Saturday, February 14, 2009

The Results Show for Dare #1

The long of the short: Mission Not Accomplished.

Either the coffee shops in my town are super efficient, or no one is buying coffee in this economy. Not once in my six trips to four different coffee shops (and one bar thrown in for good measure) did I have a patron in line behind me. So I improvised.

At coffee house number one, I went in the evening. Paperwork in hand (to look busy while casing the place), I grabbed a table with a good view. And counted. Twenty-six women and five men. Two of the men were with women, one had a ring, and one was the most flamboyant member of a 'stitch and bitch' club. Guy number five left before a witty pick up line came to me.

At coffee house number two, I tried an early morning approach. The bell on the door announced my arrival, Washington Post under arm, head full of good thoughts. I sat and pretended to read (the front page to look smart). But alas, only they gray haired sort are relaxing in a coffee shop before 7:30am.

Coffee house visits three and five were quick early morning trips so as not to be late for work - boss wouldn't appreciate the explanation of my social experiment.

Coffee house visit number four was in the late afternoon. Three patrons, one dog, and me. The two barristas were cute though. And I did tell one of them the decaf was delicious, so you know, I definitely tried my hardest.

By the end of the week, needing a stiffer drink than a latte, I stopped at a local bar. Pulled out the paperwork again and looked around. Nada. Until an older gentleman - think salt and pepper, not cane - sat down beside me. We had a lovely conversation but he left after one drink. Struck out with an old guy. Update: I take it back. Just checked my work email and he emailed me (He could find it easily - we're in the same county-wide system) Hmmm. Weird or flattering? I'm not sure.

And today (I know, I took an extra day to hopefully have a better story for you), it was more of the same. I took a wingman, but it was no use. Too many couples. Must have something to do with the date.

Blogosphere: 1 Dauntless Dater: 0

There should be a penalty. If you think of one, let me know. In the meantime, I'll take suggestions for a hopefully more successful Dare #2. I'll choose in 48 hrs., Monday evening.

2 comments:

Dainty Inferno said...

This is precisely why I think a lot of dating advice is crap. Unless you don't have a job and have all day to hang out at a coffeehouse, it's virtually impossible to meet anyone worth meeting there. I do have a friend who dated a few guys she met in a coffehouse, but a) this is when she was a student, and b) they were jobless losers who spent their entire lives in coffeehouses.

rachaelgking said...

Well, no one can say you didn't try!

I had an interesting discussion with a (male) friend the other night about whether a wink was ever an acceptable move. His argument was that if a girl ever winked at him across the bar, he would immediately assume she wasn't girlfriend material. I said I thought it could be done in a cute way where that wasn't necessarily the only conclusion. Maybe wink at a guy (or a few) and see what the response is?