My Last First Date

My last first date was exactly eight years ago today. Today marks the eight year anniversary of Scott's and my first date. It's easy to remember how many years we've been together because we started dating in 2000.

I met Scott in September of 1999 at a gathering for my friend Abby's birthday. We were all single and in our twenties so we were celebrating at one of our favorite hang-outs, Jonathan's in Hillsboro Village (it has since changed ownership - man, I miss their pizza). Abby worked at CNA insurance and most of the attendees worked there too, including Scott. I remember introducing myself to Scott and his friend Dean and that's when we met.

(Neither Scott nor I can remember the chronology of the next two paragraphs of the story. But, this is how I remember it).
We had the same circle of friends, so I would run into Scott at house parties and on nights when we would go out. One night, about a week or two before our first date and before I even knew we were going to have a first date, Scott and I were talking about our mutual love of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. We started talking about old players one of us mentioned Joaquin Andujar. I said he was a pitcher and Scott corrected me and said he played in the outfield. I disagreed and said he was a pitcher. So, Scott bet me $30 (I'm not sure why it was $30) that he wasn't a pitcher. I took the bet.

I ran into Scott the next night, January 30th, at a Super Bowl party that our very own Tennessee Titans were playing in. He confirmed that I had in fact won the bet and that he would be good for the $30. As I was leaving after the Titans lost, he asked me for my phone number and I gave it to him (verbally).

He called me about a week or so later and asked me out on a date. I said yes and our first date was on Friday, February 11. I give a hard time that he didn't want to waste a Saturday night on me so he asked me out for Friday night.

He picked me up at my house in Sylvan Park, walked in and handed me $30 (I won the bet, remember?) and I took it! Then we went to 12th and Porter (which is now defunct) and bowling at Melrose Bowling Alley (which is also defunct). We had a fun time and after the date I remember thinking there was something different about Scott than the other guys I had dated.

That was the last first date I've been on. I looked and looked for a picture of when we first started dating and I can't find one. I must have been too superstitious to have one taken!