"If It's Not Awkward, I'm Not doing It"

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Dating awkwardness on The Mormon Bachelor. Take Two. This time, Rick Buck comes to the East Coast. And for that, I truly admire the guy.

For those of you who need some refreshing on how this whole thing got started, you can read my previous blog post on the matter here. And now, on with the show:

A few weeks ago I was busy doing who knows what, when I heard my phone vibrate. I glanced down to see "Rick Buck" on my caller ID.  I immediately thought, "Why is Rick calling?!"  After all, we only went out once, several weeks prior, and had minimal communication since then. We had engaged in a few text messages here and there, and that was it. Clearly, this was going nowhere. I know how the game of dating is played. In fact, I'd like to say I'm an expert at determining if "he's just not that into you." You don't believe me?  I'm serious. I'm good at it.

Well, I answered Rick's call, though to be completely honest I almost didn't, thinking Rick was going to say something along the lines of, "Hey, Andrea, I just wanted to thank you again for coming all the way out to California to go out with me, but I have decided to move forward with other applicants." (My mind had been in job hunting mode, what do you expect).  Well, as it turns out, guys don't call girls to tell them that they are not going to ask them out again, but thanks for playing.  So, the real conversation went more like this, "Hi Andrea, how's it going?!"  small talk, small talk, and then, finally, I say, "So, what's up?!" "Well, let's just get right to the point, I'm going to come out to D.C.... well, first I should ask, 'Will you go on a second date with me?!'"  I may have let a bit of laughter accidentally escape. Yes, Rick Buck, of course I will go on a second date with you. After all, this whole TMB thing has provided endless amounts of entertainment, like you don't even know, for my family and friends. So, yep. Count me in. Let the entertainment continue. I know, I know. You're probably thinking, "But Andrea, he could have really been into you. Give it a chance! He really could have been the one, if you just would have taken this seriously!!!" Yeah, maybe you're right. But remember, as I stated above, I have a knack for these things. You don't learn nothing by being almost 30 and still in the dating game. Not to say he wasn't into me at all, of course he liked me enough to go out again, but you know what I mean here.

So, phone call concluded, and it was determined that date #2 would be on Super Bowl Sunday. You all know how round two of the Mormon Bachelor works, where the guy is supposed to plan the date. Well, Rick had never actually been to D.C. before and his only request was that we had to watch the Super Bowl. For those of you obsessed with TMB, and paid attention to all the comments on my first date with Rick, there was one comment in particular offering to sponsor the date if Rick came to D.C. It happened to be from a cake company. SCORE! Cake just so happens to be one of my favorite foods. (I know, kinda gross, but I really love the stuff).

So, on Super Bowl Sunday, Rick took the Chinatown bus down from NYC, where he had another date the previous evening, and slipped into the back a few minutes late to my sacrament meeting. My buddies and I watched the jaws drop of the girls sitting in front of us. TMB just walked into the Colonial 1st Ward, ohhhhh my gosh! Talk about a slightly awkward reunion. I jumped out of my seat as soon as the meeting precluded and gave the man a big bear hug for being brave enough to come to my neck of the woods for date two with all sorts of people gawking at us. We jetted out of the chapel with our cameraman, Dave Marble in tow. On the way to our first stop we discussed the awkwardness of it all. I said something along the lines of "the more awkward the better." And Rick's reply set the theme for our date, and probably all dates thereafter, "If it's not awkward, I'm not doing it." Let that be doctrine for us all to live by.

Rick and I decorating our cakes. We're kinda cute, huh?

So, speaking of cakes, and speaking of awkward, our first stop was to Occasionally Cake in Arlington, where the one and only Sabrina Campbell gave us our own cake decorating class, as well as some lessons in dating. We whipped up some majorly awesome Super Bowl cakes. I the Steelers. And Rick the Packers, all whilst listening to Sabrina give us dating advice and stress the importance of how great married life is and furthermore how it is her wish for all Colonial 1st ward members, and all YSA's alike, to get off their hiney's and get hitched. Noted.

After a lengthy, but rewarding two and a half hour cake decorating session, we took off for a Super Bowl party that I feared might be slightly awkward, more out of my fear of the unknown. I'll explain a bit: When Rick told me his only request was to watch the Super Bowl, I knew we had to do it up big. Go big, or go home, right? So I enlisted Dave Marble and his roommate to throw together a good crowd for the date. I never actually saw their invite list, so I was a little nervous if anyone would even show up. But, I should not have questioned it. Those boys know how to throw a party! And they did not disappoint. It was fantastic. And most people I cared about and loved in the greater D.C. vicinity showed up. Thank you dear friends! It was probably my favorite part of the day. During half time we took a vote on the cakes. Drum roll please..... mine won. I did have home court advantage after all. Rick was an incredibly good sport, and even though he really just wanted to watch the game, he entertained all my friends who wanted to meet and talk to him. That alone could have won me over right there. If only. You know what I'm sayin'?

The date did not conclude with the party. Oh no. The night was still young. Never mind that I was to start my brand new job the next day. D.C. monuments... here we come!  First stop, Lincoln Memorial. Next, Korean Memorial. Followed by the White House, and then a quick spin around the Capitol, Supreme Court and Library of Congress. We don't mess around for D.C. first timers. Yes, it was cold, but thanks to Rick's infamous hand-holding, things warmed up. kidding, mom

The night ended with our post-date interviews, where Rick and I decided to shake things up a bit and interview each other with some legit and not-so-legit questions. I think every date should end with a little drilling like that.  After all, if it's not awkward, I'm not doing it.  You can see for yourself:

Unfortunately our interviews didn't make the cut in the above video, but thanks to Dave Marble, our date has a bonus video. So, to find out why Rick didn't kiss me, watch this video:


Feel free to check out Rick's rendition of his on-the-road date here. And, as always, your comments on their site and mine are welcomed and even encouraged. There's even a sweet little giveaway as a bonus.

And that, my friends, concludes my Mormon Bachelor dating adventures. Thanks for tuning in.

Oh, so, that's not an adequate ending?  You're right.  Let me wrap it up appropriately. So, you all want to know what happens next, right?  Well, the TMB now picks one lucky lady to go out with on Valentine's Day.  So, will I be the one?  I'm sure you can gather from all the information I've listed above how it ends with me. I would love to say... yep, I'll be his date on Valentine's Day (my birthday).  And I hate to ruin surprises, but I don't think this one is a fairy tale ending for me. I'm okay with that. Truth be told though, I like the guy. And if this were normal dating, I think I could be so bold as to say we'd probably go out again. Rick is beyond stellar for even signing up to be the Mormon Bachelor. He has won the hearts of Mormon girls the world over. (this may or may not be true). I was most impressed with how genuine he was, and easy to get along with, and how he was always so willing to just go with the flow with a smile on his face, even with above-and-beyond awkward situations being thrown at him left and right. I wish him all the best as he continues to roll with the punches in this next round of dating. He deserves a fantastic outcome. Who knows, maybe our paths will cross again in the future. If only I could be so lucky.

Lastly, I will be eternally glad my twin sister signed me up for this adventure. Mostly because it gave me a good story to tell. And I love telling good stories. Awkward? Sure. Memorable? Yes. It has brought endless amounts of entertainment and amusement to my life that I never knew were lacking.

And that, my friends, is the end of this story. Until next time...