I was grabbing a latte last Tuesday and this dude was on the phone, laughing about how his date pulled his public records before they even met. She found an old speeding ticket and asked him about it during appetizers. I get being safe, but who does that before a first date? Made me wonder if I should start reverse-searching names before I swipe yes on anyone. Has anyone else had a date admit they looked you up first?
I spent 35 bucks on a portable charger before meeting this guy from Hinge at a food truck park, and when his phone died he used mine to call an Uber, which honestly turned a pretty dry hour into two more at a dive bar a few blocks over.
Last Friday my buddy Dan from work told me to have exactly 3 drinks on a blind date. Said it relaxes you without getting sloppy. I followed his advice to the letter. Met this woman at a bar in Austin and by drink 2 I was telling her about my ex's hamster funeral. She laughed at first, then it got weird when I started crying about it. Drink 3 hit and I asked if she wanted to see my kid's school photos. She left after 40 minutes. Dan swears it works for him but I think he forgot I'm a lightweight. Anyone else get terrible dating advice from a friend who's been single for like 8 years straight?
Met Dana for drinks at a diner near the bus station, and I led with 'what do you do for work?' instead of the usual small talk. She spent 20 minutes explaining her side gig as a tarot reader who specializes in pets, and I knew right then we weren't a match, but at least I didn't waste a full dinner figuring that out. Has anyone else got a go-to question that screens people faster?
I had a blind date set up through a coworker and the guy turned out to be super picky. Like, he sent back his burger because the bun touched the pickle. I was ready to call it a night after 20 minutes. But the waitress suggested we try their new jackfruit tacos and we both ended up laughing about how weird it looked. We spent the next hour comparing our worst food experiences instead of awkward small talk. Been texting since. Has anyone else had a backup plan at a restaurant turn things around?
Last Friday I had back to back blind dates set up by my coworker, first a fancy Italian place that ran me $86 and then a simple coffee spot downtown. The pasta place had all this pressure to make conversation count and the waiter kept hovering, but at the coffee shop we just sat by the window and talked for two hours without any stress. Has anyone else noticed that cheaper, low key dates actually feel more real than the expensive ones, or was it just my luck?
Met this dude from an app at a coffee place in Portland last Saturday. He pulls out a laptop and shows me a color coded list of date metrics, like conversation flow and eye contact. I laughed thinking it was a joke, but he was dead serious. 15 minutes in he gave me a 6.2 for humor and asked what I'd score his outfit. Has anyone else met someone who treats dating like a work project? How do you even respond to that without being rude?