Wait...We Were On a Date?

Liz Lemon and I are soul mates

So call me oblivious or young or an inexperienced dater in the modern world (oh gawd I take that back don't call me any of those) but I simply don't understand why guys don't ask girls exclusively on dates anymore. See a few months ago in early spring I met this guy randomly at a restaurant and we hit it off, we talked for 3 hours, and he asked to hang out the following weekend. Well, since he did say "hang out" I thought the following week when we met up in the lower east side we were going to do just that. Well, I was wrong! About 30 minutes into us "hanging out" he began to tell me how he just had to see me again because I was so beautiful, we had a lot in common, blah blah blah and THAT'S when I realized that I was indeed on a date! Grant it the night went well and we ended up dating for over 3 months following that night and every date after that was something straight out of a romantic comedy (swoon) however what is the deal?

Also this isn't the first time this happens to me, about two years ago when I first moved to the city, I randomly met a guy at park and at the end of our conversation he said that he "wanted to get a drink soon." Well again apparently that was code for "at the end of our nice conversation I am going to grab you and try to make out with you because this entire shindig was a date." That time I pushed the poor guy into the street and he scoffs "but that was such a great date!" "Wait...we were on a date?" I shrieked.

Well apparently I have been living under a rock because after much discussion about this particular issue with my male friends, no one...NO ONE exclusively says "can I take you on a date" anymore. So my assuming that when a stranger or any guy for that matter wants to "hang out" it's code for I want to take you on a date. Well, I personally think everything should be clear and put on the table. Why not just out right say, "I like you and want to get to know you better so can I take you out on a date?" but apparently the world of dating in 2012 in NYC doesn't call for that. So now that I've wiped the oblivious sign off my forehead I'll know that "hanging out" means it's a date and "grab a drink" means it's a date as well and that the bar in Grand Central Station "The Campbell Apartment" has an excellent hiding spot about 50 ft. from the entrance that's totally great for a make-out sesh...oh wait that was too much information and a story for another time. ;P Honestly, though do you all agree with how people court each other these days or am I just living in another era?

*Mindy Kaling's hilarious article in the New Yorker about the seven types of girls in romantic comedies.