Katie
Major: History and American Studies
Year: Fourth
U.Va. involvement: Sigma Delta Tau Sorority, Take-It-Away employee
Spirit animal: Honey Badger
Ideal date (person): Attractive, cool, interesting quirks
Ideal date (activity): I love live music and food, so maybe a concert and dinner somewhere downtown.
If you could date any celebrity it would be: Christina Hendricks. Let’s be real, who wouldn’t switch teams for her? Or Joe Harris — because he’s a celebrity, right?
Deal breakers: Liking Nickelback. STDs. Obesity. You know, the normal ones.
Describe a typical weekend: I’m a part-time student, so my weekend starts at 9:20 a.m. on Thursdays. I work at Take-It-Away, so I usually work one or two days there. I go out a lot and spend the rest of my weekend trying to recover.
Hobbies: Chillin’ out, maxin’, relaxin’ all cool. I don’t shoot b-ball outside of the school though.
If your dating life were a primetime or reality show, it would be: “Gator Boys.”
Have you ever streaked the Lawn? I did it the first weekend of my first year. A stranger yelled at me that I have nice boobs.
Brag about yourself. What makes you a good catch? I’m smart, I make good sandwiches and, according to the aforementioned stranger, I have nice boobs.
Describe yourself in one sentence: Smart, funny, looking for a honey, bad at being punny.
Kenny
Major: Civil Engineer
Year: Fourth
U.Va. involvement: Racquetball club, ASCE, Climbing Team
Spirit animal: Wolf
Ideal date (person): Someone who likes trying new things, being outdoors, is at least somewhat athletic and not afraid to be herself
Ideal date (activity): Hiking
If you could date any celebrity it would be: Kristy Lee Cook
Deal breakers: Smoking, lazy, untrustworthy
Describe a typical weekend: Watching movies, playing outside, swimming/hot-tubbing, hanging out with friends, riding four-wheelers
Hobbies: Running, hockey, racquetball, hiking — pretty much anything outside.
If your dating life were a primetime or reality show, it would be: “How I Met Your Mother”
Have you ever streaked the Lawn? Nope.
Brag about yourself. What makes you a good catch? I’m smart, athletic, nice, trustworthy, responsible, neat, a good cook and respectful.
Describe yourself in one sentence: I like trying just about anything and love spending time outside.
The Date: 7:15 p.m. at the Virginian
Katie: I decided to apply to Love Connection because my best friend got picked to do it earlier this year and her date was really funny. Also, when I was a copy editor for The Cavalier Daily, I used to edit Love Connection. I always found it interesting.
Kenny: I applied because one of my friends told me to do it, but I was excited when I found out I had [actually] been chosen.
Katie: I thought it was so funny I was selected, but then, when I went back and read the survey I submitted, [I] realized how bizarre my answers were and got kind of worried.
Kenny: I had never been on a blind date before. I was expecting it to be really awkward, but it wasn’t.
Katie: I got there first and ran into one of my friends while I was waiting for him. I was still talking to my friend when Kenny walked up, but because I was the only girl at the Rotunda I was pretty easy to find.
Kenny: She was talking to someone else when I got there, but my first impression was good. She seemed very nice.
Katie: When I first saw him, I thought he seemed nice and cute. [There was alliteration with] our names, which was cool.
Kenny: She suggested the Virginian. I had only been once before, but it seemed like a good option to me.
Katie: I’m up for a Virginian Elite, so basically I have to go to the Virginian as many times as I can this week in order to win. The competition started yesterday, and I’ve already been twice — it seemed like the perfect restaurant choice to me.
Kenny: During dinner, we talked about a lot of different things — hunting, gun control, our internships for the summer. We found out we’re both about to graduate and aren’t really sure what we’re going to do next year.
Katie: In general, we talked about pretty random things. He’s from Madison County and my [grandma] lives kind of near to him. I learned he shoots all the meat he eats. We didn’t have much in common, but that made it more interesting.
Kenny: The conversation was pretty balanced. I didn’t feel like either of us was doing more talking than the other.
Katie: Everything flowed relatively well. It got a little awkward trying to keep the conversation going while we were eating, but that usually happens on dates.
Kenny: It was a little too loud in the restaurant, but overall I think it went well.
Katie: A bunch of my friends came in at different points during the date. I think they were trying to stalk [us], but I’m not sure if he noticed. After dinner, we sat and talked for a few minutes before I had to go to a meeting.
Kenny: I would rate the date an 8. I had a really good time, but I’m not sure if there was any romantic possibility there.
Katie: I had fun, but there just wasn’t a spark. Overall, I would rate the date a 7. It was nice to be able to meet someone new.
Update: Kenny and Katie have not yet made plans for a second date.
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