2.13.2006
Speed Dating
So my friend Berna and I get there at around 7:30, right? The actual thing didn't start until about 9:30. First, there was a lot of waiting around. Then they served dinner. Get this: spaghetti and garlic, pesto, tomato canapes. Labo diba?
Anyway, so speed dating proper na. I lean over to Berna and tell her "what would you do if there are like stupid games and stuff?" Sure enough, the host goes "Let's start with some ice breakers! Let's play BRING ME!"
Bring. Me. Amputa.
Siyempre, sa lahat ng kamalasan ko sa mga raffle, yun naman yung "swerte" ko pagdating sa mga ganito. Eh di napili agad ako diba? O hala sige, go. GC rin yun for a hair treatment so I BROUGHT THEM a "guy who will make your heart go YEHEY, sponsored by our friends at Yehey.com." Ayus. Cheesy AND humiliating, my favorite combo.
Cut to the actual thing. There were around 14 guys and 14 girls. We get 8 mins per person before they ring a bell, at which point the boys are supposed to move to the next seat, clockwise. If you're interested in the guy, you YES him on your match card. How it works is, if I mark a guy YES and he marks me YES, then the organizers will send us both each other's cell numbers, effectively stalker-proofing the whole experience.
On your mark! Get set! 'DING!' There they go...
So each and every eight-minute convo started with just 4 basic questions:
1) Is this your first speed dating thing?
2) So where do you work?
3) What do you do there?
4) Where did you go to college?
The whole experience was pretty cool except for the fact that 90% of the guys were 24 and below. I'm twenty-nine, a fact that I have never felt the need to lie about... until last Saturday. There was even this guy...
Him: Hi, I'm Name-withheld.
Me: Hi Name-withheld, I'm Binky.
Him: So how old are you? (No, he wasn't rude, you have to put ages in the Match card eh)
Me: Twenty-nine. You?
Him: Twenty...
Me: Twenty...?
Him. Yeah, twenty.
Inner me: Ayus.
But all in all, misjudged menu and minors aside, it was a cool thing to try. I didn't YES a lot of guys, there weren't many whom I was interested in, but it doesn't matter. A violent shove out of your comfort zone is always a welcome experience (in retrospect). Reality hit me the next day that I may not get a single YES. I kinda freaked. A lot. But I kept it all inside. Ganun lang talaga ang buhay diba?
Anyway, I got the email this morning -- 2 YESes. Whew!
