Dating in the Dark, July 28 – Unequally Yoked

This Week’s Participants:

Jason: Age 31. He is a marketing consultant. He likes girls who have “bubbly and spontaneous personalities.”

Matt: Age 28. Matt is a land development consultant. He doesn’t have trouble finding a girl, but has trouble finding the right girl. Oh, and he adds that he puts looks first. I like that he’s honest.

Doug: Age 31. He is a pitching coach in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. My wife says he’s a nice looking man. Doug talks about communication and charm. Seems like a good guy.

Megan: Age 31. Megan is in wine school studying to become something that sounds French and that I am unable to spell. She is frustrated that all her friends are married and that she sits at home on Friday nights and watches movies with her cats. If she has all that kind of time on her hands, maybe she should write for RNO!

Lindsey: Age 26. She is an operations manager and is from Boston. Yes, she has the accent and everything. She says she’s tried every form of dating and that nothing works.

Chrystee: Age 32. Chrystee is an actor and motivational speaker. She’s looking for a man who is spiritual and vulnerable. When people say they want someone “spiritual,” I’d really like it if they could define that for me.

The Group Date – In the Dark!

After the stumbling into the room, introductions are made. Jason says that he is from Boston and the women squeal in delight as Lindsey is as well. Lindsey talks about her love of sports, and Megan chimes in with her love of booze and profanity. I guess they are trying to out-tomboy each other. As the girls leave at the end of the date, Matt yelps out, “Megan! You’re adorable!” Dude, calm yourself.

This Week’s “Get-to-Know-You” Activity:

Last week both sides of the house sent their shirts to the other side for inspection (which exposed poor Seth for wearing a shirt with pit stains). This week both sides will get to rummage through each other’s luggage. For some reason the women aren’t too thrilled about the idea of the men rummaging through their private things. Lindsey says, “I knew I shouldn’t have brought those granny panties!” The next round of dating will be based on info gleaned from the group date and the luggage foraging.

It takes the men about five seconds to decide to just check bra sizes. There’s really nothing to add to that.

The women go through Jason’s suitcase and find a leather jacket and some kind of hair thing that Chrystee says she has at home herself (yes, I know, “hair thing” is a highly technical term.)

Matt’s clothes impress the women as he has sport coats and dress shirts. This seems to confirm in Megan’s mind her attraction to Matt.

When the women get to Doug’s things they find some kind of dumbbell in the shape of a pig’s head. Lindsey also notes that he’s “a big packah” and that “he is who he is and everyone loves a guy who can be who he is all the time.” Wow, it’s good to know that, being as I am who I am all the time also. Well, except for that time I was Mickey Rooney.

Back to the men, they exult in finding out Lindsey is a size 4.

The next discovery is Chrystee’s Bible. Doug wisely opines that religion is a big subject where people may not be able to reconcile their differences in order to continue a relationship. I agree. As an agnostic (and former fundamentalist Christian) married to someone of faith, I can attest that it’s not the most fun topic when you disagree.

I’m disappointed we learned only one bra size during this section. I feel like my boys let me down (or maybe the editors!).

Date in the Dark, Round 2 – the Post-Luggage Round

Megan and Matt chose each other. Sitting on a small love seat, they engage in conversation. Megan reveals she was a political science major and has been formerly engaged. They move from that to touching each other’s hair. After the date, Matt seems excited about Megan.

Lindsey and Jason invited each other on a date as well. I’m guessing they are going to talk about Boston. Approximately one second into the date Lindsey goes right for the hair groping. The hair straightener had piqued her curiosity and she had to find out what was going on up there. Lindsey is both happy and sad that they have Boston in common. She thinks it’s nice, but not a real challenge to relate on that topic. Understandable.

For the next date, Chrystee invited Jason. The hair straightener must have impressed the ladies! Jason tells us he was impressed with the fact that Chrystee was petite. On the date, Chrystee launches into a declaration that she believes in God and that Christ is her foundation. She also brings up again that she is looking for a spiritual man. I’m guessing that the pre-show questionnaires will pair her with Doug. It’s just a hunch.

Jason informs her that he’s leaned away from being “religious” and more towards being “spiritual.” “Spiritual” to Jason must mean “the ability to play with semantics.” Later, he tells us that Chrystee’s insertion of the religious topic changes the mood on a date for the worse. He should be thankful. Better to know where you stand right off the bat rather than later down the line.