tuesday's bad dates -- miscommunication

With all my bad date experience, I had begun to think that the problem was everyone else. I am just an innocent bystander with bad luck, stumbling upon raving lunatics everywhere I turn.

Then something happened this weekend that made me reconsider. It seems that even good dates can be bad dates when I'm involved.

On Sunday, I got a call from Nerd to go out to lunch with him. He had seen a restaurant in my town that was featured on Phantom Gourmet. He thought it might be a nice idea to check it out together. I concurred.

"See you in an hour" he said, and we hung up.

Forty minutes later, I got in my car and drove to the restaurant. I didn't see him there, but was not surprised, since I thought one hour was a hopeful estimate on his part. So I got a drink and sat at the waterside bar. I quickly learned that it was far too cold to be sitting outside without a jacket even though its June and its supposed to be warm by now. So I moved inside.

I started talking to a couple who had also just moved inside from the waterside bar. They noticed that I kept checking my cell phone and started joking that I had been stood up. By this time, I had started to wonder the same. It was WAY past one hour (closing in on two) and still no word from Nerd.

Then my phone rings.

"Hey!" I said "Where are you."

"I'm in the driveway" he said "Where are you?"

"The driveway? You mean the parking lot."

"No, the driveway. To your house."

"Oh. I'm at the restaurant."

"Ok, well that explains why you didn't answer the door."

"J and K should be home," I said. "I'm surprised they didn't answer."

"Nope, nobody here. But hey, when did you guys get the dog?"

"What dog?"

"The chocolate lab."

"Um, we don't have a chocolate lab. But the next door neighbors do."

Leave it to me to somehow end up with me at the restaurant and my lunch date not at MY house, but the neighbor's house.

I just suck at dating. And apparently, communication.