On a recent Wednesday evening, I attended a Three-Minute Dating event, where men and women gather for what amounts to a romance round robin. After checking in we each found the cocktail table that corresponded with our badge number. Every three minutes, the men rotated to the next table to begin another "date," while the women anxiously waited to see who would be next in her hot seat.
Within the three minutes, we tried to get a "sense" of th person opposite us and decide if we'd consider going on a first date. Then we circled "yes" or "no" on our scorecards. When the bell rang, we moved on to the next candidate. Two days later, an email arrived with matches (where both people circled "yes") and missed opportunities (you circled "no", but the guy circled "yes"). Out of the 21 men, I found just four potential dates. But I was quite impressed with the varied professions of many of the men. There was a violinist from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, an active Army officer who flew Apache helicopters in Kosovo, a family bakery owner and an anesthetist for plastic surgery procedures. I scored two "yeses" (50 percent of the guys I selected) and seven missed opportunities.