Date Lab This date is hot.
But in the right way? Christa McDermott, 35, environmental policy fellow Martin Zerfas, 36, personal trainer
MORNING ROUTINE ... Martin: Give my diabetic cat his injections and then feed him. Christa: Turn on the radio. Let my cat under the covers.
CHANCES YOU’D TALK TO A STRANGER ... Martin: Ninety percent chance I would talk to them, 80 percent chance I would make their acquaintance, and 10 percent chance they’d be a new friend. Christa: Eighty-fi ve percent. I talk to people on the bus all the time. Metro isn’t as friendly.
HOW YOU’RE NOT D.C. ... Martin: I ditched my legal career for a job I really enjoy and that’s not behind a desk. I hardly read/watch/ Web surf the news. Christa: I want a compost pile and
a chicken coop in my back yard. And to take over the front yard with a vegetable garden.
INTERVIEWS BY NINA PATEL 7:30 p.m., Tuscana West, Downtown Christa: I was the fi rst to arrive and started talking to the hostess, and Martin came in just a minute behind me. Martin: I introduced myself, and we shook hands. I like brunettes with lots of hair, and she was a brunette with lots of hair. She is very pretty. I had a Guinness, which she thought was really funny because it was 100 degrees. Christa: He is defi nitely a very attractive man; he is obviously fi t, and that was appealing. I was also glad he wasn’t wearing a suit and tie: Someone who can be a bit more casual is appealing to me. [But] my type tends to be Latin or of Mediterranean descent. Martin: We found a handful of things that we have in common that seemed to stand out. She has a cat, and I have a
Seeking cerebral women who like reading and classical music. Is that
you? Apply now at washingtonpost. com/datelab. Find out what else we’re up to at
facebook.com/datelab and follow us on Twitter @datelab.
BRAG A LITTLE ... Martin: Spiritually, I’m a karma type
cat. We’re both into meditation, and we both like to travel. Christa: He’s a vegan, but I like to share food. So we tried to order dishes that we both could eat. I told him I’m a “fl exitarian,” because I mostly eat vegetarian but I wasn’t able to give up pork. He had a better sense of humor about that than many others. Martin: She mentioned she almost became a professor or something, but she thought it was a bit too hands- off. I was doing this lawyer thing, and it wasn’t physical enough for me. I thought that was something we had in common: that we didn’t necessarily follow the career path that we started. Christa: It was great that he made decisions to fi nd what makes him happy, and it obviously keeps him very fi t. I admired his decisiveness and his chutzpah. We have a lot of energy around the things that we care about. His concern about animals rights, which is why he became vegan. I am very much an environmentalist. Martin: She did say, I think half-
6 THE WASHINGTON POST MAGAZINE | AUGUST 15, 2010
who pays it forward and assumes everything is happening for a reason. I notice the little things, have a curious mind and love making people laugh. Christa: I’m curious about the large universe of stuff I don’t understand. I’m quick to smile and laugh. I say what’s on my mind.
jokingly, that what she really wanted to do was have a goat farm. So I had a lot of fun making fun of her. It was nice to make her laugh. It was somewhere in between just a normal, fun conversation and fl irting. Christa: There was defi nitely a connection between us. He has a physical energy, and we defi nitely had some kind of spark, but I don’t know if it was a real romantic connection. I think he’s a fl irt. He gave me a lot of compliments, which was very sweet. We were both really full and wanted to walk a bit. We left around 9:45. We walked around a little park on the way. We had some leftovers from dinner,
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148