I have recently discovered some blogs of women who date and then they talk about it on the internet.

Some of them are very clever and call their dates all these imaginative nicknames (to protect their privacy). I actually admire their creativity – not sure if I would have been quite that colourful back in my single days had the internet been a household item at the time. 😀

But let’s see. Perhaps I can come up with some nicknames for some of these guys from my past, even though in some cases, I didn’t actually go out with them despite their interest in me. (I was shy, introverted and suspicious of most men, due to some experiences I had while working as a flight attendant, my previous job.) I won’t name them all, but I’ll name the three that stand out the most from my four years working at a simulator training facility.

Captain Surprise – Argentinian Air Force pilot

He was…interesting. Only thing that happened with him was a lovely lunch date during a work day on which he had a simulator session scheduled after lunch. I planned it that way specifically because he was very insistent and kept bugging me to go out with him which just ignited his pilot buddies to do the same with pretty much any female with a pulse. 🙄

My guy was the captain of his group of about 20 (and their leader/ultimate responsibility guy) and the least aggressive of all of them (but still really aggressive by North American standards).

I was nervous about going to lunch with him, but discovered during our lunch that he was actually quite mature, pleasant and attentive. It was a really nice surprise and it changed my mind a little bit about what I initially thought of him (or them, the Argentinian military pilots).

If he hadn’t been constantly surrounded by his testosterone-driven, nymphomaniac buddies I might have considered a second date with him. But, they spooked me so I didn’t go out with him again during the several weeks long training session he was in my city (I worked for a simulator training company at the time). He did have my phone number and on some days I would get home from work and have about 10 messages and 20 hangups on my phone (so I guess the aggression came back?). Nuts.

Let it be known that some of his crew almost got evicted out of the hotel due to incessant, aggressive behaviour toward the female staff. I don’t know if it was him who managed to reign them in, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

Quiet Sweetiepie – Danish pilot

One guy was quietly interested in me in the complete opposite manner of the Argentinians. He too was here on a several weeks long training session and tried to start up conversation with me quite frequently. I liked him but he never made a move and I was at work so I just enjoyed his pleasant manner when we did interact.

One time, he approached me and asked me for a special favour; it was his dad’s birthday and he would really like to call him and chat with him, would he be able to use our phone to make the long distance call to Denmark? (This was before cell/smartphones were commonplace.) I asked my manager if it was ok and he approved it, and so the Danish pilot got to sit in my spot and dial up his dad and have a chat with him on his birthday. I thought it was a really sweet gesture.

Later, after he went back to Greenland/Denmark to fly, he wrote me several letters. I wish I knew were I put them. 🙂

Mr. Easily Offended – Canadian Military pilot

OMG this guy…he too was quite aggressive like the Argentinians were, but it was somehow less expected of Canadians who typically seem (to me at least) a little bit more reserved than the Latin Americans. This guy kept pushing me for a date, and I was uncomfortable from the start.

One time, during a particularly busy afternoon I must have said something to him that made him believe I confirmed a date. Later, when he told me he’d need my address or phone number so we can arrange for a get together I didn’t give it out. He got really pissed off at me but left it at that (I was still at work, and he was a client there doing sim training). I told him I changed my mind, I was sorry but I wasn’t interested in going out.

Weeks later I got a huge, nasty letter about how I lead him on and how I was ‘one of those girls’. No one had ever called me ‘one of those girls’ before…

Somehow my supervisor who was also the HR person got wind of it and I got pulled into the office for a chat along with my friend/colleague who was also sort-of/kind-of being sought after by an American Military guy. Long story short, back in those days my work place (American owned, headquartered in New York) was not interested in protecting their female employees, they were interested in protecting their income from the clientele. Our supervisor told us in no uncertain terms that no matter what we decide to do after hours, they will always protect the business and not us. (How things changed over the years, in a good way.)

I don’t remember reading the whole letter, I just got rid of it. What an insecure asshole.

These things happened while I was in my mid to late 20s if I remember correctly, so I wasn’t exactly inexperienced, but I also wasn’t the type of girl who had many casual relationships. Looking back though makes me smile and shake my head. It’s interesting how differently you view things when you’ve grown, become a parent, and have the benefit of life experience to draw from when analyzing some of the dating community in the blog world.

Final thoughts? I can’t even imagine what it must be like nowadays. 🙂