Apple polishing: No seeds of love for NYC'ers

Take a deep whiff. Can you smell it? It's love in the air! With Valentine's Day just around the corner, love is on many people's minds.

This week's challengers were no exception. Dan, a 28-year-old grad student, reads extensively– history, philosophy, literature, and politics top his list. Before arriving in Charlottesville for school, he lived in NYC while working for a nonprofit that places talented minority students in private schools throughout the City. For the past year, he was abroad doing research, but now that he's back he's ready to live on the edge and hopes to find someone "curious and funny." Bonus points, he says, for someone with "quirky, eccentric tastes, talents, and interests."

Twenty-two-year-old Cat seemed to fit the bill. She, too, spent time in the Big Apple– four years to be precise– earning her bachelor's degree from Columbia. She loves travel, reading, and music and says she's a "science nerd deep down."

Will these two harness the love electrons that bounce through the air during early February, or will their opposite charges repel?

 

The date

 Dan and Cat met at the newly opened Fellini's #9 on Second Street.

 

Did you do anything out of the ordinary before the date, to plan for it?

 Dan: No.

Cat: I knew I wouldn't have a chance to go home before the date, so I brought my toothbrush and toothpaste to work so I could brush before dinner.

 

Were you 1st or 2nd to arrive?

 Dan: Despite being on time, I was the second person to arrive.

Cat: I was first.

 

Were you nervous?

 Dan: No. You're going to have a free dinner with someone you don't know– how bad can it be? At a minimum you can hope it will be funny.

Cat: A tad, but not really.

 

First impression?

Dan: Cat was very nice, cheerful, and upbeat. She seemed a little nervous, but I couldn't really tell.

Cat: I thought he was nicely dressed and looked put together. He was very talkative right from the start, which is always nice!

 

What was your date wearing?

 Dan: A light-colored blouse made of a thin fabric with a plain shirt underneath. Cat had on large, white, dangly earrings shaped like seashells, and a round dark pendant– a stone of some kind, I think. She wore her hair straight back, pulled tightly against her head in a small ponytail.

Cat: Nice jeans, dark sweater, brown shoes. He was definitely well dressed, and I could tell that he used to live in NYC!

 

Would you say this person was your type?

Dan: I don't really have a type, but I'd say no, not really.

Cat: Unfortunately, he wasn't really my type.

 

What did you order?

Dan: She had white wine, and I had two glasses of red with dinner. We shared the antipasti platter as an appetizer. We both had the tomato and mozzarella salad, while she had a vegetarian style pasta dish, and I had crab ravioli with a vodka sauce. Her portion was very large, and she ended up taking a good bit of it home. We split a tiramisu for dessert.

 

What did you talk about?

 Dan: We talked mostly about our backgrounds, interests, current occupations, and the like.

Cat: We talked about families, politics, what he's writing his thesis on, what my job is. We talked a lot about NYC since I just graduated from school up there and he lived there for a few years before moving to Charlottesville.

 

Did you have a lot in common?

Dan: A fair amount. We've both lived in NYC and share a common ethnic heritage. We also both enjoy skiing.

Cat: I wouldn't say we had a ton in common. We definitely had lots to talk about, especially experiences in NYC.

 

What did you find out that was interesting about this person?

 Dan: Her commitment to her work. She seemed passionate about using her engineering skills to improve the environment in ways that are business-savvy.

Cat: That he went to the first two years of high school in Puerto Rico.

 

Was there anything you really disliked?

Dan: No. Cat is a very nice, plain-spoken, and well-mannered woman.

Cat: No.

 

Did your date do anything that impressed you?

Dan: Again, I thought her work was very interesting. I was impressed that she had the gumption to move to Charlottesville alone right after college rather than stay in the Northeast where she has family and friends.

Cat: Well, Dan actually had heard of my hometown without being from the area! And he speaks both French and Spanish– I always think it's great when people are fluent in other languages.

 

Was there "chemistry" between you?

Dan: No.

Cat: I didn't think so.

 

How did dinner end?

 Dan: We paid the tab for the drinks and the tip and left.

Cat: We finished up dessert and chatted for a bit. I had a crazy week, though, and was really exhausted and just needed to go home and get some sleep!

 

What was the very end like?

 Dan: We walked to her car, as it was on the way to my apartment.

Cat: Dan walked me to my car.

 

A hug? A kiss?

 Dan: A friendly hug

Cat: Just a hug– a bit difficult, though, since he's over 6' and I'm only 5' 2"!

 

Darn– Matchmaker was hoping to use the line, "Guess the Cat got your tongue!"

 

Did you have fun?

 Dan: It was a pleasant evening.

Cat: Overall I had a good time.

 

Would you see this person again?

 Dan: No.

Cat: If I see him out, I'll definitely go over and say hi.

 

Overall date experience?

 Dan: It was a fine dinner conversation between two people who don't know each other.

Cat: Blind dates are always risky because they can turn out to be horrible, but this one was very pleasant. The food was good, the conversation flowed freely, and overall I had a good time even though I don't see anything more happening with Dan

 

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the date?

 Dan: 5

Cat: 7

 

Perhaps it's fitting that this week's challengers didn't find love– after all, the theme of the issue is Love Hurts. At least this date wasn't painful...– MM

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