What's the Harm with a Little eHarmony?

Internet dating. Just those two words alone invoke mental images of a dark and endless abyss, but put together they are like a journey to the River Styx (google it). In November, I decided that it was time to be wise--yet discerning-- and to see who is out there. At least it would be an entertaining venture. 

Oh, it's entertaining all right. 

My profile isn't perfect by any means, but I think I'm witty and to the point: Must love Jesus; Must love dogs; Must love laughter. I kept my obsession for Dexter out as to not attract the wrong crowd. Still, it seems like the wrong crowd is easy come by. Thanks to the "29 dimensions of compatibility," here's what I have to deal with:

First there is Joe from Connecticut who nudged me to respond to him when I ignored his message. No, 5'0" Joe who uses a cane, I am not interested. I'm sorry. The cane is hot though. Very House.

Then there is Nate from too close-for-comfort who needs to take himself more seriously:

Cyril from California sent up red flags right from the beginning. Seriously, all I could think of was "nice to know off the top that you are a Cyril Killer."

Then there is Jax, also from California who said, "I'm a sucker for a girl with a beautiful smile, and nice calves (yep, not boobs ladies, anyone can be a boob) so get your work out on." -This guy made me soooo maaaad. Turns out Jax is a Jaxaxe.

After sorting through the weeds, I found a refreshing patch of lovely grass: someone normal, who spoke my language, and who didn't try too sell too much. Ryan from Concord and I were matched on November 15th. I have a rule that when I am matched with guys, they still need to pursue, so I check out all my matched options and then memorize whom I want to contact me. If that guys does, then we have a mutual "click" and I know that it is safe to proceed and that rejection is not immediately in my future.

It took until November 22nd for Ryan and I to get through the 4 stages of communication, where eHarmony "guides" you through the process. Ryan thought we "flew" through the stages, but the technological geek inside me giggled and said, "it took us about 6 days too long." Still, all in good time. I am how to savor the moment, so I cherished the fact that I had to wait (and pace) for him to respond. Talking on the phone happened pretty quickly because I was forward and gave him my number one night when I was in his neck of the woods for work. We spoke for over a week, through Thanksgiving, and on into December when he *tee hee hee* asked me out. Could I meet Saturday in Livermore for wine tasting? Sure. I countered with an immediate second date because I was afraid that if I tripped or if my fly was down the entire time, then I would need to build in a second chance for him to get to know me better, sans embarrassment. (Read: implementing lessons learned from the past.)

My cozy wine tasting outfit and new brunette coif.

First stop: The Big White House Winery. There were supposed to be dogs up for adoption on Saturday, but the vendor canceled last minute. It seems that the dogs weren't all that were missing. Ummm, where's the big white house? (Ryan's joke).

On to Steven Kent winery, which was pretty bit overpriced for a tasting, although they did have food pairings with each wine. I think I got our money's worth in cheese.

We spent awhile here, chatting casually and people watching, "why does that guy have his sunglasses on inside?" This photo is not of sunglasses guy, but you get a feel for the darkened room.

Next winery, El Sol, was a lot of fun. They had a better food spread than the last place, and the staff was very cool. First you go in to the tasting room (behind the blue car), and then come out to taste from the barrels in the "garage." That's also where the food was. A few pieces of bread made it easier to move on with more tastings.

Ryan. Fun, friendly, and normal.

The sign in the barrel room. Made me miss my puppy.

We drove to Downtown to go to dinner because it was just too soon to call it a day. Ooooofffff course we got stopped on our way to the restaurant, as the roads were blocked because the holiday parade and tree lighting were taking place. We decided to park and walk to find a place to eat. We stopped to watch some of the parade, since we were already there, and saw many cars with lights on them driving through (i.e. something you could have seen on any freeway any time of the year. Oh, Livermore. You tried.) We took the opportunity for a standing photo.

For Victoria: I am wearing 2 1/2' wedges and not leaning into my hip. He is still THAT MUCH taller then me. S-C-O-R-E!

 On our way to the parade, we passed this place that shone like a lighthouse in the darkness. We made it our revised dinner destination and had pretty good Mexican food. I ate him under the table, but he assured me that that wouldn't always be the case. We'll see. So much for being dainty-- I was 100% myself.

 

 We had a great time and enjoyed each other's company. We have a 2nd date lined up-- and technically we have our 3rd, 4th, and 5th dates lined up too. I'm not going to analyze it, I'm just going to say: this is fun!

Editor's Note: I got Ryan's permission to use his name, photo, and the chance to tell the first date story.