Charlie's Take

[Hey guys, this post and Meeting Charlie go together, so if you're reading them, please read Meeting Charlie first. It'll make more sense.] - Alice

I think I can honestly say that this is the first blind date I have ever done. On top of a first blind date, I was meeting her AND her family at the same time. Regardless, it was an experience I was looking forward to. Sort of like how Brad Pitt says, “How much can you know about yourself, if you've never been in a fight?” in Fight Club. It can be fun to have a challenge. Upon meeting some of her family and one of her friends (whom we will talk about shortly), I finally got to meet Alice for the first time. I have to admit, I did a little fist pump in my mind upon seeing her for the first time. She looked very nice. It was a huge relief to know my blind date was pretty after all the wait and anticipation.


As we headed to our activity for the evening (glow in the dark putt putt), the date took an unexpected twist. Alice tells me that she kinda has a boyfriend, and not only that, but I shook his hand back at the house (that’s right, the friend back at the house I met, was actually her boyfriend). Wow. Totally wasn’t expecting that. I didn’t know that it was even possible to be put in the friend zone 5 minutes into a date (or better yet, before the date even started…that has to be some record, can someone look into that for me?). Honestly though, despite the news, it wouldn’t have changed anything on my end for the date. I would have said the exact same things and done the exact same things regardless if she was single or not. Now, some would argue that I should have cut the date off there, or not paid for anything, or should be upset that this would have been information to know before hand, or that Alice should have cancelled the date. Maybe. But you know, I didn’t look at it that way. In fact, I wasn’t even that distraught over the news. I knew Alice’s intentions for this dating project and she knew that I knew. I think we both understood where the other was coming from, and both at least wanted to meet each other, single or not. Also, the way Alice delivered the information was done appropriately, so again, it really wasn’t as bad as it may seem on paper. In fact, we joked about it for the rest of the night.




Despite that twist, I felt we had a great night. On my end, it couldn’t have gone any better. I had a lot of fun putt-putting with Alice. Not only the activity, but she conversed well. She asked me about what I do at school, what my strong interests were, but then also wanted to know about them. It was genuine conversation. She listened, she asked questions, and didn’t make everything about her, which was really refreshing. On top of this, she laughed at my jokes, she had some interesting things to say herself, and overall was just a very fun person to be around. She was laid back (much like myself), charming, funny, and not to shabby at putt-putting.

We went to Carrabba’s for dinner, where the magic continued. We agreed on a meal to split, but then on top of it, without me saying anything, Alice nailed the exact sides that I would have picked. This was only a theme for the rest of the conversation at dinner. I feel like we were on the same page for just about everything. Again, there was smiling, laughter, interest, and genuine fun. If anything, I maybe bored her with the technical details of my research that I am conducting, but aside from that, it was fantastic.

From Alice’s end, she really couldn’t have been a better date. She was cute, charming, funny, laid back, smart, and yet surprisingly real. What I mean by real is she seemed like she was really being herself. Chris Rock once said “When you date…have you ever noticed when you meet somebody for the first time, you’re not meeting them. You’re meeting their “representative”. Then after about 3 months you meet the REAL Candidate.” With Alice, I felt like I met more of the real “candidate” than the “representative”. For example, she didn’t hold back on a curse word or two. Most women would try to be on their “best behavior” on a date, but Alice was just herself, a gal who probably swears just like the rest of us. I like that.

I originally commented on this blog months ago to commend Alice for her guts for this whole dating project. From a male who has shared some similar life feelings on this whole dating game we play, I thought it was a really cool thing to go into it with no fear. Now that she has accomplished her goal in some sense of finding a significant other, I’m glad it worked out for her. Now, from what I understand, her relationship with her boyfriend actually didn’t have much to do with this blog, but the fact that she still did it and now is where she kinda wanted to be, I think is cool. I don’t know what her future with this blog is going to be, but from my end, I’m genuinely happy for her and wish her nothing but the best of luck with her relationship. And I am glad I now have a new awesome friend and a great story to tell of the time I had a blind date with a girl with a boyfriend, and still managed to have a great time.