Washington Post's Date Lab
JUNE 16, 2007 Listen to this Story
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For a date to work, there has to be chemistry. And when there is chemistry, there should be a laboratory. That's where Jill Hudson Neal comes in. She works on "Date Lab," a section of the Washington Post Magazine on Sundays. Date Lab features stories of people brought together for blind dates--with very mixed results.We talk to some successful daters, and some not so successful daters.
Read the Dates!
Date Lab from September 3, 2006
She wanted an HTML-savvy geek who finds sarcasm funny. We found him. Let the hatin' begin!
Soko Hirayama, 24, Web designer Originally from Fukuoka, Japan
Dating history: I've never had a relationship.
Best features: I am easy-going, and I own great outfits!
Your type: Cute, funny, scruffy, hippie-looking boys. No guys with obvious Asian fetishes.
Interests to share: Web coding info -- I know that's a real computer geek thing.
Dream date: A random super-rich guy takes me shopping, then proposes.
Jesse Craft-Finch, 23, Video game design intern
Originally from: Near Amherst, Mass.
Dating history: Mostly long-term relationships
Best features: I am honest, confident, reliable, active and very intelligent.
Your type: Passionate, witty, athletic women with short hair. Someone wild, intelligent and unpredictable.
Interests to share: My enjoyment of nature and the outdoors, music and conversation.
Dream date: I've always wanted to date a girl who would play paintball with me.
KAZ SUSHI BISTRO, downtown
Jesse: I got there at 7:30, and three minutes later she got there. I thought, "cute Asian lady." I had checked [her] out on MySpace, so I already had some information.
Soko: He was wearing some not-really-happening reddish shirt. "Oh, he's not my type" -- that was my first impression. He said, "I saw you on MySpace." I don't think that's the first thing you should say on a blind date. It freaks the date out.
Jesse: She was uninterested from the get-go. It seemed as if she was there for the food. She wanted me to say I've never seen an Asian lady eat so much. She said that when you interviewed me I should tell you that.
Soko: I thought I dressed cute. I wore this tube-top dress with green stripes, yellow shoes and a little straw-looking cute bag. There were like millions of things you [could] compliment, which he didn't do. I have never been on a date without any compliments. That's just polite.
Jesse: She directly told me that she was "very shallow," in that for her it was "all about the face." This is at least partially true for most people, but it isn't something that should actually be mentioned.
Soko: I don't remember that much what exactly we talked about because I was really bored. And he makes video games. And I [usually] love all computer geeks, 'cause I'm one of them.
Jesse: She wasn't driving the conversation at all. That was frustrating.
Soko: I [don't] know how he is usually, but he was talking a lot. He was mean to the waitress, and I hate that. I was a waitress at some point in my life. He didn't use "please" even once. He didn't say "thank you."
Jesse: Toward the end, it was getting kind of slow. I ordered Mochi ice cream, which is the most delicious ice cream in the world.
Soko: I was still eating my dinner. So I'm like: "Why are you ordering dessert? I'm still eating my dinner! Do you think you can wait?"
Jesse: She told the waitress not to bring the dessert. Does it matter? Is it a big deal? She still had another order coming.
Soko: No one orders dessert when your date is still eating dinner. That's just manners.
Jesse: She said she comes from a very polite society. I said, "My grandmother said it's not polite to put your elbows on the table."
Soko: I was checking my cellphone a lot. And, of course, he understood. He was like, "You really want to go."
Jesse: We finished up the bill and hugged and said have a nice life. In terms of meeting someone I would want to date, it was a complete failure. I'd give it a 0 [out of a 1-5 rating].
Soko: Zero. That was the worst [date] so far in my life.
Interviews by Yuki Noguchi
UPDATE: They're getting married! Not. The two haven't contacted each other again.
Date Lab from August 6, 2006
She said her dream date was a sexy chef. He had a recipe for success, but could he overcome her taste for taller men?
Christine "Chrissie" Brodigan , 29 Web site producer
Desired superpower: I would be "Dr. Dolittle." I just want to know what my pups are thinking.
TV show based on your dating history: A tragic combination of Bridget Jones, Ally McBeal, and Meredith Grey from "Grey's Anatomy"
Usual type: Tall, dark, handsome, and a geek
Chris Bradley, 34, chef
Desired superpower: I'd like to be able to use the Jedi mind trick to make my cooks do exactly what I want.
TV show based on your dating history: I think it's more telling that I haven't owned a television in nearly 10 years.
Usual type: The Tinkerbell pixie type: a mischievous, yet innocent girl
BISTRO LEPIC, GEORGETOWN
Chris: I was mildly nervous. I probably dressed a little bit more strait-laced than I usually do. I had on a button-down shirt, gray slacks and a pair of vintage wingtip shoes.
Chrissie: I hadn't had a date in six or seven months, and I got up [that] morning, and I was really excited, and I ran outside and fell. My elbows are skinned; my knees are skinned; my hands and knuckles are skinned. I was going to wear a terrific short sundress with thin straps, very sexy, but of course I couldn't wear it.
Chris: I took a cab over and actually saw someone walking up the street who fit the description of someone I would hope to be set up with. As it turns out, the person on the street did happen to be Chrissie.
Chrissie: When I walked in I was towering behind Chris, and I heard him say, "I'm here for The Washington Post." I thought, Oh, they set me up with a short, bald man.
Chris: I have a feeling that she felt a little uncomfortable about [being taller]. It wasn't an issue for me. I didn't wake up short just two days ago.
Chrissie: We went right back to the table. I was feeling a little shy and flustered, but then I looked up at him, and he had a huge smile.
Chris: We didn't jump on ordering. We probably just sat and talked for about an hour.
Chrissie: His shoes were fabulous. [When] I looked down at his vintage wingtips, it was obvious that he had dressed like himself, while I hadn't.
And that was the sexiest moment of all. A man who can be himself is a man that I could truly care for.
Chris: She's just a ball of energy. I let her talk, and I just filled in bits of the conversation when I could get in.
Chrissie: He told me he's a chef shortly after we sat down. To me, a man that can cook and is that creative and can manage a kitchen and work with customers, that is sexy.
Chris: It was a breath of fresh air to date someone not in the restaurant business and to have there be restaurant talk but have it not be about the restaurant industry or gossip, but about where the passion for food comes from. After dinner we moved to the wine bar and did [photos].
Chrissie: The date ended; it was 12 or 12:15. He walked me to my car, and I maneuvered it so that we were sitting down. And I think I said something like, "I think we should kiss now." It was a nice, long, lingering kiss, and he was great, and it made him seem even sexier. I wonder if I kind of shocked him because I'm kind of forward.
Chris: She asked me to kiss her, but I'd already planned to.
Chrissie: What I ended up having was like probably the greatest date I've ever had.
Chris: I would give the date a 3 1/2, if not a 4. She's beautiful and intelligent. And she seems so natural and easy to get along with. Most certainly we will go out again.
Interviews by Christina Breda Antoniades
UPDATE: Most certainly they did. One month after their date, the couple got engaged. They're planning an October wedding.
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- Music Bridge:
- Horror Water
- Artist: Jimi Tenor meets Kabu Kabu
- CD: Joystone (Ubiquity)
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