Day 1- A Dinner Date From Match.com or Just Because There's Food, Doesn't Mean There's Fun.

Internet dating is a little like shopping for clothes online from Victoria's Secret. You just have no clue if it's going to be right for you. This is largely because they don't carry most of their line in the store so you can't even go size it up then order it online. Sigh, I digress.

I'm meeting a guy tonight that I "met" about a week ago online. We'll call him "M". M's profile looked okay, not great, but okay. He quoted Einstein in his tag line, likes dogs, and has kind eyes. He emailed me a pretty generic email. I like it when they ask me to elaborate on some random thing I said in my profile. ie: "What is your technique for smooshing a grilled cheese sandwich?". If you read my profile, that would make sense, and that type of question draws me in unlike "So how was your week?" boring!

We're going to a nice restaurant for dinner. I hate blind dinner dates. Let's discuss why.

Pros

You are surely going to meet a man
You will have time to talk
You have some idea of what they're like from their profile.

Cons

You are stuck with them through dinner whether you hit it off or not

Meeting in this way often takes on the feel of a job interview

Difficulty to initiate contact rating- 0

THE DATE- Saturday, 6:30pm

We waited a few minutes to be seated. He had called ahead to get us on the list. +1 point for him. The food was great, he was cute, and yet that essential element was missing. To say we had nothing in common wouldn't be completely true, but it sure felt like it. This is the real danger of the internet date. You show up and have NOTHING to talk about. Sitting 2.5 feet directly in front of a stranger doesn't give you a whole lot of options to look elsewhere. It's awkward and uncomfortable. I was trying to search my brain for things I had read about him in his profile. Why didn't I reread it this afternoon??? I actually laughed out loud a few times at the long, uncomfortable gaps in conversation. Soooo........ yeaaaaah......hobbies? Why are all my hobbies stuff I don't actually do much of? Somehow we ended up talking about curling, which lead to golf (the Scots have different ideas of fun than I do) and he asked if I had heard Robin Williams standup on golf. I said that I hadn't and he said "oh, well..... it's really hilarious." ......................... me- "go on". He seriously wasn't going to tell me any of it?! Weird. The bill came and it sat there forever. I went to the bathroom, came back, still sitting there. I guess I'm old fashioned. He emailed me, he asked me out, he suggested the activity for the date and the location. He did finally pick it up. Then we still sat there in uncomfortable conversation. I even said "I think those people are waiting for a table, maybe we should....." Nothing. He just kept on. Was he having fun?? I can't imagine so, but you just never know. He reminds me of this dog I'm babysitting that isn't socialized and doesn't know how to play with the other dogs. Finally we left and headed for our cars saying "nice talking to you."

Day 1 FAIL.