23x23: Go On a Blind Date

Alright everybody. I did it. I went on a blind date. Now I want everybody to first know my motives for putting this on my list and then I'll tell you about it. I grew up with the exact same people. From 2nd grade until senior year, not much changed. When I went to college there was some variety in the groups of friends I had but overall I didn't pay nearly that much attention to dating (mainly because I was either a. In the committed relationship from hell (but who's bitter) and b. Because like a good student I was often too busy with school to date (who remembers the semester when I thought it was a good idea to take 26 credits?!)). Any who, I've always had a weird fascination with blind dates. What do you talk about? Who does it? What happens after said blind date? How do you go about telling people that you want to start dating again so help me find one? (because I don't want to put in any effort/if I find my blind date then it's not a real date....that's blind).

So through a friend I was hooked up with a coworker (he had just moved to Colorado from Utah, lived in Denver, really fun, etc.). I'm not going to lie, when it came to crunch time, I was less than excited about following through with the deed. But I consider myself a decent person, so I figured, what do I have to lose?

So here's the thing, people lie. Not the dater himself, but the friend that found him,"he's great" (this is what I was told over a glass of wine with said friend). "you'll have so much in common" also probably a lie. Dependent upon how close you are with said friend. I would most likely only trust my roommate to find me a perfect match, and she has such high standards she probably would take months if not years to find me a blind date. But that's neither here nor there.

Any who I went for a casual date, in the middle of the day. So what do you talk about? Well you fumble for what feels like hours to find some commonality, music? Sure. Movies? Why not. Then I drag it out as much as possible. (I kid you not we talked about all 7 Harry Potter books AND movies). The guy was nice. Like really nice unfortunately my sarcasm overwhelms a normal person so I felt so bad for the unsuspecting stranger. What did I learn from this experience?

1. Apparently I mumble. After multiple what's? I realized that I should speak up when meeting new people.
2. Blind dates do not have to be dates, it can be just meeting new people. This is a big one for me, I don't know what my expectation of a blind date was but I assumed it would be something like instant chemistry, and it just wasn't. And thats okay, I got to meet somebody new and maybe I'll have a new friend from the experience.
3. Friends usually know what's best for you, so trust them! Oh well, this experience was not love at first sight, I know there is somebody out there that found their love through a blind date. Unfortunately, that's not my story.

Would I do it again? Sure, I told a select handful of friends to look for a blind date for me and if they return with a friend, I would definitely go! Why not spend a few hours learning as much as you can about one person you know nothing about*?

Has anybody gone on a blind date? Been successful? Would never go on one? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

*I feel the need to disclaim: while my experience was normal, it is super important to be safe if you blind date, make sure you feel safe before agreeing to a date, regardless of what your friend says.