Let's go speed dating!!! Vol. 1

This blog post is gonna be so good, it'll make you wanna SLAP yo momma!!!! Haha, what's up Valley?? I know, I know, you love all the blog posts, but this one has a little different flavor. We're going to combine some local Midwestern boys with a little Southwestern speed dating flavor...and I can't wait.

Backdrop -- My good friends and close Valley brethren, Ryan Peterson and Dave Dreas went on a little adventure a few weeks back down in Phoenix, AZ. I asked them to share their experience and thoughts about this great night out in a Q&A format, and I will post it virtually word for word. There is a lot of info so I'm going to break up the entire thing into to sections, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 naturally. Without any more yapping, here we go.....

Questions and answers for Petey (Ryan Peterson)-
How did the idea come about for you and Dave to go speed dating?
The idea originally came up amongst all of us KV-Westerners (Nick, Dylan, Travis, and myself) before Dave even moved here. Then, when the time came to do it, Dave and I were the only ones that didn't puss out. Important Note: J-Scott never even considered it. When he heard that we were going, he lovingly asked us "So, you guys are paying $40 to meet a bunch of SKIZZ girls!!??" I also want to note that the idea came up because we just wanted to try something new and see what it was like.....NOT because we can't get dates from the other, typical methods (bars, set-ups, workplace, etc.).


How funny was the conversation with Dave?
Not very funny. He was all for it right away. Dave's a no-nonsense type of guy, and we looked excitedly ahead at this new venture as an opportunity to try something new and dominate in the process.

Was there persuading on either part? or just straight "Whatever", that's how we roll?
It was pretty much the "Whatever, that's how we roll" route.

Questions and answers for Double D's (Dave Dreas)
I want u to describe each of your outfits for this occasion?
Ryan and I both discussed what would be appropriate for this type of occasion. Seeing as neither of us have attended a "speed dating" event we decided to go somewhat casual. We didn't want to be the type that was "cheap/under dressed" or the type that "just got out of work" so we decided to play it somewhat in the middle. I myself, sported a dark blue, short sleeved, Ralph Lauren Polo with a pair of jeans and clean, white Polo kicks. Ryan wore a long sleeved, Perry Ellis, buttoned down, Carolina blue/w white stripes shirt with a pair of jeans and brown clogs. Not to mention, he added extra product!

I want to know of any conversations or thoughts about what you thought your chances were to get digits?
Ryan and I had numerous talks beginning from the day we signed up for the speed dating event. It was a lot of "I wonder" and "what if" type of talk. We wanted to convince ourselves that this was a great idea and that we would have great success stories to tell about. Our main thought, which was a stretch, was that some hot group of girls signed up for this event and just wanted to see what it was like. (Which was why we signed up, to see what it was like) On the other hand, we also discussed what would happen if all of the girls were "nasty" and nothing like us. So to answer the question, Ryan and I both thought that it would be a challenge but definitely not impossible to get some digits. We decided that two was a good number on our way to the "event."

Questions and answers for Petey
So, you get to the event and immediately upon entering the venue, what were the first few minutes like there?
We walked into the CASINO, and were led out onto this back patio type of area. We were the first ones there, so we sat a nearby bar, had a drink or two, and watched the Orlando Magic improbably claw their way back out of a huge deficit AGAIN. We got our name tags, met the moderator, and then that was followed by a good 5-10 minutes of Dave and I standing awkwardly in a circle with a few of the other guys that were participating. After some heartless handshakes and talking about our jobs and the economy, other people started to show up. We were gathered close around the moderator, and he described to us how it was going to work.

How did they organize the event?
They organized the event with the intentions of having 11 guys there and 11 girls. 11 guys showed up, but only 9 girls, so at any one time, two of the guys were sitting at a table by themselves. The girls were all seated at a table for two, and the guys would have a "speed date" with one girl for about 6 minutes, and then the moderator would ring a bell, indicating it was time to move on to the next one. After the bell rang, you were supposed to get up from the table, write down whatever notes you wanted to about the speed date you just completed, and sit at the next table.

What type of scoping was being done at this point?
Well, at one point, when the girls started showing up, Dave and I were walking from the bathroom back to the patio area where the speed dating was being held. He kind of grabbed my arm, and quietly said, "Oh my god, Ryan, oh my god....". At first, I didn't know what he was talking about. Then I saw the group of 3 girls that we were about to meet. One of them was about 6-4, black, and appeared to weight a solid 280. I'm not saying this with any hostility, negativity, or degradation.....I'm just answering the questions.

Tell me what your first "speed date" was like. i want to know all the details of the very first 6 minute segment. what did she look like, what did you talk about, etc?
Well, as I mentioned earlier, there was a black, 6-4, 280 pounder in attendance at the event, and guess who my first speed date was? That's right, good ol' Trinity! Now, the first thing I wanna say about Trinity is that Dave and I agreed afterwords that she was definitely the coolest girl there. She was very nice and very personable, but she just wasn't my type, I guess you could say. So I sit down with Trinity and we jump into the conversation. It was the first speed dating experience for both of us, and when I said my age was 31, she excitedly told me that she was 31, as well. Unlike Dave, who was scared to ask the "personal" questions, I asked her if she had been married and if she had any kids. She said that yes, she had been married about 8 years ago, and she told me that she had an 8-year-old son. I asked her if religion was a significant part of her life, and she said not really. I explained how I was Lutheran and I was pretty active in my church. She also told me that she was a nurse and that she loved her job. I told her that I did marketing for my financial group, and how I had worked in different capacities for the Scottsdale YMCA for 3+ years. As you can see, there wasn't a whole lot of interesting things discussed in that date......not to mention the rest of the night. The bell rang, we wrapped it up, and I moved on to the next table.

Questions and answers for Double D's
Tell me what your first "speed date" was like. i want to know all the details of the very first 6 minute segment. what did she look like, what did you talk about, etc?
After the whole group gathered around we were dispersed to our assigned tables. Keep in mind that we have now seen everyone that we are about to talk with. It was brought up, more than once, that we should possibly dip out before this event started. BUT, like model speed daters we decided to stick it out and possibly find our match!

I sat down at the table and the first girl that I talked to was Jamie. (That was her real name) Well to start out, Jamie looked like a Midwestern girl (please don't take offense to that Midwestern ladies, I love you all and hope to marry a Midwesterner someday) She was a little on the heavier side with dark hair. It didn't look from appearance that she worked out which is a big necessity of mine. I am also very particular when it comes to woman's teeth and her's weren't well kept. So far the initial "attraction" wasn't there for me.

So the date started out with the introduction of ourselves and shaking hands. Yes, shaking hands. We proceeded with the usual where are you from, where do you work, what do you like to do...etc. Well, Jamie was a nurse that worked three days on and had 4 days off. I thought that was the coolest thing in the world and proceeded to tell her that! I explained to her that i would lay around by our pool all day if I had 4 days off a week! She giggled! I never really like to ask girls/women their ages because they might take offense to it so I didn't ask Jamie for her age. I assume she was in her late 20's or early 30's. The first few minutes was basically a background check, getting to know some of the details of where people came from and what they do. (If I can remember right she was from California but I could be wrong)

Of course she was surprised that I was from Minnesota along with every other girl, I had to explain why I was down in Phoenix (That got real annoying after awhile). So I asked Jamie what were some "fun" things to do in Phoenix and her response was to "float" down the salt river. Very similar to the Apple River around the Minnesota area. I was real engaged in the conversation and explained to her how fun that would be if my friends ever wanted to float down the river. It was a good chat but then the bell rang.

It's weird because you think six minutes would take forever but this actually went fairly quick. To sum up the first date it was just a bunch of small talk with a little bit of nerves. It was the "first" date of the night so everyone was somewhat nervous and excited!! No politics, sports, intimate or hateful conversations came up so overall it was a good first chat! Unfortunately her time came to an end and I had to move on to my next lovely date!

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We will end Vol. 1 there and as you can see our boys are off and running with the bulls...not literally, well....?? Haha, I'm just kidding, Lot's of troopers out there need some love too if you know what I mean. Just not sure 6'4, 280 lbs. is in that "maybe" category for anyone not named Andre the Giant. But, so far so good for our Valley boys. A couple nice respectful dates to start out, now lets see if anything gets out of hand for Vol. 2, in our next installment of "Let's go speed dating!!!!!"

And in honor of our boys, I have to give you guys a classic................