Each month, we set two daters up at a restaurant, give them free food and drinks, then wait for the magic to happen. This month’s Blind Date, we set Mali and Pat up for a special night at Linger Restaurant in Denver.
Meet the Daters:
Pat:
Why are you going on a Rooster Blind Date? Because Tom “Shank Aaron” convinced me to come.
What’s a good way to win you over? Number one out of everything is to be a nice person.
Most irrational fear: Driving away from the gas pump with the nozzle still in the gas tank.
What’s your greatest strength? Seeing greatness in others.
Never have I ever: I’ve never eaten a hot dog underwater.
One thing about you no one would believe: I took second place for 18 and under in all of Europe as a bowler.
Do you want kids? Yes. Two, if I had to say.
What do you geek out on? Personal optimization.
Immediately red flags: Talking shit about their exes.
Immediate green flags: A good relationship with their parents.
One thing you can’t live without? Gratitude.
Mali:
Why are you going on a Rooster Blind Date? I love local news, I love Rooster, and the Blind Dates are always fun to read.
What’s a good way to win you over: General kindness.
Most irrational fear: I’m kind of afraid I’m going to crash my motorcycle.
What’s your greatest strength: My ability to learn new things.
Never have I ever: I never finished middle school. I’m a middle school dropout. I made a PowerPoint and asked if I could home-school myself. My parents said yes, my school said no.
Do you want kids? Yeah. I want to adopt my kids.
What do you geek out on? I love some efficient code. Local news, hence, my love of Rooster. I’m a huge history buff. I have a Rubik’s Cube collection.
Immediate red flags: If you hate animals. I’m a big animal lover and my house is full of foster and adopted animals.
Immediate green flags: People who have the courage to care very deeply about things.
One thing you can’t live without? I love our 300 days of sun in Colorado. NYT crossword puzzles.
Round 1: It is a HOT day in Denver. In fact, one of the hottest days we’ve ever seen in June. That didn’t stop our two daters, Mali and Pat, from showing up to Linger with radiant smiles. It’s so hot, how could there not be a spark? Unless that’s just the heat lightning blinding us. After a skewer and some bao buns, we peel the daters apart to see how things are going.
How’s it going so far?
P: Good. Mali seems like a cool person. She has an interesting job and likes to live life.
M: I think good. Our circles would not overlap in real life, based on what we do. But I love meeting people like that because it is someone who has a different perspective on the world than I do.
What are your first impressions of the dater?
P: In general, she’s a smart person.
M: He seems to be passionate about what he does, music, and also someone who thinks deeply about his place in the world and how he affects the world. That’s a special trait in a person.
What was the first thing you noticed about your date?
P: Oh jeeze. It’s hard because we just met. She seems like a sweet person.
M: I saw him before I talked to him. He’s a lot taller than me and I noticed that. And I’m wearing heels!
Is this the type of person you’d normally date?
P: I don’t know! I don’t know enough about her. I’m still figuring that out.
M: No, just based on the fact that I don’t know if we would have ever met. Just based on what we do. But I don’t think that’s a bad thing to date someone who you wouldn’t normally date.
Where do you normally meet partners?
P: To be honest I don’t date that often. When I do, I date for a long time.
M: Normally friends of friends, or just friends. But I learned that’s a bad idea.
What are you most nervous about for tonight?
P: I wasn’t.
M: That one Blind Date a few months ago where the girl said bring mace! I was like what if he’s another kind of ‘bring mace’ kind of date!
Did you get any advice for the date?
P: No. Nobody even knows I’m here, except for Tom!
M: Oh yeah. I’ve been crowd-sourcing from my friends for the past week. It was mostly good advice. They were hyping me up.
How did you prepare for the date?
P: I didn’t eat because I knew I would be eating.
M: I talked to one of my best friends last night because I knew I’d have to come straight from work. She consulted me on what to wear.
How did your date dress tonight?
P: She looks better than I do!
M: He’s got the hoodie and backward baseball cap. What I would expect going on a date in Colorado. But he’s got some interesting jewelry.
Round 2: Houston, we have liftoff! Pat has taken an interest in Mali’s career, and Mali is in her element sharing her wisdom in the world of aerospace software engineering. Despite their very different lives, they seem to be enjoying each other’s company.
How was dinner at Linger?
P: It was really good. I got the bison steak skewer and Wagyu sliders and everything was on point.
M: I love Linger. I would highly recommend all the vegans out there to come here. The food is great, the ambiance is great.
How’s the date going?
P: It’s going great. Super interesting conversation about hacking, Neuralink, satellites, and quantum superposition. It’s all theoretical anyway, but, actually, it’s not.
M: I think is good. I felt like we’ve had plenty to talk about. He’s an interesting person to talk to.
Do you guys have anything in common?
P: Oh yeah. Everything I just said! We both like to talk about advances in technology, and currently were debating if we should fear AI or not. I happen to be optimistic about it. Everyone feared the internet before the internet came out.
M: Yes. But not necessarily super tangible lifestyle things. But, we do have some activities in common like outdoor activities. We were talking about opinions on everything from AI to tech to family, and it seems like some similar and cohesive opinions.
What do you like about your date?
P: She’s very interesting to talk to. And the conversation is moving forward with ease. There’s very little friction.
M: He’s easy to talk to. And has questions for me that he seems to genuinely be interested in. I’m not talking to someone who’s just always talking about himself the whole time.
What do you not like about your date?
P: Nothing. She’s pretty chill. I don’t know her that well to say I don’t like something about her.
M: I don’t think there’s anything that I dislike about him.
What’s the most attractive thing your date has done so far?
P: She used to be a hacker when she was younger. She’s super smart and if you’re going to go on a date with somebody, I look for good conversation.
M: Having compelling questions and compelling answers to my questions. He seems genuine. He’s been asking me a lot of interesting things about my job.
How would your parents feel about the dater?
P: My mom would probably like her. If I could hear my mom in my head, she would be saying she’s ‘put together.’
M: My parents are the nicest people. They can talk to anyone, probably from years working in the medical field – they can talk to anybody and find common things to like about them.
What’s been the best part of the date so far?
P: I don’t know, it’s been a good day overall. The weather’s been awesome, I’m eating good food, and it’s been a good conversation.
M: Honestly I love Linger. If you have given me a whole array of options this Is what I would have chosen. And it’s always nice to have good conversation with somebody.
What could make the date better?
P: If ice cream was involved. I’ve been looking at Little Man Ice Cream. It’s right out the window.
M: The server mentioned that there’s a cool rooftop. So maybe we could go and check out the rooftop.
How’s the chemistry on a scale of 1 to 10?
P: I don’t know! If my hometown boys were next to me, they would tell me that I am oblivious to when girls are attracted to me. So, I can’t give an accurate number.
M: This is obnoxious, but I hate numerical scales! It feels so two-dimensionalizing of a three-dimensional question. So if I can get a free pass, I would love it to be this question.
Where would you like the night to do from here?
P: (looks out the window longingly) It will likely end with Litte Man Ice Cream.
M: The rooftop I suppose! That would be a good place. At some point, I have to go back home to feed the pets.
Round 3: We leave Linger feeling hopeful and optimistic. Will our starry-eyed sweethearts accompany each other to the Linger rooftop or stop for a sweet treat on their way home? Have the stars aligned for a perfect Rooster Blind Date? Did the cow jump over the moon?? We check in the next day to see what we missed.
What happened after Rooster left?
P: We went up to the rooftop and checked out the city. And then walked her to her car so she could go home and feed her two bunnies that she just got. No ice cream!
M: We went to check out the rooftop at Linger before going home— very cool spot!
What was the best part of the date and why?
P: Generally it was awesome to have a good conversation with somebody and have a nice meal.
M: Getting to know someone new and the excellent food and service at Linger. Also, side note I thought talking to you guys was fun too.
Would you have changed anything about the date?
P: No, I think it was great.
M: Nope!
Was there a goodnight kiss?
P: No. I gave her my number. It was very friendly. We said we would laugh when we see the article come out.
M: There was a hug and exchange of numbers.
Will there be a second date?
P: It’s kind of weird because I didn’t really see it as a date to begin with. I wouldn’t mind hanging with her again. I could see a friendly hang sesh.
M: I don’t think so just because we’re pretty different people with different goals in life right now, but I’m glad we got to meet.
Any advice for future blind daters?
P: Go in with zero expectations and just have fun with it. Because you’ll look back in a few years and likely laugh at another cool experience.
M: Sign up! Why not?
Conclusion: Although Pat and Mali didn’t find cosmic chemistry, we feel pretty confident that they left as celestial companions, aka friend-zoned. A bittersweet ending to an otherwise stellar date! Maybe they will cross paths again. Until next time!
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