BLIND DATING: BEAUTY TRULY IS IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER!

In my last article, I left you to ponder, mull over, chew thoroughly and stomach with as little indigestion as possible Internet dating. Between that last article and this one I am sure some of you have been doing the Internet dating thing hopefully with great success. If you are reading this article and it is posted on the Internet, dare I ask if you are taking a break from your Internet soul mate searching? Well, at least I have captured a moment of your time to let you in on some of the secrets of blind dating.

When you first hear the term “blind dating” what immediately comes to mind? Okay, I will sum up the plethora of responses we received while writing our new popular book Fast Food Dating Your 2 Cents. In tiny nutshell, no bigger than a walnut, the responses we generally received were, “yuck”, “crazy”, “insane”, “for losers”, “sucks to be you or me”… Okay, you get the picture! We were curious to find out whether or not people were still doing a lot of the blind dating thing in the 2000’s. Were they? Yes they were and still are.

What is blind dating? An Easter egg hunt? Mom’s surprise dish which no one knows what’s in it? A mysterious present which sits underneath the Christmas tree which you get more excited about each day the big event draws closer? Well, from what we found out, it was a combination of the good, the bad and the ugly. Some would assert it is a potential train wreck waiting to happen. Other’s believed it’s finding your pot of gold or soul mate at the end of the rainbow. And then there were those who believed they should have at least received a seeing eye dog or a getaway car as a consolation prize at the end of the date. Ouch!

Is blind dating really that bad? Moreover, does blind dating actually work? Here is some fast food dating for thought…Is Internet dating not a self-induced, premeditated form of blind dating? At what point does blind dating stop being a game of “where’s Waldo?” and start becoming “knight in shining armor, or princess in lace, dream come true”? Well, that all depends on the blind dater. Beauty truly is something to be assessed and left in the eyes of the beholder.

Throughout Fast Food Dating Your 2 Cents, we provide Top 10 lists outlining the good and the bad of each type of dating venue. We complied our Top 10’s for blind dating based on the responses from the hundreds we interviewed who tried it or are still trying it. If you are a resident cynic of blind dating, here are 10 positive reasons for trying it. What the heck do you have to lose besides whatever dignity and sanity you have left, right?

TOP 10 reasons for trying blind dating:

1) If you like surprises, then you are always in for the unexpected. This keeps you on your toes with anticipation. You are always left guessing. This is like the surprise dish. The special. What is it? It looks good. It tastes good. What did you say it was after I’ve eaten it? Fish head stew?

2) It’s free. If you like bargain basement, blue light specials, this won’t cost you anything. In fact, if you are set up with a rich date, you get to eat for free. Can you say, “I’ll have the surf and turf”?

3) You can get there early and survey the premise and see your date before they see you. If you don’t like what you see, you can always bail. If your date sees you first, recognizes you as “their date” and you still don’t like what you see, you can always deny it. Pretend to be someone else.

4) If the date is bad and you don’t like what’s happening, you can always come up with an excuse to leave. You can get a friend to call your cell phone with a fake emergency. Since your date does not know your schedule, they can’t discern what’s real from what isn’t.

5) You can always bring spies along with you to give you their 2 cents. They can sit across from you and give you the thumbs up or “get the hell out of there sign.” It’s like having assistant coaches sitting in the press box who can see the whole playing field. Caution, be sure if you are using ear pieces to receive messages, make sure you are on the same frequency and get hair extensions if needed to camouflage it.

6) Your friends love you. You can trust them. Can’t you? Hey, if they have good taste in food, wine, clothing, cars, etc., then they must have good taste in men or women or whatever you are looking for. Beware of friends who love fast food and consider it fine dining and good for you. This is what you might get for a date!

7) The person you are going out on the blind date with has references. Let’s hope your friend gives you their previous history, education, living standards etc. If your friend works for a Fortune 500 company and is used to doing interviews, you should have no worries.

8) You can see what your date looks like before hand if they send you an e-mail with a picture or if they have their own website. Your friend can verify how recent the picture is and if it is a reasonable facsimile of them at the present moment. If it’s a picture from a recent police line-up all the better. At least you know it’s as accurate as heck! Oh yeah, if it is from a police mug shot, you might want to inquire as to the nature of the crime and if they have any conditions or restraints which might interfere with your date… or life!

9) Nearly everyone has tried blind dating at some point. If you haven’t, here is your chance to say, “been there, done it.”

10) Nothing ventured, nothing gained! The person you are destined to be with might be in your best friend’s address book or blackberry. Please, don’t go in there looking without their permission and look for names and numbers with stars next to them. This is a quick way to end a friendship. On that note, also stay out of your mother’s holiday mailing list. If you have a big family you might wind up keeping things in the family. Get what we‘re saying?

Well, there you have it folks! Blind dating does have it’s pluses and positives. You never know until you try it. It’s like mom always used to say, “Try it, you might like it!” Well, if you don’t you can always go to the washroom and put a finger down your throat and throw it up. Wait! If you’re on a blind date, you can always go to the bathroom and slip out the side door if you don’t like your date. Okay, you get the picture!

Good luck with your blind dating endeavors. To learn more about FAST FOOD DATING YOUR 2 CENTS by Peter Andrew Sacco and Jennifer Schott, please visit www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, www.booklocker.com to read the first couple of chapters or visit www.petersacco.com to view the Fast Food Dating movie trailer.