Marching Forward

Photo: Courtesy of Photobucket


With my first official Match date behind me, I was still optimistic about additional prospects. After all, I strategically set myself up with a few eggs in my basket to keep the pressure off and not make Bill into “the one”. What is it anyway about “the one”? It’s such pressure. Growing up, I truly believed in love at first sight and true love in one date – thanks to the movies. Maybe that’s possible when you’re 22, but at 39, I suppose the stakes are higher and I’m okay with flying solo, so I’m not just going to fall for a guy who’s got a pulse and a heartbeat.

As expected, I never heard from Bill. However, to my surprise, I didn’t hear from any of the other guys either. I wanted to be bold and email these guys – winking is for pussies. Or so I thought! After a week of not one response back from my emails, I decided to take a different approach and give my face a little workout, winking at any guy I thought to be mildly interesting. But here’s the thing: there weren’t that many interesting guys! Plus, this online dating stuff takes up a helluva lot of time. I spend more time pouring over profiles of potential suitors than on things I should be doing, like cleaning my apartment or writing. The good news is that Match makes it easy for you by sending an email with a list of potential matches based on what, I’m not quite sure, but I don’t care. It makes the hunt a lot easier.

As I read through the profiles of the men I think to be aesthetically pleasing – Match sends you the list of guys with their handle and a thumbnail picture link to their profile – my heart starts to slowly sink. How is it possible to read 20 or so profiles and not feel any interest whatsoever? Cue hecklers and their continuous critical commentary on my being too picky. Picky or not, I have to say that some of the profiles were surprisingly sappy. “I’m looking for the yin to my yang” or “I’d like to pour the milk in your coffee”. Maybe more corny than sappy, but not quite inspiring me to read more.

Then, there are the direct, ahem, angry ones. “I don’t participate in any games whatsoever and if you do, please move on.” Wow! “What I like: someone who’s open to new things and adventurous. What I don’t like: Someone who pretends to busier than they are. If you don’t want to go out with me, please SAY so! I think a person who’s truly INTERESTED in someone can MAKE the time to SEE him.”

Oh boy. I think I’ve had enough for today. 20 profiles read and 2 winks sent….we’ll see.