When I was home for Thanksgiving, a family friend started telling me about her friend who lives down in DC. She told me what a great guy he is – how smart, how sweet, and a runner! – and decided that she needed to set me up with him ASAP. And that started me thinking – was I getting set up on a blind date?
When I think of one, I think of meeting someone who I’ve never communicated with, and who I couldn’t pick out of a crowd. And it made me realize that I’ve never actually been out on an honest-to-goodness blind date .
I’ve been on the test-hang-out with a potential prom date and friends. We didn’t end up going together.
I’ve been on the I-saw-him-once-from-a-distance-and-you-know-him-so-can-you-pretty-please-set-it-up? date. That one actually worked out rather well.
But the look-for-me-I’ll-be-the-one-in-the-[fill-in-the-blank] date…well, that never happened.
I can’t say that I’m completely opposed. I trust my friends, and I assume they’d be the ones to set me up. But I also know that they wouldn’t let me go in completely blind.
Which makes me wonder – does a truly blind date still exist?
Say it is your friend setting you up. My guess is that you’ve at least seen a Facebook photo (or album) of the lady/gentleman in question. You’ve probably already either been warned about any potential shortcomings (e.g. I know he’s in his 30s, but he does still live with his parents – and doesn’t feel like moving out), or your friend has talked your ear off about how great s/he is (i.e. She’s traveled all over the world and volunteered at orphanages and is the next Mother Teresa, but fun!) (See the Thanksgiving experience above.)
Either way, you’re not totally in the dark. Which might be for the better. According to Wiki:
“Blind dating is considered by psychologists to be one of the most stressful emotional experiences, mainly due to a great lack of self-confidence from both parties and the inevitable fear of the unknown.”
Shocking. I mean, dating, in and of itself, isn’t always a piece of cake (mm…cake…); why should blind dating be any easier?
So, I’d love some other opinions:
- Do truly blind dates (aside from the TV show) really exist anymore?
- Would you allow yourself to be set up on one?
- Have you allowed yourself to be set up on one? And, if so, yay or nay?
I know it’s awfully demanding for a Friday, but please. Indulge me.
Happy weekend!
I’ve only had a blind date once, about 10 years ago. It went ok, but neither of us hit it off (though I believe we both had a nice enough time).
Have you heard of this site? http://www.crazyblinddate.com/ Back in my single days, I totally wanted to do the double blind date thing, but never found a friend to take the plunge with me. (The double part was that we could laugh and share stories afterward.)
I admit it – I’m intrigued. And you’re right – it’d be so much better with a friend.
I’ve never trusted other people to know what’s going to work for me. It’s largely a chemistry thing. Someone can look good on paper and still there’s no spark. That said, DateLab had a successful match up just last week. If you can relax and just assume it probably won’t work, why not go and enjoy it for what it is?
DateLab had a success? I need to start checking that more often. And yeah, I think that’s a good mindset.
You could always send him the “Look Ma! No hands” post as an icebreaker…
Someone once asked me what it was like meeting people over the ‘Net. I thought for a moment and responded, “It’s like going on a blind date without the fear of having to hate a friend at the end of the night.”
Even though you’ve emailed and maybe talked on the phone a time or two, you’re still jumping in with both feet. You never know how it’ll turn out.
Ha – okay, I laughed out loud at that. I suppose that post would definitely make an impression. Good or bad, I’m not quite sure.
I’m new to blogging and looking to connect with others who want to discuss similar issues and share opinions, insights and perspectives. Would you like to link our blogs? Here is mine:
gildaevans.wordpress.com
I always thought “blind date” meant that you hadn’t seen what they look like, so I’m pretty sure it’d be hard to arrange that situation in this day and age. Viva technology!
Interesting questions. I do still think that they exist, but I will never go on a blind date. I’m more comfortable dating someone I know.
Yes I allowed myself to be set up on a truly blind date, last summer. I could not find a face book photo (that should have been a warning).
I trusted my friends intuition. This friend being cute and in to me (but married), the woman was nice but totally not my type. I’ve since decided to trust my own sight and opinion only.
I would be immensely nervous but I guess it comes down to whether or not your friend really knows what you’re looking for in a guy and if you would “click” so to speak. Kind of like introducing one of your friends to another one of your friends knowing all of you would get along.
Not sure if that made any sense or not. Also, I’ve never been out on a blind date so maybe you shouldn’t listen to me.