dating: the good, the bad, and the awkward

I met Laura during our sophomore years of college--we happened to be on the same major/minor path and she worked with my best friend, so we had connections. We became friends when we had two classes together in one semester (accidentally) and then we spent the rest of college trying to get another class together, finally succeeding in her last semester (my second-to-last).

Today we're swapping blog posts about some of our dating history . . . good, bad, and awkward in between. To read her story, continue on! To read mine, head over to Simpleton Pleasures :)


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Oh hey! My name is Laura, and I blog at Simpleton Pleasures. My blog was originally created to document the awkward moments and accidental flashings that happened to me as I made my way through college. But now that I've graduated and hopped on the marriage train, I usually just blog about the nonsensical things my husband says in his sleep and about our preparations to move to the island of Grenada for medical school in three short weeks. I love puns, ironies, and smelling all the candles in the whole world. And on that note, allow me to blog to you a story about an awkward and ironic date with my husband in our early days.

'Twas a crisp December night when Jared collected me for a date to the magical land of Salt Lake City.

"Hop in the car. We're going to tear up the town," he promised as he held my door open. During the drive up, I listened intently to promises of quaint book shops, German cafes, magical trains, intricate cathedrals, and lots and lots of twinkle lights. 

Upon arrival in the city, we made a bee-line for City Creek Mall, which I had never seen before. We walked through some fancy department stores ("Passion fruit spray?" "Suuuure!") and window shopped like it was our job.

"Want to go in there?" Jared asked, pointing to a baby-blue Tiffany's sign. It was glowing and angels were singing hallelujah choruses in the background. We had been dating for less than a month.

"Uhhhhm . . . yes?" I said hesitantly. We were a few feet from the entrance when Jared realized that Tiffany's sells engagement rings.

"Weeeell. Let's check this store out!" Jared said, steering me away from the baby blue and into a watch shop, as black as death. Sighs of relief were breathed all around.

Upon exiting the mall, we found a book store (closed), Jared's favorite German cafe (also closed), and plenty of twinkle lights. Jared told me about one of his slightly-insane childhood friends, and eventually we left to catch a train home.

As our train approached, Jared swept me off my feet in an attempt to carry me onto the train. Unfortunately, you have to press a button to make the doors open. "Kick the button, kick the button!" Jared instructed me through fits of laughter. But alas, my boots were to clunky for the delicate button, and we watched as the train left us behind and passengers laughed at our misfortune through the windows. 

After 15 minutes, another train arrived and we boarded it like normal people. We had the car to ourselves, and as we sat in the corner facing a wall, Jared asked if he could kiss me. I looked around to check that the coast was clear and agreed.

Ten minutes and several stolen kisses later, our train arrived at our stop. We turned around to leave and saw that our train car had somehow filled up with several old ladies during the ride. Each stared intently out the windows with obvious looks of scandalization on their faces for us and our kissing ignorance. We got off that train with record fast speeds and boarded our next train, where Jared's slightly-insane childhood friend just so happened to be sitting. He told us about all four of his girlfriends and how he didn't like any of them. What a magical train ride.

Back home we said our final goodbyes before Jared headed home for Christmas break. "You should come with me to Washington!" he said. "We can run through the forests together and hang out by the lake."

I smiled. "We'll be fine." And even though I had no idea he was being serious, we were indeed fine.

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Hope you enjoyed getting a little taste of Laura's writing today! Now don't forget to head over to her blog to read my dating story :) What good/bad/awkward dating experiences have you had? I'd love to hear about them! :)