A Return To Speed Dating

Last night, I headed down to East Village bar Sin Sin for HurryDate – my first speed dating event in well over a year.

Sin Sin: Not nearly as inviting as it looks here

Of the handful of times I’ve participated in HurryDate, this was the most lackluster in terms of logistics. Sin Sin’s downstairs lounge was dark and poorly ventilated. And the friendly hostess was having such a good time that she inadvertently gave the same number to multiple men – a mistake that could’ve led to missed connections because of incorrectly filled out scorecards.

Fortunately, all of this proved to be a good icebreaker during my 12 four-minute dates. It was a very international crowd, with men from Europe, India, Mexico and Hong Kong. And, much to my great relief, I enjoyed meeting most of them.

Handsome Italy-born Paolo and I chatted about Columbia University – my alma mater and his current employer. Charming Brit David impressed me with his dry wit and shared my opinion that London and New York are sister cities.

Of the American born and bred, former Milwaukee resident and book publishing exec John was far and away my favorite. Especially after I discovered that he was one of the men who’d received a duplicate number.

A few minutes after our date, the frazzled HurryDate host came over to tell me the number to which John had been reassigned.

“He told me to make sure you know,” she said.

Meanwhile, soft-spoken New Yorker Assim and I commiserated over our shrinking pools of single friends. Upon informing him that my favorite wingwoman recently married, Assim sighed empathetically and said his go-to buddy is now forever lost to domesticity too.

Of course, there were a few HurryDaters who didn’t leave a great impression. Like the one who said I sound like I’m from Brooklyn (trust me – this is not a compliment). Or the guy who said abruptly—

“You don’t have a lot of free time, do you?”

When I asked what prompted this observation, he said--

“You speak very quickly.”

Not surprisingly, I can’t remember his name.

All in all, for $35 and one hour, not a bad deal. I met a dozen men and enjoyed two glasses of wine for the price of one. That’s my kind of recession-friendly fun!