As mentioned before, I have decided that this year I will try almost anything (relating to dating) once. True to my word, I did some speed dating (http://www.smartdate.co.za/) with my friends Philly Girl and Helen. There were supposed to be another 3 or 4 girls, but I think most of them chickened out :)
So off we went to Primi at Melrose Arch and after driving around the 'centre' a few times, Helen and I eventually found a parkade and made our way to join Philly Girl for a quick scope out of the talent/competition arriving. It looked promising from all sides, so we made our way upstairs.
As there were more girls than guys, the guys made themselves comfortable and the girls rotated every five minutes. This also gave the girls time to sit together for a few minutes to discuss the guys they had met and compare notes and laughs.
All in all, the guys were decent. I started with a ginger gym freak…. A guy I was actually avoiding – ginger is SO not my thing. He went on for about 3 of the 5 minutes about how much he LOVES gym… he has to make an effort not to go 7 days a week and even had to squeeze in a work out before the event. He also told my friends that I had grilled him… huh?? Then there was the guy who was in mops… first person I've ever met who was in the mop business (making them not using them), the guy who had a kid, the journalist who had been dragged there and the guy with the wet fish handshake (though he was still quite a sweet guy). And Charles from Cameroon… in five minutes he told his entire life story, from being born in Cameroon, to moving to Canada with his diplomat dad and then Europe (I think) and then eventually having to flee to SA, or something along those lines.
And then there was Kimon…. Helen and I had met him before at a Dinner Club evening (details to follow at a later stage). He didn’t speak much that night and was quite boring. The second time we met him was no different. I would've had more fun talking to a wall, at least a wall has texture. He said the same things, almost word for word, about what work he was in and about running, his hobby. I was eventually talking (almost to myself) about the pros and cons of dogs and cats. Besides the usual "what do you do" question, he asked nothing. One of the girls eventually gave up and sat staring at him not saying a word. But he did quite fancy Helen. After the event we stood around chatting to some guys and he lurked on the outskirts staring at Helen. Creepy!!
I did meet two nice guys and have been chatting with them over email. I will probably see them again sometime and will have more of a chance to get to know them better.
All in all, it was a fun night. I had 5 guys who were interested in either romance of friendship and I matched with 2, for friendship. This is something that we'll definitely do again and might try one of their dinners or social/dance evenings.
As far as dating experiences go, I think that speed dating is something that singles should try. You can find out quite a lot about a person in five minutes and this is where first impressions are paramount. It's actually a lot like an interview, which it kind of is...
That's one experience down and couple more to find out about! And Friday night back to Giles to see what the hunt will bring this time!
