Blind Dates...

I lied. We were supposed to talk about parkour/freerunning... but, I came across something in dire need of reviewing. I mean, Parkour speaks for itself. It's an amazing real life spiderman workout for your entire body and when you tell people you are into that sort of thing, they are immediately interested in learning more- perfect conversation started and it keeps you in shape:) It's basically running but, the whole time you use urban structures like walls, parking buildings, and fences to do jumps, flips, jungle gym/agility exercises, etc. I stayed up really late one night learning all about it and watching "how to" videos on youtube. Go there if you'd like to work your way in to the freerunning scene and there are also websites about other freerunning groups in your area if you want some buddies to get you started!!

So, back to the task at hand. Blind dates. I just went on my first one last night. What do you guys think of them? I didn't know what to expect so I googled how blind dates are supposed to go and according to askmen.com, mine was not only blind but severely handicapped as well...

Facts:
I'm a relatively taller girl (5'8") so I like tall men (around 6' or more). Unfortunately, my guy (we'll call him Ben) was 5'10" so, I reluctantly realized that my perfect five inch heels that I like to be able to wear on Sundays, would be a "no go" with him:( He did smell REALLY good though, so we'll give Ben some bonus points!

Strike two- He didn't take the lead and seemed unprepared as to where we should eat. He literally asked, "In all of Utah, where would you like to eat? When you see a sign for a place ya like we can just exit the freeway and go there..." I DON'T KNOW where we should go in between where I live and the stadium where we're going to see the basketball game. Plus, I felt pressure that we'd be going along the freeway at like 70+ miles an hour and see something I like, tell him, and he'd be so flustered that we needed to exit suddenly, that we'd crash and die. Luckily, that didn't happen. I tried to let him be the man again by, telling him what I like and letting him decide on a place but, he didn't take the bait. I felt emasculated for him, poor guy. We made it to Cafe Rio just fine.

Conversation is pretty important on a date, yeah? Boy meets girl, they talk, he whisks her away in everything impressive about him. She reciprocates by dropping a line or two about her post-grad thesis work on psychoneuroimmunology and her daily workouts/rockin' bod, and musical talents, etc. Overall, they try to find common ground and agree with each other on most things. Ben missed the memo. Instead, he constantly talked about what a waste everything was. "Why spend money on that, when you can get something LAME for free?" Okay, so that's not exactly what he was saying, but it's what I heard all night. I really want to travel, go to grad school, do fun things, and talk about crazy stuff. Ben shut everything down so eventually, I ran out of things to say. Or rather, gave up trying. Everything I had to say, he said the polar opposite or had no clue what I was talking about. Did the man live under a rock his whole life?
Example conversation:
Me: I just joined a bluegrass band and we've got a gig coming up.
Ben: What's bluegrass? Do you play the ukeleles?
Me: (Internal thought process- "HECK NO! where do you get off?")
Me: Umm, no. Not exactly. It's more like a lighter, hicker version of country.
Ben: Oh. Well, I don't like country.
Me: Oh.............. (pause of like 60 seconds)...... What kind of music do you like?
Ben: Video game soundtracks. Like mario kart or halo and stuff. I like to listen to it at work and it gives a nostalgic feeling.
Me: (Internally- "What the heck do I have to say to that? Shoot.")
Me: Haha, like, this tune reminds me of the day I beat level 9, right?
Ben: Yeah....... (nothing)
Me: Umm. (In a desperate attempt to help Ben feel less weird about his musical tastes, I added...) one time my brother, made a mixed cd with one song from Zelda on it.

NEW TOPIC

Me: Did I mention that my brother's in New York and just got back from Berlin where they're filming a movie? He's way into the entertainment field and acting.
Ben: Why would he ever want to go to Europe?
Me: (I had nothing left to say. Just a thoroughly dropped jaw.)

The straw that broke the camel's back- We had planned to meet up with another couple around 6pm but, they were running a little late with their dinner. Ben didn't want to call or text the other guy to let him know we were there, waiting for them outside the restaurant even after a half an hour because he thought we'd be interrupting a budding love affair. The thing is, he had lied and told the couple that we weren't even there yet, so they probably thought they were waiting for us. While waiting, we went into Staples. In the bathroom, I actually had to call up my padres and get some pump-up, moral support words. Later, he finally texted them and they instantly came out wondering what had taken us so long. Told ya, Ben. The game was great. We won. It was a relief during those two hours that we didn't really have to talk.

Afterwards, was a different story. I decided that I was done digging for conversation topics. So, I let him take a shot and politely nodded and agreed with his words... even when he started attacking the boy scout system as a waste of time. Honestly, I was just so shocked by that one, I didn't have the heart to tell him that he just sounds bitter for not completing his own eagle scout. Sorry dude. In my family, scouting, church service, and higher education are just something you do. No questions asked. Except, if you do ask a question about it, we'll find a way to motivate you back into it. Like getting you a car or something.

Anyway, so we're driving me back home and I can tell he wants to end on a good note. He's working really hard to make better conversation and I go with it. He walks me to the door, say it's nice to meet each other, and I'll tell Erin (the girl who set us up) that he says hi... (right after I ask her how the heck she thought we'd get along in the first place?). and scene. done.

Moral of the story. Be pleasant on a date- worst comes to worse, you get a new friend out of it, if you play your cards right. As my friend says that "It's either a really good date or a really good story!" you pick.