Organised by Baby Blue Banana, I finally decided to give speed dating a try this week. Being an essentially shy person, this is something I really needed to force myself to do. But as Tom Waits sings in New Coat of Paint, "Fishin' for a good time starts with throwing in your line." You can pre-register on-line, indicating your age preferences or other information. The first thing you should be aware of is the need to bring a pen! When you arrive, you will receive a score card with numbers corresponding to the male or female participants (depending on your gender) and "yes/no" beside each entry. One woman is seated at each numbered table, and then the computer system is supposed to randomly assign the men to a different table every 4 minutes (with 2 minutes in between each round), taking into account your age group preferences. Unbeknownst to us, the computer system crashed during the first round. This later explained the very long 4 minutes which was more like 15-20! Since there were almost double the male participants, we circulated between the tables in two shifts. While I would have preferred the computer generated assignments, the free-for-all did not turn out bad at all, at least for the men, since we could focus on certain people we wanted to meet. The most interesting thing about the evening was the male bonding going on at the bar between rounds. Everyone turns in their papers at the end of the night. The papers are then collated, and if two people say "yes" to each other, Baby Blue Banana send the participants the contact information. I had seven speed dates during an enjoyable evening. Speed dating costs 1000huf and includes one free drink. The next one is on November 22nd.