(How to Get) 10 Dates In 10 Days
A series of events.
By Marianna Jocas
Over the summer I was seeing this guy, and therefore, was going on a series of dates. At the same time, I had developed an addiction to Medjool dates, and one morning (while eating my daily dose of dates) I told my mom, “You know, I’m really liking these dates. One date a day keeps the doctor away, so they say.” She smiled, ignoring my cringe-comedy, and said, “I actually agree—speaking of, when is your next one?”
I giggled, rather proud of my abundance in both areas—enough for a linguistic mixup to occur. But it got me thinking… What would happen if I went on one date a day?
So, this past week, I managed to book 10 dates in 10 days (I’ll admit, not all were spread out evenly, I had to stack a few—but it happened nonetheless). It was a wild ride to say the least, an amusing blend of thrill and exhaustion. For brevity’s sake, I will only detail the top five.
Where do we begin?
Dante - Trainspotting
I started my journey by scoping out guys on the 1 train on my commute from work. On Tuesday, I saw this cute guy reading a book, dressed in formal attire, with some medical badge on his belt loop. He seemed patient and also sexy, and—for some reason—single. Maybe it was the eye contact, maybe it was a sixth sense. Regardless, I dug in my bag to find something to write my number on.
I wish I was joking, but all I had was lipstick and a gum wrapper… so I made do. I messily wrote my number down on the crinkled wrapper, and as I stepped off the train I handed it to him.
Expecting nothing, I got a message a few hours later “What’s your name, 1 train girl?”
After a few (albeit fun) dates, I realized he wasn’t what I was looking for—just because you meet a guy on the 1 doesn’t mean he is the one.
Ben - Boys Will Be Boys
Next, I turned to Hinge, where a recent Princeton grad debated with me about the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis which ended with picnic plans in Central Park. Sitting on a patch of grass, we discussed being “bad kids” during our childhood. I thought, “awe, cute, he probably cried a lot or annoyed his siblings”.
Apparently, “bad kid” can also mean that all throughout high school, you stole cars and sold them for their parts.
No answer to my plethora of questions helped justify his situation at all.
While his conversations were greatly interesting, so were his criminal records…
Matteo - JJ’s Hysteria
Within minutes of saying goodbye to my Central Park felon, I was on the quest for food, but somehow found myself on another date—a quasi-date.
Heading to Ferris, this handsome guy with sharp curls and beady eyes started walking beside me and asked, “Hey, what dining hall do you recommend?” followed by, “You international? You look international.”
Was he a freshman? No way. Though his questions threw me back to NSOP, I couldn’t be fooled—his unembarrassed confidence was the mark of a GS student. And I was right.
Rather immediately we started playfully flirting and walking, to nowhere? At one point I asked him, “Where are we going?” He laughed before replying, “Well, where does it look like we’re going?”
We were suddenly at the front steps of JJ’s. I lost track of time in that dark den, distracted by both his use of ketchup on a quesadilla and his addicting sense of humour.
I had to run off to a house party, but we kept in contact.
Mikey - Mystery Man
“Do I have a friend for you…” the message read. A blonde man responded to my “dark hair only” Hinge prompt with the number of his friend, Mikey.
It felt shallow to ask to see photos, so I decided to trust the blonde man I’d never met. Walking into my blind date with Mikey on Friday night, I only knew three things: he worked in law, had a younger sister, and a goatee.
I left knowing a lot more, and while he was charming, attractive, and shockingly funny, I just wasn’t into him.
So I gained a friend. A charming, attractive, and shockingly funny friend at that.
Valentino - The Hot Waiter
I was out drinking with a girlfriend of mine, and she made a joke that made me burst out laughing–over and over and over again. I couldn’t contain it. Every time our waiter came by he’d smirk at my laughter. I’d apologize and we’d talk a little, until I started laughing again and the cycle continued.
My friend nudged me insisting he was flirting, but I paid no attention. By the end of the dinner, I had publicly choked on my drink, requested hot sauce for no particular reason, and told the waiter that under no circumstance should he accept my friend’s card (regardless of her protest).
When he returned with the check, he said, “Not to be weird or anything, but my number’s in there if you want to go out sometime.”
I think I said something like “Yay, I’m flattered,” before pointing out that he wrote it on the merchant copy.
I tore it off and left.
We had a great date at The Met, and we’re getting drinks soon.
…
As you can see, most of these stories aren’t about the date themselves. It’s about how I got there and how they decorated my life in ways I hadn’t expected. It was an experiment of saying yes to everything without having any expectations—collaterally, I gained fun stories, new knowledge, and a handful of kisses.
Embarrass yourself a little more. It’s obviously vulnerable to put yourself out there (in any context, not just romance) but the human experience is more rewarding when you bypass certain degrees of insecurity. Give a little less weight to the voice inside your head that says you shouldn’t, when you very well could.
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This is my first issue of my very own love column, and there are many more to come, so stay tuned.
If you have any article requests, love inquiries, or anything in-between, feel free to email me at maj2202@barnard.edu.