Match: Date #1

So.....  I had my first matchdotcom date.  Let me preface this with what I'm going to call the "The Dating Chronicles" Givens, which is what I'm operating from at this point and time.

Givens:

1. I'm trying to keep an open mind-you never know
2. A date is a date is a date-meaning enjoy it for it's own value, not more, not less
3. Have fun-who doesn't need fun?

Moving on, to the "match"; 39 year-old, East Indian descent, self-employed, lives in close proximity, ok looking pic and profile.  Shall we call him Michael?  Why not.  Michael sent me a "wink" on match so, what the hell, I "winked" back.  Then there were a couple of emails which would be the equivalent of small talk, the last of which was asking me out to dinner.  I  agreed and we met at an Indian Buffet-his choice.  Now, personally, I am not a big fan of Indian food or curry.  I've tried it a few times now and really, outside of the naan and buttered chicken-it's not my thing.  Nevertheless, I agreed-please refer to Given #1.

I arrived early to the Buffet and waited for Michael.  This I believe will continue to be an awkward experience because, in actuality, you don't really know who you're waiting for and if they will look more or less like the picture they posted.  In this case, Michael looked better than his pictures.  Good start.  We were seated immediately and he was very gentlemanly.  He talked about where he was from (Fiji!), his immigration to this country, what he does for a living, his ex-wife, and his experiences on match.  He was quite a talker and did so for an hour.  After talking for this extended period, like it was a sudden afterthought, he says, "Oh. I guess we should eat."  I thought so too, since the restaurant was going to close in an hour.  Sidenote: I found more Indian food that was good to me.  Still won't be suggesting Indian, but I expanded my horizons.

Now, to me, first dates are not occassions to share your negative relationship history, talk extensively about your ex, complain about your job, or other such downers.  Why? See Given #3.  If the first date cannot be fun, then what's the point of continuing?  Besides, I also think this is a good time for evaluating/assessing shared interests, shared values, attractiveness, and attraction.  In any case, Michael seemed interesting enough and somewhat funny.  What I could not figure out was the attractiveness piece.  It's true, he was better looking than his profile pic, but something was off and I could not figure it out.  What was it? What was it?  As I assessed, and assessed, I pinpointed the area of concern: the mouth.  

He was MISSING TWO FRONT TEETH!!!  (one of the big ones and the side one next to it).  Good grief.  I am a little bit mad at matchdotcom.  Why?  There's no profile criteria to select: Must have all front teeth. 

Summary:  He seemed like a nice enough guy.  I was not really feeling the attraction and the missing teeth totally squashed it.  Shallow?  Maybe so, but I'll trade a man with BMW and missing front teeth, for a man with a Toyota with ALL his front teeth anyday.  Real talk.

Verdict: No match. I think if you are going to put yourself out there to date-decent teeth fall under basic. Well......  unless maybe you're 98 years old.