P.S. - GEORGINA

For those of you who are wondering, what’s NOT to like about online dating!?

Think about it. What is every girls’ biggest wish when it comes to men and dating? If you’re anything like me, it is simply that you have the ability to walk into a bar or church or a restaurant or a bookstore or wherever and be able to identify clearly which men (or women, if you’re so inclined) are compatible to you.

RIGHT?

Ladies and Gents, that’s what we have here. Sometimes the odd (literal and figurative) man gets thrown into the mix, and we gently hit “Close” in order to not be selfish and pass him along to the next girl. One person’s trash is another one’s treasure, isn’t that how the saying goes?

But really, that’s exactly what eHarmony allows you to see and experience: man after man who, in some way or another, “matches” some part of your personality. I’m telling you, I think it’s kind of fun.

We talk a lot about our dating experiences and what’s going on in our daily lives. I just wanted to let anyone who is out there reading and wondering if it is for you, why not give it a try? I was the BIGGEST skeptic when it came to eHarmony. If I can enjoy it and if Abby can enjoy it...chances are you will, too.

After all, I’ve gotten a few free meals, some coffee, and more alcohol than my liver probably needs out of the deal.

Win/Win.

2 Dates in 2 Days - ABBY

It's an interesting thing, going on dates back-to-back.  It reminds me of a of Saved by the Bell episode where Kelly had to go on dates with 2 different guys at the same time.  Also, the Hannah Montana Movie where she does a similar thing (yes, I've seen The Hannah Montana Movie.).

But my weekend didn't involve wigs and there were a good 36 hours between dates.  Here are the deets:

Date #1: 

Coffee at Cafe Ladro on Queen Anne with The Traveler (he just got back from a 3-week trip in China).  I walked up from my house, and he was waiting for me when I got there.  He gave me a hug and asked if he could get me a coffee.  After being quizzed the night before by friends about what I was going to order (a MoGlo? A bran muffin?) I decided on a latte.  He had drip coffee.

There was lots to talk about--his trip, our (shared) neighborhood, jobs, families, etc.  There were only 1 or 2 breaks in the conversation longer than a few seconds.  He's really nice, smart, easy to talk to.  He said he'd like to hang out again, and I would too.  Much to my friend's disappointment, I wasn't necessarily "giddy" or full of details after the date.  I had a good time, but it wasn't like I was sitting around waiting for my phone to ring.  I tend to think that's just not my style, but I'm also open to the possibility that it will be my style when the "right one" comes along.  So we'll see.

Vital Stats:
I wore: Skinny jeans, brown boots, and my new black chunky knit sweater
He wore: Jeans, a white/navy long-sleeve tee 
Random fact: He's the oldest guy I've ever gone on a date with (32)
Second date possibility: Definitely. We've been e-mailing a bit, and he wanted to hang out this week, but with Christmas 4 days away (what?!) it didn't work out.
Overall score: 7?

Date #2:

Beer at Hilltop Alehouse with The Southern Boy.  Yes ladies, he has an accent (swoon, away).  I got there just a minute or two before him, and I was pleasantly surprised that he was cuter than his eHarm pictures.  He was easy to talk to, right from the get-go and the conversation was comfortable and easy the whole time.

He comes from a big family, owns a house, has an interesting job (although probably the polar opposite from my own), and seems like a generally "nice" guy.  He did all the right things--paid, opened doors, walked me to my car.  It felt a little more comfortable than Date #1, although, this might have had something to do with the fact that I was drinking a Pilsner, not a double-shot latte.  

Vital Stats:
I wore: See Date #1 (I wore the same outfit)
He wore: Jeans, a long-sleeved white shirt with a grey tee over it
Random fact: During the hour and half we spent together, we realized we've been in the same place at the same time more than once.
Second date possibility: Totally.  He texted me a few hours after the date saying he had a great time, and I think we'll plan something for after the Holidays.
Overall Score: 8

Overall, I'm not head-over-heels for either guy (yet) but my first 2 online dating experiences were positive, and that's saying something.  I was talking with a friend this morning about how weird dating really is.  We meet a total stranger and make small talk for a couple hours to see if we're "compatible."  It's amazing how 2 hours of judging each other can actually be fun sometimes.

To everything, turn, turn, turn - TUCKER

My theory: if a guy says he’s 5’10”, he’s really 5’8” and if he says he’s 6’5”, he’s really, really tall. Much to Andy’s chagrin, I have a height restriction. Call me petty, call me picky, I don’t think it’s too much to ask to be able to date a guy that I don’t have to look down at to look him in the eye. I come from a family of tall ones, and I’m fairly certain that if I did bring a short guy into the mix he’d feel like he was amongst the land of the jolly green giants. So really, I’m doing it for the shorty’s own good (I’m a glass half full kind of person).
Regardless, I went out on date No. 1 this week. And my response isn’t one of pure delight, or pure disgust, it can be summed up in one quick syllable: eh. That’s right, eh.
Nice guy IM’ed me on match.com, I responded. We chatted, seemed like a decent guy (read: not a serial killer), he asked me out for coffee, I accepted. We exchanged phone numbers, and thus began the text dance. As you may know, I’m not fond of the texting when I haven’t even heard the person’s voice… but these texts were fairly benign. More like, “how’s your day?” and less like, “what’s your philosophy on life?” We postponed the date once because I got a cold, and the date was scheduled during the time period where I was so stuffed up I couldn’t breathe through my nose… and you can’t really put your best foot forward when you are a total mouth breather.
We made it to coffee. And my theory was proved right, while he said he was 5’10”, he clearly was not. I mean, I know online dating profiles are an area of life where you embellish… but I just wish you couldn’t embellish your height, us tall girls (or maybe it’s just me) have height limits.
But I powered on, and coffee was nice. He bought me a latte, he got an Americano. And we chatted for a little less than an hour and a half.
I have to say, I CANNOT stand coffee dates.
First, there are people all around you sitting alone, reading, studying, LISTENING TO EVERY WORD YOU SAY while you are on this awkward, obviously blind date.
While I don’t mind stating to the blog readers of the world that I am doing online dating, I don’t really want to share that fact or my first in person meeting with the people at the next table. Secondly, people are coming and going, so it gets loud, kids are running around like crazy, and some come up and start talking to you (true story). Thirdly, I’m already jittery enough, and the caffeine consumed at a coffee date doesn’t help, I think a single alcoholic drink may do the trick to help me relax. Anyways, he was nice. Everyone keeps wanting all the details, and there really aren’t many to share. He is a nice guy, I enjoyed talking with him, but I’m pretty sure there was no romantic feeling for either of us. And thus ended date No 1. I’ll probably never hear from him again… and that’s ok. It’s a bummer to not have some crazy date to share with you readers, but I feel like my date is a much more typical date. Guy meets girl, guy’s nice, girl’s nice… but no chemistry.

And the world keeps turning.

Vital Stats:
I wore: skinny jeans, tucked into my new camel leather boots, a grey sleeveless blouse (way cuter than I can describe here) topped with a black long sweater.
He wore: jeans, a grey blue long sleeve shirt with a Northface jacket over it (which he never took off?).
Random fact: He’s from South America.
Second date possibility: not on my side.
Overall score: 7 in conversation, 3 in date-ability.

eHarmony: Date One (and one fail) - GEORGINA

On Thursday I made two dates for this weekend: one for Saturday night and one for Sunday afternoon. On Friday I got the flu; I emailed my Saturday date and explained the situation, asking if we could reschedule. No response. On Saturday I had a very important appointment with my hairdresser, and so did my best to pull myself together. On my way back home that afternoon I texted my date. This was our text log:


Me, 3:30pm: Hey, did you get my email yesterday about meeting tonight?
Him, 3:32pm: Nope. Will 8 o clock not work for u?
Me, 3:35pm: No, sorry! Can we reschedule?
Him: [no response]


Soooo...that was that.


Sunday. Still feeling sick. Meeting Guy #2 in Kirkland. I put on makeup for the first time in days and rolled out. I was a little late, mostly because I was dawdling crossing 520 singing Christmas songs to myself. I finally reached Kirkland, just about five minutes past 1pm, when we were supposed to meet. I ran into Caffe Ladro, made a quick scan of the available chairs and came to the obvious conclusion that my blind date was not there yet. I ordered a tea and went to the one available chair to wait. Five minutes went by. Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes. I kept checking my phone and texting my friends: He's not here yet! I want to leave. I was too preoccupied texting and reading latest breaking news on my Blackberry to notice when a tall man walked in. I saw someone out of the corner of my eye, but he was wearing a beanie, so I couldn't tell if this was my guy, and I didn't want to crane my neck to check him out. Finally my phone rang. I answered it, but noticed this guy was standing right next to me, grinning in my face. He waved his phone at me and said, "I thought that was you!" Then gave me a huge hug.


Fine. Not a big deal. He was nice and easy to talk to, and not bad looking. He also was wearing a great watch. We walked from the coffee shop across the street to a pub because he was hungry. Although I didn't want to eat, he assured me I could nibble off his plate. No thank you.


Things he revealed during our hour and half together:

• He's been married before. Which he apologized profusely for not telling me. And I kept having to say "no, it's totally ok. No I'm serious. It's ok."
• He hasn't traveled - much - but did say his ideal travel spot was an imaginary resort in Alaska.
• He burped, then said his confidence was shot for the rest of the day. He was serious.
• He doesn't like cats. Then refuted that statement the minute I said I liked them and had one.

At the end of the date I was just not interested. Listen, I'm looking for a man who will debate WITH me, not agree with everything I have to say. If you hate cats, TELL me you hate cats and we'll work on converting you together. I just don't want to be in that kind of relationship, where everything is super agreeable. I also don't want to jump right into a relationship where we're on a fast track to marriage. I mean, yes, obviously I want to get married. Someday. But I'm also happy to simply DATE for a while.
Since Andy filled out her stats, I'll do mine as well.
I wore: skinny jeans, a striped sailor shirt, black leather jacket, black booties, and a scarf.
He wore: Jeans, a tee shirt, beanie.
Location: Caffe Ladro and then Wild Rover.
Second Date Possibility: Well, he asked if he passed my "test" to which I said, "I don't really have a test...but sure....yeah." So, yes.
Final Score: Not a love match on my part. Nice guy, but I don't see it going anywhere. I did agree to go out with him again, but only because...well...I can't say no.