My date with Grandpa.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I had a date tonight with a guy from Match. Let's call him Bob the Mini-Blind Builder, because he postponed our meeting from Monday to tonight because he's remodeling, and wanted to get some mini-blinds installed. So, in "Bob's" opinion of me, I ranked below his mini-blinds. Clearly, we're off to a great start. But I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, so I was still looking forward to meeting him, since he looked pretty cute in his pictures, and we'd had some good conversations on the phone.

I decided that the outfit I was planning on wearing wasn't jiving with me, so I did what EVERY single girl has done in her dating career...made a run for the store in the hopes of finding a cute, last minute top. (Admit it, you've done it too!) I was actually able to find something for 14 bucks at Old Navy within a few minutes, and I headed home to get ready. If I do say so myself, I was looking good. The hair and makeup was cooperating, and the new outfit was working for me. Score. We planned to meet up at Bodega Wine Bar at the Paseo in Pasadena. Great little place. I headed out, and arrived a few minutes early, which yes, makes me look courteous and prompt, but it drives me batty when I'm early for things. Which explains why I'm 10 minutes late for almost everything. I hate to wait...I get all nervous, antsy, and ADD. Which is a stellar first impression to make, but I don't think it showed when he arrived.

When he walked up to me, I didn't even recognize him. In fact, I'm sure I looked either royally confused or surprised. That's how little he looked like his picture. As I studied him, I started to see the resemblance. However, the picture he used on his profile HAD to be 10-15 years old, and 30 pounds lighter. I felt like I was on a date with the father of the guy in the picture. Looking back, I remember thinking, wow...he looks young for 36. And the reason was....ANCIENT PROFILE PHOTO! And when you're expecting someone to look a certain way, and they're nothing like it, it makes a bad first impression. So, listen up, Internet daters...do yourself a favor, and make sure your picture looks like YOU. Have a couple friends look at your profile and give you an unbiased opinion. And it's not that he was totally bad looking...he set up an impossible standard to reach. You can't turn back the hands of time, people. Don't kid yourselves.

In all fairness, the date itself wasn't that bad. The conversation was slow to start, which is expected on a first date. Your standard questions...tell me about your job...oh you're a wedding coordinator...tell me a weird wedding story. And then they ask me if I've seen the Wedding Planner, and if I wear a headset like J. Lo. This happens literally EVERY time I meet someone new. Granted, it's a unique job, so people want to know about it, and it's really nice to have them be interested in what I do. But first dates can become quite predictable in terms of conversation. And tonight was definitely one of those.

I don't know how to feel about him. He seems to be a nice guy, but I can't say I was terribly attracted to him. However, according to the Four Man Plan, every guy deserves two dates. And he definitely is interested in me. When Bob said he'd like to see me again, I gave a polite "Sure, that would be fun". He's an engineer (good job), volunteers at Toys for Tots and Meals on Wheels (cares about those around him), and can carry on a conversation that was fairly enjoyable once it got going. He held open doors, pulled out my chair, and picked up the check for our drinks. He did ask for a dollar from me to help out the tip, and I was happy to oblige. It's a buck...big deal...I'm not that stuck up! But for those of you familiar with last year's dates with Dollar Guy*, it did give me a chuckle when I thought about that in the car on my way home.

*DOLLAR GUY- Oh, dear Dollar Guy...this dude is a favorite amongst my friends at work. We split the bill in half on our first (blind) date, and he snatched up the one dollar that came back from our change.(Hence the nickname) I guess I asked for it, since I did the "purse grab" and offered to pitch in. I have a hard time assuming someone is going to pay, nice as I think it is for them to do it. Second date: at the advisement of friends (both female AND male, by the way), I did NOT offer to pay or do the purse grab. The check came, he glanced at it, and he slid it across the table saying, "it came to about 40 bucks." Ok. So we split the bill in half again, even though what I ordered was TINY and no more than 1/4 of the total bill. Classy, man. No third date for Dollar Guy...because that was apparently everything in the hand he was playing. He had no ace in the hole. And there was zip in the chemistry department, at least on my end.

The lesson here: Don't ask a girl on a date you can't pay for. Maybe it's old fashioned of me, but that's part of the whole courtship/chivalry thing. I'm into that. A lot of girls are...and that doesn't make us high-maintenance, it makes us ladies. We're not asking for dinner at the Ivy. If you're po', get creative and pack a picnic. Make it happen, but don't expect me to pay for my dinner and half of yours. I'm worth it, dammit! Please note that I do NOT think Bob the Mini-Blind Builder is the same as Dollar Guy. It just made me recall the memory of that legendary set of encounters with DG, and I really wanted to share it with you all.

Off to watch this week's TV "bedtime story", more of the Muppet Show DVDs...tonight's guest stars: George Burns and Madeline Kahn. Awesome.