Key Takeaways: Is a nude beach a good idea for a first date?
Vitals:
Name: Charlie, because It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is his favorite show
Length of date: 1 hour 45 minutes
How the date was obtained: I was set up!
Where: The Curious Palate in Santa Monica
A week ago, I got a text from one of my favorite college advisors who’s also a Date a Week LA fan. Was she asking about my budding acting career? No. Was she offering some sage post-college wisdom? Nope. She texted me this: “Ohmygosh. I have a guy for you! He’s funny and tall and cute and is all in for the blog!” She mentioned Charlie works at the clinic where she has physical therapy. Sounded like a home run to me! I said, “I’m down.”
She gave me his name, number, and sent a picture she’d snapped during her PT session. A little awkward, yes. But he did in fact look cute from what I could tell (he was wearing a facemask). Lastly, she mentioned that he’d joked about how he had a great idea for a first date: a nude beach. A nude beach for a first date? For any date? That's a no for me, dawg. But, if you want your hoo-haw or your wienerschnitzel out for everyone to see then that's your business.
Charlie and I arranged to meet in Santa Monica because it was midway between our homes: mine in West Hollywood and his in Malibu. Then, he chose the restaurant: The Curious Palate. Hmmm. Now I was curious about this place and his taste in restaurants.
10 minutes before I was supposed to arrive, Charlie called and said he was already there! A timely guy! I said I was close and explained what I was wearing, a black tank top, jeans, and my new heels ooh-la-la. Then he deadpanned, “I’m the guy who looks like me.” Clever.
When I arrived, he approached and introduced himself. My first impression of Charlie was that he had a male model look: a nice jawline, sparkly eyes, and a full head of hair - a good lookin' dude. After we sat down for the meal, I started taking off my mask. He followed suit and exclaimed: “Now the big revel!”
That’s one of the weird parts about dating during the pandemic. You could meet a guy, and from the eyes up and chin down they look perfectly normal. But there’s always a chance that they’ll take off their mask and be missing teeth or have a hitler 'stache. Luckily, Charlie had neither.
During the date, we covered a lot of topics: our favorite TV shows, our families, and our future career goals. This was when Charlie mentioned that he would soon be moving to South Carolina to pursue a career in medical device sales. Two things jumped out at me here. One, I live in Los Angeles, not South Carolina, and two, I was just seeing someone who worked in the all-consuming medical device field. After learning this, my enthusiasm for the date started to wane. I still really enjoyed my conversation with Charlie, and he is, as my advisor mentioned, “funny and tall and cute.” But Charlie’s career trajectory made me feel that he’s not a good fit for me.
Overall Experience:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The future for us… I wish him the best.
Next Week: Another set up by another college advisor!! Just kidding. But, someone from my college did set me up! And this date is a doozie. It involved a bar, no food, and that 420 dank (weed). Stay tuned...