New York Post Dating: It's Not A Bad Thing When I'm Wrong

I link, because I care.

Kristen went for Mike. Yay! (The voting was pretty close, too - relatively speaking). Our Zagat-approved restaurant of the week: Gustavino's. Mike found Kristen to be more than palatable. Kristen found Mike to be appetizing. The seafood was well enjoyed. The conversation was four star. The connection was worth 6 1/2 hearts between them. They both conducted themselves handsomely on the date (extra props to them for ending the date pleasant and G-rated) and would each like to continue dating. Oh, merry, merry love!

In retrospect, I was generally wrong to be so harsh on Kristin. True, her personality does contain bold strokes of "super-talkative" and "self-obsessed*," things I consider to be huge warning signs for a psychotic ending; but there are some guys out there who are focused on other factors. Like intelligence. Energy. Tits and ass. Mike has everything he needs in Kristin. If Kristin wants to talk for 3 hours straight self-deprecatingly about how she talks way too much, Mike's not unhappy. He finds her charming regardless. Plus, Kristin finds it charming that Mike is intelligent and energetic enough to keep up with her. I've also observed that both of them are generally honest and do not have awful personality flaws that came across in their descriptions and reviews. I think this is one of the best connections I've reviewed.

*(self-obsessed is not to be confused with narcissistic or self-absorbed; self-obsessed doesn't mean that you love yourself too much like Brooke, it just means that you tend to think too much about what's going on in your own life. It's not a sin, it's merely an indulgence. And an often-tolerated one in New York.)

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So, we've had a good connection, there was no sexual theater performance involved on behalf of the Post, and I was wrong for being pessimistic. Satan's packing snowballs, people. Will Cupid reign another week, or will hell get hotter than ever?

Our boy of the week is Josh. I like Josh. And he looks familiar - seems I liked him back then, too. He seems like an honest, intelligent guy. Only one warning sign:

"I don't think people are able to 'look' for people anymore - you just have to get really lucky to meet someone special... I don't find one-sided conversations all that exciting."

Does this hint at a sign of being jaded in the dating pool? (I mean, I am, and I couldn't have said it better...) That's a bias best left at home during a blind date.

A sign of good fortune: all of the match girls are at least age appropriate! The last time Josh (33 years old) was here, his potential match was a 22-year-old. Are Tom and Mackenzie getting better at this matchmaking thing? I think so:

Dido, 32, accountant. She has pretty nice things to say about herself without seeming totally conceited. She makes it through the worst date question just fine. Other than comparing herself to a dog, she looks alright - not too exciting, I admit, but not someone to rule out quite yet.

Lisa, 27, project manager. Now we're talking. She's definitely energetic. Despite a near self-prescripton for a straitjacket:

How would you describe yourself? Hmmm. How to describe myself when I can be someone very different every day?

I've decided that this one is a keeper on one condition: Josh needs to be tall or else the connection is out the window. Other than that, my biggest concern with Lisa and Josh: she might have expectations for someone who is energetic and well-tuned to her "whoop it up!" style. I cannot tell if Josh fits that profile, although I'd lean to the opinion that he's not.

Last, we have Erin, 27, a writer. Southern belle? Whale? Trivial Pursuit? She's a seemingly nice girl, but she's not giving off a hottie vibe. She looks merely honest and quirky. Of note, she manages to deal with her worst date answer acceptably. Otherwise, nothing exciting here; good competition for Dido, but overshadowed by Lisa in both looks and energy.

My pick? This is tough. While I think Josh, meeting certain conditions, would have a nice date with all three of these girls, there are things we don't know about each of these 4 people that will determine whether or not a connection will last. Josh could decide that sparky and fashion-conscious (Lisa) just isn't his style, and from there choose either Dido (the sane one) or Erin (the quirky one). Or, he could go for Lisa's looks and energy, with the risk that if she doesn't find him captivating, a good first date will not lead to a second one. But let's just do this New York Post style: Lisa is hot and she's my pick.
(Note: there's no voting this week online. Ooooooooh, what does that mean?)

See all of you next week...