7 Ways to Save Yourself During a First Date Disaster

We’ve all been there. Stuck in what seems to be the date from hell. Like this one time, a guy made me take the bus to meet him for yogurt and then asked me my favorite color. Like, what? That’s just the start of a myriad of horrible first dates I’ve had in my lifetime. If only I knew then how to save my own ass from them. Thankfully, I do now and can help your unlucky, in-love asses out so you too don’t sit through yogurt, looking at the clock because you’ve got to catch a bus home before it’s too late. Here we go!

1. Drive Yourself

Unless you’re like me and bus everywhere, make sure to take your own car so you can leave whenever the hell you want. That also lends itself to avoiding an awkward as fuck car ride back to your place if the date was less than stellar. Nothing worse than sitting in traffic with someone you are not feeling, at all.

2. Don’t Be Too Specific About Work

We’re not saying to walk in telling one lie after the other, we’re just saying to omit any concrete details of your life like where and when you work so that if the date is heading south, you can always pretend that you’ve got to head out due to a work emergency. If you tell them you work a 9-5, Monday through Friday and you’re out on a Saturday night...what in the world work thing do you have to get to? Exactly. So perhaps mention what you do, but not the hours or anything so that when you leave, it makes all the sense in the world and you can get the hell out. Also, you shouldn’t be sharing that much on a first date anyway. You just met this person, you don’t know if they’re sane or not.

3. The Friend Call

This one is easy and has been played out in many a movie but just in case you’re unaware...you can always have a friend call you an hour or so into the date to check-in and if it’s going bad, well that call is definitely an emergency and you have to leave immediately. No explanation, just GO.

4. Recommend a Social Place

If you’re already kind of nervous about the date, suggest going somewhere there is social interaction with others. Trivia nights, barcades (arcade bars, they're fabulous), anywhere where other grown-ass people are having a great time. So if your date starts to tank, you can always latch onto another party nearby to liven things up.

5. Fake Sick

Brush off those skills you used to use when you wanted to stay home from school and watch ‘Price is Right’ when the date is nothing but wrong. You’re human and humans can and do get sick at the weirdest times, even on first dates.

6. Have Fun With It

If you don’t find yourself wanting an escape route, then just roll with the punches and make sure to remember every detail of the disaster so you can tell your best friend all about it.

7. Be Honest

In the end, the one most definitive way to save yourself from a bad date is to just be upfront about it with the person. Especially if you can tell they aren’t really feeling it as well. It’ll save you both the time, energy, and some money if you both just act like adults and opt out of things sooner than later. Don’t even trip about it, just be about it. Life is too short to waste it on a date with someone that’s going nowhere.