El Corte

With about seven hours of sleep under my belt I woke to prepare for a hiking date with Tan. It seems funny to hang out with someone in casual, sport clothing. I don't necessarily look all that attractive in my outdoor gear but I'm not going to dress in anything impractical.

Tan always seem to ask if he can pick me up. The plan was to go hiking in Woodside and then have a late lunch in Half Moon Bay. I suggested we meet up at Hillsdale Mall around 10am. That way I could do a little shopping early and run errands afterwards. I was expecting the date to go for about 4 or 5 hours.

I left home around 9am and managed to shop for about 30 minutes at Macy's. I definitely wanted to go back and look through the kitchen section for deals later. I headed over to Starbucks just after 10am and sat outside with a vanilla latte. Tan pulled up in his silver Acura TL minutes later. He looked much better in casual clothing. Maybe it just seemed better because I wasn't wearing heels.

We drove up to Skyline and parked across the street from the start of the trail. The hike was easier than either of us expected. In fact, we finished in just over an hour whereas I think we both had the impression it would last 2-3 hours.

The conversation flowed well. His habit of adding my name into conversation still bugs me. Sh said I should tell him that next time. We talked about various things. Real estate is obviously an easy topic since both of us purchased recently. He really got tired of all the hunting. The market is a tough and tricky area to navigate. We also talked a little about movies and then about shopping. I felt like he asked more questions. I just didn't know what to ask or was not as curious.

We spent some time talking about pet peeves. It was obvious from my statement about SUVs that I had very decided opinions about things. He seemed intrigued and pushed me to share more. We touched upon pets for a spell. I think he intends to get a dog someday. Like most guys, the thought of some wimpy dog does not appeal to him. I, on the other hand, do not want a large dog. Generally it was all small talk about regular things. At some point it would probably be good to get into more serious talks to determine where are common interests lie and where we could potentially disagree.

After the hike, we drove down to HMB for a late lunch. On the drive down the hill, he promised that our future hikes would be more interesting and longer. He referred to future planning several times. I guess that's his way of making it clear he's interested and wants to see me more. I am really learning that I suck at dating, I wish I had learned earlier in my life.

HMB was a little overcast but nice. First, we simply wandered the streets to see what restaurants we had to choose from. We also did a little window shopping, stopping in a furniture store and the local grocery/general store. I think out tastes and spending preferences would be an okay match. I still think he'd probably be a little more extravagant than I am, but we'd be fine.

We walked past a place called "2 Fools" and Tan couldn't resist the smell of the oil and the onion rings on the menu. We ended up ordering the same plate, a mix of fried seafood. The only difference is that one plate had fries and the other came with onion rings. These rings were the thin-cut, string type rather than the thick-cut rings that I like. It was a good meal. We talked about credit cards for awhile. I found it strange that he has a United Mileage card since he accrues so many mileage points just from flying. He told me that he cancelled his REI card on principal after they refused to waive his late fees. It sounds reasonable, but we he explained that he'd asked several times before when he had paid his balance off in full but two days late. Well, from my perspective, what he did was annoying and I can't say that I agree with his attitude. Perhaps I'm not pushy enough in life, but if you pay late, that's your fault and you can't keep expecting other people to make exceptions for you. I won't get ahead in life being that fair, but that's how I operate. Sometimes I think I need someone who will be this pushy to take of me and teach me to get what I want.

It was around 3pm when we finished lunch. I was ready to go home. Tan is a good guy. Like other dates, I find that men grow on me with time. Of course, in his case, I've felt like we had a good connection from the beginning. I'm finding it a challenge to know how to get more personal with people. I don't know how to ease into serious discussion that reveal people's values and ideals.