Blind Date
The phone rings at 3:00 Monday afternoon and it is your best
girlfriend Jenny, inviting you to dinner next weekend. What a
nice thought, until she tells you there is "this guy she just
knows you'll like".
Do these "arranged situations" ever work out; these blind dates
that well meaning friends and families attempt to arrange for
all of us at some point in our lives? What do we have to lose
anyway? Well, let's just look at what happened when Jenny tried
to do this favor for her friend Lisa!
It had been a long Monday for Lisa, and she was ready for a
friendly voice on the telephone. When she heard from Jenny, it
was the bright spot in her day. Little did Lisa know what an
impact this call would have on her life for the next few weeks.
Jenny invited her to a restaurant they had both been anxious to
try out; a new little Italian place with red checked
tablecloths, a real live violinist, and a tempting selection of
wonderful foods and wines. This was just what she was needed to
plan for to help her get through her week!
But wait, there's a catch, and he has a name. Jenny knows this
fellow named Bob who just moved to town and is a really nice
guy. She thought it would be "fun" to do a double date Saturday
night with Bob and his friend from work. It sounded harmless
since they've both wanted to try out the new place, so Lisa
accepted Jenny's invitation and they both made plans to meet at
Berelli's Saturday night.
So far, these girls are doing the right thing by meeting these
guys at the restaurant and not being picked up. They don't know
them very well and if for some reason, one (or both) need to
duck out, neither will be stuck without wheels.
The weekend rolled around soon enough and Jenny and Lisa had
taken a little trip the mall to shop for a couple of cute
dresses and matching shoes. They helped each other with their
hair that Saturday afternoon, and almost felt like young
schoolgirls going out on their first date. In a way it was, for
Lisa, since it was her first blind date. She had never done
anything like this before, and although she was looking forward
to being with her friend, she was a little hesitant about
meeting this guy Bob. Anyway, it was just a dinner and that
would be it.
They jumped into the car and drove over to Berelli's, making
sure they were "fashionably" late (but just 10 minutes), not to
appear over anxious to their gentleman waiting. Bob and William
had already gotten a nice table and ordered a bottle of wine, so
the scene was set for a lovely evening. What a cute place this
new little restaurant was! It looked like a page right out of
Italy, with the tables set so beautifully, music filling the
room, and Jenny even noticed a quaint little dance floor near
the violinist for those who wished to become a little romantic.
This was just what she needed, and Bob looked pretty good too.
He had a nice smile, good looking suit, and pulled out her chair
for her when she sat down. This man is right out of a storybook!
Who ever said blind dates are a mistake anyway?
As the evening progressed, the couples seemed to enjoy each
other's company and all four were convinced Berelli's was a
dining experience that they would recommend to their other
friends. Lisa was so glad that she decided to take Jenny up on
her offer. Actually she had never tried blind dating until that
night because of all the horror stories told in the past. She
had heard tales of all sorts, and although they were true,
perhaps they were exaggerated a bit. They planned another date
the next weekend and Jenny hoped that her first blind date would
be her last. Bob very well just may be the "Mr. Right" she had
been waiting for.
Now that is the way a story should always go, with a happy
ending; however, girls (and guys) beware of the blind date. Make
sure you handle yourself in a manner that doesn't allow yourself
to be taken advantage of in any way, especially with wine
flowing freely all night long. Many times if you have "let your
guard down" you can find yourself in a situation you may not be
able to handle. For example, if you are really attracted to
someone and let him know it, he can sometimes get the wrong
impression. It just is always a good idea not to be too friendly
on first dates (and sometimes second and third dates) until you
really get to know the person and you are certain he respects
your wishes.
When employers hire new people, they many times do reference
checks, and sometimes even background checks before they hire.
You can do the same type of thing by making sure someone knows
this person you plan to go out with and hopefully knows
something about his past. The last thing you want is to fall in
love with some guy or gal who ends up with the reputation of
violence or some other seedy problem. These kinds of situations
happen all the time. "But they would never happen to me..." we
all believe; but they can, so we much be smart about where we go
and with whom we go out with.
Lisa got lucky and met the man of her dreams, but unfortunately,
that isn't always the way it works. Thinking back to her story,
she originally just planned to have a nice evening and things
just happened to work out much better than she expected. Meeting
new people is fun; just be sure and use good common sense and
keep a safe distance until you know exactly what you are getting
into.