Matthew Botos

One of my favorite quotes about dating comes from the decidely unromantic movie Pulp Fiction. Asked about how the boss met his wife, Jules simply replies, “I don’t know, however people meet people.” I don’t know how people meet people, either, which is something of an impediment given it’s the first step in dating.

Instead of relying on some missing innate social knowledge, I’ve been busy experimenting. Tonight was speed dating, an idea I owe to my sister-in-law Paula. It’s not a bad way to meet people: they’re at least interested in dating, you have some opportunity to talk and judge physical chemistry, and you’re only on the hook for 8 minutes if things don’t click. I didn’t make any strong clicks tonight, but there were a few women I’d see again.

The Wall Street Journal regularly interviews high-powered people to ask about their workout routines. This week was Hollywood producer Peter Gruber, who has this to say about yoga:

“To me yoga is some stretching but also it’s letting go of all else in your mind when you’re doing it. It’s like sex without a partner.”

I’d like to know what poses he’s doing!

Wil Wheaton (actor, blogger, and writer) crafts great entries about every audition he goes to and really manages to make you feel the hope and optimism balanced with a touch of realism. Since immitation is the sincerest form of flattery, here’s mine:

A great opportunity became available to me a few months ago. I met someone with a similar technical and career background to my own: serious engineering education including a master’s, job at a big company, followed by a realization it no longer fit. She was embarking on a startup venture and would soon need some smart technical help.

Months have gone by, we’ve kept in touch, I’ve checked out their business, and come to terms with my own career ambitions and current situation. Now they’re ready to hire someone and grant me a formal interview. Not too formal, mind you, this is a startup, so my monkey suit gets to stay in the closet.

The interview is great: no BS HR questions, no oddball problem solving, just chatting with the only two employees about the business and what role I could play. Well, they chatted a lot; I tried to squeeze in enough words to convince them I wasn’t a mute and could handle customers on my own.

I gave it my best and was happy with the effort. At this point, Wil would throw his sides (audition lines) in the first trash can, symbolically letting go of worries and decisions out of his control. My resumes, which weren’t even needed, are printed on fancy resume paper, so I’ll hold on to them, but mentally they’re in a conference room wastebasket in a non-descript suburban office park.