Tattooed Jewess...

Joshua's Date #1: Punk Rock Girl

The Place: The Nomadic Museum “Ashes and Snow” exhibit
The Date: A first date (met on Jdate); Late 20’s; A band rep for a music management company who doesn’t know about the contest

I have a profile on Jdate. There, I said it. I’m out of the Heeb online daters closet. I’m fine with. No really, I am. I’ve actually had a profile for quite some time but have only recently subscribed to the service. I always figured that with a ridiculously sarcastic profile and a picture of Neil Diamond I would just be ignored. I was wrong - emails have been pouring in for quite some time. As a nonmember I have not been able to check the messages that have been accumulating (smart Jews running that site – like a strip club it's free to look but costs money to touch). Being the curious person that I am I took the plunge and threw down $35 shekels for access to the service a few weeks ago. I really wanted to see what kind of Jewish girl wants to get to know me.

I have to say that Jdate is filled all sorts of ladies – everything from the Murray Hill sorority girl from Long Island who straightens her curly hair to the ultra religious woman in a long skirt on the Upper West Side. One word describes the women I’ve met on Jdate: forgettable (ask me about the one date who insisted on going to TGIFridays and drank 5 pints of beer). Ready to cancel my membership I got an email message from a woman in her late 20’s who works in the music business. Her profile was witty and it looked like we had similar interests. She seemed interesting enough so I responded.

I met Punk Rock Girl at the Nomadic Museum to see the Ashes and Snow exhibit. I recognized her right away. She had a great smile. It’s always nice to see a smile on the person you’re meeting for a first date. I like to believe it’s because they’ve been looking forward to meeting you. Then again she could have been stoned.

Going to an art exhibit on the first date was a nice change from the standard drinks/dinner. I often feel that first dates over drinks/dinner are like job interviews – there is nothing worse than an awkward pause in the middle of dinner and trying to scramble to find something to say. At least with an art exhibit if things got awkward we could use the silence as an excuse to look at the photographs.

Thankfully there were no awkward pauses. The conversation flowed naturally and didn't seemed forced. I found that we talked more then look at the photographs. The only silence came during a film at the end of the exhibit. Both of us found the film visually stunning but somewhat pretentious (not like any of you care).

After the museum she treated me to Tasti D Lite and we chatted in Union Square for a while. We talked about art, music, our jobs, overseas travel, apartment/roommate disasters, politics, all the lunatics that live in New York City - she was way cooler then any of the other women I’ve met on Jdate. Since we both had plans later in the evening we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I told her I’d call her.

Bottom Line: Overall it was a good first date. Punk Rock Girl was adorable and had a great personality. The art exhibit as a first date was a nice change of pace from the standard NYC dating ritual. Despite being a smoker I would like to go out with her again.