Dear City of Raleigh,

(Please excuse the lack of posts lately, but I've been traveling. To Fargo, ND. Yeah. Hold back your jealousy.)

I went out the night after the date with the crazy-ass texter with Matt.  Matt is a dentist from Virginia (nickname shall be DDS).  We had a great time.  He drove down, got himself a hotel room (bonus points for not awkwardly asking or expecting to spend the night with me), and met me downtown for dinner.

We had a nice dinner at Gravy, and since he drove 3 hours to get here, I felt like I needed to extend the date past the normal "thanksfordinnergottagobye!"  So, after dinner we discussed going to the Bulls game.  But we were in downtown Raleigh, and the game was supposed to have already started.  Plus, storm clouds were forming.  So I suggested we walk over to a block party that I had received a facebook invite to.  We walk to where the party is.  There is no party.  Just a bunch of workers scrambling to put up tents and things before the storm hit.  Which it did.

My hair looks terrific at this point, btw.  Yay humidity.  If someone has some great humidity hair products, please let a girl know! So, we head for an old favorite of mine, Raleigh Times, and snag two prime people watching seats at the bar.  It was great conversation.  He wasn't sketchy at all, which is a first for dates this summer. Let me tell you.  We're chitchatting when suddenly someone grabs my neck.

It's T.  A sorority sister. And she is HAMMERED.  She was part of an amazing race type contest in Raleigh that involved a lot of drinking.  So she had been drinking for approximately 9 hours at this point.  She had also lost her group. Lucky me.  So, she entertained Matt and I for half an hour.  I guess this was paybacks for me being the wasted one a few weeks back when I told her she was a lawyer. Sigh.  So T makes Matt take pictures of us.  She told him the first one was ugly and to try again.  Charming.

She wanders off to find her group, finally.  That's when I look up and see Possum.  Remember the guy that I played dead to avoid talking to?  Yeah, him. He stood there, looking at Matt and then back to me.  Shaking his head the entire time.  Possum stood right beside Matt for a solid hour.  Swell.

So eventually we decide to head out and survey the nightlife.  We walk down the street. I'm a good tour guide, showing him landmarks and such.  I mention the Deb Ball when we get to the Sheraton (coyly leaving out the walk-of-shame-past-the-today-show story).  Matt, being a yankee, has no idea what I'm talking about.  So I have to explain it all to him.  By that time, its getting late and we end up snagging a table on the street for some more people watching.

We're chatting, watching drunk folk, and suddenly I look up and see a fight start approximately 5 feet behind us.  Lovely.  I hop up and tell Matt to move out of the way.  He does, right as a group of guys crash into our table, sending it flying.  Matt turns to me and asks "don't you guys have police in Raleigh?"  No, Matt, apparently we do not.

Believing that to be a sign from above that the date was over, Matt walks me to my car like a gentleman.  When we get to my car in the parking deck, it's that awkward hug goodbye/ask me out again moment.  He asks me out again and we go in for the hug and that's when we hear this AWFUL noise.  Yep, some guy is puking his guts out. How romantic.

So, what a good impression you make Raleigh!  I hope I did not just become the first girl ever to be cockblocked by her city!

-W