Breaking the Man Diet

Written by: Lisa Minns
Edited by Kate Kliner
Joboja Staff Writers

I’m sure all you single ladies can relate to the fact that the dating world out there is pure insanity! During a recent night out, I was hit on by a 25-year-old (yes, this part was a bit flattering) who lives with his girlfriend (not so flattered anymore). I decided that it was time for a break. I’d had it. In the past six months I have encountered many frustrating dating situations. I met several married men who wanted to take me out, went out with a guy who turned out to be in the process of getting a divorce from someone I know, a variety of men several decades older than me, one guy who screamed at me within a few hours of meeting me and caused me to run to my car while wearing high heels, one blind date gone horribly wrong (my friends are still laughing about that one), and several men who are just looking for one particular thing and no, it’s not my friendship. All of this caused me to declare a temporary man diet. Just take a break from it all for a bit. Focus on my friends, family and work. Sounds good in theory, right? But then came a phone call from my mother. At the time I was bored and distracted, and so I agreed to another blind date.

This is not nearly as bad as it sounds. I’ve always been up for things like this in the past. However, when I told my cousin about the situation and that it was the son of one of my mother’s friends I was agreeing to go out with, she wanted to know if I was legally insane. I figured why not though. I’d done something like this before and it worked out. Well, at least until his ex-girlfriend showed up and wanted to reconcile but whatever. So, I agreed and my phone number was handed over. Then began the week of wondering. Will he even call? Will we have a good phone conversation? Will we have similar interests? Will there be a spark? Will Carly marry Jax? Oh wait, that’s General Hospital, sorry.

As the week progressed, I almost forgot about the possibility that I would be getting a call from Blind Date Man (as he was nicknamed). I do tend to have a short attention span. Friends would ask me about it and remind me that I had to obsess over what to wear to the unknown date with this unknown man. I figured that whatever I wore was new to him so I’d worry about it after he made the initial call. Then the call came, and I missed it. Figures. So, the next day before I got the chance to return the call, I received a very nice text message. I answered and called him back as well. Had a great phone conversation. He was very chatty so I really didn’t need to say much. For me, this was a nice change. We made plans for dinner a couple of nights later and chose 32 East as our location. Then the panic set in. What in the world did I agree to? Oh well, it would only be a few hours out of my life and if it didn’t go well. Since 32 East is one of my favorite restaurants, nothing would be lost.

Then the night of the date came. I waited and wondered what the evening would hold for me. I ended up obsessing about what to wear and have to admit that I looked illegally cute that night. We went to dinner, talked a lot, enjoyed great food and a generally good time. There was a small issue with climbing in and out of his truck as it is jacked up so high the door handle was over my head. There was just no lady-like way to get in and out of that truck. While no connection was really felt between either of us we both had fun. The evening was very nice and definitely not a loss. Now the moms know and there won’t be anymore “what if” conversations between them.

This whole experience reinforced the idea that you have to be willing to take chances because you just never know what one situation, person, or place might lead you to. This blind date may not have turned into a great love affair but the next one might. Everyone has a story to tell and if you listen closely (or at all) you might learn something. I did learn that apparently I’m not very good at the man diet. Oh well, I never was much good at depriving myself. Life is just too short for that. So, the next time your family or friends offer you a chance to go on a blind date or have a chance meeting, take it. Think of it as the ice cream of the dating world. You know that you probably shouldn’t take it and that there’s a chance it might stick but you are still craving it. Besides, you never know how much fun breaking your diet can be until you try it.

Finding the right one can take time, but never underestimate the power of trying something new and taking a chance. Otherwise, how are you going to find the one? A service you may want to try is HurryDate, in which you can meet someone interesting in as few as just four minutes. With HurryDate, you can go on between 12 and 15 four-minute dates in one night. If you would like to find out more information or RSVP, just go to hurrydate.com. You can also visit my profile at myspace.com/lisahurrydateboca.