Date #1 *check*

Last night I had my first date for Five in Five. It's been a while since I've been on a date, and this was my first ever 'blind' date, so I was a bit nervous. Okay, maybe I was more than A BIT nervous. My belly was aching, I'd left my favourite lipstick at work (crisis alert!! ... could I get there and back and still make it to my date on time?!?!) AND I'd changed outfits a dozen times (and still came back to my original choice). Even the experienced daters do that, right?!

After my 7th outfit change, my phone beeped. A message from Date #1. Ah Oh!... Thankfully he wasn't cancelling and just wanted to make sure I could get to the venue given the horrible wet weather. (Thoughtful ... *check*). Half an hour later I was out the door, pouting my second favourite lipstick and sitting in the car, one block from the venue... yup, I was too early!

4 minutes and 27 seconds before our agreed meeting time, I rolled into the carpark, jumped out and walked towards the restaurant. Having never met Date #1, nor seen a photo of him, all I knew was that I was looking for a guy in my age range, 185cm with dark hair and green eyes. Oh wait, the guy walking in front of me fits that description. He got to the door and pulled out his phone. I asked if he was looking for me (not in those words, cos that's just corny) and sure enough... that was him. (Punctual ... *check* Good-looking *check!*)

And so began my Five in Five charity dating experience. The belly ache quickly subsided as the conversation and laughs flowed. We talked about dating protocol (and I knew it inside out because I had googled it in advance). We shared travel stories, talked about our families, friends and interests.

I had always thought 'dating' was scary. As far as I was aware, there were a million rules about what you could and couldn't talk about, who should pay, how you should end it etc. But (in true ex-English teacher style, I consulted the dictionary)... dictionary.com defines 'a date' as 'a social appointment, engagement, or occasion arranged beforehand with another person.' Ah ha! You mean it's not 'an awkward meeting of two people, who fire questions at each other to determine if this is the person they will spend the rest of their life with while giving little way about themselves to avoid disappointing the other person?!' Wow, you really do learn something new every day.

Turns out my date last night was the true dictionary definition of a date. A social appointment arranged in advance with another person. No social awkwardness or expectation, just good genuine fun. I drove home thinking "I LOVE charity work."

And, as promised the mandatory photographic evidence of Date #1...

If you want to join me in celebrating the successful completion of my first date, donate here...
http://my.artezpacific.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=532976&langPref=en-CA&Referrer=http%3a%2f%2ffiveinfive.org.au%2f