I am craigslist's number one craigslister. I love and am obsessed with reading the hundreds of posts that break the surface each day on this brilliant website. I look through the obscure things people sell, offered events and services, and my favorite, the 'romance' ads.
I absolutely love that people put themselves out there to complete strangers, and that so many people sum themselves up in a couple of lines or paragraphs in order to meet someone for a quick fling, or marriage for a greencard. I admire that people are so open in their desires and often wish a larger percentage of the world was like this. Things would be so much easier if you just knew what people fucking wanted. The remarkable thing about craigs is the fact that you have the option of putting up the ad, the option of meeting the people that reply, the option of well....basically anything.
So recently (..and maybe stupidly) I posted an ad on the romance column just to see how many people and what kind of people would reply...within the first 3 hours, I received a grand total of 67 emails. Some of the replies were hilarious, others were super outlandish and crazy, but the pictures definitely took the cake (spend a good five minutes on chatroulette and you'll get what I mean).
Not only did I post my own ad but I also answered someone else's. This guy turned out to be completely normal, and not the 'craigslist killer' many of my friends warned me about. Average dude with an average job...hard to find these days. So I end up meeting this kid after work.
Nothing is more nerve-wracking then waiting to meet a perfect stranger. I'm standing in the middle of union square park, and looking for this guy is like searching for a fuckin needle in a hay stack. On the phone with JAV and she's even telling me how crazy I am for going alone. In a skirt.
Finally I hear my name being called behind me. I turn around and he's standing right there, as normal as can be, in the chaos of union square.
I had heard about this place downtown called the Back Room. Basically a speakeasy that not many people knew about. Lost for something to do with this guy as a date, I asked him if he wanted to go on an adventure. He said yes, and actually seemed excited about it which made me even happier that I had stepped out of my box and comfort zone to give this craigslist mystery man a chance.
So we set off in pursuit of this hidden bar. After about 20 blocks of walking and chatting (he was an easy converser) I see a small and sketchy stairwell in the middle of a deserted block. As I'm bending to look down this black hole, this random dude walks by and says 'Back Room?", I say yeah and he goes nods to the staircase.
Craigslist guy (who I'll call CLG) and I look at each other and start down this narrow, rusty staircase. We walk down a lantern-lit passage way and finally reach a gated metal door. I open the door and it all hits me at once.
A beautiful, dim-lit, antique bar....wood floors, paintings of nude, full-figured women hung on the walls in gold frames, alcohol served in teacups and paper bags, antique lounge chairs and couches were every few feet, I felt like I had stepped back in time.
It was perfect. The setting was relaxed, which made conversation 10x better. It was mysterious. On a date with a stranger in a secret place...
We talked for two hours, straight on without awkward pauses, and kind of talked without care. With a stranger you don't have to be anybody, you don't know them and best of all- they don't know you.
Start your own mystery www.craigslist.com
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