Speed Dating

If you’ve seen the movie “Hitch” then you’ll have an inkling about what the title is all about. It seemed interesting, so out of curiosity and thirst for experiencing something new, a lot of prodding from friends and maybe lack of anything better to do, I signed up for a speed dating event last Saturday. Shmingles, that’s what it was called.

The event was to be held in Coffeenista, a cozy bar in Las Piñas City. Now most girls would never have thought of going alone, but not Miss Independent here. Armed with instructions from an officemate, I managed to find the place. It was indeed a very cozy cafe and I fell in love with the design and the ambiance with one look. Now Coffeenista is actually only one segment of the entire Ato’s Rack building owned by Marco’s family. Marco is one of the organizers of Shmingles. The other one is Ina.

The main event began at around 9pm. Before that, we hang out on the couches in the VIP room and I met Leilani, who also came alone, like me. I was shocked when she told me she was already 35 because she looked like she was in her twenties. Then she told me she was a doctor for a dermatological clinic and it made a little more sense. After that we had an ice breaker so we could get to know the group before the “main event” which was explained this way:

*The women will be sitting at the conversation areas around the room. The men would have to go from one conversation area to the other. There is one couple (one male and one female) per conversation area. Each meeting lasts for a few minutes (depending on number of participants) then the men would move to the next conversation area where another woman is seated.

Each person has a SHMINGLES sheet, containing the other person’s name. You would have to decide if you want to mark them as “yes” if you are interested in knowing them more, or “no” if he/she’s interesting but you have to pass. We suggest that you answer the SHMINGLES sheet as soon as the mingling is over and before meeting the next person so as to avoid confusion (especially for forgetful people :p).

If you marked yes and that same person also answered yes, we will provide you with their details (mobile number and email address) and them with yours. But if only one person marks a yes, we cannot give the details. Only perfect matches (one male and one female answering a yes to each other) will be given the details. We will send you the details through email three to four days after the event together with pictures from SHMINGLES!

Each conversation lasted 8 minutes. Barely a minute into my first conversation I was already having so much fun because the guy turned out to know one of my friends back in KPMG and some schoolmates of mine, too. Wow, what a coincidence! It was even more fun when my crush in the group, during our first minute, too, suddenly asked me, “Sabe tu conversa Chavacano?” (Do you know how to speak Chavacano?) Turns out he spent his childhood in my hometown!

As the night progressed I was just having so much fun meeting new people that hooking up, which was what this event was supposed to be all about, became the furthest thing from my mind. I was just here to hang out, laugh, have fun. And what fun it indeed was, especially at the end when the entire group gathered together and just laughed and laughed and laughed.

A few days later, I open my mail and find some interesting matches. 5 out of the 6 guys I chose chose me in return. But will anything come out of it? Who cares? I suddenly realized being single is more fun. And off to the next singles event I go (with a fellow single friend, this time)…Shindig, here I come!