Why is speed dating so awkward?
Depending on whether or not you get along with someone, an eight minute speed date can feel like an eternity, or it can pass by quickly. In general, I’ll start by asking a girl how was their weekend, or if they’ve travelled anywhere this year.
One of the most difficult scenarios for me to deal with is if the girl doesn’t like books, movies or television. All of my friends watch movies or television. If my friends and I didn’t have at least one interest in common, we wouldn’t talk to each other. Things become more difficult if the girl really likes the outdoors (i.e. camping, hiking, snowboarding or skiing). I hate camping, as I’d rather sleep on a warm bed (compared to a cold tent). I find hiking repetitive (I’ll see a hundred trees in a row, so a pond of water will be exciting by comparison). If the girl says that she went skiing, I’ll ask her which ski hill she went to. I might also ask her how the ski conditions were. I don’t really care about the answer, but it would be impolite to say I rarely go skiing or snowboarding (since people enjoy talking about things they’re passionate about).
In the worst case scenario on a speed date, my head hurts after the first minute. Sometimes, I can immediately tell that it will be difficult to think of enough questions to fill eight painful minutes with polite conversation.
The best speed date that I had was with a girl named Taylor. Taylor mentioned that she liked hockey, and we wound up talking about the May 14, 2013 game between the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Boston Bruins. In my opinion, this was the greatest game seven collapse I’ve ever seen by a team (as the Leafs blew a 4-1 lead with 14 minutes left in the third period). It was incredible that the Bruins scored two goals in the final 90 seconds to tie the game. After the speed date, Taylor noticed that I put a check mark beside her name, and Taylor told me that she did the same.
We exchanged e-mails, however, I never heard back from Taylor. I assume Taylor met another guy that she was more compatible with during the speed dates. That was one of the few occasions that I’ve talked to a girl about hockey. I usually avoid talking about hockey (as most of the girls I’ve met prefer talking about other topics).
