Yesterday, when I wrote a summary of my first week of experiences with an online dating site, I neglected to mention some of the more standout profiles that I perused. After mentioning a few of these to a co-worker today, I decided to jot them down for memory’s sake:

In one section of your profile, you are asked to list the five top things that you can’t live without. The very first item on one potential match’s list was “steaks.”  Probably not the soul mate of a vegetarian.  I hit the delete button.

Looking over the photo slideshow of one gentleman, I concluded that he was most likely Liberace’s son. I couldn’t possibly date a man with bigger hair than mine. Delete.

One perspective suitor answered two questions in all capital letters. This read like he was shouting, quite possibly revealing some anger and/or bitterness. Double delete.

When developing your profile, you are encouraged to list an age range for possible matches.  I decided that I could handle five years younger (age 45) and eight years older (58).  My provider sent me only three or four men in their later forties, and several that were in their middle-to-late fifties.  Unfortunately, several of the fifty-something men had not aged very well.  They looked significantly older than the candles on their birthday cake. Delete. (Sorry! In most cases, I realize that this is something you can’t control.  It is in the genes.)

Those are just a few of the most memorable “no’s” in the pile this week. I am certain that I am a “no” for some of the men who were sent my profile and photos. That is okay. Hopefully, though, I was not fodder for their blog!

Exactly one week ago today, I officially became one of thousands looking for love on the internet. My account was activated and just like that, nearly forty middle-aged men, deemed a “match” by my provider, were sent to my site. I have looked at their photos and read their profiles, and I think it might be safe to conclude that I will remain single for at least another week. I did begin communicating with one gentleman (he initiated the contact), but after replying to his second email, I have not heard from him.  Now, in his defense, he may be out of town, or in the hospital, or otherwise compromised, or perhaps he was sent a better “match,” but the fact remains that all of a sudden you are left hanging. This is exactly why I express some discomfort in doing this. It just seems kind of  “high schoolish” at times. I didn’t like playing this game back then, and I don’t like it any better thirty-something years later!

Oh well, I have vowed to give this a try. It is probably one of the best avenues for meeting single adults in our technology-driven society. I will remain hopeful that Mr. Right will appear in my “In Box” someday. As my friend Debbie used to say, “There’s no place like hope.”

See you next week…….or sooner if I have scoop!

Exactly four years ago this month, I was given a three-month subscription to Match.com. One of the owners of the company where I work generously surprised me with this gift in an effort to change my status from single to “hooked up.”  I terminated the subscription shy of the 90-day mark. I found that particular site kind of creepy and demeaning, and just couldn’t play the game. I did sign up with eHarmony during this same time period, and found this site lacking in the creep factor with a better quality of choices. However, when my subscription came up for renewal, I did not elect to re-join. In hindsight, I don’t think that I was ready to take this step. My son was just turning nine, and I could not foresee investing the time and energy it takes to date. I also believed that I had never found anyone of quality while actively “searching.” Love happens when you are merely going about your life, as in you can meet someone at the corner grocery or dry cleaners. Wrong! I spend an incredible amount of my time at the grocery and Wal-Mart and have never rammed my cart into Mr. Right.

Fast forward to January 2011. Today, I subscribed to an online dating service. I have made a vow (not to be confused with a resolution) to remain on the site for the duration of this year, or until I find my Prince Charming, currently referred to as a “Soul Mate.”  I intend to use this very blog to document the good, the bad and hopefully not, the ugly. I envision future posts that make reference to the term “rejection,” as in I have been rejected or have had to reject some of my matches. (Dating, in any forum, can be a real test of your self-esteem.) I hope to remember to remind myself (over and over, if necessary), that if I am the one rejected, it is simply because it was not meant to be. So, I am letting you and the universe know that I believe that I am ready this time to find a great companion. Come out, come out, wherever you are.

To be continued…….