Ian WhitePotential
October 2nd 2006 18:40
I don’t particularly like the term “date”. I’m a big fan of Australian slang and the slang meaning for "date" is a great word which has a rather uh…freckled connotation. I think that the term “date” is too overly American, and on the whole, I’m strongly against the hijacking of ours or anybody else’s native language with one that isn’t nearly as creative, mis-understandable or sexually “connotated” as ours. So I tried to reject it. However, in my search for a term that really says the same thing as easily as “date”, I struggled, and so I have succumbed. There just isn’t another single word that describes it. I like the word “Potential” because really, when out on a date, what are you there for other than to test the persons potential suitability as a partner? But you just can’t really say that you went out on a “potential”, it just doesn’t work.
I went on a potential on Friday night, and it was a good one. The whole thing, going back a good couple of weeks, started with a kiss. An electronic kiss to be more accurate. Then emails were exchanged, through the RSVP website. Then it turned into emails using personal email addresses. Then came the SMSing, and there was a lot of that. It was flirty, it was suggestive, it was the best bit so far. Until The Big Date…uh, I mean Potential. Being relatively inexperienced in the world of “dating” like a clichéd TV character, I chose to do what a clichéd TV character might do on a date. So we went to a bar, for cocktails. We went to this great little cocktail bar in Brunswick St, (And what made this even better was that in keeping with the theme of Aussie slang terms for “coit”, the bar was called “Ginger”). This is an excellent place – heaps of great original drinks loaded with plenty of grog and the good vibe made us both pretty comfortable, I think. Couple this with the fact that I found my date (lets call her Gwen) to be very attractive, I found that my initial nerves were allayed quite quickly (Hurrah for alcohol!) and the conversation flowed very easily. Gwen turned out to be a very talkative, intelligent and easy-going woman. I think we hit it off brilliantly. We chatted away for a good couple of hours without any fear of running out of things to discuss. I recently went to a speed dating night at this same bar, and eight minutes with most of the women I met there felt like a lifetime. We went for pizza after we tired of liquor and then made our way home. We made plans to see each other again, and although this wont be for more than a week due to our respective commitments, the SMSing has not eased. In all, my first “date” made with an RSVP contact has been a great success.
And just as a note, I did tell Gwen that I am writing this blog, and to my surprise, she actually found it an interesting project. It didn’t seem to put her off in any way, which wasn’t really the reaction I had expected. That just leaves the remaining big question as – “Should I let her read it?” What do you think?
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Comment by Chantal
I know what you mean about "date" it's very American TV, I also dont like "girlfriend" or "boyfriend", they sound so juvenile but then "partner" insinuates you are pretentious or gay (nothing wrong with that, just maybe not the message you want to convey). Perhaps we need to re-invent a whole new language for the "courtship" process!
Chantal www.dropofpop.com
Comment by singlebloke
American language is crap. Its so cliched.
Get me started with whatever you have and I'll follow. I like "potential" instead of "date" but Ive got nothing else. Hit me