Dating is Awkward Turtle

So for those who might not have figured it out from my twitter posts or who I don't talk to on a daily basis, this might be news to you...

I'm dating someone.

We haven't "DTRed" yet, so I don't want to get into details about him at this time. But I really like him, which is exciting but a little scary at the same time. So that's all you get for now... 

But for the point of this entry... dating is awkward turtle.

I never knew this because I've never actually dated anyone. All my past relationships were the result of being friends for years and then something happened - usually after a night of drinking (what?... I was in college!). Never have I experienced meeting someone new, not knowing a single thing about them, and having to go through the awkward "getting to know you without sounding like a job interview" dates. 

Welp, I have now done that. And omg - how do people date so much?!... and multiple people at once?!... I don't get it!

You might not know this, but I am a shy person... and awkward, at that. So my attempt at dating has been quite laughable. I finally had to be upfront with the boy and tell him this and apologize for my actions. I was afraid that he would think I wasn't interested because I let my shyness/awkwardness take over and wouldn't say much on our earlier dates. But we are (mostly) past that stage, and I'm enjoying this relationship a lot.

Since I'm a dating pro now (ha!), I thought I would share some observations/stumbling blocks:

• Dating is awkward turtle. Yes, I have already said this. I wanted to reiterate. If I could do the hand sign via blogger, I would... (insert awkward turtle hand sign)
• The older you are, the quicker things move in the dating world. In college, you could date the same person for years before having any kind of conversation about the future. When you're older, dating for a year is considered a long time (for some). DISCLAIMER: The boy and I have not had any future talks... I'm just making an observation based on my thoughts when it comes to dating. 
• Balancing work/commitments and a new relationship is hard. It is absolutely no secret that I work a lot. I'm not working long hours to hide from having a life; I'm working long hours because there is a lot of work to get done, and I'm going to make sure it gets done. And when I'm done with those long hours, I'm exhausted. I want to see and talk to the boy afterwards, but at the same time I could easily go home and crawl into bed. And when at young alumni events, I need to be walking around, talking to everyone in attendance - not staying glued to one person's side. I don't want it to seem like I'm not putting in the effort. It's just that these were commitments/my life before meeting him, and I'm not going to stop just because of a relationship (I learned that the hard way years ago).
• Balancing friends and a new relationship is hard. Again, all my past relationships were with guys who I had been friends with for years, so hanging out with friends was never an issue because it happened all the time. But this boy and I do not have mutual friends, and I want to respect his time with friends and my time with friends while figuring out when it should be a friend only event and when the boy should be invited. What's also a struggle is that I now have different friend circles, so it makes the balancing even harder. And when do you invite the boy to meet your friends for the first time? There are a few upcoming events that I would love to invite the boy, too, but I'm conscious not to seem like I'm stealing the spotlight from the friend whose event it is by bringing the boy.
• Introducing the boy to the dog. A pet is like a kid... not that I know what it's like to have a kid. But I do know what it's like to have a 1.5 year old Jack Russell. The boy has mentioned me bringing Presley over and letting him run around the backyard. I would love to do that, but I feel that Presley's energy and lack of behavioral control (yes, my fault) would have the boy running far away from me.
• The lingering elephant in the room... first kiss and "DTR." I'm the queen of the awkward side hug. And my shy side is not going to make the first move. Until that first kiss happens, hellos and goodbyes are super awkward turtle. For those who have no clue what I'm talking about - DTR stands for "define the relationship." Methinks a full-blown relationship is in the works, but I'm not sure how soon is too soon to talk about it. So I wait... though I feel the talk is just a formality... but still, I wait...
• Dating brings me fear. Let's get one thing straight - though I dated a guy for five years, there was nothing normal about that relationship. I never experienced any standard dating protocol, so my inexperience with it all is causing me anxiety. Meet the parents?... never did that. Take the boy home to meet my family?... never did that. Buy a holiday present?... never did that. Go on a vacation alone?... never did that. There are lots of things I've never done in a relationship that seems silly to say that, at 29 years of age, after dating someone for five years, I haven't done some of these things. Granted, I may be jumping the gun seeing how we haven't done the above bullet point, but please refer to the second bullet point.
• When you least expect it, it happens. I shit you not... I had just told BJ that I had come to terms with not wanting to be in a relationship right now... that my career kept me busy; that I would have a new position at work and don't know what my exact duties will be; that I was going to take on more responsibility with the young alumni committee; that I just didn't have the time for a new relationship. And then I met the boy. In another case of "I shit you not..." this was in my fortune cookie last week...