Me and Ashley and Me

He sat at the entrance of the bar at in a plain black t-shirt and flashed a devil-may-care smile. We shook hands and immediately got seated. I ordered a pint of New Castle and he got himself a green bottle of Heineken.

I'm sure we were quite the sight to most of the bar patrons. A 6'5", Caucasian, male in his mid-forties dining with a 5'3", 25 year old Asian who could pass as sixteen. What could possibly bring these two guys together? Well. Blogging.

Ol' Riff Dog (his alias) and I don't share very many readers; which is not surprising considering what we both have decided to write about on our respective slices of the internet. He is a family man using the controversial website AshleyMadison.com to find... well, companionship in women other than his wife. My blog was born out of the ashes from a burned relationship and trying to find that next girl.

But then again, maybe Riff Dog and I aren't so much different. We're both looking for something. And that something is something that only our mysterious counterpart, the fairer sex, can provide.

I went into the "blogging convention" with visions of Riff Dog taking me under his wing, drinking scotch on the rocks and telling me the secrets to his success with women. What actually transpired wasn't exactly what I thought would happen, but it was fun. I mostly listened to his adventures on AshleyMadison, we exchanged our online "dating" horror stories, and I answered some of his questions he had about So@24.

Riff Dog: So, lemme get something straight..."
So@24: Sure.
Riff Dog: You had a friend who you used to go out with and she would pass out in your bed...
So@24: Mmhmm.
Riff Dog: And you didn't do anything? Nothing at all?
So@24: Nope. She's always been strictly a friend. Nothing would ever, ever happen.

Riff Dog shook his head in disbelief.

It's always hard to explain that I have girls that have been and always will be just friends.

When it was time to go, Riff was kind enough to pay the bill (Thanks, Riff!) and we shook hands once more. He headed back to his home with his family and I headed back to my apartment to finish up Season 2 of Hey Dude. Told you we were different.

What did I learn with my encounter from the electrifying and suave, Riff Dog? Unfortunately, I did not get the magical step-by-step process in which to charm my way into the heart (or undies) of any woman I encounter.

But I did walk away with something.

I want to say that there comes a point where you grow out of, or at the very least embrace, your insecurities. At 25, we're still too pussified to make moves and put ourselves on the line. We still feel too vulnerable to women.

I think there is something that comes from being at the stage where Riff is versus where I am now. He oozes of confidence and he's the type that when he knows what he wants, he goes for it. I believe that I'll be there someday.

At least, that's my theory.