By: Josie Tao (Hong Kong)
Can we agree that first dates are dreadful? After weeding out dozens of lunatics, social climbers, gold diggers and the downright jerks, you find the one man/woman that you really think you would get along with.
Featuring Iphone as Batman on your First Date
You finally have that one chance to have some 1-on-1 time with this person and you plan the most romantic,fun and interesting date hoping to impress him/her. Picking out a restaurant alone is a science—Is the lighting flattering? Are the staff Hooteresque and your date’s eyes are wandering?
After all the planning you arrive to the restaurant in a confident stride. As you see your date arrive from a distance, you suddenly find yourself sweating profusely, tongue tied in a knot and brain numbed. Technology is suppose to connect us and make our lives easier, so does it have the capacity to prevent a first date disaster?
Tech Geek by Day, Sommelier by Night
You are confident that you look smart in your new Ted Baker shirt. Your date looks so hot (not Heidi Montag hot,Eva Mendes hot) you are trying your best to resist snapping a photo of her and sending it to all our friends with a note saying “suck it!”. You are usually the Stella and Loafers kinda guy and she’s probably the jeans and t-shirt kinda gal, but tonight she got all decked out for the date and you know its time to step up and impress her.
With a little help from WineToMatch, any average geek can order wine like a pro to impress the girl. By putting in some information about the type of food you are ordering, the iphone application selects wines to pair with your meal.
The inevitable awkward silence
No matter how much you have in common with this girl, awkward silence always manages to creep in. It has nothing to do with your conversational skills or how interesting she is—you are still getting to know each other and it takes a while to be comfortable with those quiet gaps. However when the quiet gaps start to feel like a dark and steep trench of silence, a glimpse of Hong Kong 爛 gag is a fun way to loosen up.
If you don’t know already 爛 gag are local Hong Kong brainteasers usually with a play on words. Why not take turns asking each other 爛 gag and see who gets more answers right? It might be a little geeky but keeping a first date light and fun is important.
Preparing for the worst
Sometimes Mr Dreamy who you thought was funny, sharp and smart might actually be a Spencer Pratt–unfortunately, you have discovered this in the middle of your Mango Martini as he makes fun of your iphone cover and checks out the waitress. You can try to sit through it and hope to God that the baked lasagna you ordered will arrive A-sap or you can enlist the help of
Fake Call.
This app allows you to stimulate a phone call with a number and name you customized in advance. You can even set the app to keep calling after you decline the first call (while you politely insert line— “normally I won’t take this but they my aunt Lily has called 4 times! It must be urgent….”).
So will technology make our dating life a little easier? Maybe. Or are all these applications over-complicating and manipulating something that is suppose to be simple? Perhaps. You probably would not to use them every time you go on the first date, but the old saying rings true—”better safe than sorry”.
Follow me on twitter: josie_tao
Email me at: jtao@prosperity-research.com
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