Seven dates in seven days
Die-hard readers out there might remember my column last year about how to survive Valentine’s Day single. It consisted of three bags of chocolate and a six-hour nap.
This year, we’ve gone the opposite direction. Inspired by a blog chronicling one woman’s quest for love, which involved 30 blind dates in 30 days, I went on seven blind dates, seven nights in a row.
The men, provided by The Statesman’s editors, were not allowed to interact with me before the date, were not given my number and had to keep the date under a 25 dollar and three-hour limit. They have all been given nicknames to preserve anonymity.
Sunday: The Fire Guy
Remember a couple years back when some kids lit the side of one of the near-by mountains on fire because they were messing around? Meet one of the accomplices: the Fire Guy.
As the first date, he was definitely a guinea pig. The night began late, around 9:30. Fire Guy took me back to his apartment where he had lit a small fire – controlled this time – and we roasted marshmallows.
I was surprised how easy it was to talk to him. The most memorable part? He accompanied my stories with his banjo. The home-made ice cream was delicious and though I was skeptical at first, Fire Guy was great to hang out with and incredibly talented.
Though he wouldn’t want others to know this, Fire Guy is a self-taught musician and now plays shows around the nation, including recently in San Francisco. He said he likes doing it without having to worry about making money. He really is an amazing singer and it’s a shame more people haven’t heard him. Dear Fire Guy, you can play your banjo for me anytime.
Monday: Mr. Diversity
No, I did not go on a date with T.J. Pratt. When I first asked Mr. Diversity what our plans for the night were, he nearly gave me a PowerPoint presentation explaining my options. This guy was prepared. Having so many options to choose from was really nice. It made me feel like I had some contribution to the date.
We ate at Rumbi Island Grill. I’d never been there and was pleasantly surprised. The food was delicious and conversation flowed naturally. After dinner, I chose ice skating as our main activity. He had brought flashcards to rate each other on any tricks we could do, which for me was staying vertical.
I soon realized all my flashcards had 10s. He was begging for some praise, but that was cute. We got to the skating rink about 8 p.m., not realizing they close at 8:15. The guy was nice enough to let us throw on some skates for 10 minutes. Since neither of us had too many tricks, we started rating the little children who were falling like chubby little snowflakes all around us.
With about an hour before his time was up, we left the rink and he started listing off possible activities. Then I spoke up.
“I bet we could get to Idaho and back,” I said.
“You want to go to Idaho?”
“Yeah. Let’s go to Preston.”
It was decided. We headed north, talking the whole way. I’d never been to Preston and honestly, I was not that impressed. But the gas station we stopped at had peach rings (my latest obsession) and I was happy. We returned to Logan, me in a daze of peachy goodness and he in what I can only imagine was a state of shock at how the night had turned out.
To Mr. Diversity: Options are great. I loved the spontaneity.
Tuesday: The Bad Driver
At this point, only two dates into the week, I was getting exhausted. I tend to be a homebody and this week was pushing me out of my comfort zone. I think that may be why I enjoyed my time with Bad Driver so much.
We are both English majors and both rhetoric associates. It gave us more common ground than I had with the first two dates, but I was worried we would crutch on that subject the whole night. I was wrong. We actually got into a pretty deep religious and social discussion while we ate at Costa Vida. My sweet pork salad accented his eyes perfectly. I was digging his dry sense of humor and sarcastic-at-times demeanor.
As we were leaving he explained our activity: we would both pick two of our favorite spots in Logan and drive there. There were several times I felt my heart rate speed up as we had near-collisions. We joked about his driving.
The Bad Driver, though not an expert in that medium, had a fantastic personality, but there were times I felt like he just wanted to get rid of me. I thought the conversation was deep and satisfying, but did you feel the same? Bad Driver, were you just shy or did you regret agreeing to the date?
Wednesday: THIS University
It had been about 15 years since I’d fingerpainted. I hadn’t even thought about it in quite some time. That was probably why I was so surprised when THIS University told me that’s what we were doing. Buying the supplies at Wal-Mart was fun, actually one of my favorite things about the date, then things kind of plateaued.
We got back to the TSC, apparently the location of our activity. That was a little odd, but I’d been in the TSC late before. He set up his Magic Bullet and we blended up some smoothies. To THIS University: That was a great idea. I loved my smoothie.
We covered the tables with some newspaper and set up our paints.
He was not good at interpreting my modern art painting, but I didn’t guess his that easily either. I have to say my portrait of him was much better than his of me, though I always did want green arms like in the picture.
He had been informed that I was feeling a little drained from so much chit-chat and first date awkward-ness, so choosing a mellow activity was really nice. Also, he was the only one to begin the date by giving me a package of peach rings. That’s above and beyond the call of duty.
Over all, I feel like I was a little awkward on this date, but it was fun and the paint fight made for a good photo opportunity. Dear THIS University, you rock for bringing me my favorite treat. Sorry if I was weird.
Thursday: The Athlete
I took a bowling class as a sophomore. That didn’t help me at all against The Athlete. Out of all the guys, I had the most fun with The Athlete. The conversation was comfortable and we clicked. Chinese food was a good choice, even with the screaming child to accompany the music.
I’ll admit I was expecting to beat him in bowling, but he killed me in both games. I was impressed. Plus, he flirted shamelessly, putting his arm around the back of my chair, betting hugs for strikes, lightly touching my arm when he had the chance. I was flattered. You’re very attractive.
He also got me peach rings. I think I was in love for a moment.
To The Athlete: thanks for adding me on Facebook. We really should go out again. You were my favorite of the dates this week.
Friday: The Singer
I had fun. You were a little awkward, but I had fun.
We went ice skating and luckily got there with plenty of time. I told him I wasn’t super coordinated on the ice, but he promised I’d be much better by the end of the night and he was right. I had no idea I could do one of those spinny things. He was very patient with me when I was digging my nails in his hand as he sped us around the rink at a speed that made my insides tense and hurt. And sang to me while we skated. Very romantic. Mushy romantic.
Papa Kelsey’s was absolutely divine. That might be my new favorite place in town. It was nice talking to you, getting to know you. We shared some deep, dark secrets and it was nice to have someone be so totally honest on a first date. You’re a nice guy and I was pleasantly surprised with how the evening went. I was expecting worse.
Saturday: The Youngster
He took me to my second USU basketball game of my life. I warned him that I didn’t know too many of the cheers and I fumbled a lot of the words but it was nice hanging out with a group of people, instead of such an intimate, one-on-one date.
What can I say about basketball? We won. That mom from the opposing team was hilarious. After the game, we walked back to his apartment and headed over to Coldstone, the one place I’d been hoping someone would take me to during the week.
It was packed, but totally worth it. My cake-batter-and-Twix shake was so yummy. I can’t remember what point in the night it came up, but you suddenly mentioned a mission – that you were leaving on one.
“How old are you?” I asked.
“18.”
Wow. I had thought you were 23 the whole night! That was a bit of a shock. You requested to be called “the Situation,” so I’ll throw that out there as another nickname. Good luck on your mission. You’re a great kid and I’m excited for you.
To sum up the week, I was exhausted, impressed, and thinking way too much. I became acutely aware that all these guys had whole existences that I hadn’t been aware of. They’ve been living and breathing and thinking outside my realm of consciousness and now none of us will be the same.
You all have made impressions on me and there is no way I can un-know you now. I was intensely impressed with the caliber of these guys and all of them were second-date worthy. When stripped of pretense and formalities, these guys were just people trying to figure out the world the best they can.
The experience taught me one thing: when you can finally meet that person that is everything you want, everything you could ever want and everything you’ve ever wanted, that is the true miracle of this day and age. To quote the Beatles, love is all you need.
– k.vandyke@aggiemail.usu.edu