Date #2-- Boring coffee.

Date #2 for me was also an online date. Match.com. Short date that wasn't great. This guy was very tall and also seemed cute in the photos. I became a little skeptical that it'd work out between us when he recommended we meet up at Cosi in DuPont Circle one day during the week, after work. Looking back on it now, I realize I have 2 problems I have with this set up:
1. No alcohol! First dates are awkward. And meeting someone after work allows room for the potential for you both to be stressed out. Alcohol is - as everyone knows!-- a social lubricant. And I'm coming to realize that it is necessary for mid-week first dates!
2. Cosi is boring. DuPont Circle is an amazing part of town with tons of interesting places to go, including independent restaurants, bars, bookstores, teahouses, yoga studios, shoes stores, you name it. Cosi is a boring corporate chain. Why on Earth would you choose to patronize a lifeless place like Cosi in the middle of such a great neighborhood?

I certainly could have recommended that we go somewhere else, when we were settling the details of the date, but I was under the impression that the girl should let the guy organize the details of the date. Now, I'm not so sure. Especially for the first time you're meeting -- which will only be the case with blind dates and online dates -- why do something you know you won't like?

After we met, he ordered a large coffee and I ordered a tea. We chatted about pretty cool stuff like his interest in DJ'ing and computers, and our shared love of traveling. And although my first thought when I saw him was, "not that cute", the conversation was going really well. And I thought to myself hmm... maybe there's something here. But then, after I got back from the ladies room, he said he should get going. Ugh! Sign of a failed date is when the guy ends it first! (This is why ladies, we're supposed to be the first to end the date -- gotta leave 'em wanting more.) But then he threw in that he was starving for dinner. Well, yes, that was probably an excuse to leave, and not a reflection of Cosi's menu. Sigh. (Guess who never called afterwards to set up a second date.)

Lesson of the Date: Don't agree to do boring things on a first date! If you're bored with the date, your date will find you boring, too!