Wednesday, January 27, 2010

My Year of Yes - And the Blind Date

Yes. You read that right.

I decided this year was going to be my Year of Yes. For those of you who don't know what a Year of Yes is, watch Yes Man - or if you can't stomach Jim Carey, read My Year of Yes by Maria Dahvana Headley (although her's has only to do with dating).

My Year of Yes has more to do with grabbing every opportunity that comes - no excuses. For too long have I been hedging myself in with self-imposed boundaries and regulations. Calculating and tip-toeing around what is appropriate and what is not, what one can or can't do. But if our actions determine who we are, did I really want to be the quiet (okay, I was never quiet) mousy girl? All right, so I am by no stretch of the imagination mousy either - but I'm making a point here!

Saying yes to any opportunity that comes your way isn't necessarily a bad thing. Think of the nights you end up going out even though you really would prefer to stay at home - don't they turn out to be the best nights? Think of the times you didn't really feel like doing something, but had a blast doing it. Or the times when you didn't want to do something, and wished you hadn't, but learned from the experience in any event.

Somebody once told me, "It's better to regret the things you have done, than to regret the things you have not done."

Hence my Year of Yes.

But - I made the mistake (if you can call it a mistake) of letting my friends know of this Year of Yes over drinks and dinner one night not long ago. Luckily, unlike in the movie Yes Man, my friends didn't make me do absolutely neurotic things like chugging down tabasco sauce through my eyeballs(Although in a Year of Yes, this is something you most definitely can say no to!). Instead my friends suggested that if it really was my Year of Yes, then I'd go on a Blind Date.

Pa-paow! A what?

Now this was way outside my comfort zone. Sure I'd gone on dates with people, lots of people, but I'd never been set up. Not ever in my entire almost 10 year dating career.

So I said yes. Why not? Mostly I didn't think it would happen. They wouldn't really do it. They'd forget...

They didn't.

And, true to my new attitude of taking life as it comes, I agreed to go for coffee with Mr. N. - knowing absolutely nothing other than his first name.

I don't know what he does for a living, where he works, how old he is, or his last name. Considering previous disaster dates, this should be worrying (I do however know that he's good friends with my friend's partner and therefore not a psycho...I did ask). Instead, I've embraced the unknown.

Sometimes jumping onto a little adventure train like this can be liberating and exhilirating. And, after all, I've been on enough dates to be able to navigate the awkward conversation blind (no pun intended).

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