Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Pacific Inn Pub

Once again, the best thing about my date was the bar we went to.  It was a solid dive in Fremont that I would highly recommend.  The menu says they have Sunday breakfast for $6.75!!!  I always try and get something positive out of my dates, and the bar was it.

#70 showed up in- you guessed it- flannel!  I already was disinterested, then he opened his mouth.

"So you work at a community health center?  That must be so hardcore!"

I stared him down, knowing exactly what he meant but being so pissed off that I wanted to put him on the spot.

"What do you mean by 'hardcore'?"

He dug himself deeper.  "I mean, don't get me wrong, I think the work you do is amazing!  It's just, you must see a lot of mental illness and stuff.  I mean, I think mental illness is a huge issue that needs to be addressed.  It's something I care a lot about on a personal level- I mean, not PERSONAL, but it's something I'm passionate about.  There's a huge need for mental health care, which is causing so many of the healthcare disparities..."

Just shut the fuck up.  I checked out immediately and spent the next two hours of my life wondering how I am ever going to connect with a man in this city, the American bastion of liberalism, where everyone claims to be progressive but thinks anyone who makes less than $30,000 is exotic.  Ironically, I went out with this man specifically because he mentioned "social justice" in his profile.  I really couldn't care any less about a man's theories on poverty and service on boards of non-profits.  Can he talk with a person from a different background without feeling like he's dangerous and edgy?  That's what I want to know.

I finished my beer and he ordered another, turning a 60 minute date into 120.  I need to start being bitchier, I thought, or stop wearing makeup to these things.  He walked me to my car and said "Thanks for the great conversation!"  I wanted to cry.

71 is inevitable, looming on the horizon like a rainy, Seattle winter.

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