RYAN'S DATE #1
Key Takeaways: Shy girls can be baddies too (and I need to start bringing sunscreen with me wherever I go)
Vitals:
Name: Gabriella - after Gabriella Montez from High School Musical, her favorite movie
Length of date: 2 hours
How the date was obtained: Hinge match who asked me out - major respect to her for subverting gender expectations
Where: SunLife in Malibu, then the beach behind Ralph’s, to impress her with my hipster beach knowledge
My first Hinge date developed after Gabriella shot her shot over text at 10:45 on a Friday night. The sun was down and I was feeling dangerous, so I said I was free to hang that weekend. After she initially suggested a hike on Sunday morning (yikes, I didn’t want to tear my ACL as a first impression), I was able to negotiate a common ground - açaí bowls on Sunday afternoon. As I drove to the meetup on Sunday, I started to worry that Gabriella was either a serial killer or a catfish, or both. It would be just my luck that my first Hinge date turned out to be the female Ted Bundy. Luckily, there she was at SunLife, neither a catfish nor the Zodiac Killer. She was cute and softspoken, so my initial nerves settled and we chit chatted about our college experiences, and what we’ve been doing for fun during quarantine (she likes to go on walks and “isn’t really passionate about anything”. Not giving me much to work with, Gabriella). My initial impression was that while a nice girl, Gabriella seemed very shy and reserved, which was clashing with my more outgoing/talkative approach to the date.
As we sat on the beach, I felt our conversation losing steam, so I tried to find common ground by asking about her favorite movies (a go-to topic of mine). She nervously giggled and said it was embarrassing, and after my unrelenting questioning, she revealed that her all-time favorite was High School Musical. Before I could react/vomit, she added that she saw the original Star Wars recently and hated it. “Wtf, that’s a total dealbreaker,” I thought to myself. “Hehe that’s not a dealbreaker is it?” she flirtingly inquired. I nervously laughed so as to avoid the question. Right when I thought the date was headed for disaster, Gabriella jumped up and suggested we get in the water. It was then that I realized I didn’t bring a swimsuit, beach towel, OR sunscreen (my skin has the pasty complexion of Casper the Friendly Ghost). Right as I was about to voice those concerns, Gabriella stripped down to her bikini for the biggest plot twist since the end of The Sixth Sense - she was a hottie with a body. Maybe High School Musical wasn’t so bad after all. Without a second thought, I took off my shirt and followed her into the water wearing my shorts.
It was here that I felt Gabriella start to open up more, as if seeing my fluorescent white skin made her feel better about her own self. Our conversations became much more relaxed and jokey, and she even complimented me on my aquatic abilities. As we exited the water, Gabriella gasped and looked at me. “Are you ok?” I looked down to see my previously translucent skin developing into a cancerous shade of red. “Oh yeah, no worries,” I lied, knowing that it would become a minor second-degree burn later in the day. After a half-hour or so of successful chatting post-swim, we headed to my car. “Am I still considered a feminist if I go for a kiss on the first date?” I wondered to myself. It being my first Hinge meetup, I didn’t know what would be considered respectful. But when I left to throw our açaí trash away, I noticed Gabriella smothering her face in chapstick while she thought I wasn’t looking - it seemed this shy chica was way ahead of me. (I will leave what happened next in my car to the readers’ imagination). As I dropped her off at her car, we agreed a potential next date should involve showing her a movie that doesn’t involve Zac Efron singing about basketball. Although it was difficult to find common interests and passions with Gabriella, there seemed to be some potential there once she loosened up in the second half of the date.
Overall Experience:
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The future for us… Possibly Netflix & Chill, with an emphasis on the Netflix
Next Week: Your guess is as good as mine
CHRISTINE DATE #1
Key Takeaways: He was really nice and interesting but a bit too chill for me, he is more like a beautiful crane sailing above a morning lake while I am a nightingale fluttering in the wind.
Vitals: Name: North because he had a strong internal guiding force to his personality. And he was very tall. Length of date: 2.5 hours How the date was obtained: Bumble Where: Poinsettia Park in LA - we sat on a bench near the dog park This was my first real date in about a year but I didn’t feel nervous or anxious or scared; I felt very levelheaded and casual and confident. I really enjoy how I look and feel right now. And I'm confident in the projects I'm working on, which made me feel sure-footed when I met North. North is also an artist and has a lot of big projects and names he works with so it was nice talking with someone who has boss energy and a quiet self-assurance; like I do. We met at a beautiful park and sat on a bench for 2 1/2 hours. We talked about how we both played college sports, how he has tattoos and I don't, where we want to travel (post-COVID), and what our everyday lifestyle looks like. On the date, I felt like he was cute, sweet, tall (like 6’8” tall), and overall very attractive. He wore workout/chill clothes which I was a little disappointed in as I would’ve liked to see him dress up a little bit more so I could see his style, but with the temperature outside being so hot, I get why he went more casual. I, on the other hand, put myself together in a really cute day outfit that made me feel pretty. I also had almost zero makeup on, as I’m trying to go on dates without makeup to show what I really look like and to set the bar at “I am not a girl who wears a ton of makeup.” We also bonded over how we both like people more than dogs and don’t really understand why so many people are so obsessed with dogs. He also doesn’t drink, which made us bond over being sober and single in such a party town. I learned that I really enjoy meeting up with guys for a walk or a hang in a park outside. Something about the informal-ness of meeting up in a park rather than meeting up at a restaurant or a bar made it feel a little bit more natural. Also, I realized that I’m not in any rush to date someone, I wasn’t nervous to meet up and I didn’t feel the need to make it go well, I just felt like I was myself trying to have a conversation with a new possible partner. OH AND I think a 2.5 hour date is too long, I want to keep them to about 2 hours as I am not used to being with new people (quarantine) and I got tired after 2.5 hours. Overall Experience ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The future for us… I would like to see North again and possibly do some sort of activity or game to see what he’s like in motion versus just sitting and talking Next Week: He said we should hang out again sometime soon so we’ll see if that happens…
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