Dan
Major: Environmental science
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pa.
University involvement: Club triathlon, a couple semesters of Madison house service, IM sports, ummm, class?
Hobbies: I do triathlons and I like weight lifting. I have been trying to learn guitar but that has been going slow.
Describe a typical weekend: Gym and random stuff with friends during the day, usually out at night, and then serious about homework on Sundays
If your dating life was a primetime or reality show, what would it be?: Probably a mix of "Blue Mountain State" and "Dexter", with a bit of "Fear Factor."
Ideal date (person): I like a girl who's going to be fun to be around and who doesn't worry too much about what other people think. Funny is good.
Ideal date (activity): Something active, like a hike or a walk somewhere; I've played tennis on a date before which worked out well.
If you could date any celebrity, who would it be?: Emmanuelle Chriqui
Deal breakers?: I really don't like high-maintenance girls.
Brag about yourself - what makes you a good catch?: I like to think I'm a nice guy, and I try to make a girl laugh and have a good time.
Describe yourself in one sentence: Looks, smarts and abilities aren't everything, but I have them all anyway.
Bethany
Hometown: Warrenton, Va.
University involvement: As a U.Va. student I feel I shouldn't so flatly admit this, but I'm going to - I'm not really involved. I mean, I volunteer at the community garden, I did a semester with Migrant
Aid and I have an on-Grounds job in Clemons. But, I am inherently lazy, and I'm probably going to stay that way.
Hobbies: I make time to jog every day. I'm planning on being able to complete an Ironman in, like, 10 years from now. I also run an online store selling cheap little handmade earrings. When I really have free time, like, over breaks, I love to go traveling, volunteer on organic farms, cook and do dumb Fauquier County stuff with my friends.
Describe a typical weekend: I wish I could say that my weekends are cooler than they actually are. I usually go out and party with friends on Friday nights. Then I spend Saturday sleeping and avoiding text messages so I can spend the whole night getting homework done until I find myself eating Ramen with my hands at 2 a.m. while watching re-runs of "The Colbert Report." Sundays are for complaining about the upcoming Monday.
Ideal date (person): Physically I'd like to say slightly taller than me but, as I'm 6 feet, I realize that may be asking for too much. So, let's just say "not a dwarf." Other than that I'd like someone who's laid back, easy to talk to, with a big laugh and a great sense of humor.
Ideal date (activity): Outdoors. Walkin' around. People watchin'. Maybe ending up at the Tea Bazaar. Maybe not.\nIf you could date any celebrity, who would it be?: Mike Chang. Duh.
Deal breakers?: Being disinterested, unfunny or overly Republican.
Brag about yourself - what makes you a good catch?: I'm smart. I'm relatively funny. I don't smell that bad, and I can be pretty if I want to be.
Describe yourself in one sentence: I wouldn't want to be stranded on a desert island with me.
Dan: I filled out the Love Connection survey because my friend Ari and I thought it would be fun. He wants to set up our whole apartment. I probably wouldn't have done it if he hadn't encouraged me.
Bethany: I filled out the survey because my friend Alie told me to. It sounded like something fun to do, [and] why the hell not? I'm bored sometimes.
Dan: I was excited when I found out I was chosen. I thought it was going to be a fun time whether I liked the girl or not. I told a couple of my close friends, and they were like, "I can't wait to read it."
Bethany: It took a very long time for me to get chosen for a date, so I was glad that I hadn't been rejected from a blind dating website because that was my assumption for three months.
Dan: I showed up 20 minutes early, since I wanted to be gentlemanly. I actually asked some random girl who was standing around if she was Bethany, and she was like, "No, sorry." Then Bethany came in right away and was like, "Are you Dan?" I thought it was going to be somebody else, because I know someone named Bethany, and it's not that common of a name.
Bethany: Before the date, my friend called me and said she needed me to rescue her from a dinner right away, so I rushed and put on yoga pants and snow boots, and slapped some makeup on. I ended up going straight to the date in my yoga pants and showed up a couple minutes late. I immediately admitted to him that I stalked him; I regurgitated a summary of himself to him.
Dan: When she got there, we just kind of started walking and were like, "Okay, let's go." At first, I didn't really have a reaction. She's not what I usually go for, but there wasn't any initial awkwardness.
Bethany: I don't know if I had a first impression. I just hadn't allowed any judgments to happen yet. I didn't have any expectations; I was just hoping he wasn't a U.Va. douche and hoping that he wouldn't be awkward, because we've all been on awkward dates. I had no idea what to expect. He was not my type, and we discussed how we probably don't hang out with the same crowd of people, but that doesn't mean it was negative.
Dan: I had decided that I either wanted to go to the mall and get sushi, or go for a fun date, so I asked if she wanted to go bowling. She chose bowling and said that she was terrible. I was like, "I'm sure we'll have a good time despite that."
Bethany: I appreciated that he had options, because I'm really indecisive so that was nice. We started walking to his car, and just started talking, which worked out for several hours.
Dan: We just started talking about normal intro stuff: what's your major, how do you like U.Va., that type of thing. She's a Spanish major, and I've been to Spain, so we talked about that. I'd say the conversation was pretty balanced, [although] maybe I was talking a little more. She was chill and didn't seem uncomfortable, unless she was an excellent actress.
Bethany: We both really like to travel, so the first part of our conversation was about different travel experiences. We talked about my rat that I got from the SPCA and about [Dan's] ... multi-racial family. He has a black stepbrother and a Vietnamese stepsister who is the same age as Lily from "Modern Family" and whose name is Lily.
Dan: She told me she had a pet rat, and I told her to her face, "I'm not a fan of that." My little sister has rats, and I was like, "Ugh, they're foul." She and I both like to travel, and I'm sure there was other stuff we had in common. We have similar views on certain things that we talked about, but I can't think of specifics.
Bethany: He also admitted to secretly being a hippie. Under the perfect, straight-laced U.Va. kid image, he has some liberal tendencies. I'm definitely not a type-A personality, so we don't have that in common. I'm an art major, to put it that way.
Dan: I think I beat her at bowling, but I definitely made sure to keep it close. She wasn't bad though, we had a good time and got a couple drinks. We were at the bowling alley for a while, like two and a half hours. We would stop and get a drink and go back, but I had to drive so I couldn't really drink. After that, it was getting late, so I said maybe we should get going, and I drove her home.
Bethany: He drove me home and told me to Facebook friend him. Afterwards, he went to bars and I went to a party. I didn't feel like there was any flirting going on; it was more of a friend vibe. I'd hang out with him, but I can't think of what excuse we'd have to see each other again. The chances of us running into each other are very slim.
Dan: She Facebook messaged me and I gave her my number. I could see myself hanging out with her as a friend. We definitely wouldn't run into each other since we don't really have any mutual friends according to Facebook.
Bethany: The date was good. We got along and there was no awkwardness, and that's a lot to hope for on a blind date. I don't really know how to rate something like that when there was no chemistry. What did he say? Put that.
Dan: I'd give the date a 7 or 8. I didn't think I was extremely attracted, but we had a good time, so I call that a winner. I'd go on a blind date again.
Despite their differences, Dan and Bethany have discussed seeing each other again to watch "Bridesmaids," which Bethany tried to convince Dan was a good chick flick for guys. He reported this to his roommate, who promptly told him that it was not true.
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