'They make me feel so bad...'

This is a lyric from the song 'Little Girls' (by Oingo Boingo) I think of when I have to deal with the stupid games some women like to play. My least favorite is the 'I feel bad for the guy, so I'll just try to let him down easy'. This principal, although quite considerate of them, annoys me to no end. If ever I get the feeling that they're 'just being nice' to me, I try to offer them a way out which usually makes them go away even if that's not their intention to string me along.

The latest addition to my phone, a young waitress (23), is beginning to give me that feeling. I met her while she was at work on St.Patty's day. I had more than my share of drinks that evening, but I think I would've flirted with her (and winked) anyway. Practice makes perfect, right? Anyhow, by the time we finished the meal and were sorting out the check, another waitress, a friend of said young waitress, walked up to me and informed me that her friend wanted me to have her number. On this slip of paper, was her friend's name and a phone number. I walked out of that place with a big stupid grin on my face and went back to celebrating drunk people day (otherwise known as St.Patty's day).

My mistake was calling her that evening. I explicitly remember her friend telling me what time she got off work, which I took as a hint to call her later. I've learned by now that calling a girl the night you get their number is a huge faux pas and screams of 'desperate', but this was a special case indeed and when you have a few more 'Guinness and carbombs' than normal, you tend to get brave. I didn't take it too personally when she informed me that she couldn't believe her friend would do that, but in retrospect, I should've paid more attention to the neon hint that she wasn't interested. I pressed on and we made it through some awkward conversation to pass about 20 minutes of time. I felt reinforced in my decision and asked her what she was up to this weekend. She had work, but didn't seem to make any claims of plans.

The next day, I called her in the afternoon around 4-ish and left a voicemail informing her that I was in Japantown (San Francisco baby!) and would be making it back to town sometime in the early evening. When I returned stuffed from Okinome-yaki [Oak-uh-know-me-yock-ee] and hot Asian girls, I called her once again because well...I guess I miss the early warning signs and let my penis do the thinking for me. Big surprise, she didn't call me back until the next day while she was at work. We talked only briefly, but she definitely made it sound like she had plans that day (that didn't involve me).

*Long pause*

I'll stop for a moment to say what a great thing blogs are for introspection and you'll quickly learn that I am way too over-analytical for my own good...but I digress (which I do quite a bit too). Just from me telling this story I know she's probably kicking her friend a dozen times a day for 'giving that drunk guy' her phone number. It's pretty amusing actually, but I have a really dark sense of humor sometimes...get used to it.

I waited a few more days until I called her again (yesterday) around 2pm. I dislike being a nuisance to people I just met, so I try to give them as much space as possible unless they say or act otherwise. I left her a 'short and sweet' voicemail inquiring if she had any plans that evening and haven't heard anything back from her. I don't expect a call back, but just in case she does, I intend to make sure her friend wasn't just being proactive.

Another day, another deleted phone number from my speed-dial. *sigh* I'm getting used to it, so I take it in stride and get back in the saddle.

I'll now add this to an ever growing list of dating faux pas that shouldn't ever be repeated (unless you really know/love the game):

• Don't call her the same night you get her phone number, even if her friend gives it to you.

Think i'll recreate a list of "no-no's" from an old LJ post. I love lists, they fucking rock.