Last year, I wrote about how I had had a much more active dating life throughout the pandemic than ever before. I think I tempted fate with that one. 2022 was bleak. I’m not even sure I can remember the majority of the first dates I went on. I must have blocked them out. If memory serves, I’ve only managed 5 actual dates this year. Single Sally in the city third-wheeling across continents seems to be the theme closing out 2022.
The Ginger Brit
2022 started with a whimper and never achieved a bang. Toronto was back in lockdown for the umpteenth time, so I took myself to Mexico City to live and work for a couple of weeks. I met The Ginger Brit on day 3 in the bar at Selina after singing Celine Dion at the top of my lungs with some very, very drunk Irish backpackers. He asked if he could take me to lunch the next day.
Lunch was a walk around the historic district picking up pastries along the way. There’s actually a cute photo of us near the CDMX sign if you’re keen to creep the ‘gram. I went back to work and he asked if I’d go to dinner with him. We had a really lovely evening dining at an Asian fusion restaurant then heading to No. 13 on the list of the World’s 50 Best Bars: Hanky Panky.
We talked every day for a while even when we returned home. Like most men who have their “available” taxi light on, he jumped into a relationship pretty quickly. I had already booked a trip to England for my friends’ wedding, and he tried to keep me on the hook, even though it was clear they had hard-launched.
The Expat Brit
This one was kind of wild as he had just moved to Toronto. A friend kindly gave me tickets to an event at the Honda Indy, so this dude was thrust into the Jersey Shore of Canada. Free-flowing liquor, chains on chains, and not an untorn sleeve in sight. Turns out he was really into Formula 1, so this was right up his alley.
We really didn’t have much to talk about and I wasn’t super drawn to him. We went on a second date, but it just wasn’t there for me. He did, however, attempt to turn the situation into a friends with benefits type of situation. Can’t blame him for trying, but big yikes for me.
The Missed Connection
How random is it that I went on a date this year with someone with whom I attended elementary school? A year younger than me, The Missed Connection was in English while I was in French immersion. We had a fantastic dinner at one of Toronto’s best hidden gems. We went to a second bar he’d never been to where conversation continued to flow, talking about all the things you’re really “not supposed to” discuss on a first date and found we were in agreement on most of them.
Knowing that I regularly develop cocktail recipes and have a fondness for animals, he invited me back to meet the kitty (the “love of [his] life”) and make me “The Last Word”. No funny business, though he seemed pretty peeved when the cat warmed up to me.
When I left, he did a cute little dip to kiss me. That weekend he lied about going camping with his friends. It did not work out.
The Celebrity Chef
This one’s a date that actually didn’t happen. We had planned on going to a brewery convenient to us both, and when I arrived he said he hadn’t left yet as he had lost track of time, and asked me to trek to the other side of the city. Then, he tried to make it seem as though I was the problem for not wanting to travel 45 minutes to go to meet him at his shuttered restaurant where he had evidently been painting all day. That night, I dined alone.
The Self-Proclaimed Narcissist
This one may be the reason I stopped dating for a while. This guy was hilarious, but beyond obnoxious. At least 4 of the guys on this list had failed engagements, and this guy made that much of his personality.
We met at a bar near St. Lawrence Market near where I was working on his day off. He had already been drinking at the Jays game. We talked about our work in similar industries, politics, music, dating, and life in Toronto. While the conversation was easy and fun, I felt like I was trying to object to a really hard sell. I wasn’t attracted to him, he didn’t want kids (I’m unsure, but leaning towards yes to one), he kept telling me he was a narcissist, and he kept sh*t-talking his ex. While walking to grab a cab home he interrupted me to say that he wanted to kiss me. I just said “nope!” and continued on.
I thought he had gotten the hint. Then, we bumped into one another one night at an afterparty for a star-studded event I probably shouldn’t have even been invited to. The hard sell started again, and I told him that I was unequivocally not interested in dating him or even seeing him again. I left shortly thereafter and came home to a text which made me block him on sight.
The Actual Nice Guy
No complaints here. This guy suggested a great restaurant, and when it was closed at our agreed-upon time he recommended an alternative, made a reservation, confirmed with me the day before, arrived early, and hung my coat up when I arrived. The dude was a class act – we just didn’t have instant chemistry. He and I discussed we’d be better as friends, and we’re both still very single.
Year of Meh
2022 was not a peaceful year by any stretch of the imagination, but I still feel like it was just kind of “meh”. Wasn’t reading this just all kinds of boring? I’m bored just writing it – sorry, folks. Tonight, I’ll be under a table wearing red underwear and eating 12 grapes hoping 2023 is a little more gentle with my mind and heart. If not, I’ll be singing “Nothing Compares 2 U“ well into the New Year.
