back at it

After having been scarred by my first (and, last) two Internet dates, I've taken a long, long, LONG, L-O-N-G break from it. Plus, I was trying to get my own business going and frankly it was all consuming. Now, however, I'm back to being gainfully employed by someone else and I'm ready to start back with expanding my social activities.

One reason I'm ready is because I've had a friend move away, another is I have a friend who is engaged and less accessible. Another is that my social life right now mostly revolves around my 6 year old and my ex mother in law. Now, I love both of them, but as has been said, 'get a life!'

So, Match.com had a bunch of weirdos on it (IMHO), eHarmony kept trying to get me hooked up with people from Chicago or Lincoln, NE or Georgia, and Chemistry was ok, but it frankly was expensive. So, I decided to follow the lead of a friend of mine from church and checked out Plenty of Fish. She found her new husband on the site...plus, it's free! After I signed up for PoF, I Googled "which online dating service is the best?" and the best free website, according to consumersearch.com, is OK Cupid. So, I signed up for that, too.

And, now I discover why people pay for sites like Match or eHarmony or Chemistry. Not that I'm sure you can't find good, quality potential dates on either one OK or PoF - I've had a few conversations in the past few days with some seemingly nice guys - but they both have an interesting fringe element that at first was scary and now is fascinating.

I'll get more into this oddly addicting fringe element later, but let me just say it involves things that are not quite me. But, after the inital "ewh!" squeamishness in reading these profiles, it was like eating popcorn. You couldn't stop at one handful...you wanted to see what peculararities were in the next profile.

I got so intrigued by the wacky profiles that last night I stayed up til 1am doing "Quick Match" on OK Cupid. It's like looking through a rolladex of profiles. They pop up and you rate them from 1 to on a 5 stars - rate a match 4 or 5 and OK Cupid will covertly put your profile in their Quick Matchs and will see if they agree. So, it's like putting your foot in to see if the water is warm - not really having to put yourself out there too much to potentially bruise your ego.
And, if you both give each other 4 or 5 stars, then, great! You're a match!

Most guys I came across were average Texas guys...favorite movies were Armageddon or Dumb and Dumber. Favorite foods were pizza or steaks. Nothing wrong with them, but not really my type. Or, they came across as arrogant in their profiles. So, I rated them anywhere from a 1-2. Threes were guys that I was sorta interested in, but not enough to have contact. Fours and fives were for guys that I really liked and could see myself in a relationship with.

Then I came across a photo of a blonde haired guy, not smiling, and the photo is from an odd angle...taken from below him, looking up. But, he was in Coppell, so lets check it out. His first paragraph reads: "My personality is straightforward and honest. I feel no need to hide anything about myself. I am dominating and require someone who is submissive, obedient and loyal. They need to share my values." Alrighty then! So, read more. This guys is a straightforward dominator. "No is simply not allowed." Ah, did I mention this guy has KIDS??? Yikes! And he lives in my city??? I have to tell you, going to the grocery store or the gas station has me checking out everyone I see. No telling who you're next to!

Well, that blows away the previous rating system. Now, only dominators get a 1.

Later, came across a pretty...well, geeky looking guy. His photo was from a web cam that was obviously taken in his bedroom. He was overweight, beard. Looked like a computer nerd. So, I checked out his profile. Yes, he was a computer nerd - worked in some IT capacity, played World of Warcraft, etc. Then he lays out his bomb: he's actually married, and his wife wants a "sister." Then, he spends the next two paragraphs defending polygamy. OH-KAY. This guy has been watching "Big Love" too much...and he's no Bill Paxton.

So, ones are now dominators and polygamists!

I have a couple of potentials: Jeff and Benny. Keep checking back and I'll let you know how things develop.