Impress Me With Average

Vince was a letdown, but I couldn’t allow it to hold me back. I got right to work to meet my match. I’ve been trying to meet guys who have a certain quality to their profile—I think it’s a personality that stands out, but not to the point of annoyance. I’ve been drawn to the guys with the stand out profiles—almost like the guy in the party who commands all the attention. The “quieter” or badly written profiles have been read, but I moved on quickly. Some people say how it’s not fair to judge people based on their profile—uhhh, yeah it is, we’re meeting on the internet so your written word IS your first impression. Well that and your pictures. If you’re not good at writing? Thems the breaks and that’s too bad for you. Along with personality, similar interests are pretty important. Maybe I’ll be better matching with someone who’s normal and average. I tend to shy away from the guys who claim their interests are to scale the tallest cliff, travel Asia surviving on pennies and beans and a backpack, or ride their bike across the country. I don’t want an extremist, I just want normal. Another thing that irks me are the pictures. It’s not that the guys are unattractive, but if a guy has more pictures of his dog, a scenic landscape, or cultural landmarks than pictures of himself, then we have a problem. In order to achieve normal, I am opening up my mind. College education? It doesn’t matter to me anymore whether you’ve got one or not. Big and buff? I won’t take skinny, but I will take unbig and unbuff. Only dark haired guys? Blondies are now allowed. I’m easing up on how critical I am of the profile personality. If I’m not LOLing while reading, that’s okay, maybe they’ll make me laugh in person. Fingers crossed that this strategy works.

Older, But Not Wiser

Vince was just as great during date #2 as he was with the first one. Since he lives in Maryland, it was easier for us to meet halfway so we, again, found ourselves at the site of our first date—the mall. We had dinner and drinks, pretty typical so far. I guess you don’t get to the fun stuff ‘til the third date. Conversation was good, and he seemed like a genuine, thoughtful guy. Finally. It’s about darn time one of them decided to show up! Throughout dinner I kept asking myself if I could really end up with someone, not old, because 39 really isn’t old, but I guess that much older than me. I think I’m fairly mature for my age, but who knows when you compare it to nearly 40. I wondered if we’d be able to really connect, to have common interests and viewpoints or perceptions. I liked the idea that he was a take charge type of guy, and I didn’t mind following his lead. Starting a family was in his mind which was a major plus. And with the years tickin’ by for him, I felt pretty good thinking that he wouldn’t be dilly dallying forever. We left that date parting ways in front of The North Face store with a kiss on the cheek and a “We’ll talk this week to figure out when we can see each other. Send me a message so I know you got home,” from Vince.

A couple days later we talked about when we’d get together again. He was possibly going to be going back home to New Jersey the upcoming weekend, but he said he’d let me know in a couple days once he decides so we can make plans around it. I waited. And I waited. Andddd I waited. Did I write those words in another blog yet? I wouldn’t be surprised if I did. Why do these guys insist on making us wait? Be considerate and call, whether it’s good news or bad. Contact was finally made at the end of the weekend, and I learned that he had gone home to New Jersey. Well that’s just great; a little notice would’ve been nice. He may have a few years on me, but apparently he never learned how to treat a lady. I’ve already learned to move on. See ya, Vince!

39 Going On 30

Date #1 went really well with Vince last weekend. We got together for a drink early Saturday evening, and the interest was there right away from both of us. One of the first things he said to me was, “You look exactly like your pictures.” Good thing I hope? I figured it was otherwise he wouldn’t be there if he didn’t like the pictures. He, like some of the other guys, commented that many of the girls are deceptive with their photos. Ladies, STOP doing this! Give the guy a little credit, he’s gonna notice that you’re ___+ pounds heavier in real life so posting only head shots isn’t gonna work out well. Anyway, back to the wedded bliss I found myself in. The date was great. We talked as if we had known each other for longer than just an hour, and questions were asked by both of us, showing there was a mutual interest. Vince was nice, smart, calm and not annoying, didn’t talk too much, had a good job, and the physical attraction was definitely there. After our drink, he asked if I wanted to get a cup of coffee. The place we met was in the mall, so like a couple middle schoolers, we walked around the mall looking for a Starbucks.

We found our caffeine and a comfy place to sit and continued conversation. It came out that I do look toward the future and getting married and kids and all that. Scarf wearer must’ve passed the torch of “Let’s give this girl brotherly advice so she loses interest in us” to Vince because he started getting into this whole thing about how I’ll find the person, and I shouldn’t settle, and all the stuff I’ve heard before, but don’t really want to hear it from my match date. He explained that he likes women who are mostly 30 and under because he wants kids and has a young spirit, but finds that women beyond 30 don’t fit him. Ok. My turn. I had to connect our conversations here. He doesn’t want someone “older” even though he is “older,” and I, as a 26 year old, shouldn’t be worried or rushed to find someone? Uhhh, did he hear himself? “Based off of what you just told me, that makes me feel even worse. You’re 39 and even you won’t take someone over 30, so when I get to be over 30, if I’m still single, I’ll be competing with the 25 year olds. I’ll never win. So, how am I supposed to not feel rushed?” My dad was right, I should’ve been a lawyer. He didn’t have much to say to that, and even though it got a little dicey for those few minutes, we were still fully interested in each other. We parked near each other so we walked out together and left the night with a hug and kiss on the cheek. We also half laid out plans to get together later in the week which will actually be tonight. We’ve kept in touch during the week with phone calls and texts so date #2 has been much anticipated!