Date Lab: In the end, she’s not coy about rating this date

About the daters ...

DVDs for a desert island ...

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(Courtesy of the daters/ ) -

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Nick: The “Planet Earth” box set, “Good Will Hunting” and “Pan’s Labyrinth.”

Lisa: “My Cousin Vinny,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “When Harry Met Sally.”

Brag a little ...

Nick: Connecting with people comes pretty naturally to me, I’m open-minded and have diverse interests, and I’m a pretty smart guy. I like to think I’m pretty adventurous, too. I’ve biked across the country, was just a few jumps away from my skydiving certification (long story), and I’m a certified advanced open-water scuba diver.

Lisa: I’m sharp, I make people laugh, and I haven’t broken any mirrors just by looking into them lately. I’m a pretty good listener and fairly laid-back. I also know where to find $1 beer in the city, so, there is always that.

Your type ...

Nick: Independent and outgoing but doesn’t need to be the center of attention. Open-mindedness and empathy are two qualities I really value.

Lisa: On the thin/skinny side, usually tall, but anyone taller than me is fine. I also tend to date young-looking guys, I’m told. Personality-wise, I don’t like the guy who has captured the whole room’s attention with a story so much as I like the guy who mutters something hilarious under his breath. I like masculine but not macho. Above all,
I like nice guys.

Interests to share ...

Nick: Baseball, biking (not competitively), reading, astronomy.

Lisa: I like a good mix of nights in and nights out, and have met my fair share of D.C. guys who are horrified by the idea queuing up Netflix. Someone who likes to read and eat good food.

About the date ...

7:30 p.m., Corduroy, downtown

Lisa: I was nervous. I think I was worried I would say something unsavory or something awkward would happen. But as I got closer to it, it wasn’t anything that I was freaking out about. I grew up in South Florida, so seasonal weather dressing is something that I’m still a little clueless about. I wore brown boots and a blue sweater dress. I went to the restaurant and went in about 7:25. They told me I was the first one there and escorted me to the little booth in the back.

Nick: I was excited. I got there maybe at, like, two minutes after 7:30. The hostess led me back to our table.

Lisa: I saw the waiter first, and he said, “Right this way,” and then Nick stepped out. My first impression was I did think he was attractive. He was certainly someone that, if I was walking to the Metro, I’d go, Oh, that guy’s cute. It was an added bonus that the person I’m going on a date with is attractive.

Nick: She had nice dark hair, definitely very attractive. We did, like, a handshake to say hello and started talking. I think we were both a little bit nervous. She had never done a blind date, either, so that was the first point of conversation.

Lisa: At first the conversation was not stilted, but [we were] a little bit looking at each other like, What are we supposed to do? But I think we picked up a rapport pretty quickly.

Nick: I think we’re both sort of in the same point in life; we both have jobs that we like, but they’re clearly not going to be our careers. It was nice to talk to somebody about that. We both like dogs and animals, and we both like baseball, so we actually had a decent amount in common. We talked for a little bit, but then we got around to looking at the menu.