Single in the Suburbs: Tinder & Taboo Topics

by Anonymous

First impressions are everything when it comes to dating, and those early date conversations can spark love or detonate a destruction. Among the very many safe topics to discuss on a first date are:

hobbies
passion
inspirations
family
friends
work
travel
dreams
wishes

..and so much more. Taboo topics that should be avoided on dates include

family drama
your ex
politics
money
and NEVER ever religion

Agreed? Well, someone needs to share this Dating 101 information with my last date…

It was a cold and snowy Friday night. I was with a girlfriend, and we opened up a bottle of red wine, ate some red velvet cake and spent an entertaining evening on the wonderful trendy app called Tinder. Tinder is an easy dating app that lets you quickly scan guys within a certain mile radius and age bracket. If you swipe to the left it means NO and if you swipe to the right it means YES. Pretty easy, right?

Well, actually finding a good match wasn't so easy. After looking at nearly 200 profiles within 50 miles between the ages of 30 to 35, we narrowed it down to only 3 potential candidates to contact and possibly meet. “Where are all the good guys?” we wondered. We decided to send a short message to all 3 and see which one replied. Only one guy responded right away and a week later, we were having dinner in town.

My date was very tall, nerdy, and a bit awkward when I first met him, but he had a mysterious quality that intrigued me. We sat down for dinner and while looking at the menu, I brought up the fact that we had a mutual friend on Facebook. Another great feature about Tinder is that it connects with your Facebook account and alerts you of mutual friendships. I figured this would be a great conversation starter.

Me: “So I see you know my friend Sara. Where do you guys know each other from?”

Date: “I actually know Sara from college. We graduated together in the same degree. But of course we don't believe the same things. I did have fun talking to her during class. How do you know her?”

Me: “Oh we've been acquaintances for years from elementary school. What do you mean by ‘you don't believe in the same things?'”

Date: “I just mean I'm a Christian, and I have certain moral values. I don't know if Sara believes in evolution, but I don't. What do you believe? Everyone believes something.”

GULP!

I'm sorry, WHAT?! Can we just back up for a second? Did anyone see this one coming? I was in complete shock, my menu fell out of my hands and flipped my fork making a very loud clanking sound. Then I ordered another drink, because I'm going to need it!

Me: “Wow! So soon to talk about religion!”

Date: “Well, if you're intrigued about why I don't believe in evolution, there is a non-biblical record of the Delaware Indians which is remarkable that I can send you.”

Me: “I do believe in something, but I'd rather not talk about it on a first date, if that's okay.”

I think the look on my face was complete shock, I couldn't speak! He wouldn't stop! Was this guy for real? OK where are the PUNK'D cameras?

Date: “Well you did ask what I meant so I felt I needed to clarify. Anyhow, what do you like talking about?”

Clearly not religion! This date was headed for disaster, and I hadn't even ordered an appetizer yet.

NEXT!