DATE 6: YOU’VE GOT MAIL; BOOKSTORE BONDING WITH JOE FOX

This date was actually the opposite of the movie because we went on the date at the bookstore first and, because we like each other, now have to continue our relationship via the internet. I met Joe Fox on the first night of my 2-month business trip to LA. On our date he pointed out how romantic it is that I met him on my first night here and we went out on my last night… I love that I met someone who is as busy as me! Wait… is that bad that I’m actually relieved that he was so busy that dating didn’t interfere with my work?

Anyway, more about him. He’s tall, dark, and handsome, with two deep dimples. I have a real thing for dimples. I never realized it until I started writing this blog. What the heck is it about two dents in the checks that occur when a guy smiles that I find so completely sexy? Speaking of sexy, he’s Brazilian. He kept apologizing for his accent. Umm hello.. if my panties could talk they’d have screamed, DUDE do you not know how sensual you sound?!?! He works in visual effects so he’s got the cool geek thing going on in that he’s sexy but also smart and techie.

While he’s not passionate about bookstores, we agreed on the setting because of how revealing sharing our sections would be.  He asked me to take him to my section first.  I told him I had two and that they were next to each other. I knew the first one would speak to my entrepreneurial side which would be helpful in easing him into my second section.. a section that men do not go in to!  Well, it turns out I haven’t been to Barnes and Noble in a while and my first section had moved. So much for easing him into my second section… Chick Lit.

Now, if you’re a guy reading this, you probably don’t even know what that is. Chick Literature, as I explained to him as we entered the fiction section, are all the books with the pastel and pink colored spines. Authors include Sophie Kinsella, Jennifer Weiner, and Lauren Weisberger. He noticed the Danielle Steele section, and I explained, “No, I’m not into romance novels. Mine are more like Rom Coms in book form. They make me laugh out loud and are perfect for the beach. While I love a Dan Brown novel, those make me think and follow intricate plot lines. With Shopaholic, I just crack up and wonder how the heck Becky’s going to get herself out of the messes Sophie writes her into.”

I wasn’t sure of my first impression so I suggested we go searching for my other section.  When we found it (Entrepreneur/Business section), he lit up because it was his favorite section too… he was also probably relieved that there was more to me than pastel spines. There was a particular book he had mentioned earlier as we rode up the escalator, The Lean Startup, and it was displayed prominently. That led to a bit of a competition to see who could point out more books  we’d read. I was at a slight disadvantage, as most of my reading these days is Chick Lit because I do my business reading on blogs. I pretty much only had Tim Ferris’ 4-Hour Work Week, and when Joe pulled Rich Dad/Poor Dad off the shelf, I was happy to have found a second. Our section was a tenth of what it once was, shoved in a back corner. Probably because all the business people are too busy to go to bookstores and download books to their Kindle.

Squeezed in to the other corner was his other favorite section… the computer education books. This was when I really started learning about him. He got his first computer when he was 6 and was building computers when he was 10. I love hearing stories that reveal someone was basically destined to be in their career because of their passions as a child. He was pulling out books on programming and talking a language I didn’t understand (and it wasn’t Portuguese), when a book grabbed my attention. I pointed it out, “iPhone Sex?” That grabbed his attention too. Actually it was just my mind playing tricks on me and it actually read “iPhone SDK” which he explained, but I’ve already forgotten what it meant. And with that he realized it was time to leave the textbook section.

The great thing about Barnes and Noble is that there is more than just books. We discovered a mutual enjoyment of puzzles and that we both obsess until they are done (I joked about how I wouldn’t sleep until it was done… but I wasn’t actually joking because I’m pretty scary when I obsess over the completion of a puzzle, so needless to say I gulped when I saw him pull out a 3000 piece puzzle, and he announced that wasn’t enough, and tried to find a 5000 piece). At this point we’d been on the date for about 45 minutes when we came upon “The Complete Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook… Dating & Sex.” I pulled it off the shelf, handed it to him, and suggested he check if there was a section for a date in a bookstore.  He laughed, as he put the book back on the shelf, saying that he was having a lot of fun and it was certainly a date he’d never forget.

As we went down the escalators, the DVD section was on the left. Well, we couldn’t possibly pass that up.  Turns out he loves Rom Coms in fact if he was going to produce a movie it would be a rom com… (cue the angels singing).  I don’t think I’ve ever met a guy who admitted he likes rom coms.  We both grew up loving the same movies, ET, Close Encounters, and then he started talking about the advancement in technology in the visual effects movies. I swear I could have listened to him for hours. What was really cool was I could tell him which Vis FX I didn’t like in a movie and he’d be able to explain what it was about the effect that was not up to par. I just love listening to guys talk about what they are passionate about. They get that look in their eyes that girls get when we go by a chocolate shop or a shoe sale.

The nice thing about being on a date with a guy from LA, was that at the end he said, “So you leave tomorrow and won’t be back for a few months. So we will have to communicate via SKYPE.” I guess guys in LA are so used to people traveling for work, they just understand. The guys in Florida, not so much. They get freaked out when I have to leave.  Maybe I’ll have to start dating Floridian pilots or military guys, because they understand traveling for work.

Our date ended with a hug, a little talking, another hug, some more talking, another hug, and then we said goodbye.  He followed up with a text thanking me for “today” and wishing me a safe trip… all that and a gentleman too. So, I’m sure this is not the last of Joe. I’ll be sure to keep you posted…