Yakko's

Dinner with GF at 7pm. So I went rushing around beforehand, shopping at Ann Taylor. As luck would have it I seemed to hit every red light and local traffic jam I could. I did a drive by and gave Jy my tapes from the "Friends" finale. I was so worried about being late I didn't even stop to ask how she was doing.

And, of course, in the end I ended up there with a couple minutes to spare. GF didn't arrive for another couple minutes. I scolded myself about remaining calm next time and not feeling so rushed.

He parked his black BMW (older model) down the street. At a distance, I wasn't sure if it was him. He was wearing some type of white t-shirt and faded blue jeans. He's taller, which I have to say is nice after the last couple guys. I have to admit I do like height at times. He also wears a gold chain. Doesn't bother me. My guess is that he's 36. He's got wrinkles forming just below his eyes, but otherwise his skin is smooth.

We sat down at a table near the sushi bar. Much of the conversation seemed to stem around our respective housing lives. I remember bits and pieces. He talked about painting and asked what colors I was thinking of using for my place. He liked my choices. The contractor he used came from his stylist's recommendation. The house has made him kind of a homebody lately. He watched some DVDs and played volleyball during Memorial weekend. We talked about movies in general for awhile. He hasn't seen "Kill Bill 2" but liked #1. He said his favorite movie is "Pulp Fiction."

Camping might not be his thing. His last experience hiking to Half Dome didn't go that well because his knee went seriously bad. Just shows we're all getting older. He has a brother who's about 1 1/2 years older, got married last September and lives near Mt. Carmel in San Diego. Later in the conversation, GF talked a little about the impending pressure that his parents would be putting on him about getting married. His brother will not doubt start having kids soon, so he's knows he's the new target. I chimed in about my own dilemma among the relatives. He then shared his attitude about how important it is to find the right person rather than just find marriage. I totally agreed with him and mentioned my friend in San Diego with the "perfect" pedigree who I just wasn't interested in dating much to my mom's dismay. The other thing that we briefly discussed were various forms of communication. My own experience has taught me that one-to-one conversation is the most effective. I alluded to him an example of when YM is a dangerous method of communication. You miss intonations and people have a tendency to say things (good or bad) that they would otherwise not be comfortable saying in person. This came up after I mentioned how bad I am at online dating because of all the e-mail it requires. I don't know if there topics should be a no-no on a first date.

It was interesting talking about the speed dating experience. It turns out that he went to Click2Asia with his new roommate. I did not choose the guy for my matching list. We debated about what the rule is when two friends get the same matches. What do you do? I think we both felt that the first date is okay, but then what? GF joked that he told his roommate that the two of them should take the women they had in common and invite them all over to the house at once. I was very fortunate in that none of the other women I came with ended up in the same group.

We talked a little about work. That always leads into interesting perceptions about companies. Originally he thought he would be a lifer at HP. We actually probably overlapped at the Mayfield site. He really did not like eBay. The competitive and political environment there sounds awful. One wouldn't think that based on the image the company presents through it's website and commercials. He likes Yahoo much better though he said that Yahoo typically pays lower than industry. He agreed that they tend to expect employees to make it up through stock options.

We joked about winning the lottery. So I asked him what he'd like to do if he still had to work. It seemed like he'd never really thought about it before but knew that he would at least work. He finally came up with being a golf pro. He's been playing for nine years and claims to be pretty good. How can I argue with someone who actually has a handicap.

It was weird talking about T occasionally. I have these weird connections through others which makes the conversations funny. T apparently mentioned having to move my couch.

Somewhere around the two-hour mark, the conversation slowed a bit. There were a couple pauses which I wasn't sure what to do with, but GF was good about picking the pace back up. Why do men always need to use the bathroom at the end of the meal? Is it just me?

From there we walked to his car to get some boxes he brought for me. He seemed kind of impressed when he saw my car. I think a lot of people like the idea of all the cargo room in back. He commented that someday he needs to think about buying a new car. I suggested a Forester (as there was a new one parked behind him) and he kind of entertained the idea.

Once the boxes were loaded we said our good nights. He thanked me for coming to dinner. I thanked him for dinner. He then suggested that we meet up again sometime. He paused for a second (as did I) and then offered out his hand. We shook and then said "bye." The handshake was a little awkward. Maybe we would have been better off just parting.

It seemed to go okay. One date is not enough for me to assess his personality. I definitely find him more attractive than the last guy. We'll see if GF follows up.