Shaken, not stirred - Lessons learned.

NEVER go out with a person without getting a picture of the guy beforehand.

Obviously, I responded to a couple of ads because I couldn't help myself - primarily because the guys were cute. Ah, shallowness, that would be me. Hey, I'm admitting it, I have nothing to hide.

But there was one ad that I responded to, without picture, just because I was curious. He said that he was getting a graduate degree in public policy in Cambridge - which immediately pointed to a KSG student. Awesome! I was excited! I had questions about professors there!

Poor guy. He answered a personal ad, and he got pummeled with questions about coursework.

Anyway, I digress. He was in NY doing an internship, and I was going to be down there for the week, so I suggested that we meet up. My roommate told me I was being a moron for not getting his picture first. I should've listened to him.

In the end, it wasn't his looks that were off-putting, although to be honest, had I received a picture I probably wouldn't have gone out with him. It wasn't even the fact that he was my height (with me having heels on) that turned me off.

No, it was the fact that he was a typical full-of-himself Harvard asshole that was the ultimate turnoff. Examples:

Me: "Yeah, I was looking at a class in educational policy."
Him: "You should take this negotiation workshop at the law school."
Me: "Hm, I'm not really interested in that."
Him: "Well, you should really consider it. It's a useful skill to have."

Let's repeat that: "It's a useful skill to have." That is what my father told me about medical school. If I wanted advice as to what I should be doing with my life, I'd just call home. I wouldn't go out on a date.

Me: "So, you're working at the UN? I contacted someone there about speaking on this panel I'm organising."
Him: "Oh, nobody at the UN really works except for a few people. My boss is one of them."

I'm sorry, what? Who made you the almighty overseer of determining who works and who doesn't? Incidentally, the guy we invited for the panel is chairman of the UN subcommission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. I feel like he might do some work.

Me: "Where in Africa did you work? What the UN does abroad is really interesting. I had a professor who headed the peacekeeping operations in East Timor."
Him: "Oh, hrmph. East Timor is a peaceful place. I worked in the Congo."

Yes, but you were a lowly worker whereas my prof LED the mission there. And it is now a peaceful region because he helped make it so. Additionally, again, who made you the coolest guy on earth? Because you are NOT. Plus, that professor was so damn hot, and you definitely aren't.

The whole lunch was like this. I couldn't wait to get out of there. I didn't even let him pay for lunch because I didn't want to be beholden in any way, and you know that's a bad sign when I don't accept a free meal when offered. Hm, I don't know how this links to not getting pictures beforehand, but I'm sure that it does. Oh, right. See, had I been smart enough to get a picture from him, I wouldn't have to have been subjected to his colossal ego, and my day would've been that much better.