I’ve seen other bloggers write posts on awkward moments that occur during dates, so I won’t try to replicate and explicate on what has already been said. I also don’t think I can write anything comprehensive enough to cover the gamut of embarrassing, gauche moments that crop up from time to time while out on the town with your young lady/man companion. Instead, I will post short snippets of specific events that I have experienced or heard about from friends. I hope to cover topics that have not been mentioned before, but there may be some retreading of issues discussed elsewhere.
So consider this a new “feature” or “series” if you will.
Anyway, onto Awkward Dating Moment (ADM) #1: Walking into the turnstile in the subway.
Picture this: the guy has met his date and they are heading to the subway to travel to the previously determined activity/location. When they reach the turnstile, the guy can either:
a) swipe his card and go through first, then pass the card back for his date to swipe.
Or
b) he could swipe for her, let her proceed through, and then swipe for himself.
In either situation, imagine the impossible happening: the guy attempts to pass through the turnstile, having inconveniently forgotten to swipe the card, which may or may not be in his hand at that moment. So instead of gracefully passing through to join his date on the other side, or quickly entering the subway and handing his card back to her to swipe, he repeatedly and unsuccessfully bangs into the non-moving turnstile.
Clunk. Clunk. Clunk.
Eventually he figures out the dilemma himself through some miracle/revelation, or he gets the hint from the angry mutterings of other subway goers behind him. Once clued in, he sheepishly corrects his mistake and the date continues on.
I have done this once or twice. For some reason it seems most likely to occur when I have just refilled my metro card moments before, after which I accidentally tucked it back in my wallet with my credit card, which was then returned to my pocket. I have also bumped into the turnstile while literally holding the metro card, but that, thankfully, wasn’t on a date. Not once has my date pointed out my error to me while I’m actively embarrassing myself, though I will often make some self deprecating remark afterward (in spite of the fact that they are greatly discouraged). This gives me a chance to laugh at the incident and move on with the evening’s proceedings, which will hopefully provide my date with good reasons to forget my blunder.
P.S. While the recent link on Bad For Shidduchim’s blog to my newest story has generated a large increase in hits (we've passed the 10,000 mark, huzza!), my counter indicates that the vast majority (63.8%) of the “readers” spend less than 5 seconds on this blog. I find that a bit depressing, especially when the percentage of people who used to spend larger amounts of time on the blog composed the larger total of overall hits (for example, the 1 hour+ category was around 34-40%, and has now dropped to 17.3% with other categories also decreasing a lot).
This ties into another pet-peeve of mine: comments. Prior to the recent explosion of hits (thanks Bad4!) there were large numbers of people spending significant amounts of time (20 minutes or more) reading the blog. But very few seem to take the time to comment. Just to clarify, I’m definitely not looking for ego boosters of a bajillion comments that say “Ur post is da bom!” or “Great post!” But I would like to know if the things that I write make people think generate discussion of the issues I raise. I am very appreciative of those who DO comment and as questions/engage in dialogue (keep 'em coming!), I just wish more of y’all would do so.
In conclusion, if you have the time (and I know we’re all busy these days) please leave a comment every now and then – let’s get some meaningful discussion going. I’ll take all the constructive feedback I can get.
Have a great Shabbos!
Shades: The percentage of visitors staying for over an hour should drop as people become familiar with your blog. Returning visitors don't need to spend as much time on your blog as new ones, so as your returning visitors grow, the average time goes down. Also the 5 seconds or less stat is inaccurate, people can be on your site for a long time and if they don't refresh the page or click any links, they'll be counted in that category.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the 10,000 hits. Good Shabbos!
Oiiishh...that is awkward. Not SO bad, though. Stay tuned for my following post that I'm currently in the midst of about awkward/embarrassing moments on dates. :P
ReplyDeleteBJG - thanks for the info
ReplyDeleteSefardi Gal - I look forward to it!
You need to join the I Love Comments Club.
ReplyDeleteYou can assume people read your blog on their reader and only visit to check for comments... at least that's how i do it
ReplyDeletewhat thinking out loud said.
ReplyDeleteSD - perhaps, but I'm not sure if reasons for membership are the reasons I want to generate comments/discussion.
ReplyDeleteToL & miriamp - based on what BJG said, I don't have to worry about checking time spent on the counter to know if people are reading. I just want to make sure I'm not talking to myself without making people think. My goal isn't to just rack up meaningless blogposts but to try to enrich and elighten (to whatever degree I can).
True, as Chana (CuriousJew) told me, no comments doesn't mean people aren't thinking/discussing. It would be nice, though, to have some confirmation of that.
Sometimes there isn't anything to say. I find that with stories, mostly. It's a good piece, no comment.
ReplyDeleteUr post is da bom!
ReplyDelete