It started as a real conversation, then morphed into a joke, and then became real again but then I think it ended as a joke. Or maybe not. Hell, I don’t know.
So I was talking to my best friend Kiri about the sad state of the economy and how important it is to call all of your friends when you are looking for a job, because something like 90% of jobs are obtained through networking. I then mentioned that some people are offering their friends “finder’s fees” for helping them obtain said job. Not that one’s friends aren’t already wanting to help, but there is something about the prospect of some cold, hard cash that keeps it fresh in one’s mind.
And so as a joke, I said I should use my female friend network to find me a decent girlfriend. And if someone did, they would get $1000 if I dated that person for six months. Haha. Funny. Well, word got around. Who would think that a chance for $1000 get such attention?
Evidently I failed to take into account how many clothes and shoes a woman can get for $1000; if we were talking about men it would just be one big thing they would buy (new rims, a Wii with a bunch of games, etc). My, how the word got around once these women started chattin’….
And then Sarah called. Sarah is a friend who I know through my best friend mentioned above (they are in a book club together, though calling it a drinking club with books as ornamentation might be more accurate). She writes for the Phoenix New Times newspaper. In fact, she has a column there. And she was lacking a story for the Valentine’s Day issue. And what could be more romantic than some guy offering $1000 to meet a woman worth dating? Good lord, what I have I done??
Keep in mind that I did not have editorial control here and so some of it might not have turned out the way I expected, but it was a lot of fun; here is a link to the article online, but the print edition was much more impressive. And just so all of you can learn a journalistic trick, “Scott” is my middle name and my friend Kiri’s real name is Kathi (“Kat”); sneaky journalists.
So I am obviously not pleased with the “albeit somewhat short” parenthetical at the end of the story (Sarah claims her EDITOR put that in; uh-huh) but other than that I found it pretty entertaining. And hey, I was doing a favor for a friend.
Then it got really weird; Sarah asked me what she should do about the women who emailed her wanting to meet me. Seriously???
Stay tuned.
Wayne's Whirled 
“…he’s a total catch.”
I’m speechless.
I’ve known him for a very long time and think he would be a great catch, he is one of the most honest people I know. Tell’s it like it is LIKE IT OR NOT.
See “…biting sense of humor.” Perhaps I’m his perfect catch?
No way! I was just reading this over Sunday morning post partying breakfast!
Dufus, to be Wayne’s “perfect catch”, you would have to agree to play catcher. I know this from experience. You should have heard the shrieks when I tried to pitch with “non-standard equipment”…..
You should have tried the Michael Jackson mold instead of the Bubba version.
What a great article! Can’t believe I’m JUST seeing it — I should check Kiri’s blog more often. 🙂 My gut tells me something awesome will come of this — go for it!!! Grace (BTW, I was in the book club for the books….ok, and the snacks during the bookclub, notsomuch the drinks)
Hi Wayne,
We’ve missed you at badminton and wondered what you had been up to. I can’t believe that article was about you–if she had used Wayne instead of Scott I might have put 2 and 2 together. Geez, a $1,000 bucks, I might have to see if Mo has any friends!
Come swat the shuttlecock around with us!
Doug
Any luck Wayne??? I hope so!!! You ARE a great guy! Have you tried pof.com. It’s worked for me so far… found a really great guy that I’ve been dating for 7 months now (a RECORD for me in the last four years!!!). I hated eHarmony!!!