verbingnouns

The Scoop on Speed Dating

I did it. I went speed dating last week. For those of you who live under rocks, here's what speed dating is:
You go into a room at a restaraunt where they have a bunch of tables for two set up. Each person has a nametag with their first name and a number (NOT your phone number - just a number, like 5) and a scorecard. Each woman sits at her table and a guy comes and sits with her for seven minutes. Within those seven minutes, you just try to get to know the person to see if you would like to go out with them. If you like them, you mark that down on your score card and if they mark you down on their scorecard, then you have a match and the host of the speed dating will let you know later and see if you're willing to give the person your contact information. At the end of the seven minutes, a buzzer goes off and the guys get up and moves to the next table.
There are a few guidelines, like you're advised not to tell them your last name or where you work, etc. so this doesn't turn into a stalking situation. I can see how this would, in a more perfect world, be good clean fun. It's all a matter of who shows up.
Well, in West Monroe, let's just say, the pickin's are slim (a fact that I already knew, but was confirmed by the speed dating experience). I go to the restaurant with 2 former co-workers and one of their new co-workers - two guys, one girl. The place seems to be pretty packed, which I take as a good sign. They have 2 rooms set up for the so-called speed dating. The first room is for those ages 35 to 55 or 60. The second room has the senior citizens and my group, the under 35s.
Before we ever sit down, we get a peak into the room and start to think maybe this wasn't such a good idea. They had a shortage of tables, so they asked if Frannie and I mind sitting at the same table. If there had been any potentials, one or both of us might have been unhappy with this situation but, let's just say, it was not a problem.
In the oldest age group, there were 4 ladies and one man. The middle age group looked like the place to be. It was pretty full of people and everybody was flirting. In our age group we had Frannie and me plus 3 other girls, the 2 guys who came with us, plus 2 other guys.
Our first date was with Jeremy #3. He was a nice guy who had been suckered into this deal by a friend who was supposed to come with him, but didn't show up and wouldn't answer Jeremy #3's phone calls. We talked with him for a bit and it was pretty clear that none of the parties were interested.
Our next 7 minutes were with one of the guys who came with us who I didn't really know, but Frannie is his boss, so that was kind of weird. I think he had the most fun of the 4 from our group. I'm not sure if he made a match, but he seemed to have a good time.
Next, we had our 7 minutes with Jacob, who I used to work with. Jacob is a great guy and like a brother to me - which is not really a good quality in a date.
Finally, we got the guy who Frannie aptly nicknamed "The Wooly Booger". He looked like a guy who really likes video games. He's 19, unemployed, and enjoys hanging out in the woods with his friends. The woods?? I'm not sure what goes on in the woods, but I don't think it has anything to do with hunting.
That pretty much sums up our 28 minutes of tag-team-speed-dating. It was...unforgettable, but not necessarily in a good way.

I'll let people talk me into doing a few crazy things, but a least no one has wanted to marry me off this bad. Poor guy. Too bad he's Mormon. ; )