Such a Fun Weekend!!

I had such a wonderful weekend! It started with a fantastic dinner at Paul's, a restaurant I'd never tried but heard good things about. Despite our reservations, we had to wait 45 minutes, which was annoying but ended up being worth the wait. Two apple martinis and the best roll I've ever had (fried lobster roll wrapped with a thin slice of filet mignon) later Ozzy, Hawthorne (another law school classmate), and I were off to MJQ to celebrate Ozzy's friend's birthday. I'd never heard of MJQ, and it's in an area of Atlanta that I only visit to swing through Krispy Kreme when the hot light is on.

MJQ was...well the first words out of Ozzy's mouth is "This is so 8 Mile." Although I've not seen 8 Mile (Eminem irritates me too much), I imagine that's sort of an apt description. The place is all cement (a former parking garage); the walls are covered in graffiti and cool art; they don't take credit cards; don't make martinis; and our sweaters, button-ups, and such didn't fit in. And the music is pretty tough to dance to--at least for me; I asked someone what you would call that kind of music (it wasn't exactly rap the entire time), and I was told that it's "the real hip-hop." We got to see some break-dancers, rappers, and bling bling jewelry. Oh, I smelled a lot of weed and something else too, but I guess I'm too much of a novice to know what it was. Needless to say it was a very entertaining night, and while I won't go back to MJQ, I'm glad to have checked it out.

Saturday night was an interesting cultural experience as well. A week ago I committed to going to a benefit concert with a bunch of people--without even checking out the group that was playing. So it ended up being a folk band called Eddie from Ohio, and they were pretty good and funny. But the real treat was the opening performance--the Morehouse College Glee Club was great and sang some really cool African spirituals. Oh, the guy who sat beside me at the concert was someone (I'm not sure about attraction; it's a maybe), or at least the kind of guy, I'd like to date. We had great conversations about traveling (he's been to all sorts of places I want to visit), our families, education, and whatnot. Unfortunately he's dating someone (interestingly he met her on Match, and it's long distance).

So Sunday Dale and I firmed up plans and met for an early dinner. I enjoyed our time together, and he seems really nice. But no dice on another date. So I guess that means that on my dating scale, the date gets a 4.9 (as high as you can get with no chance of a future date). Among other things, I left the date knowing entirely too much (unsolicited) about Dale's last relationship and his ex-girlfriend, which ended 8 months ago. Seemed like he had still had some pretty open wounds. He also reminded me a little too much of my ex-fiance; I think it was his particular Southern accent. Anyway, he's a nice guy, and I tried something new and yummy--coconut shrimp rolls (with a side of fries and honey mustard:).

So when I got home I had an e-mail from Dale. It seems like he isn't overly interested and/or picked up on my disinterest. He wrote that he hoped my trip back to Macon went well; it was nice to meet me; that he hopes we can keep in touch and get to know one another better and try to get together occasionally. I'm thinking the best response might be a short e-mail that says "Thanks for dinner. It was nice meeting you, and I hope you have a great week." Ok, that's lame. I just want to be nice & appreciative, but at the same time, make it clear that I'm not interested in keeping in touch or going out again. I feel like not responding isn't very nice, but perhaps that's the best option. I'd particularly appreciate guys' perspective on this one.