Last week’s Blindest Date winners, Angela Chen ’16 (Bachelorette #2) and Gregory Santoro ’14 (Bachelor #10) chose to have their amorous rendezvous at a local favorite. See below for their scintillating stories: 

She says:

7:04 a.m.: Get up, run, shower, catch the shuttle up Science Hill.

12:57 a.m.: Lunch with Nicole. “Guess who’s going on a blind date tonight on the YDN’s dime?” “You’re kidding — do you know who he is?” “I think he wrote ‘Major: Lazer’ and included ‘being a tiger’ in his hidden talents.” I hope we have something to talk about, considering I’m more of a dog person.

5:00 p.m.: iMessage from Greg — I’m standing in the walkway between Branford and JE. And so it begins…

Truthfully, I expected to meet a leather jacket and Beats headphone-wearing Electronica aficionado. Instead, I spotted a clean-shaven guy who had on rugged hiking boots, a weatherproof North Face and a smile set with extremely straight, white teeth. Needless to say, within the first two minutes of conversation, I realized that I had read, in preparation, the bio for a completely different bachelor. So this guy’s celebrity spirit animal wasn’t actually Mike Tyson. I couldn’t help wondering what revealing idiosyncrasies were waiting for me in the biography of the real winner, Gregory Santoro ’14.

Gregory … like Gregory Peck, one of my favorite actors of all time. Call me Greg, he had said in an earlier email. Several emails later, I was aware of his sincere warmth and cordiality. I looked forward to meeting him and, being the silly girl that I am, decided to wear heels in honor of the occasion. Luckily, Greg didn’t seem one bit perturbed by my uncoordinated hops over icy patches and even guided me through detours that had more reasonable puddles as opposed to pools. I couldn’t help but smile to myself as I walked beside him to Miya’s.

During dinner, I was so engaged in conversation about our mutual interests in running, being outdoors and traveling to Spanish-speaking countries that at times, Greg had to remind me to try the “Roll of a Lifetime” that sat patiently on the plate before me. He laughed at my little jokes, filled in conversation when I stuffed sushi in my mouth and graciously grabbed the check after the quickest two hours of my life had passed.

After a walk back under a shared umbrella and a warm embrace, I stepped into my common room, kicked off my heels and searched WEEKEND’s website for Bachelor #10’s biography. “Celebrity spirit animal: St. Bernard or St. Bernese Mountain Dog.” This is my kind of guy.

He says:

After traveling in the rain and slush, I arrived outside Jonathan Edwards College to meet Bachelorette #2 — Angela Chen ’16 — for the first time. Shortly after I got there, I saw her exit the college from the gate farther down. It was funny, because we then had to do that awkward walk towards each other where you can’t say anything because you would have to yell, but you don’t just want to stare, either.

Finally meeting each other for the first time, I realized that this truly was the blindest date for the bachelorette. She asked, “So, you are Major: Lazer!?” Although I lawled pretty hard when reading that myself, I was not the infamous Major Lazer.

And then the date began.

We decided to go to Miya’s Sushi. Although rain is not unusual in New Haven, Angela stayed true to her bio and wore high heels! As we walked down Chapel and then Howe Street, there seemed to be no exit from the sidewalk not guarded by a pool of slushy ice water. Fortunately, she could jump with heels, as we traversed a wintery Elm City. Lucky for me, she took walking around puddles and snow like a champ. After many zigzags, we arrived to Miya’s dry.

I don’t know about her, but I had a great time. Fortunately, Miya’s was not crowded. We ate great food and talked about life in general. Of course, we talked about school a bit, but we also talked about travel and our ambitions for the future. She was easy to talk to — there was never an awkward pause in the conversation (I think). It was exciting to hear about the things she has done, as well as her extremely ambitious plans. I’ve always talked about waking up at 7:00 a.m. to exercise, but Angela does this every day. Hearing about the achievements and goals of others has always helped drive me.

Angela also stayed true to another part of her bio — her major in happiness. The whole time she was smiling and laughing. The combo of ambition and positivity was a plus-plus. If anyone is feeling unhappy, just talk with Angela. We ended the meal with Miya’s fried ice cream, which is a dish every New Havenite should try.

On the way back, it was raining! We had to traverse a now rainy and wintery New Haven quickly so that she could get to art history class. And although the date began with a handshake, it ended with a great, big hug and a fun experience — thank you YDN.