Thank You for Speed Dating
Some excerpts from my article today came from the following essay, “Thank you for Speed Dating,” that I wrote last year. Dating can evoke lovely and nightmarish tales–– I’ve chronicled both in my journal since I was 15. One heinously awful date stands out, though.
What I failed to mention in both my article and essay was that I went on a date with another one of the speed daters before I had the guts to pursue my speed dater of choice. The guy asked me out on Facebook, showed up in a T-shirt that read “I can be your private dancer” and was four inches shorter than I had remembered sitting across from him at a speed dating table. I’m 5′10 and had decided to wear heels that night, which for some reason made me self-conscious.
Not only did he take me to see a terrible movie with his obnoxious friends and declare his love for President Bush in the car, but he decided we should go on a shopping trip to Wal-Mart and ordered us a meat supreme pizza from Little Ceasar’s (I’m vegetarian).
Needless to say that when he asked me what type of guys I “dug” I replied with the antithesis of him: “anti-consumerist, vegetarian hippies who like indie films and wear tevas year-round. Oh, and height is a great plus.”
What sort of dating fairy tales and nightmares have you had? Have you tried speed dating? Matchmaking websites? What advice do you have for students?
Thank You for Speed Dating
Blood rushed to my cheeks, sweat flooded my hands and my body trembled under the flickering fluorescent lights. 20 small tables with chairs on each side created a huge circle, surrounding me and my best friend Nicole. I coyly avoided eye contact with the two guys who arrived early like us. Nicole and I laughed hysterically about nothing and let on that we were the most breathtaking women in the room.
Speed dating, an intense matchmaking, game intrigued me two years ago. Scenes from movies and TV shows such as “Hitch” and “Sex and the City” caught young people’s attention and made us wonder if meeting a slew of strangers in timed “dates” could offer us romance. I read about metropolitan twenty somethings who speed dated as a social outlet. If it entertained trendy young city dwellers, speed dating could add pizzazz to my lackluster love life. Or, at least speed dating could provide me with hilarious writing material.
I speed dated on a whim. Students active in student government at the University of Oregon tabled in the dorms to involve residents. “Come on guys! It’s for Valentine’s Day. You should come!” the girls called to first-year students. Five people signed up after several days of tabling. “Please come!” they asked me. Without much thought, I told them, “Sure!” and became the sixth speed dater.
My anxiety rose soon after. “What the hell have I gotten myself into?” I thought. “Only really cocky or desperate people are going to come! I can’t put myself out there like that!”
Nicole succumbed to my peer pressure and wrote her name down, too. I felt better knowing we would support each other in our dating adventures.
To humor my dorm friends, I made a running joke that I would “meet the love of my life at speed dating.” They teased me. “You’re crazy! I would never speed date,” some proclaimed.
A few days before Valentine’s Day, my nerves raged. For “not caring” about speed dating, I wore butt- tight jeans and a snug sweater, styled my crazy hair with mounds of stiffening hairspray and smothered layers of smokey shadow and deep pink gloss onto my eyes and lips.
Then, I rollerbladed to calm myself. The cold air stung my skin. I felt bold that afternoon and bladed around the curvy hills lining Fairmont Neighborhood without a helmet.
Bad idea.
Between listening to Peter, Paul and Mary’s “Puff the Magic Dragon” on my pod and calling Nicole on my cell phone to arrange a pre-speed dating dinner, I spaced out. A car bolted across the intersection I prepared to cross. My breaks failed.
Smack!
To read more, e-mail me at landerson@dailyemerald.com
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
Even though you make a valid point I am afraid that I must disagree. Number one dating rule if they wear a U of O sweatshirt run for your life! cheap *sses they are mate.Girlfriend Dating
Wow! Speed dating worked for you!
Great. I tried it but didn’t get a perfect date ever.
Now I am on online dating trying my luck.
Wish me good luck!!:)