A couple of weeks ago I was reading one of the articles in the Jewish Press singles section about a girls point of view concerning singles shabbatons. She stated that one month before the event girls will start dieting, excercising and thinking about what to wear. I got to thinking, if they spend so much time preparing for a singles shabbaton kal vachomer they must spend a pretty good amount of time preparing for a date. The article went on to talk about how little time men spend preparing for a date or shabbaton and I couldn’t agree more.
In fact one of the reasons I dislike dating is that I have to shave, put on nicer clothing and clean my car. But I do it ghetto style and I am sure plenty of you men do it too – but may not be willing to admit.
How I prepare for a date:
Clean my car – this is usually done on the side of the road a mile or so from the girls house. I gather all of stuff from the floor and dump it behind the seat. Then I take any bikes I may have on my roof rack and throw them in back. I then cover everything in my rear with a sheet and spray the car with whatever artificial spray I may have lyiong around. Deoderant, cologne- whatever.
Change Clothing – after I clean my car I usually change on the side of the road as well. Shows how much I like dressing up and after the date I usually change a mile or so from where I dropped the girl off.
Shave – I hate shaving midweek, to me its an erev shabbos thing. If only I could hit puberty already and grow normal amounts of facial hair I could do one of those five o’clock shadow deals.
Withdraw money from the ATM – there is nothing like being stuck in a heimishe establishment that doesn’t take credit cards. There is also nothing quite like the look on a girls face when you take her up on her usually fake offer to pay. Priceless!
Gas up the car - because you want to be able to burn rubber should the girl not resemble her facebook picture.
I am trying to add to the list to make the women feel good, but honestly it takes me about 5-10 minutes to prepare for a date. Don’t judge men based on me, because I myself don’t date fancy women, in fact I wish I could just wear shorts and a t-shirt on dates.
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{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
It takes me only 10 minutes to prepare for a date but then again I’m a goy!
“Call my wife and let her know I have to work late!”
(Thank you, and don’t forget to tip your waiter)
why do u change in the middle of the street? wouldnt it be easier to just change before u left ur house?
Good one Dave,
ES: I wouldn’t call it the middle, I would call it parked on a side street in the dark with my doors open for urinal like security. It is not easier because I like driving relaxed clothing, I drive a manual so I also like certain shoes for driving as well.
lucky u.
i need at least an hour to get ready. shower, do my hair, makeup, and get dressed. its really very tiring.
but as i go out more, i stop caring as much… like sometimes i wont shower right before, and my clothes are getting more and more casual.
Most important thing is agonizing over what music to have playing.
You see I always tell the girls not to bother with makeup – in fact its a red flag if they put on makeup in the first place.
i say you go on a date in shorts.
if a girl doesn’t like you the way you are, what’s the point?
just make sure you’re car doesn’t smell like something crawled in and set up residence, and you’ll be set.
and have u gone out with girls who havent worn any makeup?
u might think u have… but its possible she put on very little therefore looking natural. i dont think any girl would go out on a 1st date without wearing any makeup.
frumpunk- yea, i feel bad for guys about that. i always notice whats playing
Before my best ever first date the guy and I talked about it and agreed not to dress up and make a big deal. He wore shorts, I wore a jean skirt. We both wore sandals. We had a great time. And we still do:)
I never play music in the car when I pick up a date. After the date I always play something really heavy.
ES the girls I got out with are not the make up type – to say the least. For instance most of the girls I have actively dated do not own a pair of heels nor do they have more then one hair care product in their showers. Many of them do not even use conditioner.
do they shave their legs? ;-P
the only hair product i use is shampoo
If you want to wear shorts on a date date someone who doesn’t care. Seems like a good solution to me.
I think the most important thing a guy should do before a date, is shower and maybe put on deodorant….. when a guy smells its hard to ignore… the rest isn’t such a big deal.
Interesting. Hesh, I think you’re asking for trouble. If your most important “furnishing” is your bike, then, look for a girl who would want to go on a cycling date.
My husband and I used to go the SSSJ demonstrations as dates, and look at where we ended up. OK, don’t look.
A little advice from a married man:
You dont have to make a huge fuss over a girl, but if you make some effort, she WILL notice and appreciate it. Its easy to assume you and she will get along on what you have in common, but doing something to impress her can help those sparks along. You dont have to get all fancied up, but I would suggest really cleaning out your car rather than hiding the mess. Being freshly shaved is also good. Keeping up the effort once married is also good.
Chris I make effort – the girl is never able to tell that it took me a little bit of handy work outside of my car to get ready. Also they always know I practically live out of my car so it makes things easier.
I always shower before a date – problem is I may go on a bike ride or hit up the trail before a date. I one time went on a date with a girl in New Hampshire that was working in a state park with great riding.
After my ride I stunk – so I hopped in the lake with a bar of soap and got ready like that.
Fair nuff. Best of luck on your quest!
I like you, Chris. Irish Spring, clean, shaven and a clean car. That’s attractive. Cologne=swarmy. Messy car=doesn’t want to impress me now, won’t try very hard as the years go by when he’s got me. Not clean, any odor=too much effort, man smells are only cool when you already know someone.
shower, shave, clean clothes, clean car… why not? i do those things any time i go out!
singles shabbatons, OTOH, i’m still trying to figure out. they’re fun, but girls – chill out! it’s a mixer not a date! a month in advance??? sheesh…
I never want to impress any girls with anything but my personality I wish they felt the same way.
Hesh,
a. are they sleeping with your personality (potentially)??
b. is your personality going to wash the dishes when they are tired from being up with the sick baby?
Believe it or not, we want a guy to be a “make an effort” kind of person and on dates, we watch for clues about that.
Well my effort is made – I clean my car, and put on nice clothing.
They are definitely sleeping with my personality, I’m a white Jewish guy remember. Besides I am fun in the bedroom – ok I’m not going there.
For me it’s a bummer of a day, you know. This lightens things up.
Can I just say, it looks like Obama probably smells better.
Mitt Romney would have been my dream first date candidate and he totally would have smelled good. ok. that’s enough. i’ll stop now.
Lol.
love the “nothing quite like the look on a girls face when you take her up on her usually fake offer to pay”
even for a girl there is no reason to spend so long getting ready for a date. that article is ridiculous!
i always look put together for dates and my prep time is normally about 5-10 minutes to just throw on some makeup and straighten my hair.
there isn’t really any effort involved in picking out the outfit — doesn’t everyone just wear the same 1-2 things on every first date? its their first time meeting you, they don’t know how many times you’ve worn it before.
anon- “doesn’t everyone just wear the same 1-2 things on every first date?”
i do!