Rave of the day: Speed dating boys

So, everyone know I went speed dating with a girl friend last week -- we'll call her JC. Much to readers' chagrin, there actually isn't a lot of story-worthy things to say; I'd been before so I fully knew what to expect. With the exception of three guys who no one was going to pick, ever -- Jacked Teeth, Amish and Comic Book Guy -- the rest of the crop was pretty decent.

The situation is pretty simple; there are an equal number of guys and girls, and everyone has a name, scorecard and assignment schedule. You have a total of eight, 8-minute 'dates,' all of which have been randomly chosen. Your schedule tells you which numbered table to go to at each interval, and you use your scorecard to record each person you've met and if you'd like to see them again. The best thing, I think, is that you can choose how you'd like to see them again: a second date, friendship or business/networking. Once you're done, you return home and enter all your matches online (and you're allowed to put a single person in more than one category). If the individual has entered your name, too, then you each receive the other's contact information, and the deal is done. You contact them from there.

The key, however, is in how you match; for the sake of (good-hearted) argument, say I enter Comic Book Guy's name as a second date match -- he can dream, can't he? I will only receive his information (and he mine) if he also enters my name as a second date match. If, for some asinine,he only thinks we'd be good as friends or networking connections, and enters my name as such, then that's not actually a match and no information is exchanged.

Now, JC and I aren't generally ones to fight over the same guy; our tastes tend to run a little differently. But there was one guy there - Dell - who we both thought was fun and decently cute, so we both chose him. He and I matched as friends, while JC and Dell matched on a second date level. Of course, JC no longer has time for the whole friend thing, so she only entered second date matches to begin with, even if she wasn't 100% sure she wanted to date them. We discovered last night, however, that Dell is the perfect date for us.

Not her, mind you. But us.

She and I were out doing a little people watching and pub crawling (National Talk Like a Pirate Day coupled with the UT-Tech game made for an interesting foray into downtown), and she decided to invite Dell. Why not? I'm not sure he realized I would be there -- more likely, he thought he'd stroll in, throw some cash around, get JC a little tipsy and make his move. Not saying he's a bad guy, but that's how the midn generally tends to make sense of a woman inviting a guy to 6th St. just a couple of days after meeting. Whatever he may have thought, however, he kept up his end of a bargain I hadn't even realized we'd made.

Upon reflection, I realize I was the 'best friend' in this situation... and any guy with any sense (or a Netflix queue that once upon a time featured the movie Hitch) knows that the best way to a woman's heart is to get the approval of her best friend. Dell was always on hand to buy beers and dole them out; with the first one, I thought he was simply being polite because I was standing right there, but ultimately, he proved the sort to actually seek me out  and ask if I needed a refresher.

Score!

I think JC and I might have to work this speed dating thing again; $40 up front is totally worth building a stable of men who, unsure of just how they need to proceed with her, are willing to ply the both of us with freebies to cover their bases. I am fully willing to take a back seat on this.

Hmm, maybe I *will* match Comic Book Guy. If Dell is willing to buy drinks, I can only imagine how far Comic Book Guy would go.