01/31/03's illustrious band:

Vanity Fare

Brought to you by my lunch date with Jason the guy from speed dating.

It went well. We met at a Chinese restaurant not far from Media HQ, hit the buffet and chatted easily. I did not find myself desperate for 12:45 to roll around so I could make my escape. Thanks to all who offered to stake out the restaurant and watch my back.

Jason (whose last name I forgot to ask) still seems like a pretty nice guy. He gets points for:

• Arriving on time.
  
• Arriving in his own car. As he joked at one point, his mommy did not give him bus fare to go meet his little friend.
  
• Dressing much the same as I did in casual Friday attire. His consisted of clean, nonragged jeans and clean, nonragged, nonstinky t-shirt. I wore black jeans and a plum-colored sweater. He complimented the color. I think it was a gift from Mother Media. Most of my good stuff is.
  
• Having good table manners, which included selecting reasonable portions from the buffet, using the right fork (OK, so there was only one to choose from), and dealing promptly with noodle splatter.
  
• Conversing on general topics.
  
• Making a couple, but not too many, respectful and affectionate references to his mother and father. He visits; he does not live in their basement.
  
• Saying that he liked cats and convincing me he meant it.
  
• Having nice pale blue eyes.
  
• Paying for lunch with cash from a tidy, folded set of bills. Though I was tempted to peek at the denominations, I did not.
  
• Asking for and receiving my e-mail address.
  
• Complimenting my witty conversation.
  
• Saying he'd be in touch soon, but neither racing away from me nor pressing for another meeting immediately.
  

Yeah, it was good. If he asked, I'd probably go out with him again. But I'm not quite sure how to react to his apparent normalcy.

Right now, though, the real excitement is focused on the betting pool: What kind of car does Jason drive? You need to peg make, model and color to win the big money. Ante is $.50.

E-mail the Media Sensation: jugglernaut@hotmail.com

Addendum: I just received a very complimentary -- and well written! -- e-mail thanking me for a lovely lunch and asking for another date. His last name is Gabbert.