BRITTANY'S DATE #5
Key Takeaways: Taboo subjects notoriously ruin first dates, except when they don’t.
Vitals: Name: Joel. Not his real name, but he’s Jewish and I have a real obsession with the show “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Length of date: 3 hours How the date was obtained: We met in REAL LIFE and he asked. Where: A park in Rancho Cordova, CA
After interacting with several clowns on Hinge and attempting to meet one in person (refer to Date #4), I was pretty much over dating apps. I threw up my hands and told God that he was going to have to deliver my final DAW date to my doorstep because I was spent. The man upstairs CAME THROUGH at the Department of Motor Vehicles, of all places. I went to the DMV at 7:30 AM to renew my license. When I arrived, an elderly man had just collapsed. Fortunately, there happened to be a Registered Nurse in line who gave him medical attention. I tried not to rubberneck too much and jumped in line. The lady next to me told me (in a very Karen-like manner, I might add) that the Nurse would be coming back to take his rightful spot in front of me when he was done taking care of the man. I was like, “cool.”
The Nurse dude (aka Joel) did come back and we sat on the cement next to each other for the next hour and a half waiting for DMV to open. Somewhere in that span of time, he struck up a conversation with me. After that, it became the least miserable DMV experience I've ever had. Turns out, we work at the same Health Care organization and live in the same neighborhood. He got my number and asked me out a few hours later.
A ladybug landed on my bag as I was walking over to our date, a good omen despite my unexpected nerves. Joel organized a picnic in the park between our houses on a Saturday afternoon. He impressively brought 3 different kinds of cheese, 3 different kinds of crackers, grapes, and wine. The guy knows how to snack. We spent the afternoon delving into some taboo subjects: Politics, Religion, Finances, Dating, the meaning of life… all the topics that make your Thanksgiving dinners implode in on themselves. The date, however, did not implode. We identified some similarities, as well as some major difference which Joel said he found attractive about me. Joel walked me back to my house as the date ended and we ran into my parents as they were driving away. My dad yelled from the driver’s side window, “Hey Britt, we got you a taser,” as an intimidation tactic (and he actually did buy me a taser). Joel handled it with ease and humor. And he said he’d like to go out again.
Overall Experience:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The future for us… In all transparency, I have some reservations about Joel just based on the taboo subjects we talked about. We are very different, which is exciting and kinda hot when you first start dating someone, but super-complicated as life moves forward. I think I want another date because I'm still intrigued by him, but my level of serious interest is just a big ol’ question mark right now.
Next Week: I’ve officially completed the DAW challenge and I’m very proud. I almost didn’t agree to do this because I was worried I wouldn’t find dates/would be forced to date a bunch of weirdos. But as John Burroughs said, “Leap and the net will appear.” The net did, in fact, appear and my dating life took a huge level up because I took the leap. Thank you for pioneering ‘Date a Week' and inspiring so many others to join you, Isabel!
Cornelius's Date #5
Key Takeaways: Being in another person’s presence is enough
Vitals: Name: Kelso (cause she’s from Wisconsin) Length of date: Two and a half hours How the date was obtained: Bumble Where: The skyline lookout I’m not gonna lie: five straight weeks of dating is a lot. When I went on this last date this week, it was almost a relief to get it over with. Not that the dates have been unbearable or anything. They’ve been lots of fun. But continually being in these “intimate” situations is a bit laborious. Like the whole, “Do I like her? Does she like me? Am I being enthusiastic enough? Or am I being too enthusiastic? Ahh! I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just marry her so as to avoid telling her how I feel?" But I still had one more date, and I was determined to not be a spaz. So I picked up Kelso, from a local university, and we went to chill at a local park* (very inexpensive date idea, fellas). We sat down looking across the river at the Cincinnati skyline and passed the MJ back and forth. She told me about her upbringing, her pre-med track, etc. She was chill, laid back and it was cool just sharing tat moment with her. Sometimes the concept of a date can feel nerve-racking, but I don’t think it needs to be. I like to break things out of that “ interview” feel that dates can take on sometimes. Because at end of the day, odds are you won’t have much time with that person. I don’t think that’s a sad thing. It’s just a thing. But accepting that ephemeral, two-strangers passing in the night quality of these dates is certainly freeing. It allowed me to drop the buttoned-down,“Gee, I hope I’m not being weird,” energy, and just be myself. Overall Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The future for us: I’m gonna be honest, it’s very unlikely that Kelso will end up going steady. But I think that’s okay. There’s something to just being in another person’s presence that does the soul good. Whether it’s for nighttime or a lifetime, crossing paths on another person’s journey is a privilege. Next Week: that’s a wrap