Stop pretending to get things done at work. Spend five minutes on the chance of real live human affection by tomorrow night — for free! — by signing up at Crazy Blind Date. (It's a publicity stunt from OKCupid.com — unlike the personals site, it doesn't carry ads.)
The site's appeal is its simplicity. Unlike the endless informational screens you're required to fill in at OK Cupid, Crazy Blind Date — run by the same people — only asks when you're available for a date and where you're willing to have it. Bar or coffee, that's all you get. Enter an email address and a mobile number where you'll be sent alerts as potential blind dates are selected for you depending on their availability, proximity, and compatibility based on a few more short questions you've both been asked.
The more flexible you are, like Priceline, the more chances you've got to have someone looking for a cocktail in Cole Valley on Friday between 7 and 11, too. No photos are swapped but they are kept on the site, blurred. You each get to trade texts for a half-hour before the date, routed through CBD. After that, you're on your own.
Does it work? One scrawny blogger I know took a girl to bed on date number two. For my own trial, I walked away from one date after a painless thirty minute chat. But another evolved into a second date with him and his wife. The pared-down website forces you to be brutally honest about what you want out of a half hour coffee date. If it doesn't work tonight, save your preferences for tomorrow. (Photo by GracinhaMarco Abundo)
