speed dating

So my friend and I totally didn't bail, we were strong like bull and lived up to our plans.

Unable to go to work that day I was still able to meet up with Spaghetti in the subway and we traveled to the locale itself. The event was planned in the downstairs lounge of a bar on the LES.

We walked in and found our way down the stairs to find a very nice space. Low-lit and comfortable, it was decorated with couches, tables, and stools lining the walls. There were lettered tents on tables to indicate the 'dating' locations. First thing to do of course was to get some drinks. Then we had to sign in with the meeting organizer, who gave us a nametag with our first name and dater number as well as a scorecard. The scorecard was like a brochure, one page folded in half having the interior consisting of 50 lines with 'Y', 'N' and a small space for notes.

As the room started to fill up we did mingle a little with one of the guests. A Russian who had been born in St Petersburg who has a passion for the Argentinean Tango. He was nice but...no. After a LONG fifteen minutes talking to this guy the host announced for us to take our seats so we could begin.

This is how it plays out: Each woman takes a spot and remains in that location throughout the evening. A gentleman then joins you and a discussion ensues for four minutes, at which time the host blows a whistle and the men all rotate counter-clockwise one spot over to meet with the next person. And as the changeover everyone frantically scribbles notes about the person they just met, trying to document as much info as possible while not losing time with the next candidate. Shorthand would have come in handy.

Okay, this was the moment I had been studying for. I had my code words and general questions; most especially I had my ‘do not talk’ points.

Which of course all TOTALLY went out of the window. The laundry list was pretty much played out with most - what do you do for a living, where do you live, where did you grow up, what do you do for fun...ARGH!! It kind of made sense, my rules are for general mingling so that you don't get stuck in a situation that you are miserable in forever. Couldn't get stuck here.

So how did it go? You know what? It was TOTALLY FUN. Not even kidding. We had a great time. I gotta be honest, that four minutes really worked! Sure, if you were in a good conversation (and yes, believe it or not there were some) then it was too soon, but by god there were some moments I was craving that whistle to blow.

Yep, there was creepy invade your personal space Imus looking guy. And the scary dude who would talk to me but not look me in the eye - until I mentioned my job and he got excited about the concept of printing too many books. (Nobody but nobody gets excited about inventory management) There was a token new jersey ‘Guido’. Also, I have to admit, there was a dude with a kick-ass lazy eye. So movies and TV do tell a bit of truth, there are some skeevy ones to watch out for.

But there were some good guys! Most were pleasant enough, and there were even men that we really liked!

Craziest thing about the setup is that you so quickly forgot everything that was discussed. Spags and I kept trying to recall where the Aussie worked and anything at all about older guy.

Even though I took some notes having met fourteen people in one night really put them in a pot and distilled them down to their essential essence. You forget the specifics but the impression and aura of the person remains. In an effort to remember anything/everything Spags and I caught some quick tapas and compared notes.

We each liked four guys; of course to make things tricky there were two that we both liked. Because of course they were the most charismatic men in the room. Most likely they were the big winners of the evening in general. Once identifying our choices the next step was to go home and sign onto the website to which the party was arranged from and log our picks.

Twenty-four hours later we got our results. Who liked us and who did we like? Of our four three liked each of us back - only one of our mutual picks choosing us both. What is really interesting is that of the gentlemen who chose us and we didn't return the favor; four of them were the same. Do they like what we have in common as friends or did they just choose almost every woman?

So now the really tough part starts. Actual dates. Lordy what have I started???