This time of year is notoriously spent looking forward and making resolutions for the upcoming year. I have never really been a resolution kinda gal - I don’t wait until the New Year to make the important changes in my life – so I often spend the weeks leading up to New Year’s looking back.

Not so much on changes I’ve made or how far I’ve come; more at the ridiculous situations I have found myself in over the past 365 days.

My 2007 can probably be summed up as a year of dating. Not relationships. Dating. I made a lot of drastic changes this year – online dating, getting setup, handing out my phone number – and it definitely made for a lot of first dates, one quasi-good relationship, and some amazing stories.

Looking back on everything, there was one particularly amazing story that I think everyone can enjoy.

Right before moving home from New York last year, I met a boy online. He seemed really interesting and funny through IM’s so we started talking on the phone and eventually planned a date.

“I want to take you out for drinks and dinner,” he told me.

We decided to meet at a central location, grab a drink and then head downtown to a cute little hole in the wall Chinese restaurant he and his dad had been eating at for years. I am not usually a fan of multiple locations (or even dinner!) on the first date, but he seemed so excited that I really couldn’t resist.

We met, did a little cheek kiss and made our way to a bar. I ordered a glass of wine; he ordered a beer. Being the independent woman that I am, I planned on offering to pay but didn’t have the chance; before I even knew it he was throwing a $20 down on the bar to cover the tab.

Once I had finished my wine and had quite a lovely buzz going (which helped, since I knew at this point that the boy was a little boring for my taste), we made our way to the subway for the trek downtown. And this is where everything got interesting.

We exited the subway and began walking the five blocks towards the restaurant. Five New York City blocks filled with shops, banks and, being in China Town, fake Gucci. As we walked, the boy turned to me and said, “I hope you enjoyed your wine.”

“It was fabulous, thank you,” I replied, thinking it was kinda sweet that he cared.

“Good, because it was really expensive.”

I laughed. Clearly this kid was joking. I mean, the glass of wine could not have been more than $7 (which is cheap for NY), considering he threw down a $20 for the both of us and got $6 back in change. But then he went on.

“You may have to throw down a little money for dinner. I don’t know if I have enough.”

Like I said before, I have no problem paying on the first date. But not like this. Not when he asked to take me out for dinner and drinks. Not when we are walking down a street with ATMs every 5 feet. If he didn’t have enough money he could have easily stopped to get some more! I suddenly had a strong urge to turn around and run back towards the subway, but I was hungry and hopeful that this whole exchange was just some sort of cruel joke.

We finally arrived at the restaurant and I let the boy do the ordering. And order he did. Like five different dishes. I wasn’t sure why 1) we needed so much food for the two of us or 2) why he would make such a large order considering his small wallet, but I didn’t say anything. And I didn’t get the chance because once the food arrived he did all the talking (and most of the eating) with his mouth full. Each passing second grossed me out more and more and I couldn’t wait for the night to end.

When the waiter brought over the check, the boy asked him to box up all the leftovers. Which he took all for himself. He then took the $24 dollars he had on him (which means he only brought $40 out for the entire date!) and put it on the table. The bill was $36.

“Do you have any cash on you?” I stared at him with an obviously disgusted look on my face and handed him the $13 I had in my wallet. Even with my contribution, we didn’t have enough for a tip.

“It’s fine,” he said. “They’ve been working here forever; they don’t need a tip.”

The boy left the money on the table, grabbed his 12 to-go boxes and we made our way out of the restaurant. I couldn’t imagine hating this kid more, but, alas, he exceeded my expectations once again. As we stepped into the cold night, he turned to me and with all seriousness asked, “So what size bed do you have?”

And that was how my 2007 began.