Is this for real??

As you all know I am still very new to California. I have been here for just over 3 months now. One of my biggest struggles has been meeting people. Not just anyone, but people I would actually enjoy having a drink with or meeting on the weekends to go shopping. There is nothing worse than spending precious weekend hours with someone you don't particularly like all that much. Well, time and time again Meetup.com has been recommended to me as a way to meet new people. Finally after even my new hairdresser recommended meetup.com, I thought what the hell? I'll give it a try! This is where it gets fun.

My first inclination was to join a wiener meetup group. I know, I know. Spare me the dog lady jokes. I have limited time at home with my pups so if I can spend time with them AND be social it's a win-win, right? No. I looked at the median age range of the San Diego Doxie meet up group and it's about 50 years old. Add in a few awesome gay men and their husbands and there you have it- my target demo: older ladies and gay men. As excited as I was to be with my people- I decided to branch out and also join the San Diego late 20's early 30's meetup group (it is a whole new blog to begin ranting about how I have ended up in this age range group- where has time gone?!) So, I signed up for the group. I looked through the upcoming events and didn't really see anything that sparked my interest. I'm not exactly a rock climbing/parasailing type person. 

Today I come into work and check my personal email and I see an innocent looking subject line: "Melanie.. we recommend the following meetup groups for you!" I open the email and see it- the group that is recommended for me based on my apparent "interests": 

SAN DIEGO EYE-GAZING PARTIES

What the hell is an eye-gazing party you ask? Good question! I didn't know such a thing existed until a few hours ago. Here is a brief description from the group page: 

Here’s how it works: An even number of singles gets together in an attractive space. After a fun mini-lesson in the art of eye contact, the group splits into pairs, and each pair spends two minutes looking at each other’s eyes, no talking, with inviting beats in the background. 

For your reading enjoyment here is the entire meetup profile:

http://www.meetup.com/San-Diego-Eye-Gazing-Parties/?gj=ej1b&a=wg2.1_rdmr

The first obvious question after reading this is, is this a joke? Reading the description alone made me laugh so hard I almost peed my pants- can you imagine what disaster would ensue if I actually WENT? 

The second question is, what are "inviting beats"? What I picture in my head is some creepy guy staring at me while Boys II Men's "I'll make love to you" plays in the background. 

The third and final question is, do people really do this??? Why would I want to pay to go stare at people I don't know for 2 minutes? It sounds like this goes on for an hour and a half. That's a lot of people to stare at in 2 minute intervals. If alcohol is added to the mix I'd be even more prone to outbursts of laughter which WOULD result in the peeing of my pants. The only possibility for enjoyment in this would be initiating a staring contest without telling my partner and as soon as the guy blinks shout: "I WIN- YOU BLINKED!!"

I tried universe. I really did. I was going to put myself out there and attend a meetup for young people. You made a mockery of my effort by introducing me to a Eye-gazing party.

The good news; however, is that I RSVP'd to the Wiener meet-up next weekend. I see a lot of brunches with new friends in my future. :)