2 Cents on Speed Dating

I think it’s no secret that my sister and I have similar facial features.  In most lighting, we tend to look alike, but there is no lighting that would help us pass for twins (at least, we think).  And because we are sisters, we do things together.  One activity that we tried very recently was speed dating.  VanillaBean and I were wishfully thinking it would be right from the Sex and the City script; however this particular installment happened somewhere on the spectrum between the investigative NCIS episode (“Singled Out”) and the sophisticated-dramatic Hitch scene. (Think more like the awkward Monk moment in “Mr. Monk Goes to the Theatre.”)

Anyway, VanillaBean and I sat together at the same table interviewing/interrogating/being put on display.  This makes pondering these incidents and making fun of the situations easier (in a practical way, it was an excellent conversation starter - Guy: “How do you two know each other?”  Us: “Oh, we are sisters.”).  We can easily recall the man who believes he is straight but is not (not to mention the annoying eye twitch I couldn’t help but focus on).  Oh, and how the creepiest person is going to be attracted to me (a concert photographer – cool, I guess - who gave me his card and offered to help me learn photography tricks for work).  And my favorite: the man who spent two or three (of our precious ten) minutes asking me how he can track down his disappeared grandmother (this was the don’t-kill-me-in-a-back-alleyway-vibe-sending “investigator”).   

In all fairness, all of the men were very nice and amicable.  They were friendly, open, and probably more nervous than VanillaBean and I (considering we had each other for moral support and the men had to split up from their double-dating pair: because of a last-minute venue change, there was also a poor turn-out).  You have to give a guy credit.  It’s intimidating to set across from two attractive woman (ha, ha!) who are grilling and evaluating you at the same time.  Or perhaps they were in heaven.  In how many situations can you date two girls at the same time (sisters, no less) and not be called a pig (only in their dreams, right)?  I also feel bad for the young girls who were so eager to be swept off their feet and I am sure were most disappointed by the poor selection of males.

All in all, the night was okay.  We have great stories VanillaBean and I can laugh hysterically over now (“Do you remember when Accountant #1 asked if we ever switched on dates?” [begin laughing now] “Or when Mr. Coast Guard thought I was the older sister?” [laughing continues harder].)  The ice cream and cupcake excursion where we compared notes (“Yup, that guy was definitely in the closet” and “That one after definitely kept making eyes at you”) was better.  And the excellent late-night dinner with two random strangers we met on the street was even better (but we will save that for another blog post).

Also, did you know that speed dating started out as a way for Jewish singles to meet and connect, according to Wikipedia?