To sow or not to sow, that is the question...

You know who I’m sometimes jealous of? People who fall in love and marry their childhood sweethearts. They don’t have to go through years of hellish dating disasters, kiss hundreds of frogs and see their faith in the opposite sex slowly dwindle.

They do however have to sleep with the same person for the rest of their lives and what if it was the only person they’d ever slept with? The thought alone makes me screw my face up.

If I had stayed with the person I’d lost my virginity with I’d be having a hell of a lot of boring, over within the blink of an eye, sex. Granted this lad could go again as soon as he’d finished but is that still impressive when the actual act only lasts about 2.37 minutes? (yes I actually thought to time in once, thats how “into it” I was). He has come to be known as the “pump, pump, squirt” phase of my life.

If I’d stayed with the second person I’d slept with we’d be humping like rabbits, literally. POW POW POW. He was the type of guy that thought he was really adventurous and kinky but sadly he was mistaken and even at this stage in my experience I knew he was shit. Foreplay to him was “shall we shag now or after dinner?” How romantic.

The third guy I ever slept with had the biggest schlong I have ever, even to this day, seen. I mean this member was intimidating! I remember this thought passing through my mind; “That could well be capable of splitting me in two”. Although he was the first ever guy I’d been with that was tender, caring and thoughtful of my needs so I did get over my initial shock at the size issue but certain positions were definitely out of the question otherwise I may have choked or suffered some severe kidney bruising.

Then I moved onto the fourth and first serious relationship of my younger years. This was much more than just sex, I experienced what it was like to sleep with someone who you really did love and not just lust after and I can safely say this is the point where I really began enjoying making love to someone. I think when you reach the point in your sexual life where you begin to understand what it’s really all about and it’s not just a way to release your hormonal urges it turns into something much more fulfilling yet also something much more complicated.

As a woman this point is where you figure out what you’re into, where your limits are and how to truly please your man. Before this point you tend to feel like your winging it and keeping the last issue of your favourite women’s magazine with a “how to” guide page left open to check at points throughout the act.

After the first time you start to feel like your more in control the world becomes a different place, for me it did anyway. I was not going to settle for any pump, pump, squirts and knew for a fact that there was some brilliant, head rushing love making to be had in my future.

Yes there’s been more disasters along the way but there’s been plenty of screamingly amazing chapters too. Unfortunately not all men’s sexual prowess matures alongside their age, I’ve slept with men that are well into their 30s who have been shockingly clueless but thankfully there are those that have clearly been taking notes and revising as they go.

My point is this; although many of us find the grind of searching out our match to be tedious at times, look back and be grateful for what you have learnt from all these adventures and keep in mind that when that special someone does find you you’re going to be able to realise that the chemistry blows all of their competitors clean out of the water.
Don’t settle on your first, second or even third because you’re concerned that might be as good as it going to get. Take it from me, the journey is all part of the fun and you’ll get some cracking laughs out of it! That “pump, pump, squirt” guy has given me 11 years of hilarious flash backs!

So here’s a story for you...

In previous blogs I’ve alluded to my fantastically drama filled dating existence but for this entry I thought I’d be brave and give you a full, no holds barred, look at once of my recent, um, incidents.

What happens to me a lot is it’ll all be quiet on the western front for a little while and then all hell breaks loose and I don’t know my arse from my elbow, December pretty much padded out like that.

The tale includes my ex boyfriend, a guy I met randomly and another, lets call him a flirting diversion. I shall start with a little background on my ex so we can paint a clearer picture and we’ll call him Alan.

Alan and I were together for less than a year, the beginning of the relationship was pretty fantastic but 6 months in the cracks began to appear. He was 27, had never had a girlfriend before (he wasn’t a scutter by the way, actually fairly fit) and had some how gained a storage container’s worth of emotional baggage / self confidence issues. Suffice to say thanks to my ability to not admit defeat easily we soldiered on for a little while longer until it all fell apart.

At the time I was fairly hurt but on the scale of heartbroken I wasn’t reaching wrist slitting heights and within time I laid it to rest as much as I could with unanswered questions still looming. It seemed he had other ideas on this though and for the next 4 years popped up every now and then sending me messages like “I think I...” (yes that was it) and then recently peaking at “I’ve always regretted what I did, I wish you were here”

We had attempted the friend thing after 2 years of us splitting up but due to this look he has a habit of giving me and the questionable circumstances of the ending I always had an air of caution when I spent time with him, and rightly so it turns out.

So now to dip into the information on the guy I met randomly. First date probably featured on some of the all time worst first dates to start off with. He had a severe tendency to take the piss, now I can be about as sarcastic as they come but this fella totally blew me out of the water and for a good few hours he just laid into me in an attempt to be funny. In my mind, this was a disaster, but I stuck with it and the end of the date spun things around and changed my perspective on him.

Half way through said date and I get a text from flirt diversion asking me if I was in town and if I wanted to “hook up” later, I tried to hide the shock on my face in front of random guy and speedily put my phone back in my bag and decide FD can wait for now.

5.30am on the morning after this date I get a message from Alan “Yo DC, how you doing?” not the best timing in the world I think you can agree. He’s obviously pissed, obviously reminiscing and once again gets under my skin when my new date is sleeping sounding in my bed. Winner. I ignore the message, for the time being.

Time goes on, I see the random guy a few more times. He states his thoughts on dating, appears to very strongly believe that dating more than one person at a time is morally wrong (this scuppers me as I’m actually dating someone else at the same time too aka flirt divert) which puts me in a quandary as to whether random guy is worth me ditching divert guy and Alan to concentrate on just him.

I spend the next few weeks deciding whether or not I can put up with his piss taking, settle for one guy and be able to cut loose on the others... this was debated back and forth for quite some time.

Technology then conspires against me, I’ve text random guy and not had a reply... for 2 whole weeks. I see this as a blessing in disguise, one less decision to make and continue on with the rest of my dramas.

Then something came out of complete left field. Alan decides (when pissed of course) to insinuate he might want me back. Then I hear he’s been talking about this with his friends and these friends then decide to get involved and attempt to help us get back together.

At this point I really had nothing to lose and felt like I was being swept along with this anyway so decide to meet up with Alan and discuss this development.

He comes round, we have tea and watch a film and as the night goes on it dawns on me that, if I let him, he isn’t going to address the issue so I make the decision to be the one to grow some balls and go for the jugular.

For the next 2 hours we go over everything, one of the most intense conversations of my life and for a short while I even dare to think he’s changed and it might be different this time round. The chemistry was still there and it really felt like we could pick up where we left off. How wrong you can be!

One week later and it’s back to the old story of him going radio silent, freaking out and generally being an emotional retard and sending my head firmly up my jaxxy. I give him the benefit of the doubt for a short while but after he fails to turn up at my house after I’d told him I needed to get something off my chest a moment of clarity descended on me and I called it a day.

Next bit... Random guy’s silence is broken by me receiving 4 texts, one after another, at 4.30am one morning. These texts are basically what he has sent me over the last 2 weeks and for whatever reason they’d only just made it to my phone. I reply, firstly being cautious and explaining I didn’t think we were a good fit but after he’d told me I was the best sex he’d ever had my strong stance weakened immensely which lead to me being in his bed the next night... slut I know but my ego had been bruised so give me a break!

Flirt divert had also been in contact and that scenario was still on going but never really getting anywhere, especially after I’d found out he’d offered to show some ‘personal’ messages from me to one of his mates.. “Oh no you diddddnn’tt” but he did.

Moving on.... I attempt to eat humble pie with random guy, thinking I’d been too hasty the first time round, maybe he wasn’t all the annoying things I thought he was as I do have a habit of picking holes in someone until they resemble a crater and I wanted to stick to my new year’s resolution of not being so god damn picky. I get little response but to be fair I was really forcing myself into it so I didn’t become too suspicious too soon, until I hear the tail end of some gossip. Random guy has got back with his ex girlfriend.

I swear to God, I honestly laughed out loud. First at the shear ludicrousness of this situation, then at his massive hypocrisy (he’d said, and I quote “If I’ve learnt anything in my years getting back with an ex never works, people don’t change” after I’d told him about Alan) and finally at the fact that my love life continues to be one massive balls up after another. You have to laugh though don’t you!!

So, to summarise, in just over a month I have partially dated 3 men, one who turn out to be a wanker, one who remained to be a wanker and one who didn’t reach being a wanker. Not bad for a months work I don’t think!

Are you an emotional retard?

I am. I wasn’t but I’ve grown into being one. With each set back I’ve suffered through my dating existence and every notch it has etched out of me has turned me into an emotional oasis.

I laugh and joke about it with my friends and find some of my actions ridiculous but I have built this barrier that prevents me from saying certain words, paying someone compliments and admitting I might actually “like” (let’s not go too over the top and try to utter that other L word) a guy.

Getting someone interested in me (without sounding egotistical) isn’t a thing I find all that difficult. I’ve got a decent arse, I’ve managed to restrain myself from pigging out so much that I gain a muffin top and my face doesn’t look half bad either. I have a diploma in flirting and creating saucy innuendos but back me into a corner and ask me to vocalise my feelings for someone is another matter entirely.

Example; a guy tells me he loves spending time with me, I reply that I LIKE spending time with him too. I’m not even saying I love him but I can’t managed to instantly echo the sentiment. Ridiculous isn’t it? I want to say it but I appear to have a clamp in my mouth that prevents me. I wonder if I have to pay a fine to get rid of it?

I fear if I compliment a guy, he’ll assume I’m really into him and then lose interest, I would have put myself out there only to have the door slammed in my face and hear the words “actually, I’m not that bothered” = I am an emotional retard.

I am jealous of women that can be open about how they feel, don’t get me wrong I don’t want to be a needy, squeaky, I love you and I’ve only known you a week girl, but I am jealous of people that are brave enough to lay it all out in the hope they’ll get something in return.

Maybe these people haven’t ever really failed, really experienced the anguish of something blowing up in their face, or maybe they are just so much stronger and believe the saying “it’s better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all”

The older I get the more cautious I get, to the point I am ruining possible relationships before they even begin and I annoy myself for it. Can I really put the blame on the men that have wronged me or is this totally my issue?

Another part of my problem is that I enjoy being single, an alien statement for those who don’t feel whole without someone on their arm, but I’ve learnt to stand on my own two feet, have fun and not have to worry about all those sticky ‘feeling’ issues. I am aware that it’s not healthy to remain (and I hate this term) ‘alone’ for the rest of my days but how do you break the cycle of cut and run when it looks like it could be a goer?

I very much know I need to work on it and also know I am definitely not a one man band when it comes to this issue. Lots of people my age are suffering from the same affliction; the inability to jump in with both feet and not concern myself with the consequences.

My theory is when I find someone that’s prepared to work me through this, warts ‘n’ all, I will then begin to change my mind set, I honestly don’t think it’s something we can do by ourselves. It’s discovering that person who’s willing to take on an emotional retard though, because I have to say I’ve been confronted with the prospect of taking on someone that had issues before and I’ve given it a whirl but now I prefer to just leg it in the other direction.

So I guess what I, and so many other people need, is someone that has their shit together, that isn’t afraid of saying it like it is, who’s prepared to bring me out of myself but is there anyone that isn’t twisted? I ruddy hope so. And I do honestly believe there is, because I’ve pushed many of them away before as I’ve not been ready to accept that.

Can people that class themselves as emotional retards recover and go on to lead a happy, contented and drama free life? In short, yes, but the first step is admitting you have the problem, second step is to find someone that can understand the problem and third step is to work on it, together.

You can remove the clamp, turn off the mute button and put yourself out there.

Don’t just be jealous of people that have the enviable ability to wear their heart on their sleeves, try to take a leaf out of their book and face your fears.

I am determined that in 2010 I am going to change, give up my friend that has kept me protected and cut loose.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. What’s the worse that could happen? Keeping Kleennex in business? We all need to do our part to keep the economy afloat after all...