Speed Dating Revealed

I met April a little before 5:30pm at her office building where we did a last minute fresh-up before heading out to the lounge for the event. It took us about 30mins to get through rush hour traffic into DC, and I missed our turn-off. That is one thing I hate about DC. Most of the streets are one-way, and if you miss your turn, sometimes you have to go up a few blocks before you can turn around, or get through 3 lanes of traffic to make a turn in the opposite direction. I think I went down a street for 1/2 a block the wrong way, but I was following the other out of town car in front of me.

Anyway, we arrived at the lounge and it was a very neat setting. Lots of couches and big chairs, and they were also a hookah bar. There were a few people making use of the hookahs as they were enjoying happy hour. April and I ordered something light to nibble on, as we both didn't have dinner.

At 7pm we made our way back to the side room, where we found a whole bunch of women and hardly any men. I think there were 3 men total for awhile... then a few others showed up at 7pm. Maybe 9-10 men total for the event... but the women outnumbered, as a few rounds of the Speed Dating left a few women without dates.

So... on to my dates...

1. Henry. Henry was a really tall Asian man, either in his late 20s or early 30s. He's traveled pretty much every where in the world, and gets to travel for work. I believe he is an IT consultant of some sort, but mentioned that he uses OD (my field) consultants on some of the projects. I think he really misses his brother, as he kept talking about him living in Japan teaching English. He's also lived in a few different countries.

2. Alfredo. Alfredo was in his late 20s (my guess) and has lived in the Adams Morgan area of DC all of his life. He's very well spoken as he works for the local DC paper covering entertainment news as a reporter. He actually approached April and I while we were waiting for the dating event to start... he liked April. His first date was with her, and then he knew she and I were friends so I could tell that he was trying to get me to put in a good word for him to her. Somehow we got on the conversation of cat-fights and jello wrestling... I think because of the amount of women that were in the room.

3. Praveen. Praveen was in his middle 30s (my guess) and I think he was of Indian decent, but it was hard to tell. He's a photographer and traveling for vacation is his life blood. He was a great conversationalist, and likes the European idea of taking 2-3 months of vacation, having a very balanced life. He loves traveling out west, especially hiking and camping in the desert. He asked me about recent trips, and we found out that we both love Austin, TX. He goes a couple times a year, and told me that I need to check out their local music festivals... so we at least had something in common to talk about. He also lived in Iraq for a year, and has lived in various countries.

4. Sam. Sam was in his early 20s, and moved to DC from NC back in March. He works for the census department. He's still getting used to city life and thinks that sometimes there is too much activity and action. He loves the beach, but really didn't have much to say.

5. Brian. Brain came with Sam and is ultimately into sports. He's played soccer all of his life, and LOVES football. But he also has a love for the food channel. We got lost in conversation for a few minutes about our favorite chefs and different restaurants we like.

6. Shandy. Shandy was born in India and moved to the US a few years ago. He's traveled around the world numerous times and his favorite place was Peru. I mentioned to him that my dream is Fiji, and he recommended a travel book for me to read that he thought I might like. Its about a man who left his busy life in LA and moved to Fiji to interact with the locals and have a relaxing life. Sounds good!

7. Sandye. Sandye was in his middle to late 30s and I think he was of mixed heritage. He was the ultimate high-class business man, wearing the suit and tie. He started the conversation by saying that my friend (he met April 1st) told him all about me, all my secrets, and about the youtube video that he saw about me. He said that he only had one question - did I really do it? Me, not ever backing down from a verbal challenge, made up some story about how I did do it because I was going with the flow and feeling the moment. And... at least I have a video of it for posterity. He got a kick out of that. He then asked if time wasn't an issue, and he could send me anywhere in the world, what were the top 3 places I would go. I told him Fiji, Italy, and Scotland. He then told me that he has 7 trips planned between now and the middle of next year, with Rio being on his top destination list. We got into a huge discussion about work-life balance and how he used to work 12-14 hour days, but is now taking time to relax and enjoy life.

8. Val. Val was of Indian heritage and in his late 30s. He is an IT consultant, and has traveled around the world 4 times, but his favorite place was Switzerland. He told me the best thing to do is to take a globe, spin it, and wherever your finger lands is the place to go. He lived in Australia for awhile and was offered a job in Fiji, but because he wanted to go to grad school he didn't take it.

9. David. David was in his late 30s, ex military, and now lives in DC. He told me that he prefers to meet people in person, and wanted to know why young people don't do that anymore. He said that men are visual and need the human connection, because living life electronically isn't for him.

So... I didn't make a connection with any of them, but it was really cool hearing life stories. If I was to talk to any of them again it would be Praveen and Sandye. Praveen because he was really cool, laid back, and has traveled to some really neat places. Sandye because I know his type and I have pleasure in verbally knocking him off his feet with my wit... he likes to think highly of himself, and I like knocking those types down a peg or two.

I also met the owner of the company - he's an ex-lawyer who started the business about 10 years ago. He said the speed dating events toward the end of the week are really packed - they usually get about 100 people. April and I decided to give that a try one time!