LolaRuns goes to Iota Cafe with Mechanical Engineer

LolaRuns is a glutton for punishment.

On Thursday, October 29, 2009, one night after dinner with Executive Recruiter, LolaRuns met with Mechanical Engineer for dinner at Iota Cafe in Clarendon.

Who is Mechanical Engineer? He is a 37 year old that LolaRuns was exchanging Match instant messages with for a period of a week and a half. LolaRuns had mixed expectations for Mechancial Engineer because she saw that his spelling was atrocious through instant messaging. The other cause for concern was that Mechanical Engineer did not appear to be very well read. Case in point? He has no knowledge of the great literary classics and could not speak to Vladimir Nabokov and Lolita. But LolaRuns reasoned that mechanical engineers are by trade more quantitative and perhaps this one in particular - put less emphasis on literature and more on math and science.

Regardless, LolaRuns courageously battled on in her fight to find a soulmate. She dutifully met with Mechanical Engineer despite her reservations.

After work, LolaRuns changed into jeans and a white shirt and grey wide strapped heels. Why? Because this is her lucky first date outfit - that's why! Through experimentation, LolaRuns discovered that men love women who look hot in jeans. Based on simple observation, LolaRuns concluded that she does not disappoint in this seemingly simple outfit.

LolaRuns was the first to arrive at Iota Cafe. The band was warming up in the room adjacent to the restaurant and LolaRuns chose a seat against the wall looking toward the doorway entrance. She received a text from Mechanical Engineer that he was searching for parking and would be there in a few minutes.

At 5 minutes past 8pm, in walked Mechanical Engineer. LolaRuns stood up to greet him and saw that he was about 6' tall with short hair shaved close to his head and nice blue eyes set against a very boyish face. Mechanical Engineer was in jeans and a simple grey Guess tee shirt with a biker jacket that he promptly removed. He looked great - just like his pictures - but as soon as conversation began, LolaRuns was disappointed.

To put it bluntly, Mechanical Engineer was very soft spoken. In fact, his voice reminded LolaRuns of a girl - not high pitched or anything - but girlish. LolaRuns was immediately turned off. But she soldiered on with dinner and conversation.

Mechanical Engineer had many positives. He is scuba certified and just finished running his first marathon - the Marine Corps Marathon - the previous Sunday. Mechanical Engineer went to community college where he received his associate's degree and than went on to the University of Maryland where he received his mechanical engineering degree. This is where it gets shaky. LolaRuns probed Mechanical Engineer but he did not seem knowledgeable about his field of expertise. However, that could be attributable to Mechanical Engineer's inability to articulate and describe his field of work. Regardless, Mechanical Engineer also shared that he worked in IT for the State Department and was able to travel extensively as a result. He scuba dived in Phuket and because of his employ with the State Department, Mechanical Engineer got to see a bit of the world.

Some things became very obvious to LolaRuns during the course of dinner with Mechanical Engineer. Although a very nice person, LolaRuns saw that Mechanical Engineer was really immature and not very sophisticated. She felt like she was having dinner with an 18 year old boy who fumbled his way through conversation and was not worldly or knowledgeable.

LolaRuns did not learn anything about Mechanical Engineer's family nor did he learn about LolaRun's family or history. LolaRuns did learn that Mechanical Engineer likes to dabble in real estate. He bought three townhomes and sold two in 2006. Mechanical Engineer currently lives with roomates in the last townhome located in Woodbridge and was looking for a new job. It was obvious that Mechanical Engineer has good financial discipline and lives within his means. Mechanical Engineer also spends his time between jobs in a very productive manner. Mechanical Enginner studied for and took the exam for the Professional Engineer certification the previous week. He trained for and ran the Marine Corps Marathon. LolaRuns was able to conclude that Mechanical Engineer, despite his inability to articulate his profession and world travels, is a productive and smart person with a good heart.

After a little more than an hour, dinner came to an end. Mechanical Engineer walked LolaRuns to her car where we parted ways with a hug.