No matter how hopeless, no matter how far. .

I went on a first date last night and forgot how funny I am. 

That sounds self absorbed, I don’t mean it that way.

Maybe it was because he was so funny, and we are seemingly so similar. We just laughed like crazy together and it felt good to be footloose and fancy free, to sit and enjoy an evening with a perfect stranger, trying to get to know them choosing what parts of myself to share with them. 

There are elements of dating I will miss when the time comes to settle down, and nights like last night was one of them. I love that excitement, that awkward tension, the idea of wondering what it would be like to kiss them, wondering if they are thinking about kissing you. 

Here is the story. 

About a year ago I went to see Man of La Mancha at Drew’s theater. 

I loved the play, and to say that doesn’t even do it justice, the play enwrapped me with emotion and zeal to live a better life. The songs were mesmerizing, the story inspiring. I saw the show three times. Same cast, same stage, same seat, three times.  I have a Man of La Mancha Pandora radio station now, I sing the songs whenever we are back at the theater, I even drew a few windmills in my sketch book. 

About a week ago while being pro-active in my tinder swiping (it’s the best I can do! I don’t know where to meet people!) I swiped right into Don Quixote, the lord of Lamacha. This actor I had been captivated by.

And we matched, it made my heart swirl to know such a noble man would find interest in me. 

We started texted back and fourth, and in addition to telling me he did theater, I found that he graduated from Juliard, lived in a bus, that he had this adventurous spirit and was actually quite cool. 

I attempted to be cool too and hid the fact that I had seen him preform 3 times, that in my mind he was a noble knight, and that his manly voice makes my heart swirl.

So we met up last night. We went to my favorite late night spot, he had rehearsal until 10, and we ended up talking until they kicked us out at 1.

And after about an hour of talking I just blurted everything out about seeing him preform, but before I did I reassured him that I was normal, that I don’t stalk people and that what I was about to say is very normal. 

He sat there with a goofy half smile on, I think he was flattered, I mean he kept making stalker jokes, a lot of stalker jokes, but he wants to see me again so it couldn’t have been that bad. 

So add “Shared crepes and a magical night with Don Quixote” on my list of life adventures of McKay Joice.

I may have bought tickets to his next show today, (currently he is king Triton in Little Mermaid) but that’s not creepy because he suggested it. 

This is him and old man Van Dyke, it's such a small world. . .