Speed Dating the Night Away

I am all about having adventures. Living life to the fullest whether I am jumping out of an airplane, riding through the mountains, or meeting a stranger-no-more. So when I saw an advertisement for Speed-Dating, I knew I had to give it a try. It is important to note: I never went into it for a date, a relationship, or a husband! It was for the adventure aspect I was after. And an adventure it was!

The night of the short dates, my daughters proudly exclaimed they picked out my outfit for the evening. Looking back, I could have included them in the fun and wore the casual outfit they set out for me. Instead, I had a moment where I lost my confidence in the woman I am and morphed into a teenager flinging rejected outfits onto my bed. After trying on a variety of outfits from casual to dressy, I got a hold of myself and put on a denim mini-skirt and cute black shirt. A bit of make-up and a few strategically placed bobby pins and I was ready to go.

 

I got to the location of the event a bit early. I wanted to scope things out a bit. There were a couple women standing at the bar with their wine. I chatted with them for a bit, but it was clear I was not one of them. I retreated to my "booth" and scoped out my dates for the evening. The men came alone, while the women came in pairs. (I was the exception to the rule.) A buzz filled the room as the men and women began the mating game. (Again, I was the exception as I sat alone in my booth just watching.) I started singing along to the music. And then I realized what was playing....Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye. Were they trying to give us subliminal messages or what? They must have a playlist for speed-dating. I wish I had paid attention sooner. Instead, I was only able to get three of the songs. After 'getting it on', Baby Don't Leave Me, and Here I Am Baby made their suggestions. I think they got the order of the songs backwards.

 

Five minutes a piece. For some, it seemed an eternity. For others, the conversation was easy and fun. My dates of the evening: (The names have been changed to protect the innocent.)

Sam - a mechanic from Ohio. I hoped he might have a motorcycle or at least a cool car. No such luck. His dream car is a Lamborghini, which could have been his saving grace for not having a bike. Then again, maybe he can figure out my car issues...

Boyko - a doctor from Bulgaria who has lived in NC for the last 25 years. I loved chatting with someone from another country. The accent added something exotic to the evening. There was something European about hearing him say "Johnny Cash" when asked who his favorite singer was.

Edward - the facilitator for a Meetup group that I have always wanted to try. Before our date was two minutes in, he told me we were done. "It won't work. I have learned that there are four passions that if you have your partner must have. Tennis, golf, horses, and motorcycles. It will never work with us." He was so right. I am going to get to one of the Meetup events though!

Bob - Most of the men sat across from me in my booth of intended desire. Bob came and sat beside me. We talked of the many places he has traveled (score!). He enjoyed talking about himself. For the entire date. 

Fred - a retired mechanical engineer. (Engineers were by far the most popular profession there.) He spends his days trading stocks and watching it. I don't think I could stay awake long enough to listen to him talk about staring at the numbers changing for eight hours a day.

Alex - a pianist from Crete. "You aren't very high maintenance are you?" I am not sure if that was a compliment or an insult. It didn't matter. He was quick to tell me (repeatedly) that he did not play in a rock band. I want a musician who knows how to rock out!

Bill - a pompous ass who was quick to tell me he has done this before and the women dish info to him about the other men. I had hope for a little bit when he told me he used to ride until he sold his bike to pay the bills. I may not be high maintenance, but I do want somebody who can afford to do nice things for me from time to time.

Kyle - another engineer who used to ride until his ex-wife made him stop. (The way I figure it, if he was able to stop, he doesn't have riding in his blood.) As we talked about my riding, he kept saying, "Bless your heart!" (For those of you not from the south, this is a polite way of saying, "You are crazy!") This is the first time that anyone has blessed my heart since I have lived in the south. 

Ryan - an optometrist with two different locations. I don't remember much of the conversation. I think he might have been the one I told I was married and at speed dating to get a feel for what is out there in the dating field or if I should suffer through the marriage. I do remember his sweater was so awesome that he could win an ugly sweater contest.

Brad - a Yankees fan from CT. It was nice conversing with another New Englander, until he started talking about his ex...for pretty much the entire five minutes. Add to that the way he dropped the F-bomb every other word, and I was more than ready for our date to end.

Jim - a postal worker who wants to move to DC. It is a good thing that I am good with conversation because this was a man who did not do any initiating of the conversation. 

Blair - an entrepreneur who wrote a screenplay back around the time of Splash. Ron Howard bought the rights from him, but decided to go with Splash and will never use it. Therefore, it is lost forever. He had lunch with Ron Howard just last week. WAIT! I think he might have been having some fun at speed dating. :)

Joe - My last date of the evening. And late...He almost stood me up for a five minute date! He was not off to a good start. I gave him trouble for a bit before we got down to the conversation at hand. As soon as he heard I was a teacher, I got a high five. Nice conversation and all, but he doesn't ride.

 As the dates came to a close, we were reminded to go online and make our selections. Even as I walked out the door, I was writing about my experience in my head as the women were gathering together to head upstairs to dance to the club mix (gag). Many of the men followed them upstairs. I would have liked to be a fly on the wall to watch the mating game that was about to be played. 

Speed dating is a competition. How many men can one get to show interest in you? Knowing I have no interest in dating any of them; nor do I have any interest in doing this again, I wanted to know which men chose me as someone they would like to get to know. Thus, I chose them all. As of right now, four (Boyko, Fred, Alex, and Blair) are interested in me. Maybe I will get to meet Ron Howard.