My 27 day adventure has come to a close. I saw some familiar faces, some new faces, and that was really about it. In the days since my last post, no miracles happened. I got exactly two messages - one from the "sexy" Paul Giamatti look-alike (seriously... and it was the exact same form letter he had sent me 3 previous times. I didn't even dignify that with a response. Is he persistent or does he suffer from amnesia? I'll never know.) and one from a guy who was clearly the man of my dreams, but I made no attempt to land that Prince Charming. Why? Well, first, he had no profile picture, though he did offer to send me pictures "upon request." His message said we were "a perfect match" and that I was everything he was looking for. He also said the fact that I was a Libra was really cool. Actually, sir, it just means that I'm horribly indecisive and want everyone to be happy. Maybe that's his idea of cool, but I doubt it. So I checked out his profile, which is where I found the rest of the reasons not to respond. The second was that he lives in Miami. I have nothing against Miami. I have nothing against him looking for someone within 5000 miles of his home. But there is no part of Miami that is within 150 miles of Louisiana. So strike two for him. Then I read his description and had to do everything in my power not to laugh and call bullshit immediately. You see, this prince has a Ph.D. from Harvard, is a self-employed millionaire, and lives on an estate with his dog and horses, where he enjoys hosting parties and playing polo. Really, guy? Really???? Maybe this actually is his reality and I'm just far too cynical to ever believe it. But you know what they say - if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
That's how my online dating fairytale ended. I got a message from the ideal man that I could not bring myself to respond to, and then the account went dead and shall never be revived again. It wasn't entirely a lost cause, though. Now when someone suggests I try online dating, I can tell them that I did and we can move on with our conversation. When I see commercials for eHarmony or Match or any of the other sites, I can ignore them like I do so many others without wondering what may be out there. Now I'll go back to the dating dark ages - meeting someone in public, exchanging phone numbers, and having actual human contact. Human contact - what a concept! I realized over the last few months that I need more of that in my life after discovering that I'm a pretty terrible flirt in person. I can handle flirting electronically. That's easy. But when it comes to giving off those nonverbal cues to someone that you kinda like what he's got going on, I am so far from expert level it scares me. So I guess my next step in dating will be to become a better flirt, then maybe I'll have better results.
But as the book closes on internet dating and 2010, it opens on 2011 and endless possibilities. My resolution for this year is pretty vague, which I think is exactly as it should be. I'm not vowing to lose weight (after dropping 30 lbs in a year my grandma thinks I'm dying of some terrible disease... no more weight loss for me). I'm not vowing to stop drinking soft drinks or cut back on alcohol or save more or spend less. My resolution is this - don't waste the pretty. It's a quote I read in a book many moons ago, and it always stuck with me. This isn't about anything superficial, but about your life as a whole. Don't waste the precious time you have on things that just aren't worth it. No more stressing about situations I can't control, or getting all worked up about why he didn't call or whether I should give him a chance even though he doesn't meet any of my criteria. I'll be keeping my worries and what ifs in check because those don't do anyone any good. If I can wake up every morning and remind myself not to waste the pretty that day, then I think I'll be in for one awesome year, or at least it'll be a year with fewer headaches and less irritation. What more can you ask for?
With that, I wish you a happy, safe, and fun new year. Here's to 2011 and 365 chances to get it right!
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