Key Takeaways: It’s so exciting to see live entertainment, even if it’s through a car windshield!
Vitals:
Name: Don, from Date #38
Length of date: 4 hours
How the date was obtained: He asked me out on a second date
Where: Magic Asphalt: Drive-In Comedy Under the Stars
After my FaceTime date with Don, (the advertising exec. with the cute puppy) I was excited to meet up in person. In my experience, it’s hard to gauge if you have chemistry with someone over FaceTime.
Don picked me up promptly at 6:45 for our date. Beforehand he’d learned that I perform weekly with my improv crew and that I’ve tried my hand at stand-up, so he suggested a pandemic-friendly comedy show! He’d bought tickets for Magic Asphalt, which is a stand-up show in Hollywood featuring different comedians every night. The show is located in the out-door parking lot of the Magic Castle. For those who don’t know about this private club, the Magic Castle is “an exclusive clubhouse for members and invited guests ONLY.” It’s a venue I’ve been dying to see, and I hope one day I’ll be able to check out the inside of the castle and not just the parking lot.
Anyway, as we arrived at the Magic Castle, we were greeted by ushers who checked us in and handed us light-up clappers. A quick Google Image Search for “light-up clappers” will show you what I’m talking about. I was very excited about these clappers because I love chachkies, and Don liked them too. Then the ushers showed us to our parking spot. Don and I were early and got a front-row seat spot. We ate some dinner and waited for the show to start.
As I looked around at the cars beside us, I had to laugh. This whole set-up looked ridiculous and I can’t even imagine how absurd it looks like if you are on stage, performing for a bunch of cars. I’d imagine it feels like you are in the Disney movie Cars performing for Lightning McQueen and Mater – I explained this visual to Don and he laughed. Maybe I should have a shot on stage sometime?
When the show started, Don and I whipped our clappers around. It was so exciting to be doing something in the real world, even if it looks like the imaginary world of Cars. It was wonderful to leave our houses and enjoy a night of live entertainment. We saw 10 talented comedians. My favorite was without-a-doubt Iliza Shlesinger. I’ve loved her book (Girl Logic), Netflix specials, and her irreverent Instagram videos. Her set had everything I love: some current commentary, hilarious act outs, and thought-provoking message.
Kevin Nealon, from Happy Gilmore and SNL, was the headliner. But in my opinion, his material was heavy on Dad humor.
Here are good examples of “Dad humor” that my father offers on a regular basis:
Me: “Dad, did you get a haircut”
Him: “No, I got all of them cut! HA.”
OR
When he is wearing socks with a hole in them and I ask: “Why don’t you get new socks?”
Dad: “These are my church socks. They’re holy”
Back to the date…
After the show ended, Don drove me back to my apartment. During the drive, he laid out a bunch of future plans for us: going on a road trip, cooking at his house, meeting his cute puppy (a hard one to resist), playing trivia with another couple, etc. But at this point, I knew I didn’t see Don in a romantic way. Although I enjoyed my night with him, I didn’t feel the spark, the magic. So, as he talked about these plans, I nodded my head saying, “I need to check my calendar.” I hate that I acted like I was down to see Don again when I already knew I wasn’t and eventually I was going to have to tell him. It’s the people-pleaser in me, I hate to disappoint.
When we finally arrived at my apartment, I thanked him for a nice night and said goodbye. Then he asked, “can I kiss you?” Want to guess how I, a people pleaser, responded? I said “yes.” It was an awkward kiss, to say the least. In fact, he texted me later that night saying, “sorry about that awk kiss.” Word to the wise: if you have an “awk kiss” with someone, act like it NEVER happened – definitely don’t text them about it. I’m not proud of kissing Don and if you want to roast me in the comments, go right ahead. I deserve that.
I had options, I could have just said, “no” or “I’m sorry but I’m not really feeling it,” or “I know you are using all best-practices to keep from getting COVID, but I’m still uncomfortable kissing people right now.” But I didn’t say any of those things, and I regret it. This was another good learning experience for me. Because believe it or not, I’m still learning how to date even after #41 dates. I’m learning how to stand up for myself, to say what I want, and to listen to my gut because I know what’s best.
Overall Experience:
⭐️⭐️⭐️
The future for us… no more kisses, awk or not.
Next Week: another set up!