David
Major?
Philosophy
What extracurriculars do you participate in?
I play stand-up bass in one of the small jazz ensembles and write music reviews for the Declaration. I used to write a comic for the Cav Daily, but have since been dismissed. I also play bass guitar in a D.C.-based rock band called Shoot Out the Lights.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I play, write and listen to a great deal of music. I enjoy socializing with a select group of close friends, which generally involves watching movies and/or a lot of yelling. I read when I have the time.
What are the physical and personality attributes you are looking for in a date?
She must be a she. She must be blessed with either a taste for sarcasm or a great deal of patience. Artistic inclinations are a must – she needs to care passionately about at least one medium. I’m not too picky about physical qualities, but a cute face is always a big plus.
What are your religious affiliations?
Atheist. Agnostic if I’m having an unusually good day.
What are your favorite movies?
“Brazil,” “The Godfather,” “The Apartment,” “Young Frankenstein” and “The Shining” all hover near the top of the list. More generally, I like Stanley Kubrick, the Coen Brothers and dramas from the 70’s where the protagonists either die or go insane at the end.
What music do you like (genres and bands)?
Rock ‘n’ roll, mostly. I can discern value in nearly every genre except Teen Pop, but I don’t really care for Hip-Hop, Death Metal or Modern Country. My current favorite bands include, but are not limited to, American Music Club, Wilco, R.E.M., TV on the Radio, Neko Case and Bruce Springsteen (1973 – 1980).
What’s your favorite food?
Pho, Peking Duck and other Asian foods.
What are your favorite books/authors?
I mostly like nonfiction – biographies, travel lit, popular science, that sort of thing. As far as authors are concerned, I like Bill Bryson, Hunter S. Thompson, and Ben MacIntyre a great deal.
Describe your ideal date (not person but outing)?
I’m pretty flexible on events – I like food, movies and many stereotypical date activities. I prefer something that gives me an opportunity to talk to and get to know the person in relative comfort and privacy, so I’m not a huge fan of nightclubs, frat parties and the like. No skating or dancing of any kind.
What are deal breakers (won’t date a smoker, height, age, etc.)?
No young-Earth creationists or anyone who might put a small dog in a handbag. Frequent cigarette smoking is not a plus. Anyone with any respect whatsoever for Ayn Rand is dead to me. I’m not incapable of getting along with hardcore conservatives, but it would probably lead to a fractious dating experience. Lastly, I’m 6’3”, so dating a short person might be awkward.
Do you smoke?
No.
Are you outgoing or shy?
I’m very loud but I value my privacy. You tell me.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I’ll either be a professional musician or destitute from years of trying to be a professional musician. Maybe a high-school teacher.
If you were a member of the circus, who would you be and why?
I would light the fuse on the Human Cannonball. I like causing a spectacle and it seems like I could still accomplish that without incurring the risk of actually being shot out of a cannon.
Mar
Major?
Architecture and Drama Minor
Sexual Orientation?
Straight
What extracurriculars do you participate in?
Live Arts scenic painter/builder, soccer, swing dance club, yoga
What do you like to do in your free time?
Play with my dog Slim, read, write poetry (new hobby), attempt playing my guitar, driving down old roads in Cville and getting lost, wineries, hikes and picnics
What are the physical and personality attributes you are looking for in a date?
Good sense of humor but not immature, can hold up in a conversation, outgoing, taller than me — open to pretty much anything other than that.
What are your religious affiliations?
None, though I believe there is something out there.
What are your favorite movies and actors?
“Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels,” “I Heart Huckabees,” “Juno,” “Empire Records” and all of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” films.
What music do you like (genres and bands)?
A lot of stuff. Some favorites are: Soul Coughing, Carbon Leaf, Radiohead, Garth Brooks, Nickel Creek and James Brown. Depends on how I’m feeling.
What’s your favorite food?
I love natural peanut butter and funky hometown diners.
What are your favorite books and authors?
I really love the poet Mary Oliver. I also dig some Jane Austen and “Stranger in a Strange Land.”
Describe your ideal date (not person but outing)?
Something unusual like disc golf at night (making up the holes as we go along) and then some crazy late dinner with a good bottle of cheap wine.
What are deal breakers (won’t date a smoker, age, etc.)?
I don’t want to date someone younger than me, though I might consider it. Oh, and if they make me feel stuffy around them — who wants that?
Do you smoke?
Yes and no. I don’t need to smoke, but I do have a hookah and will have a cigarette once in a while depending on who I’m with.
Are you outgoing or shy?
Very outgoing
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Either in a theater building sets or maybe in Ireland doing massage therapy.
If you were a member of the circus, who would you be and why?
Tight rope walker — it’d be so much fun! Every night going up there unsure if this is the night that sneeze from the audience throws off your balance and you fall to your death or you ignore it all as usual and walk gracefully across...you just never know what will happen. And I love their costumes!
The Date
David: I didn’t feel like I was that nervous. I did want to make a good impression because I’m slovenly and offensive by nature so I wore a button-down shirt and decided I was going to try not to swear nearly as much as I normally do. I don’t know, I didn’t feel that concerned just because we were either going to get along and it was going to be fun or it was going to be over in 45 minutes to an hour and I’d still get a free meal out of it.
Mary: For me, I wasn’t sure if he was going to be 21 or not so I actually had a beer before I left. I was a little nervous. I was thinking if he wasn’t 21 I wouldn’t want to drink in front of him because that’d be rude. So I had a beer before I left to calm my nerves. I was excited. My friend talked me into doing it so I had no idea what to expect. I was trying to figure out if I knew the David. I went through Facebook and my phone to see if any number matched the one I was given.
David: We met outside the Bank of America on the Corner. I was able to tell which one was her because there was only one person who was just sitting there and clearly waiting for someone or something. I would like the record to reflect, however, that just because she was there before me, I was not late. I was very punctual.
Mary: I got there a little early and there were quite a few people sitting around by themselves. I left his number at home so I was hoping he would just walk up to me. So he did, he just walked up to me and he just assumed it was me somehow and asked me if I was Mary. But there were five or six people just standing there looking like they were waiting for someone else, so he did a good job figuring out that was me. When I first saw him, I thought he was an Engineering student because I dated an engineer and he resembled him — just a taller version. So my first impression was “Oh no, an engineer, I already dated one of those.” Turned out he wasn’t. He was philosophy and history, so in no way engineering.
David: I try to be a sort of progressive, 21st-century male but I was happy to see, you know, that she was pretty. We started talking about where to go for dinner. We talked about Rev Soup for a minute but I said since Cav Daily was paying we might as well take them to the cleaners, so we decided on Basil. On the way over, we went through sort of the mechanical stuff: name, year, major, general interests.
Mary: My friend works at Basil and I wanted to go there because they have good food and my favorite beer there. So we talked about our favorite foods, what our majors were, what we’re doing after school. Just your basic, “Hi, my name is...” and all the credentials.
David: Once we got to the restaurant, first thing she did was order a beer that came in a bottle about a foot and a half tall, which was great because I’m always happy to meet someone with compatible vices. Turned out that we knew a number of similar people. She’s in the A-school, she’s in behind-the-scenes drama stuff and she’s in The Wash. I know a bunch of people involved in at least one of those in some capacity, so there was some common ground there.
Mary: It was really fun. It was a nice and relaxing dinner. He ordered a gyro, and I ordered a flat bread sandwich. I made sure we got baklava at the end. I love baklava so I had to have that. I don’t think he likes baklava too much. He did agree to get it but I don’t think he liked it. We talked about Brown College because he’s on the board of admitting people or something like that so he told me about all the entrance essays and how crazy it can get for people who really want to get into Brown. We talked about the ones who sent in their applications in glass bottles and things like that. We have a couple friends in common. I do theater, and his roommate is in theater.
David: The conversation was pretty good. It went beyond the sort of mechanical, boring sort of “What movies do you like? I listen to these bands” type of things. We talked about our families to a certain extent. She comes from a large family; mine’s relatively small but we’re both very close with our families. We talked about the phenomenon of annual family reunions. I told some stories about weirdo people from my high school or interesting characters in my band.
Mary: It was actually funny, we talked about — at least I brought up — awkward moments. You know those awkward pauses; we had those awkward moments when we were eating, so I kept apologizing for not saying anything, even when we were eating. It was cool to find out he was in a band. He wants to find out how to learn to play bass, so that’s cool. I don’t know a lot about music. I used to play piano but not anymore, so it was cool to hear about his band and stuff.
David: We had enough in common. You want someone to be a little bit different from you, otherwise you could just stay at home. The A-school and sort of the tech aspects of drama are definitely different from stuff that I do. I’m a philosophy major so I’m up to my ears in bulls*** half the time. I’m in rock and jazz bands so we’re both interested in art but different kind of art, which usually leads to some interesting points of comparisons.
Mary: I’m more into yoga and outdoor things: soccer, sports, that kind of stuff, and he’s more into music. It’s cool and everything. I swing dance, and we talked about how he plays jazz music and I swing dance to that. We didn’t have a lot in common, but it wasn’t bad. It was refreshing to hear about someone else’s interests instead of going on a date with someone with the exact same interests as me.
David: She didn’t seem to conform to any notable stereotype, which I think was something sort of implicit in my survey. I was looking for someone interesting and challenging and artistic enough that we’d have something in common, you know, an appreciation for sarcasm, but was not sort of a template.
Mary: We finished the baklava and then we went outside. I told him to Facebook friend me so we could go to 12th Street Tap House, so I don’t know if that’ll happen. I didn’t know if I should shake his hand or give him a hug, so I felt weird because I don’t know if people like hugs. I went to shake hands and he tried to give me a hug, so I felt so bad. I would say he was as really cool guy and I’d love to get to know him more and hang out sometime but I don’t know if he’s someone I’d necessarily want to date.
David: We’re talking about going to the Tap House Wednesday because I think they have $1 pints. I sent her a Facebook message earlier. In my defense, she said to get in touch with her over Facebook. I’m not doing that as a coward’s way out. I would give [the date] between a seven and an eight [out of 10]. I’d say it was better than neutral or even just sort of nice. If you say eight, it sort of sounds like you’re reading a lot into it, but seven seems a little bit low, so definitely a 7.5 seems fine.
Mary: I would say it was a 7.5 just because it was a really good date. He was a cool guy to hang out with, the conversation was good, I like the place we went to ... But I don’t necessarily know if I would ever go on another date. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to hang out. He’s a guy I could be really good friends with. I think just hanging out with other people and goofing around would be fun. I think seeing his band would be really cool, too.
David: I mentioned her name to one or two friends of mine in The Wash Society and they report that even if they didn’t know her personally, her presentations were impeccable.
Mary received the Facebook message but was too busy to go to the Tap House Wednesday night and had to take a rain check. They plan to get together again sometime soon.
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