The truth about speed-dating…
Couple at dinner - Photo by dannyman (Flickr)
Apparently I’ve missed Singles Awareness Day – a day to celebrate being single, or rather wallow in the SADness of it…get it? Well anyway, for a recent radio package, I found myself singled out to try speed-dating. I am not a fan of public humiliation but truthfully, I wanted to find out what it was really like!
Speed-dating has its origins in formal matchmaking events organised by Aish HaTorah, a Jewish Orthodox organisation, in a bid to get young Jewish singletons to meet ‘the one’ and marry. More recently, the tradition has been made popular by TV shows like Sex and the City, Gilmore Girls and The Vicar of Dibley.
I have to be honest with you, my version of speed-dating was a mock up, but for all intents and purposes, it felt like the real thing. My colleagues had picked the men and I was expected to offer my funniest jokes and best lines in a bid to win their hearts. Embarrassing doesn’t come close to what I felt.
As the day drew closer, I looked up the top questions asked at speed-dating to get some tips. What I found was the cliched “Where do you see yourself in five years?” And “What’s the most romantic thing you’ve done on a date?” Cliche or not, it’s better than what I had, “If you were an animal in a jungle, what would you be?”
So, the moment of truth…how was the speed-dating? I’m not going to lie, I was a giggly wreck, if only to mask my embarrassment of the situation. And the men, well obviously I hadn’t expected Brad Pitt, but a girl can still hope for some eye candy, even if it’s research for a story, right?
No, I’m joking, they weren’t that bad and it was actually quite a laugh. Except the moment when one of the guys asked my jungle question to which I replied “A lion because they’re king of the jungle and I like to be in control, roarrrr”. It can’t have been that cringe-worthy though; when I asked the same guy what he was doing the following week, he said “Taking you out” with a cheeky wink.
So go on girls, give it a try. If only for the funny memories that you can tell your friends for years to come.
Listen to the Mode girls talk about speed-dating on our podcast here.