At one point, my blog was about my journey through separation into a new life. If this keeps up, I’m going to have to rename my blog to explain its unusual focus on Speed Dating rather than actual dates where two people talk to each other until one of them realizes the other is a ninny and goes home. Oh wait, maybe you don’t all have dates like that.
As you know from my decision last night, I have decided I will NOT attend the upcoming Speed Dating event in my area.
I think Life has a wonderful sense of humor, or perhaps Temptation is a determined entity, because I received the following in my Inbox about 10 minutes ago:
The 35-55 speed dating event THIS SATURDAY (1/7) at 7:00 at [[A local saloon]] just SOLD OUT FOR WOMEN!!!
MEN – Come go on A BUNCH of fun, low-pressure first dates to QUICKLY find the right person for you to date!!! IT IS GOING TO BE FUN!!!
WOMEN – Reply back to this email with your name/age to be added to the waiting list. We will email you on a first come, first serve basis as additional seats open up!
That’s right. There is a waiting list for women. Wow.
As it happens, I am stoic in my decision. Not because I’ve fallen madly in love. That takes time folks. Lots of time. It’s just that being a single dad with three teens around all the time (one of whom was supposed to go back to college this week) doesn’t leave as much spare time as I would like.
You have to admit though, it’s interesting that this is the second or third time that the seats for women have sold out before those for men. Not just interesting, but intriguing. I wonder why this happens so consistently. I wonder if this is a local phenomenon or a national one. I wonder if this signifies anything about the quality of the women or the men that attend. My mind is often occupied with these trivial questions. No wonder it forgets to do things like ironing, taxes, and make calls to my mum so she doesn’t spend at least 1/3 of each phone call complaining that I don’t call her enough.
Four is a Family 
Life’s like a box of chocolates. Ya neva know whatcha gonna git.
~forest gump~
And you’re saying this applies to meeting women? Sure, I’ll go with that!!
I think men probably misread the ad as “speed reading” …and think it is some sort of educational course.
otherwise…You would think that this is exactly the thing that men would gravitate to. Maybe they need to change the way they market to men. Something like this may work…..
“You to can Date multiple women in a day. We can teach you houw to date 10 woman in an hour. Can you dig that…Date 10 woman in an hour!! No promises. No commitments…No dinners to buy…Just pure, unabashed dating. These women will line up waiting for you. They WANT you to date them. They are looking for YOU. So come on down to the dating mecca of the world. You know you want to!!”
Hello? Right! How come the guys aren’t all over this event?
About half of the attendees have photos in their group profiles and seem normal-looking women or better still. As you say, no money down on a dinner, no effort to meet them.
As it happens, your longer description is not that different to the ACTUAL description on the web-site!
I don’t think it’s local. I don’t think it’s national. I think it’s world wide!!
There’s a waiting list for women at both our local singles clubs!
I’ve given up! I’ve almost given up on internet dating too as I don’t get any dates!!
And I’m not feeling sorry for myself- more realistic!!!
Hope your intrigue flourishes!!!
maybe don’t search. it’s almost as though seriously searching nixes all possibilities. so maybe just live your life fully, doing the most good to the most people … and if something happens, it happens. if it doesn’t–you still didn’t live in vain, and you are NOT a failure : )
It’s a good point. Sometimes when we least expect it, someone interesting happens along. I think that when we’re *looking*, we seem too eager. When we give up or become attached, we have that casual air that attracts the opposite sex.
The trick when single might be to ‘feel’ attached and show it in the way we walk and talk, and that might attract someone. Or, as you suggest, take the high road, and feel happy either way.
i agree, but i don’t know if i’d call it a trick. it’s about being a whole person before you end up with someone. that jerry maguire “you complete me” stuff is BS;
it’s actually you *complement* me really well–and vice versa–and that’s why we “work.”
This is the first I’ve heard of a USA and UK man shortage.
When i was about 18, I was praying for something like that to make it much easier to get the dates with the girls I liked (who always liked someone else, and then the girls I *didn’t* like always wanted to go out with me… *sigh*).
Now that I’m #@#&^ [[temporary Internet error]] years old and not really looking (which is only half-true), you’re saying that all of the men have died off without me noticing! But you know what, joking aside, if there was a web-site called supermodels-looking-for-men.com, I doubt I’d actually find any of the Barbie dolls on that site interesting to me.
I am terrified of speed dating, or anything having to do with meeting someone that way. I prefer glacially slow, I guess. I was on match.com for about 6 months, and then for 2 months again- blech. If we didn’t have sex by the 3rd date, the guys left off, and if he couldn’t be exclusive after 4 months, I SHOULD have left off! Jeesh, it just felt like a catalogue of people for men to have sex with…. I am happy for you to have met someone conventionally!
Hi Anne
You know that you don’t have to make out (or more) with your Speed Dates, right? 🙂
If I was in a different frame of mind, I’d definitely do it. As LFBA said, it is an easy way to meet a bunch of members of the opposite sex without any pressure. As I understand it, you logon on to a web-site later to say YES or NO to the people you met and, if you both say YES, you get contact details for each other. So, it would be easy to go along knowing that no one will ever know if you’re going to give them a positive response.
I don’t understand either perspective. Why would a guy want sex in just 3 dates? How can a couple NOT be exclusive long before 4 months of dating? That’s just crazy talk. Can you specify somewhere in your profile that you only want to be in contact with sane guys?? 🙂
not enough men and too many women. seems like either one of two things–either there’s something wrong with the male population to allow there to be so many free women…or there’s something wrong with the female population that they can’t seem to end up permanently with anyone. or, less plausibly, maybe it’s something in the area’s water…
Hi Kimberly!
If there really is a shortage and it’s not just coincidence, I’d guess that it has to do with idiot men. (Which might not come as a big surprise to most of the readers of this blog.) Seriously, looking at Anne’s comment above, have guys been watching too much Friends or other TV shows where everyone is a Barbie doll hussy? Guys as a group may not get that women have sensible expectations about pace and intimacy, and meeting those with “Me man, you cave girl” is not an ideal approach for most women.
Wow. With the internet dating stuff I’ve seen, it’s surprising that the guys aren’t banging down the doors to get in. Maybe it’s a matter of effort? Is it easier for a guy to internet troll instead of having to attend a speed dating event in person? (are they lying on their internet profiles and speed dating event would get them caught?)
Don’t know. Glad you are able to take a pass, even though your “report” would be, er, interesting to read. 😆