandalous as it sounds; they were just friends of one of my friends or something and their spouses were otherwise indisposed. I think. It’s been a long time. Details are fuzzy. To be honest, I don’t know if they knew each other before that night, but I think they did.) And then there was my date and me. I think that’s right. I might be missing someone else, too.
Nope, I’m not. I went back to look at pictures, and I remembered everyone. Go me! (Sorry, you don’t get to see the pictures because I have not received permission from the participants to post said photographs – truth be told, I didn’t ask).
This was my first Escape Room experience. If you’ve never tried one, they can be a lot of fun – especially with the right group of people. We had the right people. Not only did we finish with time to spare, but it was a lot of fun while we were trapped.
My date and I met up in the parking lot. I was early. I’m never early. I hate being early almost as much as I hate being late. I mean, do you sit in your car like a creeper until your date shows up? Do you walk inside by yourself and explain five times to the staff that you’re “meeting someone”? Fortunately, I wasn’t that early, and I didn’t have to wait too long for my date to arrive. I think I played it off like I’d just pulled in a few seconds before he did. We both knew at least a few of the people in our group, so it wasn’t super-awkward for either of us… at least no more so than it is for me in a social situation anyway.
There wasn’t a lot of time for much more than the standard, “Hey, how was work?” conversation before our entire team arrived, and we found ourselves racing against the clock to try to find our way out of a locked room. Stressful environments are a great way to learn how someone operates. Also, it is really difficult to hide OCD tendencies – especially if it involves solving riddles and crooked frames on the wall.
The design of the room was a little cheesy. In my mind, I think I’d pictured a medieval castle with torches on the walls – like those awesome puzzle apps you can get on the iPad. Then again, our room was “office” themed, so really, how much design acumen is really necessary?
All in all, it was a fun first experience and a low-threat first date. It helps when you are already somewhat acquainted with the person you are first-dating.
After the escape room, we all went to dinner. I was ready to gnaw my own arm off, and I think I ordered enough food to prove that. We went to Lee Roy Selmons. I don’t actually remember what I ordered (pulled pork or steak, I’m guessing – I really like their variety of sauces), but I’m sure I ate a half dozen of their rolls with barbecue butter (it’s a strange flavor combo, but somehow it works). One of the others in our group ordered meatloaf. That’s what I remember. She let me try some. Wow. It was good. It would never have eliminated a meatloaf craving for me (because it didn’t taste like my mother’s version), but it was a whole new meatloaf experience that I still occasionally crave.
Speaking of meatloaf… my sister and I were talking the other day about the word meatloaf. What are your thoughts? A loaf of meat… amazing concept or aptly named, but completely unappetizing. I’ll give you one guess where I align on the scale of awesome to unappetizing. That’s right. I’m fully onboard with the awesomeness that is an entire loaf of red meat.
When I got home, my dogs were so excited to see me that they nearly ran right past me and out the front door. And then I realized they weren’t that excited to see me. They were trying to run right past me and out the front door. And then saw it:
My boys had chewed through the frame by the front door. They had chewed through the blinds of three of my windows. The entire time I had been trying to escape a locked room, my puppies had been at home doing the same thing!
It was very out of the ordinary behavior. I mean, I’ve had much longer lasting first dates, and I’ve never come home to destruction. About thirty seconds later it was clear to me. The smoke alarm chirped to let me know the battery was dying. I took them both for a walk, and then climbed up to change the battery. For the next two days, neither dog would go in the room with the smoke detector. Poor guys.
Guess they couldn’t solve the puzzle.
