Monday, March 2, 2009

My Final Moments With Tamara

(Edit: Ahhh! I used "brainchild" incorrectly. How embarrassing. I've fixed it now.)

If you haven't checked in for a few days, you might want to read Part I and Part II of my interview with Tamara Duricka, whose brainchild 31 Dates in 31 Days has captured our interest. And now, the answers to the questions you've all been dying to hear:


Tamara, did you feel like Good Morning America portrayed your date with Evan accurately?

I don’t really know. Our date was an extravaganza. Poor Evan, he’s such a good soul. I was so tired, I basically didn’t sleep the night before because I was having a meltdown about who to take on date 31. And I really feel like I don’t know how I fared on the date—my brain was not functioning. I was all over the place. Part of me was working as the TV producer, trying to be normal and enjoy myself, part of me was so glad it was over, and then part of me was trying to figure out what was going on in Evan’s head, AND trying to play it all cool. (How many parts did I just say?) Man, I hope they didn’t portray it accurately.

If you’ll tell us, who were the runners-up for the 2nd date?

Here’s the thing. One of the guys someone kept sending votes from the same IP address, so he was in the top 3 of the polls, but someone rigged his votes. We won’t say his name. Jonathan was the other guy (besides Evan) who did really well in the polls. He’s the kind of guy you have to swoon a little when you say his name. He’s perfect. He’s great. Jared, the wedding ring guy, was also popular in the polls. Lots of people voted for Nick, the actor and lots of people liked Adam. And Tyson. And people told me that they would have voted for Tyler, the doctor, but he wasn’t on the list because he wasn’t available for the second date.

I don’t know that I really had a top 5. I would definitely go out again with most of them.

Have you been communicating with any of the guys besides Evan? Gone on any other 2nd dates?

I’ve communicated with a lot of them. Most of them were so cool about me going out on V-day with the 2nd date. Some of them have asked me out on 2nd dates, but I haven’t gone out with any of them. I haven’t committed either way; I guess I'm stalling.

Did any of the guys get a good night kiss? If not, did you want some of them to kiss you?

There was one guy who was all over me, which I was not going for. He was really trying to lay it on thick the whole night. I almost want to send him an email and give him some hints on what not to do on a first date. He’s a nice guy and I’m friendly with him but I don’t want to have to carry mace on my dates. The other dates were all G-rated, which was how I wanted it to be.

Are you bored now that you don’t have a date every night?

YES! (Laughter) And in fact, on day 30, I had a daytime date, and so I was home on Friday night, feeling sorry for myself that I wasn’t on a date. I knew it was ridiculous, but it was true.

Now, tell us as much about Evan as you can without getting into trouble. How are things “heating up” with you two? Have you been on more dates with him? What do you think of him?

What’s crazy is, when I talk to people now, they don’t ask how I’m doing—they just ask how Evan is and when I’m seeing him next. And I’m like, “What about me? Don’t you care about me?” Everyone at work is always asking about him because they got to meet him and know about the project, so after our 3rd date, I went into work and got grilled.

I think it's pretty safe to say that I think Evan is the bee's knees. I feel my best self when I'm around him, I have the utmost respect for him, and I blush like a school girl when I talk about him. So I think those are good signs. I think he's pretty incredible. He's so caring, down-to-earth, funny, smart, and he's real. I dig that. And yeah, I just really dig him.

Even after spending the whole day with him, he'll leave and I'll think, "Oh no! Why did that have to end so quickly?"

I'm at a great point in my life where I'm being extremely active in deciding what I want to do and who I want to date without being influenced by other people's opinions. That feels really empowering. And I really like Evan. And no matter how things end up with us, I really like the fact that I know my feelings about him and for him are genuine and not fearful. That's almost as great a feeling as it is just being around him.

Wow. Dear readers, wasn't that great? Is your heart going pitter-pat like mine? Evan, we know you're reading! Please leave a comment!:) We'd love to hear from you again.

Thank you to Tamara for sharing so much with us on this little old blog and for daring to follow through on a great idea. You have provided not only great entertainment, but have taught us about hope, courage, love, romance, living in the moment, looking for the good in everyone, and chasing your dreams.We hope you really do find what you are looking for.

16 comments:

Prudy said...

I'm so hoping this isn't the end of your interviews with Tamara! It's been such a fun diversion for all of us, a welcome departure from laundry, and PTA, and real life. Thanks for taking the time to do that Michal. I think that Evan and Tamara owe you at least fifty more dates as payment.

Anonymous said...

Sigh!!

MyrnaMom

Stephanie said...

What a fun ride, and so fun for you to be a part of the whole scene. I love that things are still going well for them and hope the best for them both.

Life At MandyLand said...

Oh to fall in love again.. It makes me remember all those first dates with Matt and all the butterflies..I really hope it works out for both of them their great people...

Scrappy said...

Tamara,

Ditto to Michal's last paragraph. Thank you!

I have one quick question. Was it a requirement that these guys be LDS? If not, how many were anyway?

I wish both you and Evan happiness. Individually and together (hopefully!) :)

Tamara said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tamara said...

thanks ladies!

(i just deleted my comment because i couldn't stand all of my typos. see michal -- it's my pet peeve too!)

Scrappy,
nope. that wasn't a requirement at all. i just had my "rules" and was looking for cool guys who were willing to help.
since i was going into this looking to learn and grow and not necessarily find a partner in crime, then i wasn't only looking for lds guys. about one third or so ended up being members though, just by default.

i wish you happiness too! :)

Joyful Noise said...

"You have provided not only great entertainment, but have taught us about hope, courage, love, romance, living in the moment, looking for the good in everyone, and chasing your dreams.We hope you really do find what you are looking for."

Michal, You really did sum it up perfectly! You brought tears to my eyes! Wouldn't it make the ending of the book such a beautiful fairy tale if they really did fall in love? Both Evan and Tamara deserve the best! No pressure....

Evan said...

Dear veoyer's, I mean ladies,

I am very glad that these dates have been fun for all of you too. It was the least I could do after all your support in helping me get date numero dos! But I'm afraid this is where all of you are getting off the train and I'm going back to the behind closed doors dating life that I know and love. My days on the cover of your local editions of Us Weekly and People mag have come to a close. Maybe someday I'll let you back into my Fort Knox of insider info, but it will have to be off the record.

Michal when I run for office I know who to call for my campaign manager though will have to make you sign a contract forbidding any use of any band nerd and afro pictures as I wouldn't want to see them on buttons and bumper stickers staring back at me.

Tam if you are reading this you should know better than to turn to this blog for the insider scoop ;) I'll see you tomorrow...

over and out

TheQueen@TerrorsInTiaras said...

Fun story! And fun to hear from Evan in the comments, too. What a fun girl, I hope she's happy, and it would be great if she was with Evan. :)

Becky said...

They both deserve to be appreciated for the wonderful people that they are. I wish them both happiness. Good luck guys!

Anonymous said...

Evan, have you ever seen "The Bachelor"? This is our G-rated, Mormom-sister-approved version. It's a guilty pleasure but don't begrudge it for us.

I don't blame you for wanting to go back behind closed doors, but you must recall that you signed up for the "public date." This is the fall-out and you'll just have to take it.

I approve for both of you (not that either of you care). But its always fun to follow a potential love story. And since I, for one, am family, I'll still be asking for updates on your dating life whenever. Such is life in the J/T world. And you slipped into it whether you like it or not.

Have fun, kids.

MyrnaMom

PS if you ever decide to run for office...I'll vote for you!!

Nancy said...

Michal,
The title of this post makes it sound like Tamara died!

Allison said...

I guess I need to learn to enjoy the details that I get, but I'm afraid that was almost anti climatic.. I want the juicy details that would be involved if this were not a public forum, and you were not trying to be so polite/kind to all 30 of the dates.

Not to mention that when Evan says that he is taking his dating life back behind closed doors, "Fort Knox" is actually a pretty good description.

Evan, just know that we have a lot of embarrassing pictures of you that we can post and make into bumper stickers a blackmail if you don't share with us (on or off the record) every now and then.

Michal said...

okay, evan's comment cracked me up and alli's last paragraph made me howl! you girls are not willing to back down, are you?

we love you, evan! we'll try not to meddle too much, but celebrity does come with a price:)

and we're glad you threw in that you were going to see tamara today. how did it go? tee hee hee.

Anonymous said...

This was so much fun! DH and I both have enjoyed following along the past couple weeks. We wish them the best. And I love Evan's comment!