After recording this episode someone seriously asked me if I wanted to grab a cup of coffee and go on a hike with him. I said, “hey, let’s just grab coffee and talk.” He said, “I really don’t want this to feel like a job interview, so let’s add the hike in after.” 

—Clearly we never met up, and this is not a good idea for a first date.  I don’t know about you, but like we talked about on this episode, you have to play it by ear and plan it out as you go. And in this case, I wasn’t planning on going on a walk or a hike after coffee. Like at all. 

Don’t think so much about it. It’s a first date, it’s likely going to be awkward and fail. The sooner you become pessimistic about it, the sooner you’ll start to see it for what it is and have more fun on a date (whether it ends good or bad). 

After forty episodes of Dating Kinda Sucks, it’s exciting to jump into 2019 with a great episode on first dates. Of course, we had to talk about the clusterfuck that is Sarah’s life, and her recent drama with Sergeant Slaughter, but the biggest takeaway from this episode is that first dates aren’t always the right time to do something spectacular. It’s the time to meet someone, learn about them, and have good conversation. Save the hiking and interactive date bullshit for second and third dates, and just stick to drinks/coffee/ice cream. You want a first date that will be easy to leave if it sucks, a good venue for conversation, and simpler is always better!