"CHECKPOINT!"

So really quick, before the thought leaves me-

We came back from Church and three of us were sitting in the hall outside of my room discussing dating.  As usual.  One person made the comment that when they tell their parents about their dating stories, the parents are appalled.  Apparently, even in the 80's, dating was nothing like today- sure, people still played hard-to-get, but it wasn't an endless game like nowadays with no conclusion.  I've talked to people from other countries (Germany, Sweden, New Zealand, Taiwan) recently and they said that here in America dating is pretty stupid because everyone resembles "dogs chasing after their tail" (in the words of my Swedish friend).  I took that to mean that everyone wants to play hard to get, but they never let themselves get "caught"- they're in it for the entertainment value, not because they necessarily date with a purpose.

Now, I'm not judging everyone to be this way- there are many who actually don't fit this mold, thank goodness.  But a lot of people do act this way, so yes, that mentality is a dead end.  And it's annoying whenever you have your eye on someone and they act like this.  Everyone says that those who act like this eventually grow out of that mentality and actually "date to date" instead of acting like they're in high school, and it's just a question of whether or not you're interested when the time comes.  A guy can dream, though, right?

Then I came up with a metaphor that I know many of you will laugh at.

Dating is like playing a game of Cruisin' USA (you know, the ones you sit down in at an arcade and put coins  into).

In order to get to the next level, you have to reach certain "checkpoints".  There are checkpoints you need to reach before being allowed to proceed (ex. Checkpoint: they must like you; Reward: they say "Yes" when you ask them on a date), and in all practicality the reward is like in the racing game where it flashes "MORE TIME!" on the screen.

If you don't get to the next checkpoint before the time is up, it's game over.  Or if you don't work towards the first checkpoint to begin with, then they will think you're not interested and will stop liking you anyway.  That sucks when you later find out the feeling was mutual but neither wanted to risk getting shot down in case the other person didn't feel that way.

The worst scenario is when your game has a glitch and you get to the checkpoint but you're not sure whether or not you were given more time or not.  So you floor it trying to get to the next checkpoint...only to find that you totally scared them off by being too forward and "rushing into things".  Sincere communication from BOTH sides would remedy this problem.

I thought that was pretty funny.  But true.  Keeps me on my toes, I guess.