i feel the need....

so last night i had adventure #2 of the week: speed dating.

yes. you read that correctly. speed dating.
it's something i've been wanting to try for a while, and i figured now's the time to do it- when i'm eager to meet new people and put myself out there. (instead of, you know, sitting on my couch, complaining).

i signed up at speed date philadephia, paid my stupidly high 'registration fee' (which turns out not to even include a free drink!) and signed my fate to a night of 5 minute interactions.

and guess what: IT WAS AWESOME.

so, here's how it went. i was nervous because i was supposed to be going with my friend melissa. however, melissa took her time signing up and the event got filled...so i ended up going by myself. ugh. and i was running late- coming home from work at 7, trying to get there by 7:45, not succeeding. turns out it was better to be late, as the first activity is an awkward ice breaker game that i heard from a few people was the most awkward thing they've ever experienced. haha. suckers.
except then i showed up (at a bar in old city i've never been to before) and realized that everyone had a drink, and that they were not free. and i was annoyed. i Paid for this event- the least speeddate philadelphia could do was provide a little cushion to ease the social awkwardness.
anyway- i headed back to put my stuff down at a table and go to the restroom before we got started. i noticed that the bathroom doors were...clear. and more than that, i could see a guy PEEING. where the fuck am i? so i go into the next bathroom and lock the door praying that something magical would happen to the door to make it...solid. and it did! when you lock it the glass fogs up or something- so you can't see out, and more importantly, no one can see in. (which means the guy next door also didn't bother to lock the door- dude, how drunk were you?)

ok. bathroom tangent finished. i went back into the bar and placed my stuff at 'table 11', and promptly ran into the girl at table 12, paula. we made fast friends! she revealed that she had actually been to a speed dating event a few weeks before but didn't like anyone she met- i guess the ages were skewed younger at that event, and she didnt connect with anyone, so this event was free. (good to know, i was already thinking i wouldn't like anyone that i met- so at least the next event would be free).

we sat down at our tables and waited for the main event to start. i was feeling pretty good, because i had put some thought into my outfit that day. this particular event was called 'sassy and classy' (ew. i know. my friend ben told me not to go just based on the name alone). so i thought i should look as sassy and classy as possible. the end result was black skinny chords, a white ruffle tank and my black and white blazer from banana republic w/ black flats. i had makeup on. i was smiling and telling myself to just be friendly. if anyone is both classy And sassy, it's me, friends. it's me.

there were 13 men and 13 women gathered for speeddating that night. and fellow #1 was named...Kermit. i shit you not. he even said 'like the frog'. aw, kermit. hold on, let me get my notes from the night....
they give you a piece of paper to write down everyone's names and take notes on them, so you could reference your 'matches' when you got home.
Kermit was getting his MFA in creative writing. he was born and raised in philly, and was perfectly nice. a good first interaction. the whole time we were chatting i was thinking- god this is weird. but then i looked around and realized...well, everyone here is here for the same thing. so i might as well just relax and chat.

from kermit on out it was smooth sailing. it turns out talking to people in 5 minute increments (every five minutes the lady running the event rang a bell and the men got up to shift left) is pretty easy. and it was Quite a diverse crowd.
out of 13 men there were 2 doctors, a lawyer, and insurance guy, two men who worked on various military bases nearby, a social worker, an engineering student, Kermit the MFA, a sexy artist (more on him later), an IT guy, and an israeli guy who seemed to have no particular profession. a fair number of the men were foreign (said israeli guy, a guy from saudi arabia, and an african dude), even more if you include the cardiologist from south philly (which, come on- is a planet of it's own...)
i learned a lot of random things!

aqeel, the saudi arabian engineering student, trades stocks in his spare time. and loves to party on the weekends.

mike e is a dentist on the air base in delaware. he's never been to new york. and he rides a motorcycle.

michael h is a lawyer who lives a few blocks from me and owns a shiba inu. he was the only one in a suit and tie. very polite and appropriate.

david is a social worker who gave me career advice and told me to open up my own shop on the side as soon as i was ready- because it's really not as hard as it seems to run your own practice.

alon was the interesting (read: giggly) israeli guy who seemed to be laughing at the whole thing, and asked me how anyone ever really met anyone in this world. very philosophical alon. also, every time he goes home to visit his mom she tries to set him up. here's a tip alon, don't laugh all the time. take yourself just a little more seriously.

emmanuel was not pleased with any of my answers to his annoying questions. but he does like music. and kept referring to me as a princess. probably because the only diana he's ever heard of before was princess di. ...ok.

the most interesting story of the night was philip- who was totally not my type, but was first cousins with the first ever Miss Latvia. he told a great story about going to her wedding (in Latvia), when she married a Latvian rock star and they were all treated like royalty for being related to the bride. he has a latvian tabloid w/ a picture from the wedding on the front page. oh philip, always tell that story. it was awesome.

finally we get to stephan...(i don't know if it's pronounced ste-Fahn or STE-phen, but it doesn't matter). stephan is a sexy somewhat hipster/lumberjack artist. he does Neon art (what's that you ask? i don't know, will be googling shortly) and he asked the best questions (ex: what was your proudest moment- points for asking something original!). for the love of god he even mentioned a Pastry shop in his town that he loves. the man sculpts and eats croissants? WHERE DO I SIGN UP. the funny thing about stephan was that we were talking animatedly and the bell rang, signifying our time was up. and as he was leaving he says "you know who you look like?" (now, this is something i get all the time. i have one of those faces. people always think they know me). so i said "who?" and he goes "Agent Skully". now, i have never, in my life, been told i look like Gillian Anderson. some girl you went to grade school with? used to know through a friend of a friend? saw one time at the supermarket? sure. but Gillian Anderson? this was new.
the Best part was when he goes, as he's leaving the table "she was pretty hot". and then just gets up, and glides away.
SMOOTH MOVE ARTIST BOY.
i swooned a little bit. good thing i was sitting down already. i don't think anyone noticed.

sooo at the end of the night, i had met some pretty interesting people. and made plans to hang out w/ that girl paula from the table next to me (we're getting drinks next week- friend date #2! go me!). i came home laughing and listening to fun music on blast wondering what i had been nervous about in the first place.

SPEED DATING IS FUN.

now i just have to wait and see if i get 'matched' with anyone. fingers crossed Stephan the hot artist (who, now that i think about it looks vaguely like david duchovny...we could totally have an x-files romance!) wants to teach me more about his art...and croissants...