Speed Date

I am about to share something with all of you, that I should probably keep to myself. Correction: I should definitely keep to myself. But when have I ever kept anything to myself? That's right. Never. Allow me to set the stage...

It all began on Thursday night when Little Mimi Girl (that's my mom) called me on the telephone. Just some background on Little Mimi's frame of mind; all of her friends are beginning to become grandparents, (and while she is not quite ready for that), I think that she knows that at the rate that my siblings and I are going--grandparenthood is going to be far, far into the future. My mom, is constantly telling me how ______________(insert positive adjective here) I am. (She's my # 1 fan), and therefore thinks that it is some sort of human travesty that I don't have a boyfriend.

Little Mimi asks me to join Jdate every day (No, mom). Anytime that I mention a boy to her, I always feel regretful afterwards. And that is because, each day my mom will call me and ask me, "So, did you hear from______ (insert boy's name here) today?" (No, mom). I adore my mom, and I know that this interest is out of love, but lay off a little, okay?

On Thursday night Mimi really hit an all time low, and suggested that I try... speed dating!?!? At first I laughed at her, and simply said, "hell no." But then, I began to take her offer a bit more seriously. I began to think what is the worst that can happen if I try speed dating? Absolutely nothing. At best, I meet someone that I actually like. At worst, I don't meet anyone that I like, and I still get a blog entry out of it. My mom even suggested that I ask my friend Becky (Bgbabe--Wingwoman Extraordinaire) to speed-date along with me.

After hanging up the phone with Little Mimi, I called my Becca Girl right away. It took no arm twisting on her part, just a lot of laughing, asking each other if this was nuts, and well...Becky was in! We got down to work right away, and googled speed dating in NYC. Three sights came up; Latin Speed Dating, Indian Speed Dating, and Jewish Speed Dating. Neither Becky or I are picky about religion, but given our other options--Jewish Speed Dating it is! We signed up and were all set for Sunday night Jewish speed dating. After all, what else did I have to do on a Sunday night besides for cry that my weekend was over?

On the cab to the bar, Becky and I both felt like we wanted throw up. Neither of us are desperate, and both of us are happy, independent women. (All the women, who independent--throw your hands up at me!) Why were we putting ourselves through this unnecessary torture? Upon entrance into the bar, we immediately ordered drinks (Bacaaadi for me, and a glass of wine for BG). Our nerves were instantly calmed by the booze, and by the one seemingly normal male in the bar who took a liking to the both of us. Names and life stories were exchanged, and soon a bond was formed.

For those of you who have never participated in speed dating (which I'm assuming is the majority of my blog readers), speed dating is actually quite hilarious. Each person is given a sheet of paper. After you have a "date" with someone you write their name down if you like them. Translation: If you find your date to be mildly to moderately attractive, a name is written down. Overall, the girls of speed-date, appeared to look "normal." Unfortunately for me, the same could not be said about the male speed daters.

Each "date" lasts for five minutes. A speed-date representative stands in the middle of the bar yelling, "Five minutes are up--switch!" This time constraint is both a positive and a negative. With some of my "dates," the fifth minute marked the beginning of my stride. And for other dates, five minutes felt like an actual eternity. (Also, please do note that this event ranged from ages 23-38). Some of my "dates" were born in 1972. If you were actually in high school when 90210 aired, then you are probably a bit too old for me.

In the end, I deemed the night a success. Why? I think I got a pretty good blog out of the night,(if I do say so myself). More importantly, this experience became another to add to my arsenal of bizarre dating triumphs and tribulations. My night ended with dinner with one of my fellow male speed daters. He was an actor, and a bar-mitzvah dancer on the side. (An obvious aside: I wanted to be a bat-mitzvah dancer my whole life). However, he also conveniently "forgot" his wallet...hmm...will there be another speed date in my future? Chances are no...but only time will tell.