#NerdsUnite: My name is Alicia and I'm doing 50 dates in 50 states (Start With Dinosaurs: Montana)
<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Alicia. She's about to embark on a 50 dates in 50 states dating documentary. She's here today to talk about her views on life, love, and all things through her nerdy little eyes. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT ALICIA!! </editorsnote>
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Alicia Ostarello
The closest I’ve ever been to a blind date is watching “Blind Date” while delaying homework as an adolescent. So when my newlywed friends Sacha and Matt offered up not only their couches but to set me up with a photographer friend of theirs, I figured there was no place like Bozeman, Montana to experiment with the elusive blind date.
I was sitting on the grass in front of Museum of the Rockies, a large cast of a full T. Rex hovering above me, when Ben walked up. He was a bit of a ginger, and I was immediately happy to see his arms drizzled with freckles. I over-eagerly complimented them as we shook hands, and I was surprised to watch him be a bit taken aback. Of course, then, thirty seconds into this meeting I had to explain I’ve always wanted a freckle-sprinkle of my own, but alas, only if you squint your eyes and wish as hard as I do would you be able to see the faintest of freckling on the bridge of my nose.
From there, we made awkward small talk (I am fairly certain about 60 seconds after the freckles comment I made a joke about fingering bones, of which I am not proud) and then went into the museum basement to watch the paleontologists at work.
If there’s one thing that breaks the ice better than a heated sledgehammer, it’s dinosaurs. Our tongues loosened as we gawked at Triceratops, spun ideas about why the beasts’ spikes widened and dulled, and discussed what it was like to be a kid and immersed in the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Add in the fact that I almost broke a dino-bone when a chunk of dirt chipped off what we were touching, and Ben and I didn’t lack for conversation.
Ben wasn’t at all what he appeared to be — which, in a plaid shirt, jeans and an easy smile, was a ski-rabbit waiting for the winter. Instead, he was an accomplished photographer and writer who had spent time studying abroad. He had a truly open mind after coming to terms with his family’s religious nature in order to be his own person and make his own choices. What began as jaunty small talk fell into questions, answers and discussion.
Matt and Sacha met us at a local pizzeria for drink after we’d spent a few hours together — and funnily enough, despite our friends sitting next to us and chattering about art, writing and the innumerable quirks of Bozeman, Ben and I kept having side conversations where we were literally leaning around the side of the table to make sure we could hear each other. This all might have ended with a kiss. Or not.
My takeaway from this (besides Ben’s number): if you’re ever on a blind date and don’t know what to say, start with dinosaurs.
#nerdsunite
Alicia Ostarello has combined her talents in talking to strangers with degrees in English and Sociology and is currently taking a road trip across the country with one goal in mind: to go on a first date in every single state. Follow her trip and the documentary film being produced about it, 50/50: A Dating Documentary on Facebook at facebook.com/5050ADatingDocumentary.