Three years ago on June 10th, 2008, Julie left her apartment in Pasadena and drove to The Dresden in Los Feliz to meet up with someone she met online. Someone who wore two collared shirts in their profile pic. It was a Tuesday. That seemed like the best day to meet a random internet stranger - who murders people on a Tuesday?
Julie didn't see anyone that looked like Eric when she walked into the lounge, so she took a seat at the bar and ordered a beer. Minutes passed and she began to wonder if she had been stood up. While feigning interest in the Lakers game that was on, Julie made small chat with some weirdo at the bar. After a couple of beers, she stood up to leave and gave a final look around the room. Down the bar she saw someone that looked like the guy from the photos online. Bingo. Julie marched up and confidently inquired, "Hi, Nick?"
Um, not so much. He clarified his name was not Nick, but Eric. D'oh! Let's attribute that to the fact that on the way to the date Julie had been chatting with her sister who told her about a guy named Nick Papanicholas (seriously?) that she thought Julie should meet (nevermind the fact that Mr. Papanicholas was already engaged...helpful, Mary!)
Luckily, Eric was not deterred and they proceeded to have the most engaging, delightful first date ever. Topics included serial murder and creepy vans a la Silence of the Lambs. Swoon. Having safely defined their outing as "drinks", they both felt good enough about each other to grab a bite to eat. They walked next door to Fred 62 where Eric ordered a milkshake. Julie thought that was really cute.
Upward and onward to Electric Lotus and one bad mojito later, it was time to wrap things up. This ended a bit awkwardly as Julie expected Eric to follow dating protocol and ask for her number so that he might call her sometime - or something indicating interest in a future date. Since he already had her number, Eric didn't do that and they parted ways rather abruptly. They connected soon after that though and arranged to hangout with a group of Julie's friends at the Edison a few days later. The rest, as they say, is history.
