I've been doing a lot of internet dating lately. More accurately, I've been doing a lot of internet profile scanning and only a little bit of actual dating lately. After having learned a lot from previous relationships about what works for me and what doesn't, I'm actually grateful for the amount of work that I don't have to do anymore because of a man's screen name or photographs (and I don't mean that I'm turned off by his photographs for the most shallow of reasons. More on that later).
First, the screen name. Mr. "Possum_hunter4u", Mr. "Reeferluvr" and Mr."Lookin4Just1nite" have saved me a lot of time and, possibly, a broken heart. What if I hadn't run across them online and I'd met them some other way? I could be at least 6 months into the relationship before finding out that each man liked to (respectively) hunt, smoke pot, or that he was only interested in a superficial type of relationship. This is the upside of online dating. It can save precious time.
Sometimes, looking for a relationship online can be depressing, as I seem to look through more profiles muttering, "Noooo...Nope...No WAY... than I do, "Wow! He seems great." So, I end up closing my computer, settling into bed for the night, and imagining myself alone forever...or, equally frightening, settling for Mr. "Possum hunter" and having to whip up a lot of possum bisque for dinner. This usually ends with an anxiety attack and a visit to my local library for a book on stress management techniques.
Screen names aside, sometimes his picture is what kills my interest. I don't mean that the men aren't always attractive. Who's perfect, after all? I mean that sometimes I can't tell WHAT he looks like because he only has photos of the fish he's caught, the car he drives, the motorcycle he rides, or...he's wearing a gas mask . I wish I were making up any of this, including gas mask guy. (Of course, if our country was the victim of some type of chemical warfare, Mr. gas mask would be the perfect man. He'd be prepared with a spare, don't you think? )
Ah, the perfect man. I'm not delusional. I know he doesn't exist. We're all human and flawed. But where is Mr. "Good2HisMom" and Mr. "brightNloving"? If you're out there, reading this, feel free to write. Unless you'd have to put down your rifle, joint, or gas mask first.
