The awkward date

Many dates are awkward, but it is just a part of the experience.

November 19, 2012

schedule 3 min read
There are a few things that you don’t mess up twice: Biting the tip of your ice cream cone midway through, forgetting to save your paper while writing it and eating all of your Halloween candy in one night are just some of those things. Unfortunately, when it comes to dating, we often make the same mistakes twice. For example, many people over-prepare.

One guy I went out with had a speech prepared — he spoke for hours. He literally gave a monologue as I stood there and it ranged from what kind of house he wanted in the future and his ideas about children, to how many girls enjoy his hugs. He seemed to cover all of the things I would have wanted to know by date number 20. Although we had the same ideas about things, that was not worth much because I suddenly couldn’t stand being around him.

Unfortunately, I got the feeling he uses this monologue on all of his dates. This was a problem, but there is also the opposite problem. Many guys under-prepare for a date. Forgetting to ask the girl if she wants to go out would be an example of this. I call it a sneak-attack date, and I went on one of these dates.

I don’t know how he did it. It happened when I thought he was stopping by to get a DVD when suddenly he said, “Are you ready?” and, “Let’s go.” I followed him, pretending to know what was going on. I didn’t want him to be aware of my confusion, in case I missed a small detail in his text. The next week, he did the same thing to my roommate, what she would call her worst date yet.

Everyone has been on an awkward date before: those painful high school dances or those times when something goes terribly wrong. I once wrecked my date’s four-wheeler. On another date, I joined in on a cancan line. My pants ripped in half on one of the kicks.

­Sometimes it’s only awkward on one person’s side. Maybe the movie you went to gets a little bit steamy, leaving you unsure if your date is feeling as awkward as you are. At that point you only have two options. You can either confront the awkward or pretend it doesn’t exist. I happen to think that awkward doesn’t have to exist, but many disagree.

I once went on a first date with an older guy. He was unable to find a babysitter, so he brought his child. Was this awkward? Well, I didn’t feel awkward at the time, but it wasn’t the best idea.

Awkward is just a part of dating. If it is not a recurring thing, just take it and move on. It will make a great story in the future.

Tiffany Thatcher, Life Editor [email protected]