The 'first date' that not even Tom DeLonge could have prepared me for.

Last night I went on the first date I have ever been on. I have had a lot of speculation from friends as to whether this is actually true, but as far as a meeting with someone that has actually been branded a 'date', this was my first. My friend showed me the burrito blog a few months ago, you can find it here to read more. The idea behind the blog is quite brilliant actually. Richard, an Irish man having recently moved to London, won a year's supply of burritos at Chilagos. Rather than eat all 365 of these burritos himself, he decided to take a different girl on a date each week and then post a blog about how the date went. This friend who showed me the blog pestered me to request a burrito date, which I did, not ever thinking that I'd actually end up going on one.

In order to screen the girls applying for burrito dates Richard asked three questions: 1. If the burrito date was our first date, what would we do to mark our year anniversary? 2. Would you rather be on a chat show or be the chat show host? 3. Have you read any good books recently that you could recommend? I won't bore you with my answers, but Richard made contact and said he would arrange a date with me in the New Year. When the time came to be allocated my burrito date I was pretty terrified. I'd never been on a date before, let alone one that would be written about for the world to see. However, I thought at nearly 21 I should attempt to go on a date, with a complete stranger, where it would be documented, what could possibly go wrong, ey?

Nothing actually. I had agreed to meet Richard at the Chilangos restaurant on Upper Street and luckily he was already there when I arrived so I didn't have to spend time worrying about whether or not he was going to turn up. Richard is an attractive guy, plus he is Irish too which I am always a massive fan of. We collected our burritos and sat upstairs. I've always found formal chit-chat where people quiz each other about their life plans a little tedious, and at first I was scared I was boring Richard - who knows, maybe I was - but as we began to talk about music and sport the conversation flowed a little easier. I enjoyed hearing Richard's stories about his friends and family as these are always my favourite topics of conversation. Turns out that while I am a Justin Bieber fan, he once went on holiday with a group of friends posing as The Script and he also goes to Westlife gigs - but blames that one on a friend, I'm not so sure though... My housemate will be delighted to learn that Richard used to have a teddy who wore a Blackburn kit - she has a beautiful bear kitted out in the latest Liverpool strip.

After the burritos Richard suggested that we should go to a gig nearby. I love going to live shows so was pretty keen and I was relieved by this indication that perhaps Richard did not want to escape from me at the earliest opportunity. Richard was the 'perfect gentleman' I suppose. He insisted on paying for everything, which is very kind but always makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. I wasn't on the date for anything free and I hate the idea that men should always pay for everything. I think Richard has quite traditional ideas when it comes to that sort of thing; a few comments throughout the evening made it clear that he has definite ideas of what men and women should and shouldn't be doing. At the pub the gig was being held in Richard shared stories about previous dates: the best and the worst. It was at this point that I admitted my fear of him posting a bad review about me. I originally thought I would wait to post this blog, in case Richard wrote something nasty about me so I could defend myself, but I realised that would be quite pathetic, and make our blogs more like Eamon and Frankie's infamous outpouring of hatred through the medium of song, than honest accounts of our date. Richard asked me how I would react if he wrote a 'nasty' blog about me. I honestly don't think I would do anything. I'd be upset as, above all else, on that date I tried to be myself and completely honest. I said that I'd rather he write nasty things about the person I actually am than the person I was trying to get him to think I was. I still dread to think what he is going to write about me, but que sera sera and all that. Whatever he writes about me cannot be as bad as some of the horror stories he had to tell of previous dates. For his privacy and theirs I won't disclose any of the details, but suffice to say he has not had it easy on some of these dates!

We watched the first band and then watched the headline act for a bit, but I think both Richard and I needed to make tracks and I had a pretty long journey, so he walked me to the station and we said our goodbyes. I honestly had a really great evening although it seemed like we left it quite awkwardly. I suppose that's the bit I hadn't thought about, what happens at the end of the date. Richard contacted me soon after, apologising, but the fault lies with me: I can be quite socially awkward and very shy sometimes.

Just before I went on the date, one of my good friends said to me "Ruth, he will either think you are great or you will be too much for him." I still don't really understand what he meant by that, but I suppose I will have to wait for Richard's verdict. I'd like to keep in touch with Richard although I don't foresee a romantic relationship escalating from this date. I think Richard is very attractive and he is a great person, but he's looking for a girlfriend and I can barely handle myself, let alone someone else. Despite that, more than anything, this date has shown me that, while I don't see myself 'dating' any time soon, I would definitely go on dates with people in future and not feel so scared about doing so.