Ms. Green

Mr. Nice Guy and I bonded over football–we both went to the same university and we both have season seats to the games. I’ve been ranting to my friends that it’s been so hard to find a guy that’s into the game as much as I am. It felt great to finally meet someone who shared that particular interest! We emailed a bit and talked on the phone prior to our first date.

We met at a tapas restaurant in the city for drinks. First impression, he had gorgeous, golden brown eyes and a great smile. One drink turned into three and we also ordered dinner. I had to dub him Mr. Nice Guy because he just seemed so well-rounded. He has a good job, good friends, likes to be social and hang out with people, and he just seemed like a nice person. There’s nothing wrong with nice! He picked up the tab for our date and I offered to give him a lift home as he didn’t have his car. He politely refused, saying that it was out of my way, but I insisted since I’m originally from L.A. and I don’t care much for public transportation. I dropped him off and leaned in for a hug.

He texted me to make plans for a second date the following week. We met up on my side of the bay to catch one of the hockey playoff games. We had more drinks and dinner and enjoyed watching the game together. It felt just as easy and comfortable as the first date. He walked me to my car and then joked about me giving him a lift to his car. I thought it was cute, so I gave him a lift to his car a few blocks away. I pulled up next to his car and this time he leaned in and gave me a very sweet and soft kiss. I threw my car into park but we didn’t kiss too long because I was worried about getting hit from behind. We were on a busy street!

We made plans for a third date the following week, but work got in the way. We decided to postpone it until I got back into town (I was going to be gone for 10 days for work). We texted while I was out of town about what we were up to, comments on the hockey and basketball finals, etc. I called him the day after I got back into town and never heard from him again. I guess he just wasn’t that into me, but that one was hard to swallow. I definitely was interested in getting to know him better and I was disappointed that it ended like that.

I met Mr. Confidence at a bar when I was out for my best friend’s 30th birthday. He came up to me and a group of my friends and introduced himself. He started chatting with me and asked to get to know me better. Unfortunately, his friends were leaving to go to another bar, so he asked for my number. I was so impressed with his confidence to directly come up to a group of girls, I immediately gave him my number. He texted me a couple hours later apologizing again for leaving so abruptly. I said that he should take me to dinner to make up for it, and he said it would be his pleasure. He called me two days later and we made dinner plans for the following week.

On the night of the date I settled in at our table and waited until he finally arrived minutes later,and out of breath. It was raining and he had no umbrella, so he jogged to the restaurant. The first 10 – 15 minutes were a bit awkward because he was catching his breath and was a little drenched. I think he may have had some jitters too, so it felt good to be the calm and confident one. He looked good — he was bald (my new type!) in a button down black shirt and jeans.

We talked about our weekends, our family, our jobs — all the really good and safe first date topics. It was refreshing to have such light and easy conversation. He was very social and had a great laugh. He’s a fan of Family Guy, which is a show that I absolutely love. The only comment he made relationship-wise was that he is usually attracted to tall, white women with colored eyes, which is me in a nutshell!

At one point during dinner, I guess I had a crumb on my lip and he discreetly let me know by motioning to it on his own lips and I really appreciated that subtle gesture. We later talked about a second date at another that he liked in the neighborhood. The night ended early around 9:30 and with only two glasses of wine! I had a tiring weekend, and couldn’t handle any more liquor! He walked me to my car and gave me a hug and we said we’d be in touch. I definitely would like to go out with him again. He’s very social and lives up to his name. It was a great first date — light and easy, not too long or awkward, and it left me wanting more.

I nicknamed him the Lion King because he’s Egyptian and his name sounds like a character from the movie. We met up for dinner at an odd little restaurant on the water that had obviously already had it’s heyday. It had an old wooden bar, tired furniture, and old patrons. It was an odd choice for a first date, but he had been there before and liked it. He was much better looking in person than I had anticipated and a lot of that had to do with his smile. He had no photos online where he was smiling. I told him that he should put one up there – and he did a few days later. It bothered me that I was slightly taller than him in my boots, but I’m trying to not be so picky.

We ordered wine and ate fish, which was a welcome relief from my previous date with the raw foodie. I was so happy to be drinking on dates again! We had a great conversation going and he was very social and easy to talk to. He shared some great stories about camping in the middle of winter in Yosemite and about his youth in Cairo. I definitely enjoyed talking to him and was attracted to his social nature. He also liked to cook and travel like I do. He paid for dinner (yay!) and we decided to hit up a local bar. He drove us to his favorite hole in the wall tiki bar. It had no windows and plenty of cheesy Hawaiian decor. I loved it! We had more drinks and continued to chat. After a couple of rounds, we decided to call it a night. He drove me back to my car and I gave him a hug and we said we’d be in touch. I was heading out of town for a work trip, so I knew there would be no second date for at least a couple of weeks.

After being on several mediocre dates, it was refreshing to have another great first date. The Lion King was charming, friendly, and someone that I’d like to get to know better.

Update: He texted me while I was out of town and we played phone tag when I got back into town. We’ve finally arranged for a second date. I’m meeting him on Thursday and he’s going to cook me dinner. So, to be continued…

I decided to try online dating because you don’t meet people organically anymore. The tennis coach was the 10th guy I’ve been out with and I actually met him through some friends of mine. So 1 in 10 are the odds that you’re dealing with in terms of meeting people the “old-fashioned” way. We met during a group dinner and chatted about tennis quite a bit – he is a coach and I used to play on the team in high school. He got my number through our friends, and we arranged to meet up for dinner.

When he picked me up, I went in for a hug and detected a slight odor. What a turn-off! I already knew that he was a vegetarian and didn’t drink alcohol – that, in combination with the odor, should have been enough for me to turn around and walk back into my apartment. But I didn’t. I later learned over dinner that he was also into raw food, which definitely makes us a bad match. I am a foodie! All the signs were already there! Odor, vegetarian/raw food/no alcohol = no fun.

He took me to a Thai restaurant in the neighborhood. The food was great, but I kept wishing that there were chicken and beef in it. He ate very slowly so that before I knew it, we were the only ones left in the restaurant. The owners sat down at a table next to us and ate their dinner with the other workers. He continued to eat. Then they cleaned up, stacked chairs, and got out the machine to wax the floors. He continued to eat. I made a comment about us leaving, but he felt no pressure to pack it up and call it a night. When the bill came, I offered to chip in as I always do, and he replied, “Oh! You’d like to split it?” and he turned the bill toward me. He failed that test. I still think a gentleman should pick up the tab on the first date. I’m opening to hearing the other side of it – what do you think?

He drove me home and walked me to my apartment building door. The final nail in the coffin was when a black cat darted up the stairs and started racing circles around our feet. Even the universe was telling me that this was a bad date.

Update: He texted me a few times, but because I’ve been traveling so much for work, there hasn’t been time to talk about a second date. I’m not interested. One of my favorite things to do is try new restaurants and cocktails, and we would never do that together.

I didn’t know he was my neighbor until we chatted on the phone. We met online, of course, and we discovered that we lived one block apart. He picked me up on a rainy, Sunday afternoon and we went to go grab coffee. A couple of the local coffee shops were all packed as everyone else also wanted to be indoors and dry. So he suggested we grab a late lunch at this casual hamburger joint. He was a good conversationalist, and had lots of stories about his job in the music industry in L.A. He was close to his family, had a good job, was down to earth and very genuine. But I was just not attracted to him in person.

Turn off #1 was that he was a messy eater. Guys, first dates are like first interviews. You always need to make a good impression! Use of the napkin and breathing between bites is strongly encouraged. Turn off #2 was that he had a soul patch. I didn’t see that in his online photos, and I kept staring at it during the date. I just wanted to shave it off. I really don’t understand the flavor savor. Turn off #3 was that he reminded me of my ex’s friend, but that realization didn’t hit me until after the date.

He suggested that we grab coffee after lunch because he was enjoying our conversation. I agreed because I didn’t know what to say. I am so bad at getting out of dates! We talked for another 45 minutes and then
he drove me home.

Update: He texted me a few days later and asked me out again, but I texted him back and said I didn’t feel that the chemistry was right.It’s never a good idea to date someone that reminds you of your ex. And this time, I loved the texting. Much easier to reject someone via text than on the phone.