Russell in Open Diary 2001-2018 (Pre-Prosebox)

Even though I’m no longer on that internet personals site, I’m still going out! Here’s a recap of my Saturday night:

Name: Russell

Age: 40-something

Occupation: CFO for well-known company that I’m not going to post here.

We met: For dinner/drinks at this incredible Mexican place I’d never been. It’s actually a very well known place, and it’s very close to where I live. It’s got this really cool house-like interior that goes on and on and on. Dimly lit with lots of dark wood molding and giant framed mirrors and gorgeous cut-glass lanterns and jam packed full of people. This dating thing makes me realize that there are a lot of places in this city that I haven’t ever experienced! If nothing else, I’m expanding my horizons!

We did: Wound our way through three different bars and found a spot in the cigar lounge. * cough * It was the only place that had seats! I don’t really mind smoke all that much, being an ex-smoker. In fact, I sometimes like the smell of a good cigar. And I loooooovvvee the smell of pipe tobacco, though no one was smoking a pipe, I just thought I’d mention that fact. After drinks, we had a delightful dinner complete with special coffee drinks. In fact, we had coffee after coffee. He wanted to go someplace else, but I didn’t want to move. He obliged and we talked until the place closed and they had to kick us out!

Convo: His first words to me: “Wow, you’re a tall drink of water, aren’t you?” Wasn’t real sure how to take that. But soon after that, the conversation flowed. We talked about everything. Simply everything. From work to travel to vacations. Local hangouts and landmarks. Buying property and renovating old houses. The internet personals and each of our experiences. Parents. Children. Exes. On and on and on…

Part of personality I liked: A true people person. Extremely easy to talk to/with. Very humble. A gentleman through and through.

Part of personality I disliked: Hard to believe because he has such a powerful position, but he seems really insecure. I mean, as far as the whole dating thing goes. I had a sneaking suspicion that he was going to be that way by the tone of his e-mails. Kept telling me not to worry, that we would have a great time…not to dread meeting him, that he would make sure that everything went smoothly. Strange.

Part of appearance I liked: So well put together and classy in that casual, denim-y kind of way. Gray hair (I find that fascinating since I rarely go out with older men). Glasses. Cleft chin. Very smart-looking.

Part of appearance I disliked: A tad short. Yep, back to that. I didn’t mind it in Theo, because that’s part of the attraction for some reason. But for Russel to be short kind of bothered me. Even still, he was slightly taller than me.

Highest Point: When he complemented me on my beautiful smile and perfect teeth!!! Oh my God, if he only knew about my TEEF issues!!

Lowest Point: When all sorts of red flags went up regarding the fact that he shares custody of his dog with his ex-wife!! That’s exactly what LDL did when he lived here, and it turned into a major problem. That, and his taxidermy. Don’t even get me started on that one. I don’t really want to get into that. Let’s just say that the two of those issues combined comprise a dealbreaker.

How it ended: The place closed! That’s right! Once again, I shut the place down on a date! I guess that’s a good sign. Means I’m having fun! We both needed to get our cars from the valet. He took care of everything. Very nice. Sent me a note when I got home thanking me for meeting him. Suggested that we meet again.

Chances I’ll see him again: We’ll see. No sparks, but I think I’d like to see him again just because. I don’t want to date him, but he’s so well connected and he could get me in touch with some financial/real estate people to help me look for a house! Plus, I really did enjoy our conversation even though it took some unexpected twists and turns. I guess that’s what keeps it interesting, right?