When it comes to online dating, I would venture to say that no one has as much experience as I do.  I am a veritable internet dating professional!  I have been a member of online dating sites for so long that I should be EMPLOYED by them.  They should be paying ME to be a member at this point or at least giving me a hefty discount.  I should be nominated as their most consistent and longest-running member. I should receive a letter of condolence for the fact that I have been searching for love online for so long and have yet to find it!  I have been dabbling in online dating for more than 10 years.  Yep, you read that right…TEN YEARS!  That’s more than a decade of searching for and striking out in the highly competitive game of online love.  And yet, I’m still hopeful.  I maintain my membership and update my profile and anxiously await the next email in my inbox.  Yes, in the face of overwhelming odds, I remain optimistic.

My online search for love has taken me through 5 states and countless dates – some memorable, some utterly forgettable and some worthy of a mini-novella.  Hence, the blog you are reading now…  I have experienced the good, the bad and the ugly of the online dating realm and I am here to tell you that while it is not always pretty it is ALWAYS entertaining!  The internet is literally teeming with thousands of people seeking their soul-mate, the love of their life, the reason they can hit the delete button for their profile, for God’s sake!  Internet dating sounds like a good idea in theory, but it doesn’t take into account the fact that not everyone can write a stellar profile, not everyone can take a model-worthy picture and, when it comes down to the nuts and bolts of it, you simply cannot judge how you will react to another living, breathing human being until you actually come into contact with them in the real world.  No amount of emailing, texting or phone calls can equate to an actual encounter with someone.  What if the person you’ve been amorously emailing and texting for the past few weeks turns out to have terrible halitosis?  Or some freaky twitch he never mentioned?  Or maybe half of his face has been badly scarred but he only put pictures up of the OTHER side of his face?  (This actually happened to a friend of mine!  I can’t make this stuff up, people!)  Yes, with online profiles you just never know what you are really going to get in the real world.  But it does put you in contact with people that you would otherwise never meet.  You would likely never cross paths with these people were it not for the world-wide web.  So, in that sense it opens up a world of opportunity for you to explore.  And, while it can be daunting and overwhelming and utterly depressing at times, the hope of finding that one special someone keeps us coming back for more.  It’s a potent drug and there are thousands and thousands of users that are hooked!  Count me among the many dazed, daunted and discouraged.  Nevertheless, I persist. 😉