Reliving "Date #32" with Guy #31

Okay, so I KNOW that I preach that a good date includes an element of "newness" - but sometimes the most awesome dates are repeats. Same dude. Same activity. With the benefit of some good time having gone by.

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"

After my long stream of going out on a nonstop 31 Dates in 31 Days, I took some time off. I headed to Montauk, which is at the farthest end of Long Island.

It was mid-February, which meant the often-bustling Summer beach town was then totally barren and silent. Think of Jim Carrey in the opening scenes of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Alone, freezing, and writing on the beach of Montauk on Valentine's Day.

Exactly the kind of thing I was looking for.

After a couple of days, I headed back home to New York City and laid low. I'd come down with a cold, probably from pushing myself so hard for the month before.

When I was ready to emerge, Guy #31 had asked me to go on another date. This time the situation would be chill, unlike my dating project extravaganza. This time there would be no taking notes, no television crews, and no publicly written updates. (Well, I guess no written updates until later.)
We spent the day walking around midtown, hitting up different stores and just getting to know one another: Toys R Us, Macy's, Guitar Center. I remember him in the music store carefully grabbing a banjo off the wall and mentioning how badly he'd wanted one. I thought to make a mental note:

If we're still dating by his birthday, I'll get him a banjo.

We stopped by a grocery store to grab some items for dinner. We headed back to his place on the Upper West Side where he made me homemade pizza, complete with homemade dough. He then grabbed his guitar and played some songs for me. And then we headed to a concert by Delta Spirit.

It was one particular moment during that show - after eight hours together - that I figured things could really go somewhere with the two of us. After the opening band played a cool, funky-beat song, we both turned to each other and mentioned that we were trying to figure out the time signature of that song.
Knowing he was equally as geeky when it came to music was really cool to me. I remember thinking, "Yep. He's my kind of people."
That first concert together way a hit. And definitely worth repeating.
Nearly a year later, he played his new banjo at our wedding.

The other day, #31 and I headed to see Delta Spirit again.
They're kinda badass. The lead singer has more energy than fifty Red Bulls and a firecracker. If you ever get a chance to see them live, be sure to grab a date. Might be good luck! xoxo tam