Rommel, 30

Whiskey Tavern - m4w (Chinatown / Lit Italy)

I waved, you waved back, I came and we had a conversation. You were with your friend talking to the married guys that you were obviously into. I had to go, but I gave you my number and said you'd probably never call...I may or may not have dialed it incorrectly so now I'll never know and I seem like the jackass that can't type. Buy you a whiskey shot with a spicy back?

Hmm. You're wearing flip-flops. 
It's a California thing. I stay in sandals as long as I possibly can, 'cause I know I'm not gonna be able to wear them for very long. It's going to get cold and snowy — that's my cutoff point. It's a way to keep a little piece of me from back home here.

So tell me about this Missed Connection. What happened? 
Well, it was a Thursday. We were headed to a law-school event, and we decided to get a couple of shots at Whiskey Tavern before we went out for dinner. We were there for a good while. The girls were at the bar, and we were at a booth, so I didn't even notice them at the beginning. Then as we were leaving, I turned around to wait for one of my friends, and I saw these two girls looking at me. I was feeling bold, so I waved. And they waved back, so I jetted on over there. One of her friends was talking to two other guys, so I asked the other girl who they were. She was like, "Oh, they're not very interesting. They're married." So I was like, "Oh, okay, well..."

...I am not married? 
"I'm not, and obviously you guys aren't, so it's perfect." But we were rushing. My friends and I had already been at the bar for a while and we were pretty hungry. I talked to this girl for like three minutes at the most. I was like, "Okay, I really have to go, but I'm going to give you my number and you should call me." So I typed my phone number into her phone, and I was like, "But you're probably not going to call," and she said she would. Then I left. But when we were at dinner, I realized that I never got a missed call from me calling my own cell phone, and so I think I typed my phone number incorrectly into her phone. That was dumb.

Did you get her name? 
No, I didn't. It was brief talk, and that was it. It was so random, and that's why I even tried posting on Craigslist. I was like, "Meeting her at all was a random coincidence, so I might as well just do something that's a little bit different."

Was there anything that drew you to her? What about her made you feel bold? 
I think it was just the situation. The fact that they actually acknowledged that they were looking at me, that was my in right there. I was like, "If I don't go over there, I'm going to feel like a giant idiot, so I might as well take this opportunity." I'm just starting to get out and be single here now. I'm usually pretty reserved when it comes to dating. I don't meet many girls in general. School keeps me really busy, but now I'm in my last year so I have an opportunity to have some fun. I don't know if I'm staying here or going back to California, so I'm just letting myself have fun.

How do New York girls compare to California girls? 
There are a lot of really, really attractive girls here, but they're all really tall. Height's a problem for me.

So they've got to be shorter? 
Just enough so when you're wearing heels you're right where I'm at. I'm comfortable with that, but the second a girl gets taller than me... It's just a confidence issue. I don't know, it's nice to be able to look down on somebody.

So have you used Missed Connections before or is this your first time? 
No, that was my first one. Probably the only time I'll do it, to be honest with you. But I guess you never know. You could meet someone one night and then never see them again. Or you might run into them again.

Maybe at Whiskey Tavern? Go hang out there for a little longer. 
I know — I should've just gone there again last night.

What responses did you get? 
There were two other ones — one was like, BBW for, uh... small white man? That was the response! Not even like a question mark or anything. And the other one, I'm pretty sure was from a guy. And then I got your e-mail and I was like, this has got to be a scam or something. This has got to be a joke.

If tables were turned — if you were browsing Missed Connections and saw a posting that looked like it was for you — what would you do? 
I'd probably respond if I really had a strong feeling that it was me, but it's pretty weird. I don't cruise Missed Connections at all. I read it because I think it's funny. But this was the first time I'd ever thought about posting something. But if the shoe was on the other foot I'd probably respond, because obviously if someone was willing to put that out there and you remember it, it doesn't hurt to try. Especially in a city like this. I tend to be pretty picky with girls, so if someone stands out...

So if this girl were to get back to you, what would you say to her?
I'd definitely have to ask her what her name was, 'cause it's kind of weird not knowing. I'd tell her we have to meet at the exact same place, then just take it from there. We obviously had some sort of connection to begin with, so why not start at the exact same place where it began?