It's a go!

After my workout I got a text message asking if it would be too late to meet up. I was already headed back to the house because I sort of felt gross; I wanted to at least attempt to look descent. He asked me to let him know where a good place might be. I mentioned Chili's and a bar. I wasn't sure what scene he was going for. I also mentioned another part of town that might have been convenient for him, but he said that was too far. We finally settled on Starbucks. That's pretty descent. It's a nice quiet place to meet and hear each other.

I was running a tiny bit late because I didn't have a clue what I was going to wear. Apparently I need to now go shopping for cute fun tops to wear with jeans that are not too "going out". I don't need to show all the goods right away especially if it's just an initial meet, right?

The Starbucks we were actually going to meet at ended up being closed, so since there seems to be one on every corner, we went to another one. I was really nervous. All of a sudden I had no idea what the heck I was going to talk about. It's funny because I wasn't that nervous before, mostly excited.

He called me to ask what kind of car I drove so that he would be able to spot me. I told him he couldn't miss it. I said "and you'll be on your Harley, right?" lol We had had a previous conversation where I told him about some of the guys that were messaging me and I told him about the guy that had asked if I wanted to go on a motorcycle ride on Saturday. We had had a good laugh about it. Since I mentioned it to him, we sort of made jokes about it. The other day he asked me how many bike rides I'd received from this site. Of course I said none since I hadn't met anyone yet. When he asked me what was wrong with that line, I told him that I wasn't really that impressed with what they drove, I just thought it was funny that most chicks think motorcycles were cool and since I'd never been on one I guess I didn't know yet what I was missing. We had a good talk/laugh about it. So I kid you not when I tell you that I pull up and there he is standing next to his bike. At first I still thought he was joking. No, no ... he really does have a motorcycle! Well now I just feel like an idiot ...

So we meet, walk into Starbucks and he's a gentleman - he opens the door for me. I order a green tea latte ... not bad. Of course leave it to me to burn my friggin tongue on the second sip. I'm cool, aren't I? By the way, I wasn't really sure I was going to like him, but he is a lot cuter in person than he is in his profile. It didn't hurt that he was wearing a baseball cap and damnit, I love men in baseball caps. I don't care how unattractive the guy is, the baseball cap does help. Am I the only one that thinks this way??

We had a very good chat. We probably talked for a good hour and a half ... maybe I talked for a good hour and a half. I was very chatty because I was still sort of nervous. We talked about the site for a while and he asked me why I chose him to respond to. I told him that out of all the messages I received, his was somewhat original and not trying to prove anything. He said "You mean it's not because of my photos and how hot you thought I was?" haha I said "Well, you did seem to be one of the most normal-looking of the bunch." He really does seem to have a great personality.

Overall it was a good first meet. Since both of us have to work tomorrow, we called it a night. Honestly, I think we could have sat there and talked for a while longer. I enjoyed his company and didn't look at my watch/phone once. That's a big step for those of you that know me! Before we got up from the table, he asked what kind of food I liked. That's a good sign, right? Do I hear a second date? We ended the evening by him walking me to my car. Since I've never dated before I didn't know protocol or what to expect or do or anything. He gave me a hug and said it was nice to meet me, so I reciprocated and said goodnight. As I got in the car and checked my phone, I had a message from cutie dog guy ...

Cutie dog guy sent me his normal schedule for the week then asked what my drink of choice was. I still want to meet him. What if I like him, too? This will be interesting. I think I'm going to like dating!

It's a New Day

Well, well, if it isn't a bright and glorious day today! I woke up, got ready for work, checked my Blackberry before leaving the house (as usual) and there was a new message from cutie dog guy ... woo hoo! I think I like him! I said to myself before leaving the house that I was going to wait until I got to the office before I checked the message. Did I wait? Oh hell no. At the first stop light I logged into the dating site from my phone.

As I might have mentioned before - I've done some traveling with my job. Cutie replied with "I think we'd have some great stories to share as I also traveled all over the world with my job." YAY - something in common! Then he gave me his email address. Yahoo! Once I got to work this morning I was sort of nervous. I didn't know what to email him with. I finally hit him with "I'd love to hear all of your travel stories." Then I asked who the cutie dog was with him. I was excited when he wrote back mostly because I'm a dork, but I think he's cute and I love that he lives about five minutes away. He responded that it was his sister's dog and thought it would be a good prop. I told him he got extra points for that. When he responded, his name came through so immediately me being the private investigator that I am looked him up on Facebook. Good news - his profile picture is the same as the dating site. That's a very positive sign. Me being the very good stalker that my friends know and love also looked him up in the appraisal district records ... he owns a house. I assumed from the subdivision he mentioned that he did, but now I have an address. Should I pass by and get a look? lol Just kidding - I think I can wait until we meet up. Oh yeah - he also said he would love to tell me his stories so we should get together because it was too much stuff to write. I gave him the first available day I was available next week. Now we wait!

Meanwhile, analyst guy sent me an instant message this morning and asked how my morning was going so far. I already had sort of a plan on what to say to him about canceling, jokingly of course. He didn't bring it up at first. Later in the conversation he asked if I would be available this evening after my exercise class. I told him as long as he didn't mind me not at my best and as long as he was okay with me being sweaty and/or stinky then sure, why not? It's not the best first impression, but what the heck? If he wants to see me tonight, that's all he gets. I can't dress to the nine's for him if it's last minute.

Later he called me on the phone. I should mention that I like a guy that knows how to use it for phone calls. Some of the people I've "talked" to or sort of gone out with were mostly text users, so it's definitely a nice change. He called and told me a little bit about work and then said he felt bad for canceling yesterday. Apparently his boss changed some stuff around on him and he had to prepare for a 7 a.m. meeting this morning. Gotta love when that happens! He sounded sincere and said he felt bad and wasn't sure how I felt about it, but he'd still like to see me. I told him I was pretty upset and spent the whole night crying. He said "but ... you're okay now, right?" lol If all goes well and he gets out of his call on time we're going to meet up tonight. I really should start carrying a change of emergency clothes in my car ...

On the site front, I had four new messages. I had another guy from a different state. He was cute though so I responded and asked what he was doing in my neck of the woods. He said I was too cute not to say hello to. lol Yeah, ok. We've been messaging back and forth. If I'm ever in his part of the country, maybe I'll stop by and say hello. Who knows? The others included two more guys with children and a weird-looking one. I know there are stats on how many people have initiated contact with me. I'll try to get a number for you soon.

If I end up on that date, I'll be back tonight.

Date Night ...

... NOT! He canceled. Nothing, nada, zero, zip ... no date. I'm sort of disappointed. It's not that I liked him that much (I guess I don't know yet), but he did seem like a nice guy and well, it was supposed to be my first blind date. I was actually excited and looking forward to this. Analyst guy called and said something came up. I'm assuming it's work-related, but I didn't ask. Mama told me not to ask questions I probably didn't want to know the answers to. It's not like he really owes me an explanation, well sort of. He did mention last week that things were crazy at work. He did say that he would really like a rain check. I will give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that something really did come up. He has a similar job to mine and I know how crazy my work life can be so I will let him reschedule; I will give him a second chance. If he cancels on me again though, I'm finished with him.

I also didn't hear anything from the cute doggie guy from yesterday. O'well, the ball's in his court now. Seven new people to sift through today. One man is from out-of-state and assumed that because I was Latin that I spoke Spanish so his whole message is in Spanish. I'm very pretty he says. He further adds in all caps that my eyes are very beautiful. If you remember from my description of my photo, you can't even see my eyes from the humungo sunglasses my profile pic is wearing. I think the guy learned how to cut and paste. :)

There are a couple of potentials from today's messages. One guy is in his 20's though and looks young. I don't mind going out with a young guy if he looks older, but ... I don't know. Maybe I'll message him back. His profile picture looks like he's going for the Elvis look. I don't know what's going on with that shirt. Meanwhile, I received another message from yet another bald guy. I like hair!! Do you think it's too superficial to write in my profile? I don't know. I wrote I prefer Caucasian men and I'm still getting messages from other races ... whatever. That's what the delete button is for.

Remember the guy that said he was enamored with me? The one I deleted? He messaged me back saying "So you just deleted my compliment without a reply? wow..." Oh, I'm sorry. Should I have replied saying "You look really creepy to me" or "The fact that you put 'prefer to not say' on the 'I have children' box makes me feel uncomfortable" or "This is a surprise to you? Have you never ever been deleted before?" I've got the desire to message him back saying something snarky, but instead I believe I'll just delete him ... AGAIN. You would think that the fact that I deleted him should get through to him that I'm not interested nor do I want to have further communication with him. wth?

Well, gotta run now. More tomorrow.

Catching Up

Having a profile on a dating site sure is a lot of work. Since Sunday I have eleven new messages to sort through. Having previewed most of their profiles there is only one interesting person in the mix.

Today I got a "wink - hey sexy" ha ha ha It's different, but ehhh. The most entertaining of the evening is "My parole officer and I talked about trying new things on my road to rehabilitation....and one of them was finding me a lady. I got a few feelers out currently, so fingers crossed ya know, but then he and I ran across your profile. LOL! Hello dream woman...." he was just joking of course, but this is definitely original! I might message him back for originality. He was "ok" ...

A new guy popped up tonight. I'll have to think of an appropriate nickname. He lives close by and from his profile he looks pretty cute with no kids. He gets extra points for being a dog-lover. We exchanged a couple of messages and he added me on IM. Let's see if/when he asks me out.

Other than that, some slight correspondence with "single dad" both yesterday and today. He really does seem like a nice guy. Also, I gave analyst guy my phone number today. Although he didn't call, tomorrow is supposed to be our date - stay tuned!

Another day ...

Four new messages today. One guy seems nice, but let's start with the rejects again. "I am so enamored by you..." awww ... my doppelganger has another fan. So cute! Maybe I should post my real photo then I wouldn't make fun? Maybe I might actually even be flattered. This is hilarious though because in her photo she has on a huge pair of sunglasses and for all these guys know I could have a major uni-brow or be cross-eyed.

The next guy was at least a little more original. He wrote that I would never regret getting to know him and he's not the guy my mom warned me about, but "lets just see if you can handle me." lol He further added that he got tired of all the rich supermodels. He added that he was bored so he thought of this as a last resort. I'll show you how I handle you ... DELETE!

"If you want to FIND someone that will make you laugh, think, and keep it interesting at all times then give me a call." Gee ... you don't say? I was really hoping for someone boring, pathetic, and hopeless. I guess I'll continue my search. He also said I could find him on Facebook, too. I think I'm going to pass.

The potentially nice guy sent me a virtual glass of wine. That was nice. I looked at his profile and he looked fairly normal, but another guy with a child. I don't know ... maybe I'll have to make an exception? We'll see. I replied with a thank you and an "lol". He asked if I was laughing with him or at him. Too funny. I replied that I mostly laugh at myself and I didn't even know him so I couldn't be laughing at him ... yet. We started a small dialogue and he mentioned a restaurant and his weekend then mentioned what part of town he lived in along with "if you're bored and feel like meeting up for a drink somewhere." When I replied with what part of town I lived in (and that I'd already decided to stay in), he realized that I wasn't even in the same city. It was actually pretty funny because when I looked at his profile I didn't notice that either. I just assumed that he was in the same vicinity. We had a good laugh about it and came to the conclusion that we're both probably blond. I told him I didn't use my brain on the weekends. We had such a good dialogue going that when he asked me if I was on Facebook, I decided to go ahead and let him add me. He doesn't/didn't seem like a creep. I gave him my real email address, my real name, then he gave me his name and email address and we still couldn't find each other. Again we had a really good laugh about being blond. It should NOT be this difficult to find someone on Facebook!

That said, I'm going to bed for the evening, I've got an early morning. By the way, yes, he finally found me on FB.

TGIF!

Three new messages today. Things must slow down on Fridays since it's the weekend. The first guy says "They so need a flirt button on here! That way you would know if someone was interested in you. So here goes /flirt". lol It's cute - definitely different. He's got kids and he's bald. I think most of you ladies will agree ... I need a full head of hair I can run my fingers through! The second guy is also bald, kind of scary-looking. I think I'm going to delete him. He wasn't very original either he added his name and "I'd like to get to know you." The third guy says "Hi, how you doing?" That reminds me of Joey from Friends (snicker). He's got kids and absolutely nothing on his profile page. Dude, at least make an effort.

On another note, this morning I got to work, logged in, and found that analyst guy had added me to IM. Shortly after I added him, we started chatting. He seems like a nice guy. It was funny because I had no idea who it was as he never told me his real name on the dating site; all I had was his alias. He asked me about my job and what I did. It turns out we have a very similar job so that's a nice place to start. He told me the name of the company where he worked - good, good. He doesn't think I'm a psycho because he trusted me enough to tell me ... that or he's lying. lol We had a descent conversation. I tried to keep asking him questions, but it was sort of slow. I wasn't sure if he was just busy with work, not sure what to say/ask, or if he wanted to save the questions for if/when we meet up. He asked if I had plans for the weekend, so I told him. I wasn't sure if he was getting ready to ask me out or not.

He seems like a funny guy. He asked me if I had a webcam at work. I laughed. I do, but I didn't know if I was ready for that plus I sit in an area with a lot of traffic so I politely declined for now. I'm guessing he wanted to make sure I was who I said I was. Later in our conversation he wondered if I still had people around me and said "I can show you the 'real' me when you are alone". LOL Then he proceeded with "That sounded scary." hahaha That was both cute and funny. Bravo.

After we talked about what part of town we lived in he asked me where I was going to meet him for drinks after work. Normally happy hour on a Friday evening would be lovely, but I have an early exercise class on Saturday mornings and I've learned from past experience that it can be grueling if I show up sleep-deprived or hungover. Besides, one of my friends advised that I shouldn't go out on Fri/Sat night. Doing so implies that first of all I don't have anything better to do, furthermore it sends the expectation that I have all night to entertain or try and be entertained. Dates during the week are less pressure as you know you both have to work the next day so you know it won't be a late night. Needless to say, I told him I was available Sunday or Tuesday evening.

We chatted a little more about the dating site and how long we'd been registered. Later in our conversation he told me he was free Tuesday night and asked if he could take me out. Guess it's a date! Our conversation was going well, so I decided to share some photos - some real photos of me, not my alter-ego. I'm excited about it. I have no expectations so I'm not very nervous, but I do find myself wondering what the heck I'm going to wear.

Later this evening I also exchanged a couple of random messages with scary movie guy. Nothing terribly exciting though. He asked what my plans were for the evening/weekend and then asked me about local bars/pubs and local museums. No more exciting traffic for the evening ... more tomorrow.

Wrapping up Thursday

Another nine new messages for today - the possibilities are looking a little better. Two potentials from today and one from yesterday. For ease of keeping up, I'm going to try to use nicknames in the event I refer back to someone, but first let's start with today's rejects.

First we have Asian guy. He just says "hi, how are you?" Should I reply "I'm fine"? It's not just that I'm not attracted to Asian men, it's also that his introduction is not that exciting. I sort of feel bad for not replying back to some of these men; I feel an obligation to be nice. My friend tells me I shouldn't worry about it though. Time to update my profile again to say I prefer Caucasian men. Maybe that will deter some men from messaging me.

Ahhh ... here's an original one - "Would you like to go riding the motorcycle on Saturday?" Does that really work with women? While I'm a fan of fun toys, I don't give a crap what you drive or how much money you have. I have a good career and I make my own money. Furthermore, my car may not be the newest or the most beautiful, but it's paid for and me not having a car payment right now is most important. If you have a ton of "toys", how do I know you're not still paying on them? I don't want a man with debt, sorry! I've worked way too hard to get where I am and I don't need someone coming along for the ride. His photos gave off a sort of creepy vibe, too. Ugh!

Two more men with "Hi how are you" again ... one's creepy, too. Buh-bye. Come on guys - be original!! It's possible your personality could come out in your message so let me have it. Another guy says "I would love the opportunity to get to know you if you would be interested as well." That's nice, but his photos are sort of disturbing, too. I know, I know .... I realize not everyone is photogenic. There are a few photos where he looks all right, yet there are a few others that make him look like a gangster. I think I need to go with my first instinct and delete. It doesn't help that his name is the same as my ex's and he has children.

Now this is just sad. "Well I know I might not be the kinda guy you date but" ... but ... but what?? Why do men start with that? You're right - if you're going to assume that you know me and you know the kind of people I like to date, then I'm going to assume you're a big fat loser. He gave me his cell and email address. DELETE!

Now here's a nice message from a single father (potential number one). He asked me if I had a problem with single dads. That's a polite and honest question to ask. He looks descent, too. He's in his 30's, not bad looking, but has two children from his previous marriage. He's a widower so there's no baby mama drama there. Think he's trying to play the sympathy card?? lol I wonder if there's an angle there. I really don't want to date someone with children because eventually I'll want my own, but who knows? He might be a nice guy, right? I replied since he seemed up front and honest and his personality did seem to flow through his message (I think). We had a little correspondence and he mentioned he had a sailboat and a Harley. What is it with guys and motorcycles? I gave him my instant message ID in case he wanted to chat. We'll see where we go from here.

Another potential brings me to scary movie guy. His profile is descent and he looks like a normal person with no children. I like scary movies and posted that on my profile, so that's how he decided to initiate contact. Not a bad way to start. At least it's not weird, sappy, or completely unoriginal like some of these other guys. He's new to my area and seems like he just wants to get to know people. I was polite and responded. We communicated back and forth a bit and now I'm sleepy.

I decided to reply back to the guy that asked me to go out for a couple of drinks. He's an analyst and he has no children - that's a plus for me. I said "maybe" and I gave him my instant message ID. We'll see what happens. More updates tomorrow ...

Time to Reply

As I sit and sift through the messages I received yesterday on my new dating site I can't help but think of the warm and fuzzy I'm feeling. Who knew there were this many people in the world looking to socialize with new people? Whether it's trying to make new friends or looking for love - I wonder how many of these people are just flat out lonely. I'm not going to lie - it feels great to be wanted ... even if it is superficial at the moment.

It's interesting to read some of the messages I'm receiving. If nothing else it's definitely adding an entertainment value to my life. I had a scary-looking guy tell me that I'm very attractive. Thank you! If I knew my doppelganger's name, I would certainly tell her.

Another guy said he would like to know more about me and said maybe we could hang out, catch a movie, or whatever I was comfortable with. He also asked if I was looking for something serious. Is that something you usually open up with? I guess that's a fair question considering the circumstances. You might as well be up front and brutally honest from the beginning. What have I got to lose?

Someone else asked me if I'd like to get together for a couple of drinks. Slow down cowboy - we haven't even started communicating yet. Call me uber-paranoid, but I'd like to at least get your name and have a little bit of information before I meet up with you. He's actually one of the first guys that looks rather normal though, so I might message him back.

Another scary guy said he was curious to know more ... might be "fun and interesting" to communicate more - let's find out. Let's NOT find out! From your photos you look like a big guy ... I'm not trying to judge based on photos alone, but I don't want to date someone that looks like he can tackle me to the ground. He doesn't exactly look like the teddy bear type and he sort of gave me the willies. Next!

Here's a message from an air traffic controller. He seems nice, but he has a child. He's rather normal-looking, too so that's definitely a plus. The other messages were somewhat normal. There's a nice-looking Latin guy I might contact. Again though, he has a child.

I think this is my favorite of the evening ... another dad in his 40's. In his message he mentions a family-centered home. While initially that sounds rather nice, he proceeds to mention homemade chocolate chip cookies, Sunday news in bed over blueberry muffins, and helping each other dress for the night. I'm all for being romantic, but wow. That's a lot to information to start with. Maybe that works for some gals, I don't know. I'm not here to find a husband, I'm just here to meet people, socialize, and try to learn how to date.

That said, it's time to put up my preferences for age. I've got too many people in their 40's wanting to "get to know me" ...

It's Official

I'm officially a member of a dating website - photo and all. Me being the slightly paranoid person that I am ... "What if someone I know sees me online?" "What if someone on the site recognizes me in public?" ... too many what-ifs really made me not want to put up a photo. I was told though that if I wanted to get any bites I'd have to put up something so that men didn't think I was obese or ugly. That makes sense given that men are more visual than women. I say that all the while admitting that when browsing the site I'm thinking "Wow, he's really cute!"

Now I should mention that I'm Latin and my preference has always been Caucasian men. I don't know why, it just is. In high school I was interested in two maybe three Latin men at most - the rest were Caucasian. I also tend to like to stick to about my same age. My ex-husband was only 5 years older and I was okay with that. Since I've been divorced I seem to attract younger men. I'm all right with that since I believe I'm aging well and I look slightly younger than I really am. It also seems like the men I meet that are my age or younger are more active. I'm not trying to be stereotypical by any means, that's just been my experience so far.

Continuing on ... the first photo I decided to upload didn't really show my facial features. I thought that would be perfect so that no one would be able to recognize me. Immediately I get three messages from three different men. The first one was a little creepy-looking, a Latin guy. Right away I'm thinking this is a mistake. He seems nice - says hello and asks how I'm doing today. He was in his 40's - almost 10 years older than me, so I didn't respond.

The second guy was almost fifteen years older than me. At least his message was more interesting and he at least introduced himself and added a little humor to the message. He noted "Yes, I'm old, but I still have all my teeth." lol

The third guy was nice. He's an Indian in his late 20's. He introduced himself, told me he liked my profile, likes to travel as I do, but from his profile ... ehhh. He seemed to be the kind of person I could hang out with and have fun with, but probably not date. Yes, maybe he could surprise me and I might really like him, but again, not my preference. I'm still debating whether I should message him back just to be nice.

As I'm getting back into the swing of things at the office, I get another message from the second guy telling me he's sorry if he offended me by something he said to make me remove my photo. I upload the photo again thinking I accidentally did something to remove it. Nope, a few minutes later the photo is gone again. Apparently my photo was deleted because it wasn't a close up. Rats!! Now what am I going to do?

My dear friend and I came up with a plan. He jumped in and started searching the web for a "hot girl" I could upload. The idea was that I was going to say "I wish I was this girl in the photo" then post some other photos of myself so as to say "See, I'm not fat, or ugly and if I like you I'll privately send you some photos of the real me." As my friend searched, he found one of funniest pictures I've ever seen. Not so much that the photo is funny, but the resemblance is uncanny! If you look really closely, I have her chin, almost her same hair, and maybe even the same or similar lips. She's wearing sunglasses though so unless you know me really well, you can't really tell that that's not me in the photo. It's hilarious! Who knew I had a doppelganger out there?

I upload random girl and seconds later I get a message, then another, then another. I end up with nine for the day. One of them proceeds to tell me that I'm gorgeous and I take a great picture. lol If he only knew!

Most of the men were older than I would like or they had children. One day I might want children, but for now, I don't want any baby mama drama. After all the crap I've been through in my life, honestly, right now I would like to be somewhat of a priority. If there's a child involved that's not likely to happen.

Don't for one second think that I'm a selfish person though. I'm actually a very giving person if you mean something to me. I will go out of my way to move Heaven and earth to help you out if I can. I just feel like I deserve to be spoiled a little. I don't want to say that I had a bad marriage, it just could have been a lot better and I'd like to be courted and feel like I'm something special again. Is that too much to ask for?

Back to my story ... the most entertaining email of the evening was from a man who says ... (and I quote) "i see you a very pretty woman you must have alot of guys that want to get to know you so i wont try." Seriously?? That's the line you're going to go with? I realize that perhaps you're trying to play some sort of sympathy card, but that doesn't fly with me! If you truly think that you're not good enough, then you probably aren't. I don't have these outrageously high standards. I would just like to meet someone that looks somewhat normal and doesn't creep me out by their photos. Chances are if I'm weirded out by the photos you take, seeing you in person isn't going to be that much better!

As it's been a very busy day, I'll have to sift through and maybe reply to some of these people tomorrow.

Hello and Welcome

Here's a little bit about me:

I'm a somewhat recently divorced female in my 30's living in Texas. I've never really been a "dater" per se (or a blogger), but here goes nothing ...

In my history, I've always been opposed to online dating sites. Please don't hate me for being painfully honest about this, but it always seemed like those sites were either for promiscuous women or desperate women that were just looking for a husband - I've never fallen into either category so I assumed this wouldn't be for me (the jury's still out on that one).

I consider myself a relatively attractive person and I've never had problems meeting people or socializing. In the past I've met boyfriends through friends or friends of friends. My problem is that I'm somewhat picky. Not because I think I'm that good, but because my marriage helped me discover what it is that I want and do not want in a companion and what I'm willing to put up with. I have a great career, great friends and family, and I've worked very hard to keep my sanity.

I mentioned I never really was a dater. Even in high school, I sort of fell into relationships and ended up with my ex-boyfriend for five years. Like every high school sweetheart you think you're going to get married, have kids, the white picket fence ... even if you are a realist, like me, and know that relationships never turn out like they do in the movies. By the end of our relationship, we were already living together and one day he comes home and says "I don't think I want a girlfriend anymore." Yes this was unbelievably painful, but I didn't want to be anywhere I wasn't wanted, so I moved out the next week. I found out after we broke up that he had repeatedly cheated on me with practically every girl he came in contact with. Way to get a wake up call, right?

I wasn't single for very long after that. I met my next boyfriend in the same building where I worked. We were together for a while, but honestly, I hadn't been truly single in a long time and I just didn't know how to date so I fell into another relationship. At first it was great. I sort of lived my independent life as did he. I still had all of my friends, I still had girl night, girl trips, we still had time together, it was just nice that we were all right having time apart. That didn't last but maybe a year as we had different goals and honestly, we just got tired of each other and tired of playing house.

My ex-husband was supposed to be a one night stand. Again I met him in the same building - at another job. He seemed like a nice guy, we went out, I figured what the heck - I'd never done this before. Isn't this what you're supposed to do in your 20's? Sow your wild oats or something? Clearly that didn't work. I ended up falling into yet another relationship and we ended up getting married. Again I had my independence and still had my girl time, the problem is I didn't have enough companion time. The short of it - we started drifting apart and didn't go out or do anything anymore so we got divorced. Our full relationship was almost a decade. Fortunately we didn't have any children so there was no drama there.

That brings me to current day. I'm in my 30's and I still don't know how to date. While I have no "oats to sow", the last thing I want to do is end up in yet another relationship before I've seen exactly what's out there. Sure if I meet someone who seems like a good fit, I'll give it a shot. My eggs aren't getting any younger and I'd like to have children before I'm in my 40's.

Because I travel often for my job, I'm rarely home and therefore, oftentimes, I'm not very social when I am home so it's difficult to meet new people or know where to go to find a descent crowd. A friend of mine has been doing online dating for about a year now and he's met some interesting people along the way. Following some of the links he sent me for potential dates, I got maxed out and had to sign up to continue browsing. I first signed up with a very limited profile. Now it's expanded to a greater description including a photo. I'm very new to online dating and honestly I'm slightly paranoid about it, but what the heck? I met one of my best friends online, why should this be any different, right?

And thus my story begins ...