Lou Pickney's Online Commentary
What's My Age Again?
Wednesday
February 26, 2003
"And now, we play the waiting game... Ahhh, the waiting game sucks. Let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos."
-Homer J. Simpson
"But that's technical talk. That doesn't concern you."
-Buck Swope in Boogie Nights
Yesterday I went to Clearwater for an event held by pre-dating.com. It's a company designed for professional guys and girls to meet each other in a controlled but fun environment. And it was a blast.
Having made several trips to Largo in the past few weeks (35 mile round trip from 4002 Gandy Blvd.), I knew the Ulmerton Road area. But still I managed to drive past Stormin's (the bar where this was held) and had to turn back around to make the turn. But I was there on time (which they emphasized big-time in the confirmation e-mail.)
There were nine guys (myself included) and nine girls there. The process was pretty simple -- we spent 6 minutes per table, talked with the girl of the moment, and then moved on to the next table. Actual legit conversations. Sure beats the bar scene, where there's loud music and groups and other things that help prevent that. So this was a refreshing change.
And surprisingly, the selection of women was very nice. It was a 22-32 event, but most clocked in on the older end of the scale. Of the nine women, two asked how old I was. They were both 32; me being 25 was too much of an age difference for them I think. Which is too bad, cause I clicked pretty well with them both. Two others I had no interest in. Of the remaining five, three I clicked with ok but had no special zing. Then there were the final two. Both pretty, intelligent, fun, and we seemed to click. There was Carrie, who's attractive and smart and who told a great story about hitting a royal flush on video poker and winning a jackpot (in excess of $1,500). Then there was Leslie, also attractive and a football fan. She started talking about
Joe Jurevicius of the
Bucs, so obviously she had more than a passing knowledge of the team.
I circled "Yes" for 7 of the 9 girls. They said even if you weren't sure, circle Yes. So I did... and then the waiting game began. And as Homer Simpson says: the waiting game sucks.
Today at work, as I refreshed my e-mail about once a minute (waiting to hear if the final proof was ready), in came an e-mail from pre-dating.com. I clicked on it.
And... I only connected on one of seven (cue up the Price Is Right "duh duh duh duh, duuuuuuuuuuh" horn music). But the one was Carrie, who was one I really hoped would be a match. I guess Leslie was too good to be true with the football talk.
Now, one thing about the process is that it's tough to keep track of who told you what. You only have six minutes, and they really need like one minute of prep time after each round. You can always take the time I guess to jot things down during the talking, but it seems rude to be writing notes in the midst of a conversation. This isn't a job interview. So we'll see what happens with Carrie.
But you know, even if none of them had connected, it was still a great time. I really enjoyed it. My friend Todd Martin read about it on here and told me he's interested in it, too. So if there's one in Tampa sometime we might both go. I think it'd be fun to compare/contrast the women afterwards. Maybe even a little bit of a competition factor, too. That'd make a pretty good idea for a reality show (like we need another one of those.) But think about it -- ten guys, ten girls, each with a certain number of yes and no votes that can be given. Or maybe it's a one-on-one thing, but the two competitors are mixed in with eight dummy contestants so the girls don't know (or vice versa if it's women competing). Sure beats that sorority "real life" show on MTV.
I had my friend Scott Massey on the phone at work today when I read the e-mail (and yes, I assure you I do actually work at work -- it's been quite a task getting all of this in order). But I thought: what a jackass I'd look like if I got 0 out of 7. Cue up the Ned "Nothing-point-nothing" Macon song or something. Though the caveat is that if you don't have any matches, your second time is half-price. Third time it's free. After that I think you go into the Comic Book Guy hall of shame.
Only thing is, I probably should've done this last month, when I was still a TV news producer. That has more appeal than "I work for Bubba the Love Sponge". As great as it is working for Bubba (and there are perks galore with that -- i.e. the three strippers in his office), in a making-a-first-impression mode for young professionals it didn't quite have the desired effect. One girl even made a face when I told her. Scott suggested that next time I bill myself as a film producer. Of the adult variety, of course...
Speaking of which, I saw some of the first episode of "Family Business" on Showtime on Saturday night after the Tyson fight, and wow what a dull show. For a "reality" show about porn, it sure was boring. Though the name "Seymour Butts" is always good for a laugh. One of the classic moments in my tenure at WTSP was when we did a story about when Butts got in trouble for a porn tape shot in Tampa that he distributed in California that was deemed obscene there. Anchor Christine Haas didn't want to read his name, but she had to... so on the air she said "And I'm quoting here" before saying Seymour Butts. Priceless stuff. And don't make me bring up the Chi Chi Rodriguez story (mispronounced as "Ch-eye Ch-eye").
In another related note, here's the only script I've had an anchor flat-out refuse to read (same anchor on this one, too). I kept it for the sake of posterity -- now you can enjoy it as well. You can even see the ridiculous scripting form that I had to use with the antiquated computer system at Channel 10. It was an I-Block script from when I was doing the 6 AM show after they fired Brian Kargus but before they hired Mary Pederson.
Blowhole Ax story - July 2, 2002
[6AM][B208][CBS MON 19:55:44 - NO NEWSPATH]
[ReadRate:185]
{**CHR/OC**}
NEW THIS MORNING..
INVESTIGATORS ARE LOOKING INTO THE DEATH OF A CALIFORNIA MAN WHO FELL INTO A BLOWHOLE IN HAWAII.
[Effects:TAKE VO]{****CHR/VO****}
[CG:00\Blowhole Death]
[CG:00\Oahu, HI]
WITNESSES SAY DANIEL DICK STRADDLED THE HALONA BLOWHOLE IN THE CITY OF OAHU ON SUNDAY.
A BLAST OF WATER LIFTED DICK INTO THE AIR.. AND DROPPED HIM HEADFIRST INTO THE ROCK OPENING.
WITNESSES TELL POLICE THE MAN IGNORED POSTED WARNINGS AND A LOCKED GATE DESIGNED TO KEEP PEOPLE AWAY.[16]
Don't ask about the formatting stuff... those are TV terms (or as Buck Swope would say, that's "technical talk".) But a great story like that, and she refuses to read it. And you wonder why I got out of TV news?
The work with Bubba is still going great. The promo pack is finally being printed. That part has been tedious. Bubba's impatient with the slow turnaround time, and believe me I'm about ten times as impatient (the TV gravy train runs off the tracks in early April). But that aside, things are going great and looking up for the show. I'm enjoying being a part of the process.
The next several days will be busy, getting everything ready for when the packs are ready to go out. But we'll be on top of it and make it work...
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