Monday, January 17, 2011

Speed Dating Disater

Saturday night I went with a group of friends from work (including my boss) and one of my BFFs to a speed dating event. I can’t believe I got talked into it in the first place but put on top of that the fact that I had a really bad cold and I got talked in to sneaking in to the older age group- it was a recipe for disaster.
What had happened was…a few weeks ago at one of the regular Thursday Night Happy Hours, my boss suggested that us single ladies go speed dating (we also had some married ladies come along to watch our torture). I’ve given up on dating right now (unless Ryan Reynolds calls to ask me out) but I figured it would be funny and a good bonding time with my co-workers and boss. I was not expecting to meet anyone (even though I might have had a tiny hope my future husband just might be there). Good thing I had low expectations.

We had a wide range of ages in our work crew (late 20s-late 30s/early 40s?) and they only had two age range options: 23-37 or 32-47. Neither of these options were appealing to me. I don’t want to date a 23 year old just getting out of college and figuring themselves out, but I don’t want to date someone in their 40s with grown children either. I know they say age is just a number, but you really do have more in common with someone in your same stage of life. So out of the two we decided to go with the older age range and they were ok with us younger ones coming along even though we were under 32. Big mistake. Most every guy there looked like they were over 40 and some of them might have been over 50. There were a few guys who might have been in their mid 30s, but they were not anyone I would want to date.

The way they had it set up was each girl sat at a numbered table and the guys rotated tables ever 3.5 minutes. There were about 25 guys and 25 girls there. We only got one five minute break. So it was an hour and a half of non-stop talking. Put on top of that the fact that I was really sick and had almost no voice. I wanted to die. It was exhausting and needless to say I marked no to every guy I met which earned me a free pass to go to another event (oh joy).

We had no idea what to expect, but it was what you would expect if you really thought about it. Most of the girls I saw were pretty attractive but the dudes…um no. There were about 2 handsome ones but even they seemed creepy and I know for a fact one of them was 40. Most of the guys worked in IT and had cheesy lines and not much of a life. About 5 of the guys were ok and normal, but no one I would want to date.
Here are some lowlights from the night: I asked one guy what he liked to do in his free time and he said “smoke pot” and he was totally serious. Another probably lived with his mom. Another asked me what my deal breakers were as soon as he walked up to the table. Another one told me his 16 year old daughter had signed him up for this. Another guy told me he hadn’t worked in the last two years and another one just sat there and with a huge creepy smile and answered my questions in barely a whisper of a voice. I think he probably had some kind of mental disability.

By the end of the night I was soooo exhausted, fully creeped out, and had no voice. But we got some good laughs out of it, so I guess it wasn’t a complete waste. But yeah, in case you were ever wondering about speed dating, this girl gives it two thumbs down.

Have you ever tried speed dating?

5 comments:

The Book Addict said...

Oh Suz, my heart goes out to you! I can't even imagine doing speed dating so I give you HUGE props for trying it out in spite of your reservations! Wow!

I'm sorry nothing really came of it, but maybe it would be cool to go to a second event...who knows? Maybe the crowd will be better. And it's free. :) Hope you feel better soon!

Amanda said...

That sounds awful. I've never tried speed dating, but I did try eHarmony. At least you walked away being able to laugh at the situation :)

Sam said...

Oh geez, this sounds awful! I can't imagine having to deal with all of those men.. the stories I hear about speed dating are always bad stories so I doubt I'll ever do it. Good for you for going out and being a good sport though. At least it's a funny story to tell now? hah.

Christa said...

Can't help it;I was laughing hysterically at your descriptions of the guys! Thanks! So...did you go to the next free event?

Christa said...

Can't help it;I was laughing hysterically at your descriptions of the guys! Thanks! So...did you go to the next free event?