Hi followers! So this week I went to a “Dating Film and Discussion Event” and here’s the dirt:
How did you hear about this one? Well, if you are following me religiously, you are well aware that several of the events I do and ideas that I get come from the afore mentioned Hostess (Saya Hillman) of www.macncheeseproductions.com And if you are not following me, you better get on it. I got some good stuff here. Yes, I covered a Mac n’ Cheese event before, and it is my goal to not review an event more than once, but because she has an endless supply of various events, and “Dating Film Night” is different than a Mingler, I can cover it. Besides, in the end, it’s my blog and I can do what I want! And her stuff is always good. (And I’m not just saying that because I know she reads this…)
It’s a small world after all! I walked into Hostesses house, and was greeted by Saya, and what do you know, I was greeted by two other women as well! What a pleasant surprise- standing in Hostesses kitchen was my former teammate from Singles Bowling League (no, I did not blog about that yet, perhaps next week….) and next to her, was the nice teacher I had so enjoyed having dinner with at the Eight at Eight event two weeks ago! (Which I DID blog about two weeks ago). Chicago really is kind of a small town. If you hang out in the singles social scene long enough, you start seeing the same faces at different events, through different groups, and you start to make some real connections and real friends. I was genuinely pleased to see both of them.
Then what happened? Well, we (and by we I mean mostly the usual suspects: white, urban, cool, smart, professional, gorgeous women in our 20′s and 30′s. But yes, there were a couple guys too) had some tasty snacks and drinks, and got to know each other a little better. Then it was time for the movie.
The Movie: I did not realize this movie was made by….Saya! Apparently, she does everything. It was well done too. Tweleve people, ranging in age, gender, and relationship status talk very openly about dating and what it’s REALLY like out there. The interviewees are hilarious, candid, and interesting. They talk about being single, bad dates, first kisses, one night stands, meeting the parents, ending it, and everything else in between. And since I believe 80% of us in that room were single, we definately could relate- there was a lot of laughter and cringing from the crowd in that hour.
But wait, there’s more: I thought after the movie we would say “Good-night, great movie, See you around” I don’t think I realized there was more to come (although I should have, had I read the descrption of the event better….) After the movie, a woman named Keri from http://www.spirecoaches.com/ spoke. She is a life coach, and she handed out journals and a worksheet with suggestions, goals, and questions that would help us reflect and get a better grip on what it was we were looking for. I felt like I learned a lot from her just in that short span of time. Not only was she good, but everyone else in the group shared their experiences, concerns, and asked questions and offered advice. It managed to be an informative AND entertaining evening! You know, I think one of the hard things about being single is sometimes feeling alone, or that there’s something wrong with you, but to be able to get in a group with others that understand what you’re going through is a really positive and helpful experience. But most importantly, you realize that you’re NOT alone, and there’s nothing wrong with you at all. (Well, most of us!)
Still not done: Saya is not one to drop the ball. The next day, all party goers got an email with detailed information of some of the events and ideas that we shared with each other that included: Beer ‘n’ Bikes, Mingle Around, Dateless in Chicago, and MeSoFar….all things that I hope to check out and blog about in the near future. And you should too! And if you are shy and you want to go with me to something, let me know! I mean, guinea pigs are social animals that travel in groups to wacky experiments after all!
So I give this event: 4.5 stars! But overall, I think her events are the best thing goin’ right now. I have never had a bad time at anything I’ve gone to.
What about Wisconsin boy? Believe it or not, he’s still emailing me. We have yet to go on a date as he was out of town on business last week, and I am leaving in a few hours for Taiwan. So if we can sustain the emailing for another week, I just might get a date out of this!
Speaking of Taiwan, I better call it a night! Obviously it will be impossible to attend any cool Chicago events this week, being in another country and all…but I would never deprive you readers- I’ll still write next Sunday, but it’ll have to be something I did in the recent past. Maybe singles bowling league. We’ll see…
Oh yeah: to my friends from this Dating Film event- and my readers as well I guess- yes, I meant to post photos from the event, but unfortunately my phone is apparently only a phone and not a camera! The pictures were too dark and blurred to put up, which is really too bad as I was so hoping to give you all your 15 minutes of fame!
Talk to you soon!
