Speed Dating in SLO Town
As I'm living my best single lady life, I sometimes like to think I would be the perfect 5th BFF to Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha, and Miranda. I relate to Sex and the City in more ways than one (my ringtone may or may not be the tv show theme song). I love to channel my inner Carrie Bradshaw as often as possible with fashion as my passion, blogging during my free time, and experiencing the hilarious dating stories that come with being single.
I'll be sure to save the "what it's like to be single in your 20's today" rant for another post. To sum it up real quick...you have to be willing to put yourself out there!
This past weekend, I decided to live out a potentially great Sex and the City episode by attending a singles event... speed dating. I'd like to think Carrie would be proud.
Pros and Cons list when deciding to go:
Pros:
- located at my fave BBQ joint (Old slo BBQ) - will at least enjoy a great meal
- Could potentially meet a great guy
- Could make for a fun and different blog post
- New experience
Cons:
- Could be a cringe-worthy experience
- Cost $25
A new experience (cringe-worthy or not) is always worth a try in my mind!
How it Works:
For those of you who don't know how speed dating works, here's the quick low down:
Someone hosts the event. In this case Plan B Dating, a dating service company, hosted the event. The host passes out date cards to both men and women. The women stay sitting as the men travel around after spending 5 minutes conversing with each person. There are conversation starting questions provided at each table for you to ask each other. This helps you from having to answer the same generic questions over and over again like "Where are you from?" or "What do you do for a living?". You write down the persons name, take any notes on your 5 minutes spent with them, and mark either YES or NO if you are remotely interested in going on a date with them. Think of the experience as the date before the date! And if you both mark YES, the host will act as your matchmaker and provide you will the details to take the next step! Simple.
The Experience:
I went into this super open minded with very low expectations, I think that's the best way to approach any new situation.
I was by far the youngest person there (24), even though the event was advertised for singles ages 23-37. I would guess that 4/6 guys there were in their mid 30's while the other two might have been late 20's. I don't mind this because after dating enough guys in their 20's, I realized maybe a man in their 30's would be a better fit for me. You know... career driven, has their shit together, ready to commit, matured out of the douche bag phase, and most likely not social media obsessed. Sounds like a breathe of fresh air, am I right?
Unfortunately, these 6 men were not quite what I was looking for. Out of my age range, socially awkward, and within 5 minutes of speaking to each guy I was able to pin point why they were single in the first place. Now, you might call this judgmental but I could argue that judging is a huge part of dating. I go off of first impressions and major VIBES. I love a good personality, I know it's not all about looks, and I enjoy a man that can also put himself out of his comfort zone and try something new. But please trust me when I say, these guys just weren't it.
Let's meet these eligible bachelors...
Guy #1:
Legit could not hear anything this man was saying. He talked so quiet and I was forced to say "WHAT" after everything he said. Granted, I was also inhaling two candied bacon tri-tip sliders and the sound of my chewing could have been the problem. But I'm always eating so if I can't hear you over my chewing, it's gonna be a problem. A quiet voice is a huge pet peeve of mine, so I probably was projecting my voice even louder to make up for his while also trying to give a subtle hint. He didn't catch on. If the flavor vanilla was a person, this was him. Bland as could be. My sliders, however, were anything less than bland. NEXT.
Guy #2:
He had great energy and seemed enthusiastic about being there. Though, he struggled with answering the simple questions provided. Question was: "If you could have one wish granted now or three wishes in ten years, which would you choose?" He must have thought the question was "what would your wish be", so I re-read the question emphasizing the OR. He still did not catch on and focused on wanting a million dollars. My answer: Take one wish now and ask for more wishes, like a boss. The following question was our opinion on scary movies, and then the nerd came out. He apparently loves comedic scary movies and went on to see which of his favorites I knew. I knew none. We were both disappointed. NEXT.
Guy #3:
*Takes gulp of wine as I'm approaching, bracing myself*
Oh man. This guy.... this guy needs HITCH. Remember that movie? Guy #3 needs his help REAL bad. Okay, so lets look on the bright side. He has great eye contact while speaking & listening which is very important when communicating! He is a nice guy, probably just looking for that right female who understands all his wants and needs. I am not that female.
Although he makes great eye contact, he also does not blink. Or look away...ever. Do not ever have a staring contest with this man, you will not win. He also has a delayed response time, I kid you not I would ask a question and 3 seconds after I was finished he would open his mouth to answer.... I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. *Takes another gulp of wine* NEXT.
Guy #4:
I honestly don't remember much about this guy. Obviously he didn't leave much of a lasting impression. He was a software engineer and when asked if he could have dinner with anyone dead or alive who would it be? His answer was either Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson. My answer? Take a guess. Sarah Jessica Parker, duh. You can see we were a bit different. He also had no idea who she was or what Sex and the City was sooooo NEXT.
Guy #5:
At this point I had finished my second glass of wine and was hesitant about heading into the next 5 minute mingle without more liquid courage. But fortunately this guy was the easiest to talk to. He had the most easy-going personality of the bunch, but I was missing that initial attraction and genuine spark. Major friend zone vibes. NEXT.
Guy #6:
Heading into this last date with no wine in hand or sliders to stuff my face with was not a smart move. I was able to finish with a bang as he was the icing on top of the cake, my friends. He loved literal dad jokes. For example when I asked "what brought you to speed dating" he answered with "My car". When I asked if he traveled at all he responded with "yeah, I traveled here".
I was sipping on a glass of water at this point and within the 5 minutes of talking he got me to *cheers* him twice... can't remember what we were cheersing to. When I asked what he did for a living he said he was a painter. Awesome! He's artistic and creative, something interesting I can work with! I asked what he painted. He paints walls, garages, doors, houses, etc. Not the painter I was expecting. Keep in mind he also had a missing tooth, had major hippie vibes, and at the end of the speed dating extravaganza he asked if he could pet my suede jacket. AND I'M OUT.
So as you guessed, I marked NO to everyone on my date card. I ran out of there so fast I accidentally dined and ditched and had to turn around to get my debit card and pay for those glasses of liquid courage and delicious tri-tip sliders (the highlight of my evening).
I received an email this morning from the matchmaker herself. Apparently 3/6 men marked YES on their card. Guy #1, Guy #3, and Guy #4. I'm flattered, but it's still a hard NO for me.
The purpose of this post was by no means to scare you away from dating, new experiences, or speed dating for that matter. It was simply to give you my perspective on the evening while also a good laugh. I would be super open to speed dating again if I was in a larger city. I think speed dating has the potential to be a real blast in a big city with more variety of singles!
Im back to the dating grind my friends, but one thing I know for sure after this whole experience:
xoxo,
Jamie Rae
