Second Date

Two brunches with two dates in two days. You say that 10 times fast.

Went out with Elitistman today in the middle of an inconvenient near-monsoon in Manhattan.

Funny just how first impressions are often times correct.

I knew straight off the bat this would be a long. Painful. Date.

At the risk of sounding utterly shallow - and on the heels of dating handsome, clean-shaven, preppy and GQ-esque Bostonman - I admit I just wasn't attracted to Elitistman at first impression. About 200 corny/dry/sarcastic/over-my-head rambling jokes, a prosciutto panini and a cafe au lait later, I still just wasn't physically attracted to Elitistman.

So on we went - trekking down to Alphabet City amidst a rainstorm to begin our unplanned date.

"We can go here, or there, or just find a place."

While I welcome spontaneity, I also appreciate structure. And a plan.

He tells me I'm the second girl he's been out with thus far and that the first chick pretty much duped him with good looking profile pics (while in reality, she was overweight and "crazy").

Strike one.

While on a Match date, you do not talk about previous Match dates in detail. Needless to say, I didn't divulge the fact that I'm a near-veteran at this having gone out now with eight guys.

Then, knowing that I worked until 3 a.m. the night before, he asks me at least four times if I'm "too tired" to walk around. Not considered a strike, but annoying enough to be a foul.

It wasn't a terrible date by definition - just wasn't my type of date. Elitistman has shown me that I don't like guys who come off as being overly nervous, or those who seem to forcibly ask questions just to fill silence. Or those who order their panini sans bacon.

Is that mean?

Thus, the beauty of Match is reaffirmed. I thought about this while on today's date: the option of selectivity is a luxury. A beautiful luxury that the scientific algorithm behind eHarmony could never provide.

Am I superficial? One could say yes. If I can choose who I meet on Match simply based on how tall they are and what eye color they have, then I also have the right to be brutally selective in whom I see again if I wasn't selective enough the first time.

Elitistman sends me a lengthy text as I'm driving home - at 2 a.m. "It was really nice meeting you today, I hope you felt the same way. I look forward to seeing you again." Then cracks a joke about being a "downie" (his lingo for "being slow" - grimace).

I'm conflicted. I naturally don't want to respond to avoid the whole "I just wasn't feeling it, but we can be friends" scenario. Because I'd feel badly. So I'm not sure how I'll answer just yet.

At least having back-to-back dates on the opposite ends of the spectrum helped me see just how - and why - I feel Bostonman and I hit it off from first impression to last, and how Elitistman and I just, well, didn't. According to me, at least.

I quote Jay-Z: "On to the next one."