Cocktails with Sucker Punch

Toast

So I’m single again. Oh no! What a shame. Actually, no wait hold on. It’s loads of fun. Here is why.

On Wednesday I had tickets for a film premier. I wasn’t going to go because someone had said it sounded boring so I was going to with someone to the opening of a restaurant instead. Since that person and I weren’t an item any more I decided to go to the film premier with Biscuit. WIN.

The film premier was in the usual place and had the full on red carpet thing going on. We also had tickets for the after-party so it was going to be a busy night.

The red carpet was fun, the film, Sucker Punch was so-so (although I can forgive films a lot when they are free and you get complimentary drinks) but the after party was amazing.

Café de Paris had been completely decorated to fit in with the film. There was a free bar and a photo both. There were also the various stars from the film there and the director.

Biscuit and I set about trying all the cocktails and talking to strangers. I dared him to make a balloon sword for the director, Zack Snyder. He did and Zack was delighted with the sword and waved it in Vanessa Hudgens’ face.

She wanted a sword and soon Biscuit was arming most of the cast with balloon weaponry or animals.

It was very amusing. Once we’d done that I started breezing up to girls and saying hello. The opener of ‘So what do you think of the film?’ worked well and we ended up chatting to a few different groups of girls.

There was one girl I took a shine to as we were leaving the film so I made a point of pestering her. Yes like a mini-stalking adventure

She had dark hair with a fringe (bangs) and a cheeky grin. Let’s call her Dawn because she looked remarkably like Dawn Porter who, like every straight man in England, I have a bit of a crush on.

We talked for a while, posed for photos and I gave her my business card. She left early which was sad but I hoped she would email me.

Biscuit and I continued to shark around the venue talking to strangers,  making balloon animals and posing with strangers for photos.

Some time later we ended up in the remnants of the VIP section with two girls. The staff mistook us for something to do with the actual film and were bringing over drinks when we wanted them. This was dangerous. We got very, very drunk.

Much, much later we left the club haggled for a cab and got home. I’d had an amazing time and had been reminded over everything that was fun about being single.

The next day Dawn emailed me, the tone was light and flirty and I asked her out for a drink. We are meeting up on Saturday for a very late brunch. I can’t wait.

When brunch dates go bad

Toast

The Serbian wanted to meet up again. I’d been rather busy going to art galleries, Christmas shopping and suffering under man-flu so we eventually went out for brunch.

She had never brunched before but I love a good brunch. It’s a meal you can only really take if you’ve got time off. So it’s always a special occasion.

We met up said the slightly awkward hellos of people who have kissed while drunk but haven’t quite decided if more kissing is in order and sat down to eat. The food was excellent but the conversation was troubling.

The Serbian spent the whole time talking about some other chap who had contacted her through a dating website and how she was talking to him but she wasn’t going to see him. Then she mentioned how she had got into the top 20 of another dating website.

I wasn’t quite sure what to say in reply to this.

The rest of the conversation followed this form. She would talk - with distain – about other men who have attempted to ask her out and I would be baffled over what she wanted me to say. This was for the entire meal. Yes, the entire meal.

It was decidedly less fun than magic and video cameras.

We parted with a vague promise of a drink and I think it will be left as that.

Marriage percentage = 0% – Don’t talk about other dates when on second dates.

Lessons learned:
Doing excellent stuff can sometimes make a connection seem like more than it is
Talking about being unpleasant to other men doesn’t impress me
I really like brunch