The elusive Oldieman

They say opposites attract. I guess you don't realize the breadth of that maxim until you see the repellent reaction when two of the same personalities are in one place (a small apartment) for a long period of time (12 hours).

I'm a naturally high-strung person. I get worked up pretty easily and don't hesitate to shoot my mouth off if I'm not happy about something - or someone. Oldieman is like a carbon copy of me at my worst - and then some.

For the last 72 hours - and then some - of my life, I have heard all the minute details of his trials and tribulations of starting up his own company. I've been (verbally) taken from the bank to open up a small business account to dealing with his unsavory and manipulative business partner to designs he's working on for a prospective client.

Oldieman called me twice yesterday AFTER I had left his place to ramble on about his business. Granted, I know it's a scary time for him, what with a mortgage and dumping his life's savings into a risky web app design-based entrepreneurial venture, but I can't help but realize that his personal problems are beginning to bleed into my personal life. And I don't like that.

When he's not stressed to the max, he's a pretty funny and laid back person to hang out with - evident on our first date. But when he's freaking out about work, a bottles-worth of Xanex and a half glass of wine couldn't chill him out. Oldieman does not understand the concept of leaving work at work - in part, because he works from home. I can't be with someone like that, not when I myself am high strung in my own rite. Keep it separate. I'm much younger than he but even I adhere to this.

This is what led to this ... epiphany, if you will.

Yesterday, I'm sitting on the floor of his living room typing away on my laptop, trying to get my own work done, while he's in the next room designing something for a client. As I'm muttering and cursing to myself about work, I elicit this response:

"Okay. Sweetie, really. The soundtrack and cursing reeeeeeeeally has to stop."

Am I in a nursery? Pre-school maybe?

I was so disgusted and mildly embarrassed by this that I could feel myself growing red in the face. I'm so past the point of being eager to please someone or fine-tuning myself to make something work. While there are times that I feel like I do genuinely like Oldieman, most of the time he just really annoys the shit out of me. That, and the fact that he willingly showed me the copious amount of pics of his ex on his phone while we were sipping wine the other night.

Kman texted me out of the blue and I'm thinking I can use his beautifulness and class to take my mind off of Old Spice, who's probably brooding in his home office for no reason while procrastinating from real work on Match right about now.

It's a game with all these boys, young and old. My recent hopes of meeting someone worthwhile have fizzled out. It's back to playing around.