Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Past Dates I

My first date
My very first date was a blind date a few days after I turned 16. One of my friends, Christine, who was a senior in high school while I was a lowly sophomore, was going to the Graduation Dance with a guy from a nearby town (let's say his name is Mike) and he was bringing one of his friends to be my date. Another couple rounded out the group. The plan was to meet at the park for dinner, go to Christine's house for games, then head to the dance.

Well, Mike's car broke down on the way here. This was before the prevalence of cell phones, so when our dates didn't arrive on time, we wondered what had happened. After awhile, Christine's dad came to the park to inform us that Mike had called with an explanation of why they were late and that they should arrive in time to play games. This is when I found out that my date was a Mexican student staying with Mike's family for the summer; his name was Jorge. While we ate, the guy from the other couple kept purposefully mispronouncing my date's name. It stuck in my head. When Mike and Jorge arrived, I discovered that my date was a head shorter than me and didn't speak English hardly at all. We played games and at one point I mispronounced Jorge's name and everyone laughed. Except me, who turned bright red, and Jorge, who had no idea what was going on.

After games, I returned home to dress for the dance. Unfortunately, I only had high heels, so the height difference was even worse. The dance was miserable. I tried to talk to him, but he couldn't understand me. It was my first date, I was uncomfortable anyway, and not being able to converse with my date made me feel worse. Dancing didn't help. He was so short! His face was just at that perfect level to make me feel the maximum discomfort. I took my shoes off for pictures so I would be closer to his height - it didn't help.

When the date finally ended, I asked Mike to drop me off at my dad's since Mom and my brothers were out of town that weekend. I jumped out of the car, turned to Jorge, told him it was nice to meet him, said the same to Mike, and said good-bye to Christine in about 10 seconds flat. Then I rushed to the front door before realizing that Jorge had started to get out of the car, ostensibly to walk with me to the door. I turned around, waved, opened the door, went inside, and closed the door, thankful the date was over.

It took 14 years before I'd agree to another blind date.

9 comments:

Cardine said...

Oooh, I'm excited about this segment. I bet the date was really awkward for Jorge, too.

It seems like it's a necessity for dance dates to be awkward. I don't know why, but they just are.

Mellissa said...

Poor Jorge! Poor you! I am happy to say I've never been on a blind date. I guess I'm not a risk-taker. Thanks for the post. I love reading about people's stories from the past!

julie said...

Cardine, I'm sure it was awkward for him, too! How could it not be! I look back on that experience and think how differently I'd handle it nowadays. What a difference a little bit of experience and maturity can make! I actually had a couple really enjoyable dance dates, but one of them is going to be my next post, so that's all I'll say.

Missy, blind dates are not enjoyable for me, even when they turn out decently. I worry too much about what the guy is going to think when I open the door and he sees me for the first time. It's hard not to have any reference point, either. Who knows if we'll have anything in common. It's stressful. However, I no longer say no to them. In fact, I might be going on one in the future - we'll see if it actually happens!

Melissa said...

I LOVE blind dates!! Of course that is how I met James and the rest is history!

Okay so I don't remember tons from high school, but I do remember this date, now that you bring it up. I felt so bad for you! Thanks for the trip down memory lane!:)

Adam said...

I only go on blind dates when the person knows me fairly well. That way they're at least trying to find someone they think may be a good fit for me.

tearese said...

oh, what a horrible first date! if it was me, it'd probably have taken 14 years to go on ANY other dates!

julie said...

Melissa, I totally get why you're an advocate of blind dates! Maybe I will be too if that's how I end up meeting my future husband. :)

Madman, that's a good policy for blind dates. I should adopt it, but I probably won't. I've decided that I'm ready to be open to different opportunities - whatever form in which they come. If nothing else, the date can always end up as a good story!

Tearese, it was pretty bad, but since it was the first, at the time I fully realize how bad it was, thankfully. So, I just blamed blind dates, not dates in general.

Framed said...

I've only been on two blind dates and Cheya arranged them both. The first was hilarious (he had a foot fetish and wanted to be a mortician) and the other was fun with a group of people. Maybe there was one more, I can't remember anything but what I wore. How odd.

Anonymous said...

Huh... my last date was with a guy who is blind and my next date is a blind date. It's tomorrow night!