Monday, March 16, 2009

Couple Dating

Meeting new friends as a couple is a little bit like dating. Instead of meeting people one on one, you're meeting people two on two. You make small talk, you try to find similar interests, you size up the clothing and hairstyles.

Last night our power went out, so we went to the neighborhood pub in downtown Winslow. We sat at the bar, since every other islander also thought a beer and a burger would be a good idea on a cold, windy night.

"It would be so nice if we could meet some more couple friends," said David, turned to look at me.

"Yeah, it really would." All of the couples we hang out with are my friends, or David's family, and we thought it would be nice to make new couple friends, as a couple. I told David we'd have to join some groups, maybe hiking, dancing, etc. I told him it would be difficult, if not weird, to meet another couple in a bar.

But then, a man next to us got up to use the restroom, leaving his girlfriend at the bar. David and I started chatting with her, since she seemed nice. Her boyfriend came back, and he was also cool, so all four of us sat for another beer at the bar, and talked for an hour or so. They both seemed genuine, and shared some of our interests. They seemed like the type of couple we'd enjoy having as friends.

They asked for my business card, saying they'd love to come back to the island for a barbecue.

"We'll call you," they said as they walked out the door.

"That would be nice," we replied.

Making new friends is like dating. You don't want to come off too strong, you don't want to call the next day, you want to make sure your personalities mesh. I do hope this couple calls. It's just funny that right as we were talking about meeting new people, friends seemed to drop out of the sky, or off the boat.

So tell me, how do you meet new friends?

8 comments:

dog grrrrl said...

I'm lucky I meet new people everyday and it's usually under fun circumstances (a new puppy) so I have emassed a whole new group of friends trough my work. In fact I had a BBQ last summer and the new friends outnumbered the old.

Couples are hard for us though, we don't have children and never intend to so we tend to gravitate to those without children or couples with older children. It's dull to talk about diapers for s:)

andrea said...

Ah dating. Arg.

Dan-Eric Slocum said...

Andy and I would love to do dinner or lunch with you guys sometime. I agree, it's FUN to have other couples to hang with. We have a few of these and love it.

Usually we get together like three or four times a year for dinner and it's a blast.

Kristin said...

That's right! I have couple friends in the blogosphere. I'd love to have "double dates" with all of you, in the real world that is.

- A - C - said...

dating dating... how long have I been without such a thrill ...lol

Contact Travis said...

this whole conversation reminds me of the Friends episode when Chandler and Monica come back from their honeymoon having met another couple on the plane..and they're so exciting to hang out, but then the other couple never calls...and they get mad at each other for turning on the charm too strong...hehe.

Anonymous said...

It's true, it's harder to meet new friends as an adult - whether single or part of a couple! I'm often just too shy to say "let's get together some time" after talking to someone I like for a relatively short period of time. My current friends I've had for a *long* time. New friends are met through boyfriend, so it's like a friend trade, plus he has nice co-workers we get together with. I think the best way would be to join some type of group or activity where you are around the same people repeatedly, then friendships could develop naturally, over time. And then there is the sad truth that some of us are too busy to pursue many new friendships! I get a lot of my socializing from my work. Good luck, though! Since you guys are "together" I think it is very good to have other couples to hang out with. Maybe if you meet someone with an activity in common (salsa dancing? tennis?) you could make an activity date.

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