Date #17: Granola and All Bran with Raspberries, Blueberries, and Goji Berries in Vanilla Soymilk

Well this is unprecedented. Another good date (that would make 2), this one also at the cereal bar. In fact, I’m considering a permanent relocation, as it’s proving so very date-friendly. (Plus, since Kashi hasn’t yet come through with that big Cereal Dating sponsorship, I really have no reason to maintain such public loyalty to the brand.) As such, I opted for a bowl of Shredded Wheat and Fiber One with strawberries, bananas, and chocolate chips in plain soymilk this time around, which I found to be not only more magically delicious than any leprechaun-endorsed fake marshmallow feast, but also highly compatible with my date’s Granola and All Bran with Raspberries, Blueberries, and Goji Berries in Vanilla Soymilk.

Yes, he’s a healthy one, that Granola and All Bran (with Raspberries, Blueberries, and Goji Berries in Vanilla Soymilk), and his passion for wellness spewed from his mouth as though he’d engaged in a coming-of-age nutrition book bender the previous night. (Admittedly, this was far preferable to those other things commonly referenced in spewing stories.) Being so nutritionally-minded myself, though, I didn’t much mind.

In brief, Granola and All Bran (with blah blah blah in blah blah blah…) is getting his master’s in nutrition sciences, starting a supplement business, and would like – one day – to write his own nutrition book. He switches between vegetarianism and veganism; however, he will occasionally consume fish (which as we all know, would actually make him a pescetarian but, alas, that is another post for another time).

Exciting though the wheat germ talk was, after about an hour with Dr. Oz my attention started to wane and I grew weary of his single-mindedness. Perhaps sensing this, Granola and All Bran deftly switched to his other passion – the ever-pleasing, fan favorite topic of travel. Ahh…travel. Always there when I need you.

Granola and All Bran is adventurous - a real backpack and trail mix kind of guy. Unafraid to throw himself into new situations, he has engaged in a number of activities that I’ve never seemed to have proper companionship for, like driving through Central America, and couch surfing (not a euphemism for some sort of collegiate sexual romp, despite the apt name). And, he even comes with a personal guarantee that “every single person” he’s ever traveled with has had “a great time” (so suck that, Rick Steves).

At exactly an hour-and-a-half in, newly entrenched in passionate travel discussion, the alarm on my cell phone alerted me of my expiring meter and provided a well-planned escape, were it deemed necessary. I deemed it not. I fed my meter and Granola and All Bran proposed we go for a walk. Well damn if I wasn’t planning on taking a walk when I got home from this very date! Now I could do both at once! So efficient! I love efficiency! And a good exclamatory! So we took it to the streets of Westwood.

The loquacious and passionate Granola and All Bran, in fact also asked many a substantial question (and actually seemed to care about their answers). He was confident without being arrogant, boasted an appealing laid-back but motivated nature, appeared alarmingly mature for his 25 years, and was not unpleasing to the eye. His face did, however, conjure persistent (and disturbingly incestuous) images of my brother, reminding me of a similar experience I had with Cereal Date #2, Special K Vanilla Almond who – as it were – looked nothing like Granola and All Bran, causing me to wonder if, perhaps, I actually have no idea what my brother really looks like. Eh, whatever…

By the time we wandered our way back to our cars, just minutes before my second meter expiration (that would be nearly 2 ½ hours and still going str- well, still going), we had exchanged email addresses (having previously communicated exclusively through the dating site), hugs, an awkward low-five, and enthusiastic interest in hanging out again. And I would like to enthusiastically hang out again. Maybe on the second go we can even upgrade to a clumsy high-five. Or passionate love-making. Or lunch. The sky’s the limit. Well, the sky and our vegetarian/vegan diets…and our individual schedules…and my prohibitive student loan debt…and, of course, the accepted standards of social behavior… But that’s all.