Speed Dating!

Oh, sweet speed dating, I think I've found a new hobby! If only it weren't so darn expensive I would probably go several times because I really did enjoy it.  I'm not sure where to begin, so let me just say that if speed dating was a sport, I would be the team captain.  Here is the overall breakdown of how the evening worked.  Everyone received a scorecard and a number.  On the scorecard you could write down people's names, take notes, or rate them from "Not in a million years" to "I'd definitely fancy a go."  The ladies remained seated through the night, while the men rotated on a 5-7 minute basis (the owner of the stopwatch did not seem to be very consistent).  In case people were really struggling with conversation, each girl was given three ice breaker questions.  I didn't use mine because (a) I didn't need to, and (b) they were lame. 1. When are you apt to get goosebumps? When I'm cold. 2. Describe something beautiful.  I'm looking at it right now. 3. What do you do on a cold day? Get goosebumps. 

My advice for when you go speed dating is to wear something to stand out (like my crutches and walking boot) and to write down something about each guy that you will remember two hours later.  At the beginning of the night I wrote down the guy's name and as they rotated I checked off 1-5 on the scale of what I thought about them thinking that's all I would need.  Nope.  By the end of the night I had talked to 22 guys for 5-7 minutes, and for the life of me I couldn't remember who Josh and Kevin were and why I had rated them with a four.  Here are a few guys that I remember from the evening:

A - a charmer from Romania, immediately asked, "Why is someone with your beauty need to be here?" I told him it was a mystery to me and then asked him the same question. "Because I have never met you.  Now we can go."
B - a jolly young man from India.  His first question was if I bought my speed dating on Groupon or Living Social and where were my friends.  I told him Groupon and then pointed to my friend.  He laughed and said he should receive an award because so far he is the only person who came on his own and paid full price.
C - the only one really quiet and awkward guy of the evening.  I almost busted out the icebreaker questions on him, but I powered through with small talk until it was time to rotate.
D - the very positive guy who confessed that the first time he did speed dating he didn't get any matches.
E - a clumsy guy who felt a connection because of my walking boot and put my hand on his knee (then held his hand over mine on his knee - awkward?) while he demonstrated one of his knee injuries.
F - a street pharmacist.  Yup, that's what he told me, and for the sake of not being judgmental I went along with it, which I think freaked him out a little bit.

At the end of the night, everyone turns in their cards with names of the people you're interested in written down.  If those same people write down your name, BINGO!  I received an email the next day from the speed dating organizers that told me three of the four guys I had written down, had also written down my name.  Not too shabby!  Let's get things started.

Bonus for my speed dating ego (although I'm sure they send this to everyone, I like to think it was just for me) was this part of the message from the speed dating people: You're just what we're looking for! Because you were so popular - we would like to welcome you to our Preferred Dater Club. Anytime you wish to return - simply e-mail us and we'll send you a code for a discount on your next purchase from us.