No spark, no fight, no love in sight for blind daters

    Matt Hart strolled into the Guardian office hiding his nervousness behind a smile, two different colored roses, and a bottle of moderately-priced champagne.

    Lori Gebelin
    Guardian

    A blind date hand can be a tough one to play, but Hart seemed to have nailed it down with his selection of gifts. The two roses said, “”Since I have no idea about what you are like, you arenít worth a dozen. In case you are a goddess, I am not showing up empty-handed.”” The roses were different colors ó one was some shade of orange which says “”friendship,”” the other was red, which says, “”how you doiní?”” The bottle of low- to mid-range champagne played right along the same line. Within seconds of meeting his date, it was clear that Matt wished that he had either thrown in a few extra bucks for the dozen or come empty-handed.

    Hart was rocking the Regis Philbin look: silver shirt, silver tie, hair gelled to imperfection. It was a look that seemed to say “”Iím down to party”” and “”I love my mother,”” which pretty much seemed to sum up Hart nicely. He considers himself to be a family man, has 40 first cousins, and was pretty sure heíll be married within 10 years. Some of his favorite UCSD pastimes include drunken garbage can tackling during Sun God and hitting up the bar scene in Pacific Beach, where he resides. Hart never dated a fellow Triton before and recently ended a relationship with an older woman. With no expectations for the night, he really just wanted to meet someone new and have a good time. Hart had a que sera, sera attitude; he was going to play the night by ear.

    That being said, Hart informed us that even if this girl had the perfect personality, she would have to be a seven or above (on a scale of 10) to get a second date.

    Lisa Nguyen walked into the office with a confident smile and apprehensive eyes. She gave off a great first impression in her knee-high boots and sleek, pulled-back hair ó she hit the “”Iím trying to work my legs, but I swear Iím sophisticated”” look perfectly. It was obvious Nguyen was playing it safe on her first blind date, with lots of smiles, self-assuredness and zero expectations. She made it clear that her biggest turn-off is a clingy, passive guy. Nguyen would either love the guy within the first few minutes of meeting him or tear him apart mentally for the rest of the evening.

    Nguyenís attitude for the evening can be summed up in a single mantra: Iím going to have fun, unless heís a leech. This mind-set has not dampened her dating experience; she dates frequently (she went out on a date just a couple weekends ago!), but has dated very few guys from UCSD. When asked why, she cites their clinginess and neediness as reasons. Nguyen is looking for someone to accept her for the independent person she is. Nguyen is also low-maintenance ó to prepare for a date, she simply showers and gets dressed. Her ideal man is self-assured and not afraid of her individuality. Most importantly, Nguyen needs a guy to have a great sense of humor. If heís not up to her expectations but makes her laugh, she might just forget that heís spineless. Her perfect date would be a picnic on a beach, so the evening ahead complete with a limousine ride and dinner at a restaurant overlooking the cove by moonlight should not be a terrible disappointment. Her blasÈ attitude slightly faltered, though, when she tried to inquire about Hart. The surprise was not to be ruined, and she was instead led to the Guardian lobby where the couple met for the first time.

    Just seconds before Hart turned around to meet his date, the tension could be cut with a chainsaw.

    The meeting was, to put it simply, awkward. With Guardian staff looking on (we couldnít help it), Matt handed her the roses and proudly showed off the bottle of champagne after politely inquiring if she drinks. The couple was whisked away to the limo, where they promptly opened the bottle of bubbly and started to try to make what Hart felt was forced conversation. After last-minute pictures and words of encouragement, they headed off to dinner.

    The next day, Nguyen sounded indifferent. The verdict on the date was harsh. According to her, nothing Hart could have done would have helped. There was absolutely no chemistry. She was happy that they started drinking at the beginning of the date in the limousine. Nguyen claimed it was a definite plus, and made the date a lot better. The evening is described as being “”not spectacular,”” even “”ho-hum.”” Perhaps they should just be friends, she said. When asked if they did anything after dinner, she replied that she went straight home and did some programming homework.

    Hart chimed in right along the same lines. Slightly ticked that she went straight home to do homework on a Saturday night, Hart seemed reassured that his bread-andbutter meal of dating older women was the way to go all along. While he said his first thought of her was that she was “”cute and seemed cool,”” he didnít sound too disappointed that she blew him off for a night alone with a calculator. He found this move ironic in light of the fact that she told him a number of times throughout the night that she had a “”crazy”” personality. Hart never saw it.

    During his the final interview, Matt lingered for a moment on the phone, hoping to eke something more than a free dinner out of the whole Guardian Blind Date experience. “”I am still single and looking,”” he said before hanging up, in hopes that some special Guardian reader might recognize him on campus and decide to approach him. We promised to let the world know. Only sevens and up need apply.

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