8 MAY8, 2022
Date LabWITH JESSICA M. GOLDSTEIN
M
ike Bock, 32, says he knows what he wants: “A really
meaningful, long-term relationship.” The only catch: “I
haven’t quite found the right person to do that with yet.” In
February, just a few days after ending a shortish relationship, he
applied to Date Lab. Mike grew up in the D.C. area and has been
reading the column forever, so there’s a long-term commitment
right off the bat.
He’s hoping to find “a reliable, fun person” he can have a close
connection to, including a shared sense of humor. His friends would
say he has a type — tall, brunette — but Mike insists that isn’t true.
He does have a preference for “nerdier” women, because the writer-
editor at a federal agency is, by his own account, “a little bit of a
nerd.” He added, “I do find myself drawn to opinionated women.”
We matched Mike with Dara Duratinsky, 31, who confessed that
“nothing was going on” in her dating life when she applied. For the
past few years she was on a bit of a dating hiatus — she was in grad
school and working full time, plus pandemic. When she
redownloaded the apps at the end of last year, she explained, “I
found nothing really came of conversations. And I’m a huge fan of
Date Lab, so I decided to apply.” She’s ready to date in hopes of
finding something more serious but considers doing anything social
a victory unto itself.
She’s looking for someone outgoing and funny, who will practice
“honesty and transparency about where they’re at and what they’re
feeling.” She tends to date people who have jobs “on the giving-back
side,” she said, like teachers; she currently works at a nonprofit
think tank. And in a perfect world she’d meet a man who wants to
talk about baseball as much as she does.
Dara told a few close friends about her match “because they’re
equally as obsessed” with the column. But she picked her outfit on
her own: black skinny jeans, a dark orange blouse. She took a Lyft to
Lupo Verde at 14th and T streets NW, arriving a few minutes early.
For the big night, Mike deliberated among three shirts; a bright
pink, “very loud Hawaiian shirt” was discussed with his roommates,
all of whom vetoed it in favor of a blue option with pineapples. “I
think I do have a fairly big personality, so I wanted to showcase
that,” he said. Then he headed to the date. “I’m embarrassed to say I
took a scooter there,” he told me. “I realize it’s kind of dorky ... so I
try not to do it too often.” (In fact, he parked it a few blocks from the
restaurant so he wouldn’t be seen by his date on this cringey mode of
transit.)
He beat Dara to the restaurant by a few minutes. “She seemed
well put-together,” Mike said, even though they were both “a little
giggly and nervous,” by his account. “She gave off a nice vibe
straightaway.” Dara thought “he was cute” and “he seemed happy to
see me.”Surprising subject
of the night: Ghosts
Mike Bock
is 32 and a writer
and editor at a
federal agency. His
dream date is “ a
world-renowned
archaeologist who
reads a lot and is
also great with kids.”Dara
Duratinsky
is 31 and works at a
nonprofit think tank.
She is interested in
“confident goofballs
with dad bods or
Chris Evans.”PHOTO: DANIELE SEISSSign up for Date
Lab at washington
post.com/datelab.