oh yes, i did! tonight i did something that even I can’t believe i did. there’s this guy who i was interested in for a while, but nothing’s really going on there. let me just preface this all by saying that yes, i knew it was an act of desperation, okay?! okay. then let the judging of me commence.
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now, let’s begin. seeing as how i’m a relatively attractive female (aka “not a dog”) with no major personality flaws or horribly disfigured features, one would think that i would be able to meet men in any setting and wow them with my winning personality (and food-scented perfume. what, don’t they say the quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach??). however, that is not always the case. and so i did it. after a few nights of too-good-to-resist temptation (and maybe a liiiiittle bit of alcohol), i started an online dating profile.
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i know, i know.
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you’re thinking “it’s not that big a deal,” right? yeah, to men and women over a certain age, maybe. or even to 20 year-olds in the midwest looking for their future husbands/wives. but i am 1) not a troll 2) relatively young and social and 3) live in california, land of “marriage after the age of 25 is a-okay!” even as i created the profile, i made it so that men could only look at my profile after i looked at theirs. i’m a sneaky bastard 
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so after dutifully punching in the stats of what i was looking for, up pops this guy. let’s call him chris. chris is cute, just old enough to have his stuff together, and articulate. i quickly put my internet researching skills (aka my super google abilities and stalker-like accuracy in finding information on people in interweb land) to work and dig up as much information as i can. all signs pointed to single, not crazy, and potentially date-able!
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so i contacted him. dizzy with the inexplicable rush of glee of that first initial contact, i sent off a short, sweet email introducing myself and eagerly awaited a response. day one passes, and i think “well who has time to check these things regularly anyway?” day two passes, and i start to wonder if i indeed am a troll but my friends are just letting me down gently. day three passes and i’ve suddenly remembered why i HATE the online dating world. but alas! day four brings a response AND a date.
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date one is effortless. fun conversation, flirty touching, and sincere smiles. chris is the type of sincere that comes along every once in a blue moon. first dates are always a little bit awkward, like interviews with drinks and food thrown into the mix, but chris was one smooooooth operator.
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dates two and three are equally effortless and i’m beginning to think there might be some good behind this whole internet dating thing. but then date four never comes. we email, text, and occasionally chat on the phone, but another date has never been made.
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now, i’ve been told by men many times over that they do NOT need friends who are women. the companionship of a woman outside of a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship is not something men go seeking. yes, they may have women friends from college, friends of friends, or their girlfriend’s friends, but i am told time and again that men will not bother to keep you in their life, especially if it’s still so early on, as a friend.
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so now we’re in this weird gray area. we met up a few nights ago and he pulled my chair out for me, which is not something my guy friends do for me. opening the door? sure. pulling out the chair? not likely. i’m not making anything of this, since he could just be a nice guy who’s used to doing things like that for everyone. but i sure WISH it was something!
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so here’s where i get to the embarrassing part. after so much confusion (throw in some VERY flirty text messaging to confuse the situation even more…), i was curious to the point of breaking. i know he isn’t exclusively dating anyone, but i wasn’t sure just HOW many women he was dating. so i did a search for the different cities i know he frequents to see if he had created an online dating profile for those cities, as well. *cringe* this involved an undisclosed amount of time scrolling through 600 profile snapshots of men who fit his stats.
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*pause*
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yes, i DO know that that was a little crazy. yes, i DO know i could just ask him this. but really…it’s just in that weird gray area! i’m a novice to the online dating world; i don’t know what is allowed and what isn’t!
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but you better believe i was a little relieved to see that he DIDN’T have profiles for those other cities
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until the next dating adventure!
