This past Thursday night, I decided to try out something that causes me to giggle a little every time I hear it mentioned. And that something, of course, is speed dating.
The event I attended was a free (key word: free) event hosted by the central library and targeted towards GLBT folks between the ages of 19-35. Since it took place a la bibliotheque, the evening was actually called "Read Dating" (get it, get it?). Each participant was asked to bring a book, DVD, or CD (a what?) to use as a conversation starter.
Now, I really really appreciate that the library staff organized a social event for young adults, and particularly for the queer community (three cheers!). However, because I don't like wasting my time on events that are poorly executed, I mostly came out of the event (no pun intended) with a list of complaints, as follows:
1. No alcohol available
2. Pseudonyms - the event organizers assigned everyone a fake name to use throughout the evening. All the names were either queer authors or queer characters from books. I guess that's kind of clever, but having to use a false name of someone else's choice is quite awkward. Especially when you don't read very much besides law cases and Cosmo magazine and have no clue what your assigned name refers to :S.
3. Mixing of the genders - this Read Dating event was heavily marketed as a DATING event. So imagine my amusement (or lack thereof) when the organizers failed to separate the gals from the gents, and mixed everyone in together. Now, I for one certainly don't discriminate against potential dating options. However, even someone with my size of ego is pretty aware that the chance of me finding my love match in the form of a gay man is pretty low...#FAIL.
4. Not enough time per person - we were given four minutes per round. Which under normal speed dating circumstances might be adequate amount of time. However, because every guest was equipped with a conversation starter, the time was quickly eaten up by summarizing our books/movies/music of choice. As a result, I now remember a few good book recommendations, but nothing personal or substantial about anyone I met.
5. Did I mention the no alcohol part??
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