Minnie
So this week I met up with Joe, a match from the speed dating night (we both ticked each other). I had the benefit of looking him up on facebook before we met (my privacy settings were far too strong for him to get a glimpse of more than my profile picture) and I was pleased to find that if anything he was better looking than I remembered. Excellent.
We arranged to meet at Waterloo station after we had both finished work. The organisation of the date was entirely in Joe's hands. With the last date I had been on (pre-blog) having been essentially a big disappointment, I was determined not to let my hopes get too high. I knew that we could get on well for three minutes but after that anything could happen.
However, I wasn't disappointed. He took me to a bar that had a great atmosphere and location. It was full of comfy sofas, dim lighting and coffee tables. We met at seven and didn't leave until past ten - I'm no expert but I think that's pretty good going for a first date. We went from talking about our jobs to bonding over terrible interview experiences, to our mutual love and appreciation of cardigans, to hilarious osteopath exercises that we have tried. He was funny, charming and had even been a model during a year in Japan. He seemed like the kind of guy who was willing to give pretty much anything a try once, which is an attitude I like in people.
Nevertheless, by the end of the date I felt as though I had caught up with an old friend rather than found my next boyfriend. We made each other laugh, but my heart wasn't all aflutter in his presence. As we walked towards our separate tube platforms the thought ran through my mind - was this going to be an awkward 'goodbye kiss' moment? Luckily I think we both felt the same way and we ended the evening with a hug and peck on the cheek. And so the search for my perfect match continues...
Minnie x
Sunday 20 May 2012
Wednesday 9 May 2012
All you need is... speed dating?
So we decided that the best way to ease ourselves into our challenge would be via speed dating. We chose speed dating to start us off because:
1. Talking to people is something we do best.
2. We could go together - providing moral support and leaving us less likely to back out at the last minute
3. Our speed dating ticket also provided free entry into a fancy nightclub - this alone was enough to swing it for us.
We bought our tickets weeks in advance (a bit too keen, I hear you say?) and tried to approach the whole thing with an open mind. We really didn't know what to expect but we reasoned that even if the speed dating went terribly we would still have a fun night out. And if the dating went great - even better!
The event was held at a nightclub in central London. The venue looked pretty upmarket on the website (it actually had pictures of Prince Harry and Beyonce gracing the dance floor) so let's just say our hopes were high. We arrived punctually at six-thirty pm. (We had planned to go for a nice dinner accompanied by a strong bottle of wine beforehand, but due to train delays we ended up scoffing a quick McDonald's before rushing to the club. Classy.). We needn't have hurried: when we arrived there were approximately three other men inside and no women. Feeling very sober and about to lose our nerve we headed for the bar where we promptly ordered a bottle of sauvignon blanc. Needless to say this disappeared down our throats within the next fifteen minutes. Luckily, within half an hour a lot more people had arrived and we got chatting to two girls who were also first-timers. They were very friendly and normal and calmed our fears of being trapped in a room with socially awkward strangers (or creepy perverts).
The logistics of speed-dating are pretty simple - the women sit down and the men rotate every three minutes. You are provided with a small card in order to jot people's names down along with something memorable about them. (Unfortunately for one unlucky man Minnie's memorable info was 'fish breath - NO!'). It's important to remember to do this as the people you meet whizz by in a blur. The idea is that you tick the people that you want to see again. Minnie's first guy was pretty chatty and easy-going, although Minnie felt she may have put him off by wondering aloud 'have we officially started?' half-way through their conversation (they had). Amie's first guy was sweet, but very very awkward... however, she plowed through the three minutes with relentless questioning. It was really easy to get chatting to people and we both found that every time the bell rang we couldn't believe our time was up.
Having said that, there were definitely a few dubious characters in there. One man described himself as a professional poker player. Amie's take on this was 'So you're basically unemployed?' Unfortunately he also suffered from a bad case of body odor and subsequently neither of us were particularly impressed. Additionally, three minutes was about two minutes and fifty-nine seconds too long with Karl from Hong Kong. After twenty seconds of talking to Minnie he fixed his eyes creepily on her and asserted 'You look like you want to kiss me.' Minnie quickly backed away in horror and assured him 'No. I don't.' (He later invited us to a singles party he was organising which we politely declined). Yet happily the majority of the people we spoke to were normal, friendly and not unattractive. A lot of them were city workers who evidently found it difficult meeting a potential partner when they worked long hours. By the end of the night both of us had met at least one person that we wanted to see again. We spent the rest of our evening partying and drinking with our fellow speed-daters - just picture the first night of uni when everyone gets far too close far too quickly and you'll have some idea of how the evening turned out.
Overall we had a really fun night and would definitely go again. Speed-dating is a great way to meet new people, especially if you are new to an area. Imagine going for a night out where it's totally normal for everyone to talk to everyone else - genius! However, don't go with high hopes of meeting the man or woman of your dreams. (There was one moment when Minnie thought Amie had found her perfect man, only to discover that Amie thought he was gay and just didn't know it yet). From our experience it's best just to go with an open mind and enjoy it.
Amie & Minnie
1. Talking to people is something we do best.
2. We could go together - providing moral support and leaving us less likely to back out at the last minute
3. Our speed dating ticket also provided free entry into a fancy nightclub - this alone was enough to swing it for us.
We bought our tickets weeks in advance (a bit too keen, I hear you say?) and tried to approach the whole thing with an open mind. We really didn't know what to expect but we reasoned that even if the speed dating went terribly we would still have a fun night out. And if the dating went great - even better!
The event was held at a nightclub in central London. The venue looked pretty upmarket on the website (it actually had pictures of Prince Harry and Beyonce gracing the dance floor) so let's just say our hopes were high. We arrived punctually at six-thirty pm. (We had planned to go for a nice dinner accompanied by a strong bottle of wine beforehand, but due to train delays we ended up scoffing a quick McDonald's before rushing to the club. Classy.). We needn't have hurried: when we arrived there were approximately three other men inside and no women. Feeling very sober and about to lose our nerve we headed for the bar where we promptly ordered a bottle of sauvignon blanc. Needless to say this disappeared down our throats within the next fifteen minutes. Luckily, within half an hour a lot more people had arrived and we got chatting to two girls who were also first-timers. They were very friendly and normal and calmed our fears of being trapped in a room with socially awkward strangers (or creepy perverts).
The logistics of speed-dating are pretty simple - the women sit down and the men rotate every three minutes. You are provided with a small card in order to jot people's names down along with something memorable about them. (Unfortunately for one unlucky man Minnie's memorable info was 'fish breath - NO!'). It's important to remember to do this as the people you meet whizz by in a blur. The idea is that you tick the people that you want to see again. Minnie's first guy was pretty chatty and easy-going, although Minnie felt she may have put him off by wondering aloud 'have we officially started?' half-way through their conversation (they had). Amie's first guy was sweet, but very very awkward... however, she plowed through the three minutes with relentless questioning. It was really easy to get chatting to people and we both found that every time the bell rang we couldn't believe our time was up.
Having said that, there were definitely a few dubious characters in there. One man described himself as a professional poker player. Amie's take on this was 'So you're basically unemployed?' Unfortunately he also suffered from a bad case of body odor and subsequently neither of us were particularly impressed. Additionally, three minutes was about two minutes and fifty-nine seconds too long with Karl from Hong Kong. After twenty seconds of talking to Minnie he fixed his eyes creepily on her and asserted 'You look like you want to kiss me.' Minnie quickly backed away in horror and assured him 'No. I don't.' (He later invited us to a singles party he was organising which we politely declined). Yet happily the majority of the people we spoke to were normal, friendly and not unattractive. A lot of them were city workers who evidently found it difficult meeting a potential partner when they worked long hours. By the end of the night both of us had met at least one person that we wanted to see again. We spent the rest of our evening partying and drinking with our fellow speed-daters - just picture the first night of uni when everyone gets far too close far too quickly and you'll have some idea of how the evening turned out.
Overall we had a really fun night and would definitely go again. Speed-dating is a great way to meet new people, especially if you are new to an area. Imagine going for a night out where it's totally normal for everyone to talk to everyone else - genius! However, don't go with high hopes of meeting the man or woman of your dreams. (There was one moment when Minnie thought Amie had found her perfect man, only to discover that Amie thought he was gay and just didn't know it yet). From our experience it's best just to go with an open mind and enjoy it.
Amie & Minnie
Saturday 5 May 2012
All you need is... a relationship?
We are two single girls who have lost the majority of our friends to sickeningly happy relationships. While our friends are busy researching mortgage providers we are mulling over the most highly-rated online dating websites. While other friends and their partners are planning their complementary careers, we are agonising over what a singles party might entail. Putting aside our fear of embarrassment we have taken upon ourselves the challenge of trying to meet a man via the many different experiences that the modern dating world has to offer.
Amie
An awkward Chemistry (almost) graduate about to start a new job in an alien city where the people she knows amounts to approximately zero. Following several embarrassing adolescent relationships, a prolonged 'friends with benefits' relationship ("what was I thinking?") and a series of accidental one night stands, she is now ready to shop online for her ideal man.
Minnie
A History graduate now working in the world of television where all the men are gay or married. With a relationship history consisting of meaningless school crushes, an all-consuming first love ("sob"), followed by a plodding relationship more suited to the newly retired, Minnie is now ready to take her love-life to the next level by actively searching for a man.
We hope you enjoy reading about the highs and lows that are sure to follow.
Amie & Minnie
Amie
An awkward Chemistry (almost) graduate about to start a new job in an alien city where the people she knows amounts to approximately zero. Following several embarrassing adolescent relationships, a prolonged 'friends with benefits' relationship ("what was I thinking?") and a series of accidental one night stands, she is now ready to shop online for her ideal man.
Minnie
A History graduate now working in the world of television where all the men are gay or married. With a relationship history consisting of meaningless school crushes, an all-consuming first love ("sob"), followed by a plodding relationship more suited to the newly retired, Minnie is now ready to take her love-life to the next level by actively searching for a man.
We hope you enjoy reading about the highs and lows that are sure to follow.
Amie & Minnie
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