LolaRuns makes contact

My curiosity got the better of me and I checked in during the evening of Day 1. It turns out that Guy1 and Guy2 responded to my emails and happened to be online. Guy1 started instant messaging me while Guy2 was content to email back and forth.

It was a nice quick banter based on profile curiosities. After several texts with Guy1, he let me know that he was an attorney and had a dinner meeting with two colleagues on the Hill and wanted to know if we could talk over the phone. He provided me with his number and I reciprocated with mine.

Guy2 had a different style of writing that was demonstrated consistently in his profile and emails. It was very stream of consciousness but it was apparent he was witty and smart.

Later that evening, true to his word, Guy1 - henceforth the Employment Attorney - EA, called me. EA had a New York accent and was delighted to tell me about his background. We talked for 45 minutes and during that time, I learned that he grew up on Long Island, went to George Washington University for his undergraduate degree, the District of Columbia law school, and received his LLM from Georgetown for employment litigation law.

EA started his own practice in DC five years ago and has one biological sister and four step brothers and sisters. EA ran marathons, had recently run a local race in Seoul, Korea, and liked to travel. We shared race event experiences, talked more about family, job histories, and my dog while I subjected EA to my pyschological test. I remembered most things about his profile and probed with questions. EA passed with flying colours and I determined that he was true to his profile. EA must have thought similarly about me because he asked if we could meet in person for coffee. I suggested Sunday afternoon at 2pm at a Starbucks downtown and he happily complied. EA said that he would call or text me later so that we could finalize plans.

My only nagging thought about EA was based on intuition and not on fact. EA's profile pictures showed a lean physically fit and very attractive bald man. His profile statistics revealed that he was 6'2. Based on his voice and his breathing, I wondered if he had gotten fat and docile. Please don't ask me how you can tell if a person is fat over the phone - but I had a nagging suspicion that EA would turn up looking like Fatboy. I told my Mom and sister who were convinced that I was making up excuses to not meet in person.

During my series of email exchanges with Guy2, he provided me with his telephone number and requested mine. Guy2 - known henceforth as Private Investigator - PI, sounded effeminate on the phone and I was immediately not attracted. But we shared a good rapport and I was trying my best to keep an open mind. During my 45 minute conversation with PI on the phone, he was not frank about his profession and where he lived. For example, he confessed that he did not live in DC as his profile stated. PI actually lives in Maryland and told me that his profile reflects DC for safety and privacy reasons. I was guarded as a result. Nevertheless, he talked openly about other subjects like his mother, her love of opera, where he grew up - outside of Detroit, his rescue Husky Heidi and his hobbies which include interior decorating and salsa dancing. As a result, when PI asked if we could meet in person, I complied and suggested coffee. We agreed to meet halfway in the Tysons Corner area at the Ritz Carlton bar/lounge. I told my Mom and sister about Girlman and they wished me luck for Saturday.

On Friday night, I was scheduled to have dinner with three of my girlfriends at Posto in Logan Circle. One of my friends, Miss. T, had a fever and couldn't make dinner. The other friend, Miss. M, had flown back from San Diego on the red eye that day and bailed as well. That left me and Miss. A. So we ditched the Posto idea and headed to Bourbon Steak at The Four Seasons where I filled Miss. A in on my adventures with Match. Miss. A gave me some good advice when I told her my suspicions about Fatboy – i.e. the Employment Attorney and Girlman – the Private Investigator. She suggested that I go ahead and meet with them both to see if my intuition rings true. If so, I am free to trust my intuition in the future - but if not, I should give people the benefit of the doubt.

I couldn't argue with sound advice. :)