I just wasn't that into you....

So the first funny story I've got from DC involves my bold plunge into the world of Craig's List. I say bold because when I told my mom I was using the site to shop for a roommate, she said, "Oh honey, make sure you request background checks." Suffice it to say, the Craig's List people market is not quite as popular back in Ohio. Nonetheless, emboldened by DC friends who say it's "the way to go", I took the plunge, and this past weekend I met the first two candidates with whom I'd been corresponding.

The funny (and confusing) part was that they were both named John, and while one's full name was John Johnson, the other one went by "JJ". To boot, I was supposed to meet one for lunch at 11:30 and the other for coffee at 1 p.m. at locales within blocks of one another. I felt a bit like Charlotte in that SATC espisode where she double-books. (And let's face it, interviewing potential roommates you've met online smacks of blind dating. There is simply no way to know if you will be awkwardly enduring a meal's worth of forced conversation or totally hitting it off.)

So I spent lunch asking John #1 about biking through Vermont (a story he'd recounted over email) only to get a blank stare in return. (Damn! That was John #2!). Luckily, John #1 was super nice and so unbelievably accommodating that I think I could've convinced him to move into a tree house with me. After an hour (we met for lunch--a mistake I won't repeat) I knew he wasn't going to be my roommate but had no idea how to tell him. So I let him down easy with a "let's just see how it turns out" approach.

By the time I met up with John #2 I felt more empowered. (I'm told by a friend in Manhattan who recently went through this process that it gets easier to make the break the more interviews you go on. Is this like becoming bitter??) Within milliseconds of being greeted by a 6'3" emaciated man carrying the daintiest espresso cup I've ever seen, I knew that it wouldn't work, the same way you just know when you're not going to hit it off on a blind date. (I'm telling you, the similarities are creepy...) Luckily, John #2 gave me an out by saying he wants to stay in Northern Virginia. I told him I was adamant about living in the District and followed it up with a firm, "I think we're going to part ways now, but good luck to you." My second interview was done in 10 minutes flat.

My experience with John #2 reminded me of another great SATC episode...the one that turned into that must-have book for single gals, "He's just not that into you." When I read it after a pretty devastating break up, I felt so empowered that I was dating someone new a month later (only to find out that he just wasn't that into me either, but that's beside the point!). Here I was with John #1 feeling like I didn't want to be the bad guy when it wasn't personal--I just wasn't that into him (co-habitationally speaking). And yet I hemmed and hawed to let him down easy--something most dudes do in the dating world that drives us gals NUTS. (Seriously, tell us you think we're fat or you can't stand the way we sing along to the radio, but don't be a pansy and make excuses or, worse, just fall off the face of the earth.)

So with this blog I offer a cyber-apology to John #1 and a vow to be a straight shooter in this quest for a non-serial killer roommate (or as my friend Josh said, "You mean a non-sniper roommate--we have snipers in DC, not serial killers"). Currently taking applications...