Grant proposals & marriage proposals

It was bound to happen: I just learned that a guy I dated last year (well, had one date with) got engaged. He posted it on his blog. My first reaction was, how can he possibly be engaged – I just had a date with him! But then I thought back and realized, oh, right, our first and only date was way back at the beginning of February 2007. Time sure flies.

I still feel guilty about how things ended with him. We had the one dinner date, and even though he was a Republican (!), it seemed to go well. He wanted to go out again, but February and March were insanely busy for me at work, and I just could never get it together. Then his birthday was at the beginning of March. Originally he’d planned to be away. But when his trip got cancelled the week before, I e-mailed him on Friday offering to go out with him on his birthday, which was the following Tuesday.

I didn’t hear back from him, things got even more crazed at work, so on Monday I e-mailed him, apologizing profusely and explaining I might have to cancel, depending on whether I got a grant proposal finished in time – I was right up against a deadline. He wrote back later that night and said to keep him posted. But I had to e-mail him the next day, apologizing profusely AGAIN, but there was no way I’d get out of the office anywhere close to on time. The grant proposal had to be finished. I offered to take him out the following week instead to make it up to him. He e-mailed me back that night, and he said he “wasn’t sure” about next week but would have a better idea on Thursday or Friday, and he signed it “keep in touch.” The tone of the e-mail was rather curt, but what did I expect, I let the guy down on his birthday! I felt really bad. :( I received an Easter E-Card from him a month later and I wrote him back, but that was the last I heard from him directly.

But it all worked out for him, because apparently he met the woman of his dreams. I clicked on his blog today and read that he just proposed and she said yes! I met him through Match.com (http://www.match.com/), so I wonder if he met his fiancée there, too? Well, if you’re reading this, Engaged Man, congratulations and best wishes! Your success gives hope to us all. :)