Elle's First {eHarm} Date

Alright, ALRIGHT! I know you all have been DYING to know about my very first date set up by my good friend, eHarmony.
Here's how it all went down. I was matched with this guy. We'll call him {The Canadian}. Why? You guessed it. He's Canadian. I checked out his profile. He. Did. Not. Present. Well. He had three photos. He looked scared/shocked in all of them. He was wearing a shirt that reminded me of Jersey Shore...Gross.

Seattle ain't Jersey Shore yo.

I forgot to tell you one little thing about me. It's kind of important. Here goes. Hi. I'm Elle. I'm one of the most judgmental people that you'll ever meet. Remember how I told you earlier that I seeked out professional help during the break-up? Well, I'm still seeing her. We'll call her the {Voice of Reason}.  The {Voice of Reason} and I are working on me not being so judgmental. Her advice to me during this time in my life was to come up with a list of absolute 'can't stands', but then after that give everyone a chance who starts the communication process with me. We can talk about my absolute 'can't stands' another time.
So {The Canadian} did not present well online. His profile was semi-boring. He looked shocked and somewhat feminine in his photos. And he wrote like English might be his second language {poor grammar}.
However, when he started the communication process with me, I had the {Voice of Reason} in the back of my head and I decided to give him a chance. I did what any {girl} would do - and consulted with my friends on every communication that was exchanged between us.
Now, keep in mind, that I am new to the online dating world. {The Canadian} come to find out, is an old pro. He asked me for my number and all I could think about is -what a creep! What is he moving so fast?! {he wasn't...}. So again, I did what any {neurotic} girl would do and I made up a new email address that he couldn't trace to me - even if he hired a private detective. {Side Bar: Why did I make up a fake email address? My dating consultant and good friend, we'll call her {The Meow}, is a professional online stalker and she found {The Canadian's} facebook page, several of his family members facebook pages {hello Jersey Shore} and his blood type with just a few quick swipes on the keyboard. Her response to what she discovered? "This doesn't look like your crowd."}
After exchanging a few emails -via my fake email address- I finally grew a pair got up the nerve to give him my number on Sunday, February 13th - otherwise known as the day before Valentine's Day. He texted me that evening and asked if I had plans. I didn't. After going back and forth for a while -where he actually invite me to his house for dinner {I told him I already ate. I hadn't}- we finally decided to meet at my place at 9pm. Between that moment and 9pm I exchanged approximately 10,000 text messages with several friends. I. Was. Nervous.
Two of my favorite pieces of advise? 1. Take a shot. 2. Stand in front of the freezer {I sweat when I am nervous.}

Girls Best Friend. Pre-Date {and maybe Post-Date}

{The Canadian} arrived a few minutes before 9. We walked in the rain {he shared his umbrella} to Spur Gastropub to grab a few drinks. He was so much better in person! He was very well-spoken. He was actually good-looking {not shocked-looking}. There was no Jerseylicious shirt in site. And he had the most adorable Canadian accent.
Conversation came easy. He tried three different cocktails {'down' - google it} and I tried to be 'man-friendly' by ordering Stella Artois {Is that man-friendly?}. He referenced things from my profile and from our email exchanges. I did the same. He laughed about how it was creepy/weird that he invited me over for dinner. We were there until they shut the bar down. It was SO much better than the blind date of 2010. He slyly paid the bill {what a gentleman}. He walked me to my door. He texted me to make sure I made it up the elevator okay. He told me he had a great time. I wasn't sure how I felt about him, but I did have a great time.
And then two days later he told me he had a Valentine. What? Were you expecting that? I wasn't. But I had a great time and I am so glad I went! It was a great first experience to get back in the game. And I felt a sense of pride for getting out of my comfort zone.
What I learned:
A. Dating won't kill you, it will only make you {stronger}.
B. It's better to meet {in person} then to drag out the virtual dating.
C. Stock your freezer with {vodka} for a pre-date drink.
Please tell me there are other people out there who share my fear of dating {sweat much?}. And that there are other people who have had a fantastic first dates - that go nowhere. CHAWK-ward. But it makes for a great story. Right?
xoxo,
Elle