Editor's Note: Starting today, Bangor Daily News sports writerJessica Bloch will cover an additional beat. In a biweekly column,she will report on the challenges of dating in eastern Maine.
Breath mints in hand, lipstick in pocket, I made my way throughthe crowded dance floor. I've been bumped, my feet have been steppedon, and my club-soda-and-lime is now in little droplets all over myshirt.
I'm sweaty, I'm tired, and ready to go home, but I have to make myway through to the other side of the room.
But don't feel any sympathy for me. I asked for it, braving alocal dance club for its popular Ladies' Night.
And once again, I have to wonder: There has to be a better way tomeet people. Right?
Hopefully this column will help. I won't be able to get you a date- you're on your own there - but maybe I can provide the impetus.
As any single living in eastern Maine knows, dating is hard here.Even if we can't quantify it - the U.S. Census probably doesn't keeptrack of 'single and looking' - doesn't it just seem there are morepeople around here with a spouse and 2.5 kids?
And it's hard to get motivated to leave our cozy, warm homes toventure out in snow and wind and cold on the off chance we might meetone new person.
So we have to get creative, and that's what this column is meantto be: new ways to find out how to meet new people - for friendshipor otherwise - while maintaining your sanity and staying true toyourself.
After all, dating isn't easy. I've learned that through lots ofdifferent experiences I've had in the past year, which is when Idecided to get out of the house more often (the three weddings I wentto this summer gave me some motivation, too).
Here's what I've discovered (and what you may have figured outalready), courtesy of all my evenings in Bangor and Orono and BarHarbor, meeting some great guys and some not-so-great guys (no names,I promise):
Dating requires tons of patience.
Dating requires a strong ego to either approach someone or tohandle a possible rejection.
Dating requires an open mind.
I'm looking forward to continuing my journey, and I hope we canlearn more together.
I'd love to hear your stories and I'll tell some too, like the oneabout my good friend who met her new husband while buying antrepellent (you may soon read about that tale in a ShopGirl column).Maybe I'll tell how my parents met ... it started with my mom havingto be convinced to go to a college mixer - what happened to the goodold college mixer, anyway? - and ending with my dad proposing outsideof a bathroom.
I'm interested in hearing from everybody, in any kind ofsituation: straight or gay, old or young, different religions, races,ethnicities and body types. Do you have a job that puts you intocontact with a lot of single people (besides all you bartenders outthere), or a job that you feel hinders your social life (such as late-night shift work)? Do you have a secret for meeting people you'd bewilling to share?
One final note: We've all had nightmare dates and relationships.I'm open to hearing all kinds of stories as long as they areconstructive - positive, negative, and even those that started on thedance floor at Ladies' Night.
Mr. Wonderful ... wonderful!
Perusing the aisles at Bed Bath and Beyond in Bangor recently, Icame across the man every woman wants for the holidays ... Mr.Wonderful!
The snag is that Mr. Wonderful is about 12 inches high and comesin a box. He's actually a toy doll (with dark, rakish looks,according to the box). Squeeze his hand, and he'll tell a womaneverything she wants to hear, give her command over the remotecontrol, tell her to buy more shoes and tell her she looks beautifulin everything (even if she doesn't).
Mr. Wonderful costs $14.99 and also is available atwww.bedbathandbeyond.com. Now if only they made a Ms. Wonderful('Sure honey, you can buy that tabletop foosball game!').
(Almost) 8-minute success
Nat Rink, a marketing coordinator for 8minuteDating, called toreport that 90 percent of the 14 people who participated in thecompany's recent event at Bangor's Sea Dog Brewing Co. found a match.Not bad for a first-time event.
Rink, a Woolwich native now working for the Boston-based company,said those who didn't find a match were given a free pass to the nextevent.
Jessica Bloch can be reached at 990-8193 orjbloch@bangordailynews.net
