Kelley Hungerford

“Everyone here is taken.”

I know; I am guilty of saying this too, but, Linfield, you have to face it: It just isn’t true.

There are opportunities everywhere. Linfield has 1,700 students. The population of McMinnville is more than 30,000. Do I need to continue on to Portland? The only thing you have to do to find a date is stop watching Grey’s with your roommate and get out on the town.

Here is a tale of how I met a guy in Portland:

I go swing dancing every Sunday night. Two weeks ago, I parked my car at SW 15th and Morrison and began walking to the ballroom. On my way there, a pleasant young man from a group of three stopped to ask me how my night was going. It was going well, and I told him so.

That was when the homeless dude showed up.

He started harassing us for money, and when we refused him, he got into the young man’s face. Noticing this was going to get ugly, I linked arms with the guy and said to the homeless man, “Look, we are sorry webothered you.”

Turning to the guy I was now arm-in-arm with, I said, “Come on, sweetie. Let’s just get on with our night.” We walked half a block as such before we disconnected arms and introduced ourselves. His name was Ben. Finding he was not frequently attacked by homeless people, I discovered that Ben is steadily employed and not a creeper. So when he asked for my number, I gave it to him. You don’t have to go all the way to Portland and save people from crazy individuals just to meet someone, though; look right here on campus.

This week, I was assigned a story about dating locations in McMinnville. Thus, I needed a date to properly complete the story. All I had to do was ask people. So, I got turned down a few times. They were busy; it wasn’t me, it was them. I was not discouraged, despite the worries of the managing editor.

Inevitably, another Review staff member gave my e-mail to his old roommate, Brian, and it worked out great. I’d never been on a blind date before, but it was very enjoyable. We went to Geraldi’s and got dinner for $5 each; that’s both cheaper and better quality than Dillin.

Here’s another way to meet someone: go to Dillin Hall at dinner when the line is out the door. Find someone in that line and say to them, “Hey, I know a place that’s better than here. Want to have dinner with me there?” Thanks to Brian, I did not need to go that far for my story, but I would have. There isn’t anything wrong with asking.

I’ll bet your friends know others who are single. I’ll bet someone right now is willing to save you from a homeless man to get your number. I’ll bet you could stage that, but I’ll also bet that it probably isn’t necessary.

Put on your big-girl panties or big-guy boxers and look around you. I promise you, there are datable people out there.