Dating Woes (or Dating, Whoa)

Tonight I had dinner by myself at a neighbourhood sushi restaurant. I sat in close proximity to a mid-twenties couple on their first date. I had misgivings about the guy from the get-go. He was wearing jeans and a sports jersey, and had brought his rottweiler along. The dog was tied up outside, suspiciously eyeing the patrons as they slinked by.

In the 40-odd minutes I sat next to this couple, the guy never asked the woman a single question about herself. He talked about his job, his dog, his friends and his snowboarding follies. He even took a 5-minute phone call on his mobile phone. If the woman had gotten up to go to the bathroom, I was going to lean over (thinking vaguely of this movie) and impart this wisdom from American Pie:

All that you got to do is just ask them questions and listen to what they have to say and shit.

Maybe I was put in this frame of mind by Tanya, who describes her ambitious plan to re-enter the dating scene. I’ve met Tanya, and she’s a lovely woman, so, though its worth approaches zero, she has my endorsement.