Dating Triumphs and Tragedies
by Nicole
Roberge
It's Just Lunch
It’s something we have done our
whole lives, every day, and usually around the same
time. It’s called “lunch,” and it
shouldn’t be scary. But when you throw the word “date” on
the end, it’s frightening.
A
lunch date is a tricky thing, so when he first casually
said, let’s
grab lunch, I panicked. Lunch is in fact a casual thing,
so it should be easy. But
in my mind, it was not the norm of drinks or dinner, making it instead, traumatizing.
Immediately,
a little list of things to worry about formed in
my mind.
First,
what to order. Chances are,
we’d be in a place where
I couldn’t
throw back a shot of tequila to calm my nerves. Water
it is. The issue of being the messiest girl around
also presented a problem. Since
I have been known to spill
anything and everything, I had to be careful of what
item on the menu ended up on my plate. While a sandwich
is seemingly innocent, it provides a great threat of
filling falling into my lap. I couldn’t take
the risk. Salad, it is. But with chicken, so to not
seem
too girly.
Second, what to wear. It’s daytime.
No glitter or glow-lights. Just kidding. But still,
daytime dress
is different than nighttime dress. What is date appropriate
during the day? And the harsh daylight doesn’t
mask a thing. There’s no longer the ability to
hide under the soft lighting of a bar or restaurant.
Note—Use extra hair spray.
Third, the biggest
problem. The time frame. Whereas an evening date provides
you with a whole day to pamper
and prepare yourself for your meeting, a lunch date
cuts
that time in half. No time for a workout, a few crunches
will have to do.
Manicure/Pedicure? I’ll do them
myself. The night before. Talking to friends to coach
me over the phone? They’re all at work!
The stupid little worries kept adding up, and all these
insane things went through my head before the actual
date. I tried to plan it all out, but of course, couldn’t
exactly adhere to all my own little rules, and it’s
a good thing I hadn’t because that probably would
have been disastrous.
The actual date…
Yes, I did my nails the night
before and a little pilates the morning of. But since
the planning of the date
had all been so casual, I was surprised at the fact
that,
while I’m usually a bundle of nerves, I wasn’t
nervous at all. Since I didn’t have all day to
scrutinize over what I would wear or how I would do
my hair, I kind of just threw it all together and was
on
my way. And to my surprise, the experience was much
more relaxing than a drink or dinner may have been.
A daytime
meeting was very laidback and easier to talk. Yes,
I almost spilled my iced tea (I lived dangerously,
screw
water), but besides that slip up, I was not as anxious
as I had imagined.
When it was all over with, I was
pretty proud that I had just survived a lunch date,
but I later found
that
I’m apparently the only one who thinks it’s
just a daunting event. There are now online dating
services made specifically to match you up on a lunch
date. (Check
out www.itsjustlunch.com for
more details) The idea behind it is that people are
so busy, that a lunch break is
a perfect opportunity to meet for a date. And also,
it gives you a limited time frame. So if things don’t
look so good, check please! Work calls. But if they
do go well…maybe we could meet for dinner?
My overall
conclusion was that though a lunch date was new to
me, and new things always seem scary in the dating
realm, it was actually refreshing. It was nice to break
out of the norm for a bit and actually see someone
in different light. And though I didn’t have the whole
day to primp, I found that I was actually more energized
because I hadn’t been working or busy all day.
I had a bit of spunk left in me. So to all you daters
looking to break away from the dinner routine, try
moving your meal up a few hours. It is, after all,
just lunch.
Dating Triumphs and Tragedies is published every Sunday by Online
Dating Magazine columnist Nicole
Roberge. She can be reached at NicoleMRoberge@hotmail.com.
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