Speed Dating: Too Many Fish in the Sea?

As I sat peering into the depths of my cocktail which lay on the edge of the table in front of me; gazing at the abundant greens and vivid sapphire blue, swirling my straw around the glass creating a deep whirlpool of colour.

The only sound and distraction from my boredom was the clinking of the ice as it clashed against the side of my glass. Like those that you dreamt of as a child in a magical fairy tale of pirates exploring the sea, in the search for lot treasure. My glass seemed endless in thought. Suddenly in the distance, from a place far away from the one I was imagining, I heard a monotonous voice proclaim, “I would like to tell you how to hypnotise chickens!”

I glanced up to see a pasty white figure, average hair, average build, and average height. The only distinct feature separating him from the next was his small, thickly rimmed glasses, like jam jars glued to his face. Was this a rhetorical question? Silence followed. Before I had the chance to answer a crisp strike of a gong pierced the air like a knife, cutting through the tense atmosphere. Everyone around me started to shuffle and move. Leaving me to wonder if speed dating was going to be the experience I’d always imagined it to be!

Before speed dating, I used to doubt when people said, “there’s plenty more fish in the sea”; not anymore. From the elegant angle fish to the sour faced cod. Over the next few hours I spoke to 15 guys, each time the gong sounded, they moved on. Like a fishing line dropped into a pond creating ripple, after ripple, they changed places and a new face appeared before me. I glanced and knew I had the arduous task of ‘rating’ these people. From the one whose breath was the unmistakable smell of garlic as he lent over the table to great me with a “hello love” (0/10), the one who tried to convince me that I should be attracted to 4ft people with dreadlocks down to their bum (0/10), the jock type who for the few minutes that he sat in front of me I got lost in his dazzling sky blue eyes, although the conversation had much to be desired (5/10).

The number of contestants seemed limitless, more like a pool than a puddle which I always thought ‘singledom’ was. In choosing speed dating, you’ve probably exhausted all the traditional ways of meeting your match. Suddenly you go from being a single girl/guy lost in an endless crowd to being one of a vibrant society. Showing there’s lots of people out there, different to yourself, which thanks to speed dating I had the chance to meet. This probably makes speeding a good experience, well for me anyway. For the people who had to sit in front of me, who knows?

However, after the countless faces they all seemed to blur into one, losing their individual qualities. Until this point I felt like I was the only one in the room, separate from my surroundings. I gazed around to see the endless faces. Girls with vacant looks enraptured by their prince, but most disappointed by the frog sat in front of them.

The gong strikes for the final time. My speed dating experience was over. Disappointed that I never did find out how to hypnotise chickens; maybe he was my perfect match? Well at least we’re friends – on Facebook!