(no subject)

[cblj_backup]

Okay that was at once the funniest and saddest thing to happen to me in weeks, possibly months.

I had a great day at the convention -- saw some panels, wandered around, hung out, watched Batman and Superman go through the pizza line together -- and at the end of the day I went to nerd speed dating, which I signed up for because LOL, nerd speed dating. This is speed dating made up entirely of people who voluntarily attended a comic book convention.

And I struck out.

The way speed dating works is that everyone has a number, and you introduce yourself by your number, no names involved. At the end, after speed-meeting about two dozen people for 3 minutes each, you find the sheets with the numbers of the people you were interested in and write down your contact info on their number sheet. I met about half a dozen people I thought were interesting, one I really hit it off with, and at least half a dozen people who were way less socially adept than I am (I also got to know the guys on either side of me, one of whom was the most towering douche I have ever encountered).

So I wrote down my contact info on some papers and then went to collect mine, and I had zero contact infos. I had a blank sheet of paper.

Did I have something on my face? Was it the face on my face?

I'm going with the theory that people didn't find me nerdy enough, because the alternative is that I can't get a date at NERD SPEED DATING and thus am summarily un-dateable.

In all honesty, I did it for the lulz. I didn't exactly have hopes or aspirations involved -- I've reached a point where I'm pretty sure I'm not the kind of person who can sustain a long-term relationship, possibly even a short-term one -- so I'm cool with it. It's tragic, but in a way only I can be tragic, which makes it hilarious.

Anyway, the guy who runs it is really cool -- he does little stand-up routines during breaks -- and I can tell he works hard to make sure that nobody gets creeped on or made uncomfortable. So a shout-out to Scifi Speed Dating for making my utter social failure enjoyable, at least. :D

Comments

[ljgeoff.livejournal.com]

Aw, Sam! Now I'm feeling all kinds of mothery and thinking of nice nerds I know.....

[jonaht.livejournal.com]

I just saw the movie Hugo and it was one of the best ever! Is your icon from there or somewhere else?

[koken23.livejournal.com]

Were I not already married, I would have no problem with potentially dating you or a guy like you. None whatsoever.

(This is not meant to sound creepy, by the way)

[justice-turtle.livejournal.com]

*nods* If I weren't male I'd have no problem with dating Sam either. (I mean, I wouldn't mind anyway - I'm gay - but he would. ;S) Also meant in a totally non-creepy way.

Clearly the problem was... what does Terry Pratchett call it? I can't remember. You know, the thing in "Thud!" where all the guys except Nobby Nobbs thought they didn't have a chance with the really gorgeous stripper, so nobody ever asked her out. Clearly everybody at Nerd Speed Dating was so overwhelmed by Sam's AWESOME that they froze up - didn't want to be the last name on a sheet of the contact info for everyone who met him. *cheeky grin*

[mysid.livejournal.com]

Did you tell them that you are "King of the Interwebz" and an internationally renowned author? No, you didn't.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Well, nobody likes a braggart. :D

[calliope-jones.livejournal.com]

Awww. Poor Sam. I so wanted to be a fly on the wall at Con speed dating. All the awkward!

I wouldn't take it too hard, since there's probably a number of members of the cafe that would love to volunteer to test your relationship theory.

And "was it the face on my face?" LOL!

[matt_doyle]

I see someone beat me to the observation that, if you truly desired, you could probably have your pick of the Cafe singles. But I also totally understand and respect relationships not being a priority, and you're obviously a dude who knows his own mind.

Regardless, this anecdote made me smile. Glad you had fun!

[stephani673.livejournal.com]

"I see someone beat me to the observation that, if you truly desired, you could probably have your pick of the Cafe singles."

Yes, this. In a heartbeat.

[sarahj2222.livejournal.com]

Surely you know, that anyone you would meet this way would be a loser.. Here., hundreds of us know what a winner you are.
I'd pick you any day and we haven't met face to face.
And you and your story just trumped my story which is right above yours and I don't mind at all..you bum!!!
Hugs Selma, who hasnever written to you but loves your story.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

'So, Emma, what did you think about that guy with the Iron Man figure?'
'Yeah, I was going to put him on my list, but he seemed all a bit …'
'Un-nerdy?'
'YES!'
'Me too! I was totally going to give him my digits, but then I was all, "Dude, you look as though you'd be more comfortable inside an independent theatre than a physics lab, and I'm never going to find my Sheldon if I waste my time with any more arts geeks …"'
'Totally, Jess! I mean, he was hot and all, but where was the pocket protector, you know?'
'Exactly. I bet he doesn't even know about Tony Stark's repressed passion for Cap.'
'Oh, don't, Jess, I would DIE to go out with a guy who shipped Steve/Tony.'

[elainasaunt.livejournal.com]

<3 this. So. Much.

[blue-fjords.livejournal.com]

Awww. At least you had the gumption to try it! I hope they broke it to you gently, or at least w/ dimples. Rejection is easier to take when there are dimples involved:

(http://s245.photobucket.com/albums/gg51/fossoway/?action=view&current=jglblackandwhite.gif)

See? You're probably smiling. Well, you're probably yawning, but I'm smiling for you.

[maeritrae.livejournal.com]

*hypnotised* Where is that gif from? I don't think I would mind being turned down by Joseph Gordon-Levitt if he smiled at me like that when he was doing it.

[jwaneeta.livejournal.com]

That is fairly sad, but dude, it's really okay to be alone, if that's you're zone.

Oh wow, that's a lyric.

[jwaneeta.livejournal.com]

except I made the dreadful apostrophe mistake GODDAMIT

In other news the Great Storm of Omaha has squibbed out as usual, but it's headed your way. Enjoy the cold!

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

LOL, well, we never did get any cold, just a bunch of rain. It remains humid and awful...

[mousapelli.livejournal.com]

Aw, Sam. There's always Awkward Coworker!

*still not-so-secretly shipping you*

[ysabet.livejournal.com]

...or R. (C'mon, you were all thinking it.)

[duck-or-rabbit.livejournal.com]

I can do neither short nor long term relationships.

So maybe we should get together.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Or we must forever avoid each other, because the world would implode!

[florahart]

Oh, dear.

Upside: you apparently didn't injure yourself with, I don't know, a piece of paper, or this would have been tagged ways I have injured myself, so that's something?

[dreamwaffles.livejournal.com]

I...I don't even know what to say. TORN BETWEEN LULZ AND THE JEWISH GRANDMOTHER MY SOUL THINKS I AM. (particularly odd as I'm not even Jewish. Though I did cook an entire seder meal this year. My girlfriend peeled things and provided the resident Jewishness.)

[rufus.livejournal.com]

wellllll, someone may yet call you, since you left details on some papers! :D?

I'm both deeply intrigued by this concept - I've been pondering the wisdom of ambling through NY Comic Con this year and seeing if i manage to strike up any conversations with likely gentlemen w/out swallowing my tongue - and totally, totally with you on the "i'm fine by myself, thanks" thing.

(possibly important context: despite username, I'm a girl.)

[eldarwannabe.livejournal.com]

The same group runs NYCC and C2E2, so I beleive there is nerd speed dating at NYCC as well. You could always go for the direct approach. :)

(I find it kinda hard to meet people at big cons, personally, so ambling around might not be as helpful. Really long lines to big events, though, are great places to strike up a conversation.)

[timberwolfoz.livejournal.com]

The way speed dating works is that everyone has a number

I read this as "everyone has a Tumblr.

Well you did specify nerd speed dating.

[arsenicjade.livejournal.com]

I did NOT nerd speed dating once and summarily got picked by all the HUGE FUCKING CREEPERS. Believe me, there are worse things than not getting picked.

[i-amsherlocked.livejournal.com]

Aw! *hugs*
most folk have already stated the obvious - that the single cafe ladies (and many gents) would happily relieve you of your single state.
If I wasn't married (and with the same person for 18 of my 36 years) I'd crush on you from a distance because you're such a sweetheart and exactly the right kind of geek (my hubby is an arts geek too.)
As is - dating is scary! I admire your bravery in even playing at it!

[ysabet.livejournal.com]

Given the chance, I suspect that ALL the single members (both male and female) of the Cafe would cheerfully take you out on a kind of Giant Mass Date (i.e., all of us escorting you at one time) and take turns feeding you things. You would be surrounded by a kind of Nerd Harem, who would then bear you homewards on our shoulders. Anybody else out there see this happening?

[eldarwannabe.livejournal.com]

Yes. If Sam had told us he was doing this, every local fan (and possibly some non-local fans) would have shown up, put their contact information on EVERY SINGLE CARD and sat by the phone for days.

Or possibly just used leading questions. "So, do you work as a researcher for a large, unnamed company as a Prospect Researcher?" "Done any indie theater work?" "Are fractured penises the funniest thing ever to you too?"

They might have also shown up clutching a copy of Nameless or Getting Charitable. He would have been swarmed.

[ladyyueh.livejournal.com]

As long as you're happy with the state of your "love life" that's all that matters.

I could not manage the kind of the "glued to the hip" relationships I see in my family. I'd go nuts. I quite like my independence and when I need human interaction I call my platonic life-partnerbest friend to hang out.

So, you know, whatever arrangement combusts your fuel.

[maeritrae.livejournal.com]

*hugs* Poor Sam! I'm guessing that you feel a bit like Clark Kent right now, with everyone telling you how much they've always wanted to date Superman. You're the same Sam no matter what, and every part of you is a part of the whole, but sometimes people don't get to see all the bits because of context.

That being said, while I totally have the mother of all crushes on Superman, if I'm ever in Chicago it'd be lovely to meet Clark Kent.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Aw :) Thanks.

I do often feel like Clark Kent a bit when nerdy things come up in brickspace...

[(Anonymous)]

FWIW, as a girl I would absolutely *not* give out my contact info under those circumstances, so your experience may not have been uncommon.

Different flavor of nerd, but have you see the game nerd speed date on BBC's World Series of Dating?:

[keestone.livejournal.com]

Apparently he lied and wasn't actually accepted into Method, and she's a casual gamer so it didn't work out . . .

Somehow, that makes it even more entertaining to me.

[harkpad02.livejournal.com]

OMG, Sam. If this Cafe were a real, brick-and-mortar cafe then that post was the virtual equivalent of you poking your head through the door, tossing a live grenade, and then running away. I literally ducked my head while reading at my dining room table until I remembered it wasn't real.

[ljgeoff.livejournal.com]

This.

[madripoor-rose.livejournal.com]

Just to throw my two cents in....as I understand it, having never been to a fandom convention, most people at a con travel to get there, it's not all local Chicagoites? So personally, I might do a speed date event for fun, but wouldn't leave contact info because I don't believe long-distance relationships that start as such really work. That, and as another cafe member stated, security reasons.

[vladadog.livejournal.com]

Somewhere there's a fangirl reading this post right now saying "OMG! Sam was one of the guys at the speed dating last night? Which one? Which one! Damn it! OMG I so fucking blew it! I met Sam and I didn't know it and I coulda given him my info. I am such a loser. Fuck."

[stasia]

This. This was my first thought, actually.

Stasia