Dream Phone: Does a Phone Date count?

Remember that game from the early nineties? The one where there's a hot pink phone and you call all these boys to listen for clues and decipher which one likes you - he plays football and likes hanging out at the mall - it's Brad! You always want it to be Brad!

Well who would have thought 20 years later, here I am again playing Dream Phone again and hoping all the clues do lead to someone even better than Brad!

Talking on the phone to get to know someone feels so 1990 but it seems to be making a come back. More than one perspective date has asked me to set aside some phone time so we can "chat". The conversations consist of me working on my computer with my blackberry ear piece in, waiting for the guy on the other end to say something slightly funny so I can give a little half laugh. Usually we talk about their day, oh, they went out to lunch that's great. I made a peanut butter and jelly. Sometimes we talk about the weather or what we like to do on the weekends and yeah I'm tired today because I stayed up to late...

How much can you tell about a person through their voice? Or their inability to carry on an interesting phone conversation? I think these phone talks are uncomfortable because I'm being asked to be charming and likable to someone I don't know. It's different with work, I've been told I "give good phone", I have a sweet and professional voice when I'm talking business to an unknown. But if I know you, it's a different story. So, how can all these phone conversations really be helping these guys get a better sense of me? Or I them?

And just because we have a few laughs on the phone about my sarcastic tone and your illegal extended lunch breaks so you can call me... doesn't mean I'm going to jump into your arms when I meet you. Because, frankly, you aren't Brad on the other end of my dream phone.

But do these phone dates count as dates? Should they? If I have to schedule the time and actually pay attention when you talk about your Grandma's 80th birthday party last Sunday, shouldn't that count as a date? Then do we really even have to meet if I can tell by your voice it's not going to work out...?

Alright, of course we'll meet - at the Mall!