Thursday, 15 September 2011

Date 7: Nick the Greek




Who set me up this time
Chloe
I worked with Chloe as a waitress/bartender at age 19. Those who know me know that I am a bit clumsy. I was an awful waitress and bartender! We used to have several laughs at work. I spent most of my time struggling and Chloe spent an awful lot of time trying to teach me to hold 8 hot plates on my arm and laughing at my failure. I hope that I am a better date than I am a waitress.
What do I know about him
Nick lives in Southgate. Like most people from Southgate that I’ve met, he is Greek Cypriot. His mum owns a beauty salon and he and his dad work in property development. Now that’s stereotypical!
First impressions
When I asked where I should meet Nick he insisted on picking me up and driving into London. I think I prefer to be on my feet and catch a train but it is nice and cushy going in a plush BMW. Nick asked me if I wanted to go for a drink before setting off. I think this was just because he wanted to make sure I was comfortable. As I already felt at ease with him and I was confident in Chloe’s choice of date we skipped the introductory drink and went straight to the city.

What happened?
Nick was taking me to a Greek restaurant where they dance and smash plates. As several of my school friends were Greek, I am familiar with this sort of evening. Nick described the entertainment as ‘a bit like Stavros Flatly' (so basically top quality). I had a feeling that Nick might be doing the classic ethnicity trick that Christian (date 4) talked about. Nick managed to speak Greeklish to me several times! (For those of you who don’t know, Greeklish is a language made of English grammar, Half English vocabulary and half Greek vocabulary). And the waiters were speaking pure Greek. Being spoken to in foreign languages is a common problem for me. As a half South Indian, half English person, people usually find my ethnicity difficult to guess. I have olive skin and dark brown hair that could be Italian, Greek, North African, Iranian, South American.... several things really. And people try all these foreign tongues with me.  As the night progressed, I discovered that when you’ve told someone several times that you are not Greek, it is slightly frustrating when they repeatedly talk Greek to you. On the bright side, if I spent enough time with Nick I might learn to be bi-lingual?
As I was about to take a bite out of a piece of smothered chicken, a waiter unexpectedly tapped me on the arm and tried to pull me on to the dance floor. Bit frustrating but this whole dating marathon has been about saying yes and trying new things so up I went.

Proper Greek people definitely do not dance the way I danced! ‘You must be good at this no? You’re Greek!' The waiters shouted. NO! I am not Greek and I am not a good dancer! I gave it a good go but I fear I looked like a little fool. Luckily there were more English people around me who also looked like fools. There was one very good thing that came out of getting up on the dance floor; towards the end the waiters had to know that I am well and truly NOT GREEK.

On Nick’s request, we ended the evening with one little shot. The traditional after dinner shot involves slamming it down on the table, lifting it up in the air for a salute and then slipping it down your throat. In a moment of enthusiasm, I slammed it a little too forcefully and at such an angle that the liquid leaped out of the shot glass and onto Nick’s face! This was not cool! After about 30 seconds of his surprise and my apologies, Nick burst into laughter. ‘It’s supposed to go in your mouth love’ he grinned. At that moment Nick insisted on ordering another shot for me. The waiter who was obviously oblivious to the fate of my first shot assumed we were both having an extra shot and brought two. More laughter exploded from Nick’s mouth as he pointed out that he was driving. As punishment for throwing alcohol in his face, I was given the task of downing two shots in a row. SMACK! Absinthe!
On the journey home we had plenty of laughs. Nick played Greek music in the car. This man is Greek to his toes!  Luckily, I think I like a lot of popular Greek music. They sound especially groovy after absinthe! We had a nice goodbye.

·         Would I go out with him again?
It was great fun. But we didn’t seem to have that much in common.

  • What other people have said
He would do better dating a Greeklish girl.

·         Would I recommend him to a friend?
Yes.
Date Planning 9
Rapport 7
Sweetness 6


Monday, 12 September 2011

Date 6.5 Charles - the Rom-Com

In a moment of stupidity, I thought that Charles might like to skip the capital’s pollution and spend some sunshine in the suburbs. The problem with that is that the town I live in is dead and the weather was bad! I like living outside the madness of the city but I found showing Charles (who lives in the glamour of Chelsea) around a deserted town a little lame. Having said that, I really appreciate Charles making the effort to come to me. It’s great when a date does that!
We went for a snack before the film started. We discussed celebrity spotting and London clubbing. When I was a student, my friends and I partied at many Mayfair and Soho clubs and saw many minor to well-known celebs. I am not much of a celebrity fanatic but they are still fun to spot! Charles agreed and as a frequenter of famous bars such as Mahiki and Wisky as well as lesser known exclusive venues and he enjoys celeb spotting. Charles is a big fan of popular music and has work experience in this industry. He also lives in the same building as x factor star Matt Cardle.

Charles is very accommodating. Perhaps a little too accommodating. He asks you where you want to sit and is very attentive. This is a quality but perhaps he could work on making a few suggestions to avoid coming across as too passive? For instance ‘that table looks nice. Do you want to sit there?’ Rather than ‘where do you want to sit? You decide’. I felt that Charles put me in the driving seat a little too much.

Charles is friendly and chatty with waiting staff. This is one of the things that most impressed me on this date. He was hilarious joking with the waitress at the Mexican restaurant. Charles said that he used to work in a club/bar while he was a student. Without thinking I asked why HE would work in bar. This was a bit of a blunt question- Oops! I worked in bars as a student but I did not expect it from Charles. The truth is that after talking about his schooling, family background, shopping trips with his mother etc it was apparent that Charles was not short of cash. As I tried to dig myself out of a hole Charles explained that although he did not need to work for money, as a youngster he wanted to earn some keep out of principle. A pretty impressive work ethic he has!
We both enjoyed the film 'Bridesmaids' but Charles expressed slightly more conservative views about it. He thought that the nazi scene on the plane was a little too ‘out there’ while I thought it was hilarious. I think this pointed to a difference in our characters. He is urbane and I am a tom-boy. I actually think that Charles is too in touch with his feminine side for me!

Charles talked about a subject that is taboo for an early date.... exes! He mentioned that as someone who came from an all-boys school, he was shy around girls and described himself as someone who was a bit late to start with women. This type of honesty is slightly endearing but I would suggest you wait till later than date 1.5 to share it. Also, he asked me about my relationship history. I really didn’t know what to say. I don’t want to talk about exes. They’re over. To be honest I feel like I’ve wiped the slate clean. I hate having to explain this!



Towards the end of the evening, while we were waiting for the rain to stop so I could walk him back to the station, Charles explained that he had had an invite to the F1 party that evening. O dear. I had brought him to my naff home town when he could have been partying with the pussy cat dolls.

Would I go out with him again?
Well you might have noticed that Charles and I have very different personalities. I guess we’re not compatible. However, I think that if we hung out more we would be pretty good friends. He is one of the most intriguing characters I have ever been introduced to. I can see why Rahul gets along with him. I reckon that if Charles had been at university in London with us then we would have had a lot of laughs. So in conclusion yes I owe him mojitos and I really rate Charles. I would see him again but I think that we are friendship material and nothing more.

What other people have said
He seems nice. Some people seem to think that Charles might be gay. I am not so sure. He's rather in touch with his feminine side but theres nothing wrong with that.

Would I recommend him to a friend?
Yes.

Date Planning 8
Rapport 6