Last week I tried something I’ve never, ever done before.
Speed dating.
It was terrifyingly awesome!
I spent the afternoon mentally revising all the ways I felt kinda gross and listing the reasons I didn’t want to meet any new people. One shower, my favourite dress, eye liner, and a pair of golden flats (being amazonian, it was a team decision to avoid additional height with heels), I left the house feeling a little more upbeat about 20 or so strangers.
I am pretty good with meeting new people. I’m not sure why I was nervous. It’s the unknown, ‘will they like me?’ ‘what will they think of me?’ ‘Baaaaaaahhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaa!!’
I entered the bar, bee-lined for a safe looking corner and met a new friend ‘Anna’. Anna was bubbly and delightful, we got chatting about life before her other friends arrived (I was flying solo – even more terrifying). The night commenced and it was a great mix of men. Smart, sometimes funny, sometimes a little harder to chat to. Conversation ranged from plant DNA and the binary code through to french press coffee to sky-diving to personal development and self-awareness. At one point in time the conversation with one ‘date’ was so on par with my thinking that I told him that I really enjoyed his brain. I am so incredibly smooth. It is baffling that I’m single.
Overall, there was three men there that I was interested in following up with. Or the bartender, he was delightful too. When a woman is set to ‘flirt’ mode it’s hard to reign it in. An event such as speed dating really highlights my different interests, what attracts me to a person and what values I hold as important. There was one man who I found to be particularly kind, in the one on one and larger group setting. As I have matured, this has become a key quality that I look for in people I spend time with. Kindness should never be overrated, to yourself and others.
Then there are the usual suspects: tall, great smile, good chat, interesting and interested. The night was filled with bits of banter, some better than others. The combination of good conversation, good selection of dress (LBD for the confidence win every time), and a little bit of wine made for an amazing evening.
Should I be able to go back in time, I would have given my number to the men I wanted to talk to more. There were social cues at play preventing the polite exchange of details, with the promise of methods of contact at the closure of the evening. The follow up part has been particularly clunky, which is disappointing considering the cost.
If nothing else, it did restore my faith that there are at least 3 men in Brisbane that I’d like to go on a ‘second date’ with , which is 3 more than I’d known of previously! Plus, the experience was good for pushing the comfort zone, which I haven’t done in a while!
Oh life. Many layers woven into this tapestry, with an abundance of additions in the wings waiting to be added!!
Happy Wandering!
Hx