Melissa
University involvement: Chi Alpha, club cross-country
Ideal date (person): Tall, athletic, good-looking
Ideal date (activity): My ideal date would consist of dinner and some fro-yo afterwards.
If you could date any celebrity it would be: Ryan Gosling — he’s tall, hot, has a six-pack and was amazing in “The Notebook.” He’s every girl’s dream guy.
Deal breakers: A guy who is seriously shorter than me — it would just be awkward.
Describe a typical weekend: During the weekends, I’m usually spending time with my friends. We typically grab dinner on the Corner one night, go out, sometimes we get a bigger group and go to the theater to see a new release. On some nice weekends, we go hiking up Humpback.
Hobbies: I love baking, scrapbooking and running.
If your dating life was a primetime or reality show, it would be: “Friends” — I’ve just always compared my life to “Friends,” I don’t really know why.
Brag about yourself — what makes you a good catch: I’m outgoing, talkative, engaging and athletic.
Describe yourself in one sentence: I’m a fun person who enjoys having a good time.
Brett
University Involvement: Second Year Council, Student Council Public Service Committee, Blueprint Peer Leader
Ideal date (person): Elegant, outgoing, full of life
Ideal date (activity): For a first date, getting coffee and having good conversation
If you could date any celebrity it would be: either Olivia Wilde or Leighton Meester
Deal Breakers: Unintelligent with no direction in life
Hobbies: Beach volleyball, tennis, running … does frozen yogurt count as a hobby?
If your dating life was a primetime or reality show, it would be: I’d hope something like “Arrested Development.”
Brag about yourself — what makes you a good catch: Earning potential, power and ungodly amount of charm
Describe yourself in one sentence: Yeah, buddy!
The date: Thursday, November 8, 7:45pm at Lemongrass
Melissa: I first wanted to do Love Connection to try to meet new people. When I told my close friends, they were really excited for me.
Brett: I just wanted to find love in a hopeless place. When I told my friends about it they all said it was about time. I also posted about it on Facebook and got 43 likes so I figured that was a good sign.
Melissa: I had never been on a blind date before so I didn’t really have any expectations. That’s how my grandparents met — on a blind date. My granddad was supposed to go out with my grandmom’s sister but she was sick so my grandmom filled in for her.
Brett: I think that blind dates are always novel. I left my expectations open, trusting in the pool of pretty good options at U.Va.
Melissa: I walked up to the Rotunda and there was only one person on the steps so I went up to him and awkwardly asked if he was Brett. Thankfully, it was him so I didn’t have to keep approaching random people.
Brett: I saw someone on a phone gliding down the Lawn in the dark towards me. I just said, “Melissa?” and heard, “Brett?” I figured that was her.
Melissa: I noticed right away that he was tall. He seemed really nice, and he was definitely well-dressed.
Brett: My first impression of her was that she was a nice girl, and I knew it was going to be a great night. I suggested a few places on the Corner, but slyly hinted at Lemongrass. Melissa said she hadn’t been there and wanted to try it. I was relieved; I’m there so often I was surprised the waiter didn’t know me.
Melissa: We went to Lemongrass, which I’d never been to but it was really, really good. I got the sesame ginger chicken at a four in spiciness. I probably could have done a six but I didn’t want to be sitting there sweating on the first date.
Brett: The conversation was really solid; it definitely wasn’t awkward at all. We talked about everything. School, hobbies, friends, the future, past romances. I found out that Melissa is a really great runner, definitely better than me!
Melissa: We talked about a lot of different things. I discovered that he’s from Illinois and that his mom is a schoolteacher. He went to a prep school and ran cross-country there, so we talked about that for a while. He also lived in Hereford last year, and I lived in Dillard, so we bonded over the fact that we had a painfully long walk to classes every day. We didn’t know any of the same people though, which was weird.
Brett: We were seated right next to the door at an uncomfortable, small table, despite open booths. But we all know how the hostesses at Lemongrass react to open seats at your table. Five minutes into our date an impeccably dressed couple strolled in and said, “We don’t sit at chairs, we don’t like them. We want a booth.” And guess who got a booth?
Melissa: There weren’t any awkward pauses in the conversation, which I was really thankful for. The conversation was pretty balanced between the two of us because we both wanted to keep it going.
Brett: I wasn’t sure if there was flirting going on or not — my impression of the flirting-or-just-friends dilemma wasn’t constant and could still be changing.
Melissa: I’m pretty sure it was just a friend vibe between us. If there was any flirting going on, I totally missed it.
Brett: Our date ended with streaking the Lawn — just kidding. We just said goodbye at the Corner. I would give the date either a 7 or an 8. I really enjoyed getting to know her, but my
food was a bit too spicy so I had to “take breaks” in the tempo of the conversation. Overall, it was a wonderful evening though; I wouldn’t have changed anything.
Melissa: We walked a little bit up the Corner and then just parted ways. I had a really good time — I would give it an 8 for great conversation, but I’m not sure if there was anything romantic there. I could definitely see us hanging out as friends again in the future though.
Update: Brett and Melissa are now Facebook friends, but as of now have not planned to hang out again in the future.
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