Open Doors

You know the saying, "when one door closes, another opens"?  Well, I'm modifying it: When one door opens, a thousand windows of opportunity open!

As you may have read, I'm moving to Charleston in August! I made this decision on Good Friday after meeting with my realtor and a builder on Johns Island.  And let me tell you - Good Friday was a REALLY GOOD Friday!

I hate to get all "Alanis Morisette" on you, but irony is a funny thing.  On said Good Friday I had the most uplifting morning in which I decided to make a huge life move and start building a house and a life in Charleston, SC.  That night, I had a blind date - well, kind of - I knew OF him, but had not seen him since we were like 14.  So all afternoon I waited around (no I didn't) to hear from this dude to tell me what the plans were for the evening.  No call.  No text.  Nothing.

At that point, I was about 2 glasses of wine deep and pissed.  But, not sure why I was pissed - I was dreading going on this date.  I've never been asked out on a "Real Date" before, much less a BLIND one!  I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point between glass 1 and 2 I said "screw it".

I called up one of my besties and we met up for (more) beverages at Waters Edge on Shem Creek.  Her and her fiance (soon to be hubby - like tomorrow) wanted to go downtown and I opted out.  I texted my best good buddy, and he was exactly where I had expected him to be - Richard's.

Before I go into any more of this story, I have to give you an idea of what Richard's is like.  First of all, it's a dump.  And by dump, I mean I would hate to see the inside of this place in daylight.  College friends, Scandals was like Blackfin compared to Richard's...yea, I said it.  It's the only place in Mt. Pleasant that still allows smoking indoors, and patrons take full advantage of this.  After leaving Richard's you must wash your hair and clothing at least twice to get the smell out.  Richard's serves canned beer and wine out of boxes...you can't make this shit up.

I'm getting off topic again - but remember how I said that irony is a funny thing?  Yea, the guy who stood me up just texted me and asked if I was going to be in Charleston this weekend.  Seriously...you missed your chance...read on.

So...I drove over to Richard's to meet up with my buddy and have a good time - cause no matter how terrible this bar may look/seem, I've ALWAYS had a good time there!  I found him and announced my good news about building a house and we decided it was a reason to celebrate - with canned beer!

I noticed this guy standing up at the bar while I was talking to my friend and immediately looked at his ring finger - habit.  No ring.  No tan line.  Hmmm...

Not 5 minutes later, another friend of mine walked by and I grabbed him and asked the common question at Richards: "What the hell are you doing here?".  At that point, he introduced me to cute-guy-with-no-ring-from-bar.  Within that moment, I was so completely drawn into talking to this guy I had forgotten where I was.  We stood there and talked for what seemed like hours and found out that we had a lot in common.  I high fived my buddy who introduced us and then smacked him on the head for not making the introduction sooner.  Granted, it's not about WHEN, but that it happened that matters.

What happened after we met was insane - apparently two rough bitches decided to go all Tiger Woods on eachother in the parking lot.  We were unaware of this until Smokey and the Bandit came sliding into the gravel lot all crazy-like.  Our mutual friend rescued us (ok, we weren't really in danger) and took us out of the bar.  

At some point or another, talks of going to Clemson for a baseball game came up, I asked him if he was an axe murderer or married with kids, and the rest is history.  No, it's not a fairytale, but I'll take it!

After knowing him for only one week I packed a bag and cooler and headed to Clemson for a weekend with a "stranger".  The excitement of seeing him again kept the fear away until I reached the infamous 19B exit...then I wanted to throw up.  I called my mom and told her how nervous I was and asked for confirmation that I wasn't crazy.  She said "You didn't think twice about driving there and you made it this far, I'm sure you will have a wonderful weekend".  Mom knows best.

We did have an amazing weekend together and leaving was the worst.  I knew I would see him again in a week in Charleston, but I really didn't want to leave.

We have so much in common, but enough differences that we can appreciate each other for being themselves.  I have never felt so nervous to be around someone yet so comfortable when I am with them.  It's a weird feeling - but I'm not sure I want it to end!  He is the most genuine guy I have ever had the privilege of knowing - on top of that, he's smart, funny and really, really, ridiculously good looking (yep, went there).  When I say I feel like the luckiest girl in the world - it's because I am!  

I like where things are going in my life - and about 8 months ago, I would have never said that.  I've become more in touch with my spiritual side (more than I had before February), and have leaned on my religion for a lot more than I used to.  God has a special plan for all of us, it just takes time for him to get his plan in motion.  What a blessing it was to start my plan on Good Friday!  I cannot wait to see what He has in store for me next, but I'll take everything that I have right now!  

Cheers y'all!