After E had sent me our birth charts, I wrote back about how much we appeared to have in common (according to the stars) and the details for Friday night (pick her up, drive to the city, have dinner and go to the comedy club). She replied with a very positive e-mail noting that she'd never met anyone whose birth chart is so similar to her own. She also mentioned that I'm rather funny and she likes my sense of humor. And she signed it with xoxo, so I was very much looking forward to the date....

I waited a few days to call E (was busy most of the time anyway with other dates, friends, etc.) Got her voicemail (as usual), told her I was thinking we could go to a comedy club in 'the city' (45-50 min. drive) later this week if she's available.

She texted me back Monday evening:
Hey you! I got your message from yesterday but it cut in and out so I didn't understand. I heard something about the city lol I couldn't understand anything else. How was your weekend?
...

I got back in touch with E via text messages and she agreed to reschedule our dinner date that she had backed out of. She assured me that she really had gotten sick and it wasn't just a cover story to blow me off. I felt a bit more relaxed this time and didn't worry about any silent moments. The conversation seemed very natural and enjoyable.

When we had finished dinner I asked her if she'd like to walk over to the nearby Starbucks and play a game of Scrabble with me, since I knew...

At noon on Tuesday I got a text message from the gorgeous E: Hey bguy sorry I cant make it tonight I'm not feeling well

While I'd like to believe she's telling the truth, I suspect there was some other reason for backing out. Y'know how they say you never get a second chance to make a first impression? Apparently I can't get a first chance to make a second impression.

The advice I received about how to follow up last Wednesday's date with the gorgeous 'E' fell into two camps: Women generally said I should call her up as soon as possible with a specific second date request. Men generally said I should not contact her for a few days, then send a less specific 'let's hang out sometime' message through the web site where we met each other.

I felt like confidence was the key thing to communicate, so I decided to plan a specific date request (a restaurant...