Avoid First Dates When Hung Over

Matt is a 6'3" lawyer. Very witty writing voice, comes from a fantastic Italian family, lives nearby… I am excited for this date. Apparently not excited enough to push away those final few tequila shots the night before though. Nope, like a college freshmen I get plastered Saturday night. Our date is Sunday at 2pm. When I wake up Sunday I am still mostly drunk, and with impaired judgment feel optimistic I can fly through this date with my best charm.

Not quite.

Strike one:
Aside from at least twice losing my train of thought mid-story, I also unintentionally insult him. “Yeah, I tend to get along better with people who weren’t born and raised in California”, I tell him. “Oh, why is that?” he asks. “I don’t mean to generalize and there certainly are exceptions to the rule, but California seems to be a bit more hedonistic. It’s an active and healthy lifestyle, which I love, but I don’t always find people with a lot of discipline and family values. So… where did you say you grew up again?” You know the answer. Cali-all-the-way-baby. Ouch.

Strike two:
We are talking about the movies nominated for the Academy Awards. He hasn’t seen “Doubt” yet and I proceed to tell him all about it. At which point he says, “Guess I don’t need to see that one any more”. Normally I may have caught on to something like that. Don’t they have a name for people who spoil movies for others? Yes they do – lame ass. That was me. The discussion about “Doubt” was an interesting and appropriate bridge in to religion. His profile says he is Catholic (which I didn’t hold against him). Once we both opened up about our perspectives on religion though, I would say he was Catholic and is now much more liberal. Thank God.

The final pitch…
Matt thankfully was determined to make it a good date. After our coffee, we waltz over to a store nearby, wandering around to find him a bottle of wine for a work party he’s attending later. On the walk he asks, “Are you sure you’re only 6’1”?” Ugh. Yes world, that is my height totally barefoot. He asks if I have ever dated someone shorter than me. Of course I have. I can’t get a feel as to whether this is a BIG GLARING FLASHING RED LIGHT hint that he isn’t interested, or if it was a fair question.

A week later, we are setting up a second lunch date. So for now, it looks as though I have avoided the strike out. Hope to redeem myself and make a better impression – he definitely made a positive impression on me. And I will stitch myself a mental note that this Raggedy Ann should never again show up hung-over for a first date. (Why didn’t my Mother ever teach me that?!)