14 down, 38 to go. That’s progress!
Key Takeaways: This is not how I imagined Date a Week LA playing out.
My Date a Week LA 2020 dates, by the numbers:
Total number of miles driven: 99.9 (the amount of driving is taking a nosedive as the quarantine drags on)
Total time spent on dates: 30 hours and 55 mins
Dates where I mentioned tortoises in some way: 11 (not 14!)
Drinks I ordered:
· 5 Waters
· 2 Smoothies
· 2 Diet Cokes
· 1 Oat Milk Vanilla Latte
· 1 Horchata
After the Final Rose:
Remember - I dubbed him Billy [Joel] because he’s an amazing piano player. Unrelated to Billy Joel, he is from Portland and went to my high school.
Billy already knew about Date a Week LA, so he read the post about our date and wanted to set the record straight. He said that he does like to travel, just not for work. He also told me that he was excited to get into the 5 Star Club (because his date got 5 stars). Winner, winner chicken dinner! My take about our date is that it would be hard to start a relationship living in two different states; that comment must have jinxed me because I’ve been quarantined in Oregon ever since.
I called this fellow actor Tom as a tribute to national treasure Tom Hanks who’d been suffering from COVID 19 when I went on the date.
First, a Tom Hanks update: he and my girl Rita are back in the U.S. and feeling better!
Now, back to my date. After I met “Tom” on a blind date I realized I was interested in him, but there was little communication from his side. He mentioned that he was going out of town for a week, so he wouldn’t be able to see me for a while. Part of me read this text as a cop-out, mostly because I have done the same shady thing. In the past, if a date was a cringer, I’d say, “Oh btw I won’t be able to see you for a while because I’m going to visit my grandparents…” and then I would never respond – I’m not proud of this. I know first hand, ghosting is not cool! However, Tom proved me wrong; he reached out again. We agreed to meet back in LA after the COVID-19 lockdown. So, who knows when we will see each other again; I hope it’s sooner than later for a bunch of reasons!
This is when I had to start social distancing, big time. So I tried online speed dating and was matched with a guy more interested in a video game than talking to me, someone who either had no AC or didn’t feel the need to wear a shirt (and perhaps pants, luckily I didn’t ever find out), and a man flipping me the bird! I’m not doing online speed dating again. Ever again. I’ve considered deleting The League app in protest. You did me dirty, The League.
(Dubbed Rick [Wetzel] because we discussed the deliciousness of soft pretzels.)
You might remember Rick was the track star from my high school. We set up a virtual date on FaceTime so I fake cleaned my room to seem like I wasn't waiting anxiously for his call. I also breathed a sigh of relief that he could only see me from the waist up. Otherwise, he would have seen remnants of my dad’s famous bean dip on my leggings. Thanks virtual dating! On this date, I got to laugh and focus on something other than COVID-19! Rick was highly rated by me, but I wondered if he’d want to connect again...
Rick agreed to go on a second date with me! We walked (6-feet apart from each other) in my neighborhood. We discussed the awkward high school years (or more aptly, my awkward years, he was cool.) It was really nice to have another date with Rick. By the way, he hates that fictitious name and thinks I could have come up with something better. Sorry, Rick. Anyway, I found myself joking around, and feeling like myself.
General thoughts on dating while quarantining:
This is not how I imagined Date a Week LA playing out. Sure, I knew there would be obstacles like maybe I would get catfished, (Nev Schulmanto the rescue) or a date would want to go clubbing, chug Dom Pérignon and stick me with the bill. But I never imagined having to stop dating in-person dating, cold turkey.
It has made me think about other people in my position. People who are looking for someone special to share their time with, but can’t right now. Or, people who just started dating, but are now separated by six feet, or people who have dated for a long time, but are not quarantined in the same city, so they’re sad not knowing when all of this will end. It’s all a bit overwhelming.
Needless to say, this is a trying and confusing time for all of us. I was recently asked, what is it that I’m really looking for in a "soul mate." Well, it’s a moving target and the current state of the world has made that target feel further way. I’ll continue to forge ahead. I’m doing my best to stay positive and I hope you are, too.
This week: a night at the museum (not the Ben Stiller movie)... Stay tuned.
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