Any single person in NYC (or anywhere else for that matter) will tell you the hardest thing is meeting people. Usually after getting dolled up for a night out with the hope of finally meeting that special someone you step into the bar just to realize its the same scene as always. Turns out to be just a sea of faces, never knowing who is actually available, who's looking for a one night stand etc...As a result many of us turn to online dating. Being a graduate student I can't justify spending the little money I have on a dating site so I've tried OkCupid. I will admit I have had a few dates that have turned out ok, take last weeks post for example. A majority of the time however, you end up with someone who most likely was really good at using photoshop based on their pictures vs the real thing and/or conversation is usually forced while both of you hope to make each other that special someone, when most likely they're not. That is if you make it to a date after sorting through a mass of creepers and their "hey baby" messages. Having a couple of these experiences I was turned off of online dating it was time to just go back to the real world and hope to serendipitously meet someone. That was until my friend J told me about a new site called Grouper.
The concept of Grouper seems strange at first. You sign up by giving them your name, email and then link it to your Facebook profile. Once in the "social club" as they call it, you receive an invite for a date. You're given a choice of pretty much any weeknight for the date. Grouper will then set up a reservation at a nice bar somewhere in the city. For 20$ you get this set up as well as a free round of drinks during the date. After selecting your date you select 2 wing women for the date. The three of you then go and meet another guy and his 2 friends at the bar. According to the site they claim to match the two Grouper clients based on Facebook profiles in order to get a good match of personalities within the group, who knows if this is really true. J, A, B and I all decided to give it a try and I was the first selected for the date. Turns out Grouper may be onto something.
Since only three people can go A, B and I went on the first Grouper. The location was a nice tequileria down by Ludlow called Viktor and Spoils. A nice selection by Grouper since I love a good margarita. (and the bar did not disappoint with their watermelon margarita!) Being a Wednesday night it also wasn't very crowded or loud making conversation easier. Running a little late we arrived after the guys. We were sitting in the back of the bar with a whole booth area to ourselves which was great. From past experience I've learned normally within the first 5 minutes you can tell how a date is going to go. These boys definitely passed the 5 minute test. Upon sitting down we did the usual introductions, names, jobs, where were from etc. Turns out it was their first Grouper experience as well so we were all in the same boat. What was great though was they seemed just as excited about it as we were. Everyone seemed to get along and embrace the situation of trying something new. The guys were energetic, sarcastic and outgoing which was a great match for A, B and I so we avoided having lots of awkward silences. Whats great was there was no pressure. There was no specific couple being set up, it was just a group of people seeing if they get along. The pressure of forcing something was gone and you could relax and have fun, if a match comes out of that then great and if not you still get a fun night out. We ended up staying for a little over 3 hours and I honestly haven't had that much fun in a while just laughing and talking and meeting new people. I enjoyed a nice watermelon margarita to start which tasted pretty much like tequila with a hint of watermelon (no complaints with that!) followed by the Anejo Smash which tasted a lot like a mojito but with tequila. After a while it seemed like just a group of friends getting together to hang out. I dont know if any matches were made but we all seemed to be open to hang out again so even new friends is a great thing to get out of any evening. Even if that doesn't happen it at least at night Hump Day treat.
For now I give you a thumbs up Grouper. It will be interesting to see if we try it again how the groups differ. We may have gotten lucky this time with a good set of guys. These seemed like genuinely nice guys just looking to get out and meet people and I'm excited to see if there are more out there. The site actually claims to not be an online dating site at all so even if its just for new friends, Grouper helps make this big city a little more manageable and what more can you ask for from an online "social club".
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