Speed Dating

From urbandictionary.com . . .
speed date: (v)

• An organised social event to facilitate meeting new people, usually for hetrosexuals wishing to meet new potential partners. Equal numbers of both sexes attend, usually paying a gratuity of around GBP£20. Each spends about three minutes talking to each member of the oppposite sex - the social interaction that takes place therein is referred to as a "speed date." At the end of the evening everyone marks on a card who they would like to date again and who they wouldn't. The organisers then swap contact information between matches - usually an email address or mobile phone number. Speed dating apparently started in New York, and was popularised by TV show 'Sex In The City'. It is now most popular amongst professionals in their mid 20's and 30's.
• when 2 members of the oppostite sex meet for a 20 min date ofcoffee and conversation. this situation leave more options ie. if you like her you might let her buy you dinner. if she winds up being a freakshow you can always say. "ah shucks... i forgot... i need to go floss my cat"

For some reason, I've always been fascinated with the idea of speed dating. I remember hearing about it on the news when I was in high school and thinking it was the stupidest idea ever. "Who wouldn't have time to go on a date," I thought. You get older, and you get a little wiser. The concept sounded kind of fun: you get a bunch of random strangers together and have a bunch of mini dates. Maybe you meet someone awesome, but if not you've only wasted an hour.

Last week, I finally had my chance to go. A friend had a coupon for $5 speed dating, so we signed up. Most speed dating companies charge around $40 a pop which is why I was always hesitant to sign up. But for $5? Sure, sign me up. (They apparently needed more women which is how we got it $5.)

I went into the night with no expectations except to have fun. The event was held at Battery Gardens in Battery Park. They have a really nice patio area right on the water. The sunset in the west, Statue of Liberty to the south, Brooklyn to the east. What more could you ask for in terms of setting?

My friend and I got there early to have a drink and relax a bit before things got underway. The event started a little late, but not to worry. There were nine guys and nine girls - a low turn out but still ok. The girls ranged from really pretty to about average with the majority being average. On a really good day I would rate myself as gorgeous (obviously); that day, I was in the above average group. The guys, on the other hand, leaned heavily to the "Sarah's not attracted to you" side of the scale. Two were Indian (I really have trouble with the accent), three were white (very, very white) from NY/NJ who had never left the tri-state area (going to Rutgers does not count as leaving home), one was African (he was intriguing), one was of Filipino descent but from NJ (he was intriguing), two were African American (one hot, one not).

I wish I could somehow explain the nerdy white guys. I'm sure you know the type. Their entire extended families live in NY, NJ, or CT. They've never lived anywhere but one of those three states, although they would "consider" it. They hold jobs like professional organizer (dead serious) or cable tv magazine editor (still serious). Unlike all the other people in the group, male and female, they've done speed dating multiple times without success. Ok, ok. Maybe they were successful, but I wouldn't count on it.

I can talk to anyone for a period of time, but these guys made me count down the eight minutes. They also made me work for a conversation which is just bad news. I get that there are socially awkward people, but don't make it awkward for me too. If your cat is more responsive in conversation than you are, don't go to a social event like this. And don't be surprised that I know what a professional organizer is.

I left the event with two guys I was interested in: the Filipino guy and the hot black guy. I entered my selections of "2nd date" online the next day, but so far no response. Fortunately, there's nothing lost. See, after the event, you go to the website and everyones' name and random number (it's on their nametag) is listed. For each person, you select 2nd Date, Friendship, Business, or nothing at all. If the other person selects the same thing you selected (say, 2nd Date), then the site forwards your contact info to the other person. If there's not a match (2nd date v. friendship), then nothing happens.

Oh well - nothing ventured, nothing gained. I just want to know where the attractive-single-and-attracted-to-Sarah-guys are. I may even settle for moderately-attractive-single-and-attracted-to-Sarah guys. Maybe.