Taking a bit of inspiration from my favorite tutu-donning, does-single-right lady, Carrie Bradshaw, I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on this weekend’s happenings and try my hand at blogging with rhetorical questions and big-city wonders.

Having recently re-entered the dating pool, my entrance was like a slightly over-ambitious, well-intentioned swan dive that overall had great form with some room for improvement. Let me elaborate.

For the sake of privacy, we’ll call these guys Date 1 and Date 2. Date 1 besides reaching an all-time record for patience and understanding, was the kind of date where the time passes without you knowing it. A weekend before after having my phone stolen, I did not show for our penciled-in date since I had no way of confirming time and place. A bit of a belly-flop impression but he agreed to a do-over. We witnessed both the setting up and taking away of table candles not once checking the time. We hopped in Ubers and agreed to ‘do it again sometime.’ Bonus points for a driver who was the most smiley and complimentary man, introducing me to the Polish couple in the backseat and informing me that they had only been in SF for 5 months. I was happy for them, I really was. Not to mention a whole lot happier in general after being asked to feel James’ energy when we shook hands goodbye and after a 5-hour date that gave me a little hope that I could do this whole single thing after all.

Date 2 walked into a bar I had wanted to visit since moving to SF five years ago right away exuded a friendly disposition I knew I’d connect with. Here’s where the swan dive created a bit of a splash. In one date, I had managed to be his first ‘high-five’ and elbow nudge in the phone-app dating world. There goes my nerd-preservation. The fact that he could point this out to me and make fun of me in a cute way made him a bit more attractive and me a bit more red in the face. Could I tone down the quirk just a notch or two? Nah. It’s okay though, I think I made up for it by ordering a drink off the “Spirituous” menu consisting mostly of bourbon which I think held its own next to his gin and floral concoction.

Though my week felt more like a cannonball into the dating world, hitting it off with a splash and entering into it pretty quickly from the sidelines, I think the judges give it 4 stars! With a heart still mending, we’ll see where this swim takes me but it is nice to dip a toe into the water again. I couldn’t help but wonder, how does a fish out of water navigate the tides again? Are we done with the swimming analogies yet?

It dawned on me that dating and all the stuff that comes with it: over-analyzing everything text messages, ambiguity, emoji decoding and that fuzzy line between casual and genuine interest feels a lot like apartment hunting. I don’t text my landlord thank goodness but there are definite parallels in the search, competition, seeking mutual interest, not settling, and ultimately finding that perfect place for wherever you are in life. Sometimes all I want to do is bake cookies and leave them on the doorstep then think better of it (and probably resort to a high-five to show how cool I am. Subtle). We question the deals lost, maybe we’re outbid, maybe all signs point to yes then something falls through last minute, and then maybe one day it’s a perfect match – or at least the perfect match for right now.

If nothing else, this week’s experiences have made me have a little more faith in the prospect that there are other fish in the sea (did I just do that?) and opened my eyes to the possibility of connecting with someone else again. I’m trying to have fun while most importantly, staying true to myself.

Self-five.