First Date Disasters and Other Misfortunes
I burn up lots of paper and black ink jet cartridges printing off the articles that come to me over the web, all in an effort to keep me and you up to date on the dating world. When I read, I underline and highlight points I find interesting. The article on the top of my pile is a review of a book about first date disasters. What did I underline? “...excessive farting is not good, even if you really, really have to.” Ain’t that the truth?
First date horror stories provide plenty of fodder to scare the bravest single into a lifetime of unwedded bliss. And of course they make great reading. Breanna Hubbard writes about two first dates in an article dated April 14, 2005, one of which went well. The second did not. Hubbard shows her youth and lack of experience with Internet dating: She didn’t screen the candidates well at all, and couldn’t figure out how to end quickly what clearly was going to be a terrible experience. (Romance Coach to Internet daters: Make the first meeting brief, and have an exit plan!)
If you really want to indulge your first date voyeurism, read “Around the World in 80 Dates” by Jennifer Cox. Cox sets up a marathon of first encounters all over the world, zipping through guys at a dizzying pace. I’m halfway through the book, and enjoying it. Cox writes pretty well, and seems to be learning how to do the dates better as she goes along. She does dismiss seemingly good candidates for very superficial reasons. But we know from the start that she meets a True Love along the way, and that makes the mistakes and agony worth slogging through. For her and for the reader.
We humans (some of us, anyway) have an odd liking for being scared to death or repulsed to the point of nausea. And there’s no harm in wallowing in others’ misery from the distance of your living room. But just keep in mind that no one gets a second date without going through the first one. And a date’s bad behavior is about THEM, not you. So detach a bit, don’t take it personally, and dare!
From Your Romance Coach, Kathryn Lord
