I like to think of myself as a dating expert…if you will. But not because I am good at it, actually quite the opposite. Just because I have been doing it since 1998. This is like Backstreet Boy and ‘NYSYNC days. When times were easy! When dating meant having to agree to meet your best friend’s brother’s fraternity brother just because if you didn’t, you feared singlehood for eternity. There were no dating websites. No refunds on your monthly payments if they didn’t find you your soul mate within the first six months. There were no profile pictures or bios to sift through to try to weed out the monotonous first daters. You know, those types of people who never make it past the “Hi, my name is ____.”
Dating was almost like an art. Now, it is an act of desperation…especially in my age group. I am actually clumped in with the thirty and older crowd. Not that I still don’t get asked for proof of ID when I buy beer for my FWB…but, I did contemplate purchasing wrinkle serum the other day. To you know, keep it tight.
The archaic ways of first date etiquette has seriously been altered. I suppose to keep up with this 21st Century boom of serial online faux relationships. From 1998 until 2005, when I did most of my singlehood dating, men had to play by different rules. They had to actually call you to set up a time and place to meet. They actually picked you up at your house, and not by beeping when they were outside, but by coming up to your door. Casually meeting your parents, like how you see in the movies. The man paid. You did not enjoy a Starbucks [enter weird creepy frappe words here] beverage or just dessert. The intent was either dinner or a movie. And a movie date was mainly saved for the second or third times you would see this mystery person. Conversation was encouraged. There were no cell phones strategically placed on the table to not be seen as a distraction…or a way of escape. Did I say the man paid? And actually rang your doorbell? Hear that? Dinner. A date = dinner. Not, Starbucks for a casual first date. Back then, you actually got nervous getting ready. It wasn’t just like, well hey, I am bored, and my friends are busy, so maybe I will hit up some stranger on cupid.com and see if he is available. There was more effort on both parts.
Here, in dating cyberland style, things are a little out of place. Which only adds to the awkwardness of all of my situations.
Enjoy!
Xoxoxo
-Elle