Date #48

Key Takeaways: My faith in young men is restored, thank goodness.

Vitals:

Name: Nathan because we talk about loving the show Nathan For You

Length of date: 1 hour 30 minutes

How the date was obtained: He asked to meet me!

Where: Our respective homes because it was a FaceTime date

A week ago, on the Date a Week LA insta, I mentioned going home to visit my family. I asked if anyone in Portland wanted to set me up, or maybe there was a reader in my hometown who wanted to go on a date?

A nice young man named Nathan reached out. First, he complimented this blog (aka one of the fastest ways to my heart) then said he’d like to go on a date. Nathan confessed he was worried with the recent spike in Covid-19 cases, it might not be a good idea to meet. I assured him that we could have a Facetime date. When we were agreeing on a time, he stated this caveat: Freddie (my dog) would have to be available for our FaceTime rendezvous. This really threw me. Freddie is extremely popular and in high demand. Luckily, I confirmed that Freddie could squeeze in a few moments between naps and chasing squirrels. So, the three of us set a day and time for the date.

About 15 minutes before I got on the call, I did my usual “Facetime Date Routine,” which is similar to my normal “Date Routine,” but there is less focus on the lower half of my body. All I have to do is say, “Pants? Check.” But for this date, I not only had to get my top half ready, but I had to get Freddie’s top half ready. Freddie had been on a couple dates with me, but he had never been requested for a date. Is this the start of “Pup-a-Week?” You tell me!

Once Freddie assumed his position (on my lap), I called Nathan. When Nathan answered, I noticed something new, something wild, something surprising: HIS dog, Ollie! Don’t get me wrong, Freddie is a cute dog, but Ollie--Ollie is a model dog. Is this the start of "America's Next Top Pooch?" You tell me! This FaceTime date wasn’t just two single people getting to know each other, it almost felt like Freddie and Ollie were on a date as well. Yes, they’re both males, but this is the 21st century, people. Dog-love is dog-love.

After I’d spent at least 5-minutes fawning over Ollie, I finally turned my attention toward Nathan. I didn’t know much about Nathan besides the fact that we have a lot of mutual friends. But Nathan knew a lot about me because of this blog. He’s been a follower since Day 1 and has read every post.

Nathan knew about my love for turtles, my aversion to sand, and my obsession with Nacho Libre. This made me realize that I’ve shared a lot about myself in this blog… hopefully not too much. I found it especially endearing that he liked me in spite of my quirks. That said a lot about him.

Even though Nathan already knew a lot about me, there was never a lull in our conversation. I learned about his job in the engineering field, his passion for photography, and how he’d traveled extensively. The more we talked, the more I realized we had a lot in common.

After gabbing for an hour and a half, Nathan had to say farewell to take a work call. So, I said my goodbyes to Nathan and darling Ollie. I put down my phone and curled up in the big blue chair that sits in the corner of my room. I reflected on the conversation.

I realized we’d just started a real friendship. A friendship that could involve mutual support and appreciation. Although friendship is not really the outcome I am looking for, this definitely felt like a win. Recently, I’ve been on dates with nice people, but some didn’t have very much going for them, but not Nathan. He’s talented, smart, caring, and thoughtful; aka all the things I am looking for. We had a meaningful conversation sprinkled with humor and dogs and I enjoyed myself.

Of course, Nathan lives in Portland and I live in LA. So, while I don’t see our relationship going anywhere past a friendship, I see this date as a victory. And my faith in the potential of finding interesting young men is restored.

Overall Experience:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The future for us… I think we will be friends and I hope that when this pandemic is over, we can meet face-to-face, maybe even with Freddie and Ollie.

Next Week: Working on it!

Side note: Even though I haven’t found love, there are people who’ve tried dating every week (Date-a-Week style) and they HAVE found love! In fact, one of our weekly daters, Jess, has found someone! And may I just say that they are absolutely adorable together! Read more of her story HERE. Also, coming up next month, meet some of the new couples who found love through Date-a-Week!

One more picture of Ollie for your viewing pleasure: