Harry Potter Boy: A Saga in Two Parts*
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 *I have a certain flair for the dramatic, no?
So I hadn't been doing this online dating thing for long, but a few weeks into my stint on eHarmony, I wasn't really loving it. For anyone who knows, you have to fill out a personality quiz (not quite as scary as I thought it would be with the whole 29 levels of compatibility thing from the commercials. Also, I actually like taking personality quizzes..aftermath of my psych major days, I guess. Gosh, this is turning into a rather long parenthetical aside).
Anyway, after the quiz and filling out your profile, matches are sent to you based on how compatible you are. Let's not even get into those days when you don't get any matches (SERIOUSLY - NOT A ONE?). But can you start talking with your potential soul mates yet? Oh heck no. If you like their profile, you get to go back and forth sending multiple choice questions (What do you do on a night out?), must-haves/can't stands, and then open-ended questions (Why are you on eHarmony?/What is wrong with you?).
Don't get me wrong, this is a pretty good way to weed out weirdos (OkCupid, I'm looking at you) and it helps spark conversation once you get to that point, but for someone impatient like me, it can get tedious.
So I'm halfway through this process with a guy, who I frankly wasn't too excited about. While he was cute and Irish (I have a thing), I wasn't getting much from his profile but thought I'd just give it a shot. But after letting it slip that I was going to the last Harry Potter movie at midnight in one of my responses, he sends me a really funny email with the subject line: "You had me at Harry Potter..." And with that HP boy was born!
We exchanged numbers, sent some flirty texts (he was good at this...bonus) and finally chatted on the phone. I happened to be at the grocery store at the time, so I wandered around aimlessly while trying to come off charming and witty (this required some intense concentration on my part). Guess it went alright, because we made plans for drinks later that week. (To be all cute, I texted him afterwards that I came home with the most random grocery store items because I was so distracted and he responded that he must owe me dinner then...I mean, do you see how good the text flirting was??)
We started our first date at Gilt Bar, which is right in my 'hood (great drinks, good food). He was cuter in person, preppy-ish, but was a *tad* shorter than me (I know, this is just something I'm going to have to deal with). There were a few awkward moments, as there always are during first dates, but conversation flowed pretty smoothly. I found out he's marathon training (this will be useful later), just moved from NYC, but really likes Chicago. I told him some fun things to do in the city, how I'm originally from Michigan and can't wait for college football. He then pronounced his love for SportsCenter, which I told him I could deal with, just as long as I can still have my reality TV - which then sparked a convo about our shared love/hatred of Jersey Shore. Ok, this is getting fun!
Things were going so well, we decided to drink some more at another one of my favorite spots - Sable. The place was pretty packed and the only two spots left to sit were at the end of a bench by a big group of guys. I went up and asked if we could share their table and they were really nice and obliging. As HP boy and I sat down to order drinks, I kept catching him staring at the guys we were sitting next to. Umm...kinda weird, but I didn't say anything.
He finally pulls me aside and whispers to me excitedly that we're sitting next to real, live BOSTON RED SOX PLAYERS. Unless you're an uber famous athlete, used to play for the Detroit Red Wings/Michigan Wolverines or are Denard Robinson, I will have no clue who you are. But HP boy, as a die-hard Yankees/baseball fan, was giddy like a kid at Christmas. He excitedly texts all of his friends (I let him because he was just being so darn cute about it) and I looked like the coolest person ever for taking him to a place where professional ballplayers hang out.
Not a bad first date, huh? That's what I thought, until for what happened next...
TO BE CONTINUED (dun dun dun)
Any good/horrible/funny first date stories from around the room? I mean, I practically wrote an entire novel above...do share :)
Reader Comments (2)
First, a guy who gives good text gets an extra 10 points in my book. But those can easily be lost if he's bad at in-person conversation. And Red Sox? JEALOUS.
Haha, I know - when does that even happen?? I'm thinking about just perma-hanging out at Sable to see if I can run into someone I actually recognize...you know, like Joseph Gordon-Levitt or George Clooney? #agirlcandream