SAF, 27. Provo, Utah.

I'd consider myself to be a pretty loyal person. That loyalty was put to the ultimate test this past weekend. Let me explain.

Chantal, my roommate, is a teacher at an elementary school in our neighborhood [see school picture, left]. She regularly meets with her students' parents--more often than you would expect, the parent's voice drops to a conspiratorial tone and the question is asked--Ms. Cardon, are you dating anyone right now? During one of these experiences, Chantal was invited to a Halloween party--an "informal gathering of friends", which included a number of the parent's nieces and nephews and their friends. I am told that Chantal couldn't politely say no to this offer. And, as the loyal roommate that I am, I grudgingly agreed to go.

Only after we had traveled to within 10 minutes of the location in Sandy were Wendy (our other loyal roommate) and I informed that this party would not be at someone's home, but instead at a stake center. At this point, our protests to turn around were useless and Wendy and I relegated ourselves to attending this party and staying for as long as we could handle it.

We arrived. We entered.

Apparenty, everyone had just finished eating dinner and the games were about to begin. Let me set the stage for you: in the gym around the half court lines were eight large church tables set up in a circle with four folding chairs on each side of the table. All the guys were sitting on the inside of the tables while all the girls were on the outside. The tables were covered in white butcher paper, and topped with crayons and homemade castles made of construction paper. The stage was also fully decorated with a large version of a castle.

Then the "game" began.

Apparently, this "informal gathering" with games REALLY meant an exceptional experience in speed dating that was not awkward at all. Yes, you read correctly. Speed dating. The next 80 minutes were pure bliss. Besides the fact that many of the participants were cousins (which suggests that this dating game idea was wildly inappropriate)... I had some truly awesome experiences. Let me share one in particular.

This guy, we'll call him Jack, was sitting across from me and nervously asking me a string of questions. He then proceeded to take notes after I gave my answers with the pen and notepad that had conveniently been provided for each participant. I finally managed to steer the conversation away from myself and I found out that Jack was 18, and a freshman at BYU. He hails from a small town with a total population of 2,000 in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. His major concern in moving to Provo and starting at BYU was driving in such a big city. Who would have thought that I could find the perfect man for me in such a fun situation?!

We escaped after dutifully speed dating each guy in the place right before the next "get to know you game" started. On the way home, we stopped for smoothies and mozarella sticks, which Chantal treated us to as a 'thank you' for accompanying her to this wonderful, informal gathering of friends. I seriously considered making her buy me one of everything on the menu as punishment, but loyally refrained.

Despite any remaining sense of loyalty or friendship I have, please note that I will never, ever again be willingly dragged to a similar event as the one I blissfully enjoyed this past Friday night if I can help it. Ever.