Key Takeaways: Maybe blind dates aren’t so bad after all
Vitals:
Name: Tom, because he is an actor and also it’s a tribute to our national treasure: Tom Hanks. Tom the icon, if you are reading this, I hope you and Rita recover from the COVID-19 ASAP. If you need a personal caretaker, I’m ready to fall on that sword.
Length of date: 1.5 hours
How the date was obtained: set up by a mutual friend!
Where: Blu Jam Café (on Melrose)
This was my first blind date EVER. I don’t love the idea of blind dates for obvious reasons: how will you identify the person when you show up to the date? What if they have a weird toupee? What if they don’t have teeth? Things like that…
But when a friend offered to set me up on a blind date, I said yes. I was confident that this friend wouldn’t let me go out with a toothless man. The only information I was given about Tom was his name, that he had brown hair and that he was an actor in LA (which made me a little nervous, remember Leonardo?)
My friend gave me Tom’s number and we started to arrange when we could meet. He suggested lunch at Blu Jam Café, which is a restaurant I’ve actually wanted to try! When I arrived at Blu Jam at the agreed-upon time, I spotted several dark-haired men waiting outside. What to do… what to do… I slowly walked up to the first man. I wanted to say his name loud enough so that he could hear it, but quiet enough so that if it wasn’t Tom, an unknown male wouldn’t be weirded out by some creepy girl screaming a random name in his face.
Luckily, the first person I loud-whispered to (it’s a thing) was Tom. Phew! Without hesitation, he went in for an unanticipated hug. This Tom could not be bothered by COVID-19. Hadn’t he heard of social distancing?! I jokingly said, “I guess you’re not worried about the Coronavirus.” Then he asked, “isn’t it just a bad cough haha?”
A bad cough? Oh no, no, no, sir.
After I clarified the symptoms of the new Coronavirus, he agreed that “a bad cough” was a poor characterization. Then we moved to a table in the restaurant and on to other topics.
Usually when I go on dates, I know a little more about the person than their name, profession and hair color in advance. With Hinge and The League, I get to see 6 of a man’s most flattering pictures, learn where they are from, their interests, etc. But, on this date, we had to start from scratch.
After we got some of the basics out of the way, we discovered some shared interests: the struggles of pursuing acting in LA, a love of warm climates and 1917 (the movie, although I’m a big fan of the year in general). I found Tom to be smart, funny and warm, all good things. When I told him that I fell asleep during Ford vs. Ferrari, he responded saying, "It's been nice knowing you, but I have to go." This made me laugh and put me at ease.
I will say that the atmosphere at Blu Jam Café did not lend itself to a romantic first date experience. The restaurant is going through a renovation and we were seated right next to an active construction zone. There was no music for some unknown reason, so we listened to the sweet sounds of saws and drills. Also, the front door was open which usually makes sense; after all, I enjoy good airflow like any other normal human. But that afternoon was cold, windy, and rainy and someone was smoking a cigarette and the smoke seemed to be blowing directly onto my sub-par chilaquiles – making them sub-sub-par chilaquiles.
As we finished the meal, we walked outside and hugged goodbye. This time, I wasn't worried about the hugging. I figured if he had COVID-19 he probably would have already given it to me. Tom asked if I would be interested in going on a hike sometime soon. WHAT IS WITH GUYS AND HIKES?!?! Yet, I said “yes” without hesitation.
Overall Experience:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for Tom
⭐ for Blu Jam Café and the man smoking the cig
The future for us… possibly a second date and our first hike!
Next Week: Tom informed me that he is taking a family trip next week, so he won’t be available. I guess I’ll be stepping out into the coronavirus-infested dating scene once again. I hope my dates are ready for sassy elbow-bumping and the fresh fragrance of anti-bacterial wipes. Or maybe I’ll try virtual speed dating that I’ve heard is all the rage…