Then again, my dating resume ain’t that good.

Earlier today I was just running through my blogs in between other stuff when I skimmed over an article on the Great Mate Debate by Aly Walansky.  The blog was about “what’s good about being single.”  And one of the things Aly mentioned was that it gave you an opportunity to “Date yourself.”  You know, go out and do the fun things that you enjoy instead of doing what your partner wants, or finding some compromise between the two.

I paused.  “Date yourself.”
Crap, I thought.  That is a fantastic idea.  And not just for single people.  Hell no.  Everybody should be able to do that.  And not only just “dating yourself” but using that as a sort of gauge for things you’d like to do, period, with or without somebody special.

Hell, I thought, I’ve never really given that sort of thing conscious thought.  What the hell would I do on a date with myself?  I mean, on a date with myself, not the usual hanging-out-on-a-Saturday-night thing that we all, singles and couples, know all too well.  I mean a date, a special kind of thing that’s a kind of treat.  I’m married with a kid, it’s been forever since I really spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to do.  The closest I came is when I used to go for a motorcycle ride, but every time I did that I felt a little guilty about the time away from the family.  (But that’s another story.)

So, what the hell would I do on a date with myself?  Seriously, what?
Just off the top of my head, here’s what I came up with in five minutes:

• Walk in the wooded park near my home
• Go for a drive down some back road I’ve never driven before (rest in peace, poor motorcycle)
• Go to a club and catch a live metal band – famous or first gig out of the garage, who cares?
• Texas Hold’em tournament
• Tour a distillery
• Trivial Pursuit drinking game (okay, so some of these go better with others.)
• Fishing
• Try a new restaurant
• Go to the motorcycle dealership to drool and/or cry (okay, some of these are better done alone)

So, now I have some ideas of what to do with my down time, or some suggestions for future date nights with milady.  Just gotta keep thinking and adding to the list.

So, what would you do on a date with yourself?