Rate-A-Date: Marc in Open Diary 2001-2018 (Pre-Prosebox)

I’m so behind. I had a date on Thursday. This is the guy my old nabe (Julie) has been trying to set me up with for a while.

Name: Marc

Age: Not sure. Guessing somewhere between 35 and 40

Relationship Status: Hmmm. Not sure there either. I’m guessing never married. I’m pretty sure he’s not in another relationship right now. The topic never came up in convo.

Occupation: Art Director for a large publishing company.

Length of date: Long enough for me to down two martinis and get a little buzzed.

We met: Right after work at this hip little joint in the arts district.

I wore: What I’d worn to work: jeans, a Chinese-inspired jacket, boots…..topped with my cute floral printed rain jacket and coordinating umbrella (it was raining pretty hard).

He wore: Standard business casual uniform: nice black slacks and a dark blue (iridescent) dress shirt, no tie. The shoes were fairly square-toed and shiny.

We did: Cocktails and conversation.

Convo: Very businesslike. I guess that’s okay considering I sort of aimed in that direction anyway. I’d had a bad week, and he was prepping for a big meeting the next day. We discussed how our jobs are a lot alike. We have a couple of the same connections and use some of the same sources. He’s super smart, very well read, and extremely well spoken. I was intimidated, but faked my way through okay, I guess.

Part of personality I liked: He’s quick-witted and extremely complementary. He notices small details that most people wouldn’t. That can be good and bad, but I took it as a positive.

Part of personality I disliked: This is weird, but he kept saying things in an effort to make sure I know he’s not gay. Like, he was thumbing through a local gay publication when I first walked into the place and then immediately threw it down when he saw me and made up some excuse for looking at it…said he’d never read it before…hm. Why would he have to make such excuses and go to so much effort?

Part of appearance I liked: Nice lips. Oh, and tall.

Part of appearance I disliked: I don’t know. His hair is thinning. Big deal.

Highest Point: When the martini kicked in (is that bad?)

Lowest Point: I guess just general nervousness.

How it ended: He started to walk me to my car, and we both noticed a new restaurant had opened up across the street. We decided to walk over there and check it out. Really cool looking. The staff welcomed us and walked us through the place. Marc asked about the chef, and we both decided that it would be a great place for another date. Then he walked me back to my car. I thanked him and we parted ways…no hug, no kiss, no handshake. Eh.

Chances I’ll see him again: I definitely want to see him again. He’s already sent me an e-mail telling me that he was so nervous about our date that he felt like a little kid. I think that’s kind of charming, but also leads me to believe he doesn’t date much. I like him. He’s nice. And smart. And successful. But I’m interested in seeing another side of him. Is he fun? But then again, can I be “fun” around him? I don’t know. I want to find out. So. I’m 90% sure I’ll see him again.

Date Update This morning Julie forwarded me an e-mail that he sent her. She is laughing about how eighth grade this is. His note:

”Just wanted to say thank you again for getting [Ginger] and I in touch. We finally had a chance to get together last night – you’re right, what a fun and cool person. Very sharp. Surprisingly, it seems like our jobs are fairly similar, just vastly different products. Anyway, had a good time, though I think I was a bit nervous, so I probably seemed like a big goof, what’s new. Anyway, curious if you heard anything? Love to hear.”