Date Lab: Will this methodical man catch her blue-handed?

About the daters ...

Dating history as a TV Show ...

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( Courtesy of the daters ) -

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Danny Watch a drama-free guy get dragged into one drama-laden situation after another. Will he play along?

Laurie Quirky brunette goes through a date a week on her quest to settle down. Her misadventures and odd luck don’t get her down. NOTE: There is a strong possibility that this could be turned into a musical.

Dream date ...

Danny: This seems so random, but I’ve been re-watching the show “Dexter” recently, and for some reason I find Rita incredibly attractive.

Laurie: My perfect guy plays guitar, dives, is a better cook than me but doesn’t hold it against me, never wears too much cologne and lets me stop in the middle of whatever for a photo op. If he works for an animal reserve or museum, that would be magical.

Brag a little ...

Danny: I am a ton of fun. Especially in situations where there is live music, as you got to put on your dancing shoes. Was told that I was artsy (didn’t know just playing the guitar qualified), but I like to think I’m pretty talented in that I have hobbies that I’m good at. I just don’t highlight them enough.

Laurie: I have a lot of life experience: have lived in three different countries (four if you count a four-month volunteer gig) and seven states. I have a pretty smile and a contagious laugh. I bring creativity, energy, passion and pasta from scratch to the table.

How you hope s/he’s different ...

Danny: I would hope she’s more of a dreamer than I am. I’m entrenched with my career, and my days are pretty scheduled. I would like it if she wouldn’t be as structured and knew when to pull me out of my routine to loosen up.

Laurie: More financially aware; I tend to be a little impulsive. Someone who is a little more social and could bring out that side of me.

About the date ...

7:30 p.m., Marco Polo Restaurant, Vienna

Laurie: My [teenage] cousin had a homework assignment to write a Date Lab [column] for Romeo and Juliet. I was like, “Oh, I’d be happy to help, but I have no idea what this is.” I looked it up and thought, That sounds fun, and I’m single, so, why not give it a whirl? [Friends] were lecturing me on all the things NOT to do [on the date]: Do not talk about your cats, do not sit in his lap for the picture, and really, DO NOT talk about your cats.

Danny: I probably wasn’t nervous; I was excited to go on the date. The type of work I do has me interacting with new people all the time and so [on a date] my mind just sort of shifts into hey, why don’t we just sit down, talk with them, get to know them. It’s almost like a fact-finding process of finding out if they would be interested in hanging out again. It’s a little bit too methodical, but, hey, it’s how my brain is wired.

Laurie: [At work before the date], I was doing an arts and crafts project with kindergartners and was caught out in the rain. So, I ended up not only with my hair that I’d taken forever to blow-dry and straighten going back to its crazy-frizzy-curly mess, but the craft supplies stained my hands so I ended up having bright blue hands, and I couldn’t get it off. I figured, if that puts him off then we’re never going to have a successful relationship, ‘cause I do crafts all the time. I got [to the restaurant] about 7:15-ish. I ordered a glass of wine, and I think he showed up close to on time.