Dating In The Dark

Since moving, my television intake has dropped dramatically. We got rid of our cable, and while we still get the over the air channels, where I used to come home and watch television from the about 6pm until bed around 10 or so, now it is limited to roughly one movie a night. Weekends have almost no television, save for the standard one movie a night. Wii gaming has also dropped, although DS gaming has increased (still falling short of pre-move Wii levels). Internet usage has probably stayed about the same. Reading has increased.

That was supposed to be a segue, but now that I'm at this point, it's become obvious that it didn't really go where I wanted it to. So let me just put up a handy little graph of this information...


...and we'll move on.

Last night, Tara and I watched a show called "Dating In The Dark" and it was pretty much exactly what the name makes it out to be. 3 guys and 3 girls went on dates in a dark room, learning as much as they could about their compatibility without seeing one another.

[spoilers ahead]

Now of the three guys, one of them was the standard, attractive, all-American nice boy next door (26 yrs old). One of them was the well built African American guy (27). One of them was the older, less-attractive white guy (33), with a more humorous personality. Of the girls, there was the older (30) woman, the chubbier rockabilly chick (23, visible tattoo)*, and the fit blond girl (30, albeit with a weird, yet not unattractive, face). They went on a group date, then some prearranged dates (I think, we were flipping around a bit), and then they got to choose who they wanted to go on another one-on-one date with.

All three ladies chose the nice, all-American guy. The other gentlemen didn't really seem that bothered, and the male trio seemed pretty chummy, discussing how he should proceed with his dates. He kissed each one, to check the "chemistry" between them, and was fond of each of them.

When reveal time came around, they did it in a one-on-one setting, with the person being seen standing behind a glass wall and having an overhead light turn on. Nobody seemed to be overly disgusted by anyone else (despite everyone wearing horrible outfits). Then the girls were left to decide whether or not they were interested in him, choosing to either exit out the front door or go out on the balcony to meet him face to face. The guy on the other hand, had made up his mind that, while all three were attractive, kind ladies, he was most interested in the weird faced fit girl.

They showed the ladies making their choices. First the older woman, who chose to leave because of how young the gentleman appeared. The chubby girl left the house because she said he wouldn't really fit in with her crowd of friends. It all came down to the last girl. The camera panned from door to door. The guy paced, quietly inviting her to choose his door. Finally, a door knob turned...

...and she chose to leave the house. Why? Because despite the fact that he was, in her words "a great guy" and that "he would be my perfect match", he was "a little young" for her.

Is an age difference of 4 years such a hurdle? At that age? No. I think the problem can be boiled down to a single source:

The guy's suit.

The entire ensemble was horrible, as he had opted to go big on everything. The collar on his shirt was too big. The knot on his tie was too large, and the tie itself was too wide. He chose a double breasted suit jacket and apparently assumed that the "double" in "double breasted" meant he needed to get one twice as large as he should have. He was simply drowning in the suit, making him look, as one of the girls said, like he had borrowed his dad's suit. Don't believe me? Pictures!


It's horrible, and it makes him look like he's 12. That's the source of your dating woes, my friend. I wish I could help him. A guy I work with is also a fan of being able to hide a family of four in his formal wear, and I explained to him that, objectively and purely as a friend, he could cut a rather dashing figure if he were only to purchase a suit that actually FIT him. He made some excuse about being too tall or having arms too long (because obviously I, at 6'3'', have no experience with having trouble finding sleeves that are long enough). I mentioned trying a tailor, and he hmm'd and ha'd, and I wrote him off as a lost cause. But it's okay, because he's in his 30's and is too old and set in his ways. But this young man is the same age as I and, at 26, should be well-aware of the sartorial arts, or at the very least, of how to look good. How does one go that many years without having a woman, even his mother, point out that he looks ridiculous and needs to go see George Zimmer? He could have EASILY walked out of that house with all three women, had he wanted to. But he lost it all and left miserable and alone, all because of his suit.





*I've always wondered what inspires a person of 23 to go on a dating show. Even at 26, I find it hard to believe that if I were single I would be so desperate to find a potential mate that I would deem a television show to be my only hope.

--

Side note: On a wholly unrelated topic, I saw the Amazon page for the DS game "Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story" and read their "product description" for the game:

• Players are in control of two separate storylines. One features Bowser and his efforts to stop an arch-villain from taking over his castle.
• The microbe-sized Mario & Luigi must muscle their way through challenges and keep their nerve if they want to find a way out. They take action to control Bowser from the inside - but without his knowledge.
• Players can switch between storylines at will. What happens inside Bowser affects what he's doing on the outside. Sometimes Mario & Luigi must solve puzzles and challenges behind the scenes to help Bowser overcome various obstacles and advance the plot.
• Players must make well-timed button presses to enhance their performance during battles and challenges.

"Well-timed button presses to enhance their performance during battles and challenges"?? I want whoever wrote this to write my resume.