Last week, I participitated in the increasingly popular hook-up method known as speed dating. 5 years ago, the thought of doing something like this seemed desperate and needy. I never in a million years thought that I would one day be stooping so low.

I’ve only actually known one person who has ever done it before, and he didn’t get any dates from it, but ended up meeting a girl with whom he became friends. He told me that it was a ton of fun, but nothing to take too seriously. Armed with this knowledge, I attended an event put on my Fastlife Singles Events. The event started at 7:45, but my gal-pal, Lisa (not her real name) and I showed up around 7. We figured we’d take some strategic seats so we could check out the talent as they came through the door.

Around 7:30, all the singles had arrived, and we were all in the designated area of the bar. I tried to avoid talking to any of the men, for fear that we would cover all bases before our time slot came up and then we would nothing to talk about. It was open bar. That was a great idea.

The girls all sat down at a numbered table. There were 14 of us in total. We never moved. At the sound of our host Dan’s command, the men all took a seat. We had 8 minutes with each man before Dan would command the men to pick up and move over to the next number. I was #6. (We all had nametags, so no one actually called me #6). We all had score cards, so we could mark down each contestant’s name, and then we would mark a “yes” or a “no” next to their names. A mutual “yes” ensured the good folks at Fastlife would foward contact information to each of us so we could communicate with each other.

I don’t remember everyone I talked to, but here are my memories/assesments of some of them (names have been changed):

Joey: a firefighter in training- real eager, big smile. If he went to my gym, he’d definately be one of the creepy guys I’d be trying to avoid. He seemed genuine though.

Matthew: a finace guy working in governement somewhere, from Cameroon. My limited knowledge of the continent of Africa was evident throughout our 8 minutes. He intrigued me the most, but that may have been because I just watched Blood Diamond, and therefore assume that all countries in Africa are like whatever country that was based on.

Harry: He’s got his masters. He’s got his masters. He’s got his masters. He’s got his masters. He’s got his masters. After comparing notes with Lisa, we agreed that he was very proud to have just gotten his masters. I don’t remember a thing about him, except that Lisa saw him a few days later and he was upset that she hadn’t responded to his e-mail.

Rick: He was by far my favorite. We had an 8 minute conversation about beer and how having poker parties at home results in the host acquiring more beer. I’m still trying to figure out a way to hang out with him without having it be a date.

Mitchell: This guy was a big guy. He also ate 90% of the free food they served. He was wearing an all-white suit with a white fedora. When I asked him about his choice in clothing he looked at me like was a moron and everyone walks around in those kinds of clothes. Rumour in the girls washroom during the break was that he was asking everyone what was so special about them. He didn’t ask me, likely because what makes me so special is extremelly evident.

Milo (also known as the worst 8 minutes of both mine and Lisa’s life). He had one word answers for every question. He had done speed dating 5 times, with no apparent success. My suggestion? He pick up a self-help book on conversational skills. I’m sure if I asked if he was a nice guy, he would have responded simply “yes”.

The rest fall into generic categories of “really great guy”. I had a blast. It far exceeded my expectation for level of fun. 8 minutes is plenty to get to know someone, I probably talk to guys for less time than that in a bar before giving out my number (usually I give my number out upon the purchase of a beverage). The quality of men was really good. Most of them I would sit with at a party and talk to for longer than 8 minutes.

The next day, my e-mail from Fastlife indicated that I was now part of the “elite”. Which means that my name got a “yes” check at least 70% of the time. It also means: “You’ll also be invited to Elite Members Only events where everyone has that special something that others find attractive”. That’s right. It’s been voted on my speed-daters, I have that special something that others find attractive. Not that I didn’t know it already, but it just kicks up my ego a notch or two.

I highly recommend speed dating. Don’t go expecting to leave with a husband, just go to meet people. I actually did get a number that night, from a girl named Tania who seemed kinda cool and I thought would make a great addition to my friends list. If in Toronto, try out Fastlife…as compared to the other singles events I have gone to, the quality of participants is better, and the event is run smoother. Plus, they do open bar.

Tags: singles events, speed dating