Brian
Year: First
Major: Undecided, possibly Music, German or Media Studies
Hometown: Charlottesville
Ideal Date: Creative people with interesting minds are very attractive. I’m not very into wild partying and I’m not a drinker, so I would hope that she’s not terrible wild.
What makes you a good catch? I’m very creative and artistic and I am a fantastic baker and amateur chef. I made a solemn promise to be the nicest person that I could possible be, and I keep my promises.
Favorite pick-up line: “Hey baby, I was chicken you out from across the room, and dayum grill, you are barbeCUTE! You are seriously on fire!”
Catherine
Year: First
Major: Undecided but leaning towards Philosophy or English
Hometown: Richmond
Ideal Date: Funny, quirky, athletic, but intellectually inclined and politically aware
What makes you a good catch? I’m down to earth and like to have deep conversations. I’m interested in a lot of different things, so it’s easy to find common ground with me. I’m definitely a compassionate person.
Favorite pick-up line: “Can I have yo numba? Can I have it? Can I? Can I?”
Brian and Catherine met at the Rotunda at 7 p.m. and went to Revolutionary Soup.
Brian: I’ve never been on a date before in my life. All my attempts to ask people out never resulted in anything, so I decided to fill out the survey and see if dating is a magical experience that will change my life.
Catherine: When I found out that I was chosen, I was sort of hesitant, but I thought I would go for it and see what happened. When I told my friends about it they were excited to see what happened.
Brian: I was nervous for the date. I waved my expectations out of my head because I thought it would be better. Expectations can make or break something.
Catherine: I had been on a couple blind dates before but not one where I couldn’t look them up on Facebook. One of my previous blind dates went well, but I didn’t know how this one would go.
Brian: I got to the Rotunda about 10 minutes early. I sat there and enjoyed the view of the Lawn and the cool air. She arrived about five to six minutes early.
Catherine: He was standing at the top of the steps waiting for me. I asked if he was Brian and he said, “Yes, you must be Catherine.”
Brian: She was really pretty. The best part of the date was seeing her for the first time. I was a little nervous so it was awkward I think. We had some lines of small talk and then decided to go to Rev Soup.
Catherine: From my first impression, I kind of knew that it wasn’t going to go well. He was very formal when he talked, and we seemed very different.
Brian: I felt like she wasn’t taking it seriously from the beginning. She shot down all of my conversation starters, which was pretty awkward.
Catherine: He asked me if I had anything I wanted to do and I said no so then we decided to get soup. On the way over there he almost got hit by a car. We were at a crosswalk, and the car didn’t stop until it nearly hit him. Then he told me that he wasn’t afraid of death.
Brian: When we got to dinner we talked about pretty typical stuff like sports, hobbies, music and our potential majors. The conversation was pretty stop-and-start. She didn’t seem very enthusiastic.
Catherine: We didn’t really have much in common. He had never been on a date before, and he didn’t even know what rush was.
Brian: I felt like I was doing most of the talking. I tried to ratchet it down to give her a chance to speak, but that just resulted in more silence.
Catherine: Conversation was stilted. He told a lot of puns which I didn’t really get, and he asked me about my SAT scores, which made me slightly uncomfortable. I told him my critical reasoning and writing scores, but I didn’t ask him about his.
Brian: Both of us being first-years was pretty much the only thing we had in common. She’s a horseback rider, and I play tennis — so I suggested we play tennis on horseback. That didn’t go over too well.
Catherine: I couldn’t really tell if he was trying to flirt, but I don’t think so. I wasn’t trying to.
Brian: I tried to flirt a couple times, but I know nothing about flirting so it probably didn’t come off as flirting anyway. I didn’t sense any from her — it seemed like she was just going through the motions of a date and not really into it.
Catherine: Once he finished his food we talked for about five minutes, and then I asked if he wanted to leave. I said I had to meet up with a friend, and we shook hands.
Brian: I studied handshaking technique for a little while. You should put your right foot first and then move it to give off an impression of power. Typically, right-handed people are more favored by society.
Catherine: I would give the date a five. He seems like a nice guy, but I have no interest in pursuing him romantically. The food was really good though and he paid for my meal, which was really nice.
Brian: My heart wants to rate the date a seven, but I have to give it a six. There wasn’t any warmth or feeling, but it was slightly better than average. It’s very unlikely that we’ll speak again.
Catherine: We didn’t exchange numbers; I tried to look him up on Facebook, but I don’t think he has one. I would probably wave if we passed each other and be friendly, but I don’t want to continue seeing him.
Brian: I feel like dating is a learning experience and this didn’t go terribly badly. If I saw her again, I think we would say “hi” and keep walking, which is better than her attacking me because she had a totally horrible time.