Bachelor #9: Awkward

I met Bachelor #9 on OkCupid. He sent me a message that was pretty witty and had way more content than what I'm used to. I was impressed, so we started exchanging e-mails. I was drawn in by his sense of humor - a fantastic quality in a man. He looked okay in the pics he had posted (a little like Adam Sandler) and we chatted for a few weeks before finally deciding to meet up. We agreed to meet at The Duke of Perth (I wonder if they know me as 1st date girl?) last week.

Now, the date wasn't horrible and he was certainly a nice guy, but at times it was more than a little awkward. First dates are awkward to begin with and there is always a fair amount of discomfort. However, this guy clearly had zero confidence (he put himself down quite a bit) and some very poor social skills. I know you can chalk some of that up to nerves, but I got the feeling that alot of this was just part of his personality. This is sad because he was really able to express himself and hold my attention via e-mail. However in real life there just wasn't enough to impress me. For example, when the waitress came to take our order I asked for a cider. My date sat there and stared at the menu for what seemed like forever. It was getting uncomfortable and the waitress had to finally prompt him with 'what do you like to drink?'. Then to make matters worse we were there for the time frame of at lest 2 beers, but only had one. I had half of mine down and realized he had only taken a few sips. I had to pace myself through the rest of the date when I clearly would have felt better if I was drinking more.

After our drinks came we chatted about our lives. Turns out he's an out of work child psychologist. That's right, the guy who seems to have some severe confidence issues and might be socially challenged is out there counseling children. At one point we were having a conversation and he lost his train of thought. Instead of moving on he sat there and tried to retrace his thought process. It was a painful few moments for me.

This is my problem. I go on dates with nice guys, but in the end I'm just not that into them. I know I deserve better than a guy like Bachelor #3, but I also don't want to date someone who can't hold up his end of the conversation and show me has some social skills. I need something more than another awkward first date. What I need is a really good first date. The kind of first date that leads to second and third dates.